Big Blue View is not 'just a message board.' This site is a community of fans who love the New York Giants where we look for mature, intelligent and friendly discussion about the Giants and football in general. It is not a place where you can say whatever you to whomever you want in whatever language you want. We expect you to be mature, to be respectful of everyone and to have something to say that advances the discussion. We don't want juvenile name-calling here.

The site is known for being a place where Giants fans can congregate without the typical name-calling and immature commentary you can find in many places on the Internet. It needs to remain that way.

I will delete comments I find inappropriate to the advancement of the site and the enjoyment of the community. If you can't follow the guidelines as I present them, don't sign up. If you are already a member make sure your comments and FanPosts or FanShots are well thought out, and that they make the site a better read.

The Guidelines

• Vulgarity & Profanity: There is no place for vulgarity here. You may think you are being funny, in reality that stuff is just crude and immature. As for profanity, please keep it to a minimum. I would prefer none at all, but occasionally a profanity fits the moment. Profanity-filled tirades and cursing just for the sake of cursing will not be tolerated.
• Be Respectful: We each have the right to our own opinions, and we have the right to express them in a thoughtful, intelligent manner. If you can't take people disagreeing with you, don't give an opinion in the first place. NO PERSONAL ATTACKS. No name-calling, no telling people they know nothing about football. State your argument in an intelligent way and use facts to back it up. If you can't do this, don't comment. If you cross this line, you won't be here.
• Trolls: Fans of other teams do visit Big Blue View, and they have the right to comment -- provided they live by our rules and act in a mature manner. If a troll comes to Big Blue View and comments inappropriately, please do not respond and egg him or her on. Do not drag the site down. Simply 'flag' the comment as inappropriate and let me deal with it. Or, e-mail bigblueview@gmail.com, and I will handle it.
• Trolling: Basically, the same applies if you visit other SB Nation sites. Our rules are in effect. Remember that you represent Big Blue View when you are visiting another site, and that your behavior reflects on our community. You are expected to make your arguments in a thoughtful, intelligent way and be respectful of the fact that yours will be the minority opinion. If you don't think you can hold your emotions in check and comment maturely, then don't comment on other blogs.
• Advertising: If you post simply to sell a product or promote your own Web site those posts will be deleted. That is classic trolling. You will also be banned if it is obvious you signed up specifically for this purpose.
• Racism/Sexism/Politics: None of that stuff here, please. In regards to racism, in particular, there is no place for it anywhere. It absolutely won't be tolerated here.
  
• Plagiarism: If you find an article you want to share do not simply copy and paste it into a FanPost or Fanshot. Use a small piece of it and link to it. Or, simply link to it. Don't steal other people's work -- we don't want any legal difficulties.

What You Can Do

It is not just up to me to police the site. It is also up to you guys, especially those of you who have been here a while and understand the type of community we want. If you find a comment, FanPost or Fanshot you find objectionable use the 'Flag' option to let me know, or e-mail bigblueview@gmail.com. I do try to read every comment on the site. You can also let the person know that his or her comment is not within the spirit of the site. Do not, though, engage them in an argument.

In short, be mature while you are at Big Blue View and other SB Nation sites. Everyone is here because they love the Giants, and love to discuss them. While we're here, we're all friends. If you are at other sites, represent this one with class and maturity.

-- Ed Valentine