Some New Commenting Etiquette for Open Threads (Or, "On Hatey, Burke, etc.")

So, no one is more surprised or thrilled with the response this site has generated to the Open Threads. We're drawing, on average, more than 1,000 viewers a day to them (often 1,500 or more) and both the volume and quantity of comments have picked up appreciably lately. I find myself spending as much time reading the comments on MKM as I do on Deadspin.

But, with all things, there's a bit of bad that comes with all that good. And it's trolling. It's people coming here to anonymously rip on their fellow commenters with no context and no specifics. I've received a number of complaints from good commenters who feel that they've been unfairly ripped upon here, and while I think a lot of that is good-natured towel snapping, there's also no doubt that there's a shit ton of cattiness and sniping on here that is no good for anyone.

I don't hold myself above the voice of the readership here, especially in the open threads, which are quintessentially a public forum for chatting about whatever is on your mind. But I do have some responsibility as the only guy with a delete button to make sure comments here don't turn the place into Yahoo or something, so I'm going to put out some handy guidelines that will make both of our lives better by sparing me the need to ever delete some pathetic meaningless shit from this site.

(1) The goal of this site is to be a light-hearted place where a bunch of guys who genuinely like and respect each other can rip on each other in a way that evidences none of that. Roasting is great and a fundamental part of what this site does, just see our commenter profiles, all of which have been about good friends of mine (or me!). There is a line, though, between good-natured towel-snapping and shit talking people. Be mindful of it. I don't want to read unsupported opinions that [X] is a shitty commenter, and I don't think anyone else does either.  If you take issue with a specific joke that a commenter made, that's fine. Do it in a semi-respectful and (hopefully) funny/interesting way. Don't just talk shit about someone you've never met who you don't like for some idiotic reason.

(2) Feel free to question why a joke worked, or whether it was appropriate, or why you think it has a problem.  Ideally, do so with your name attached, like I do whenever I link to a dud.  Don't just come here to trash comments for no reason.

(3) Nothing genuinely hurtful - no racial/ethnic/personal slurs, no trying to expose the real identity of Shitehawk or a ninja or what not, no starting 10 Worst Commenter polls, etc.  This site is supposed to be fun for everyone.

With these new rules in mind, let's talk about Hatey and Tim Burke for the last time. You can take issue with the way Hatey sometimes lectures the commentariat, you can argue that his reputation outstrips his actual contributions, you can argue that he gets +1s today because of jokes he made in 2009, you can cringe at some of his harsher stuff, but fucking please, you cannot suggest that Hatey is LBabe-like. I'm certain I'm not his biggest fan, and even more certain that he's not the biggest fan of mine, but it is neither interesting nor accurate to come on here and be all like "DUH HATEY SUCKS DERP!!11!" And that goes for anyone else too, I just see Hatey getting a disproportionate share of it. Tim Burke, too. Dude is not a lawyer and misstated an area of the law that almost all laypersons misunderstand. Let it go. If you have a specific gripe with Tim Burke, by all means, share it, but shelve the fucking general Burke hate, okay?

So, that's that.  If you have questions, you may ask them respectfully in the comments, you insignificant fucks.