The Big Bang Theory - Reminder for ALL posters: EVERYONE please read! UPDATED 1/13/14

**WeBuiltThePyramids** · 01-17-2012, 01:01 PM

Hello, everyone!

Some of you may have noticed a few disputes on the board over the past few days, and as the past few episodes and the next few appear to be quite shippy for certain couples, I feel it necessary to post this general reminder. Please read it all the way through and comment to this thread to show you've read and understood.

To begin with, I would like to quote our Intro thread's OP, which everyone should be reading when they begin posting on the board. This particular quotation is in regards to ship and the ship threads.

Quote:

Friendshippers are more than welcome to post in a shipper thread, but please understand and respect that it is a shipper thread first. They can contribute to discussions on the pairing's dynamic or scenes but should remember that the other fans will take it further romantically. In cases where a friendshipper disagrees with a shipper over a romantic topic, the moderators recommend that the friendshipper simply let the issue go. This recommendation is not meant to limit anyone's right to post. It is not a requirement. This recommendation is meant to uphold and promote the 'appreciation' attitude that we'd like to see in all of the board's members.

Shippers are allowed to discuss other pairings in the shipper threads, but they must do so in a way that is comparing/contrasting with the on-topic pairing. Please keep such comments along the line of 'Person A has better banter with Person B than Person C does and that's why I prefer to ship A/B together'. Please refrain from making comments like 'A and B together are boring' or 'A is so annoying. B and C are way better together'. If you want to discuss another pairing in a shipper thread, you should have a concrete reason for doing so.

Please always remember this when discussing: To break it down...

1. Comparison of ships is allowed; comparing people who ship is not.
2. If there is a personal issue between members of

that began on other sites, please keep the arguments on Tumblr, Livejournal, IMDB, Twitter, or wherever else they belong. Residual anger over something that happens on other sites should not be brought here.
3. You are allowed to link to posts made on blogs. However, if you feel it would offend shippers of any couple, please note "this post is really for fans of Leonard/Penny" or "Sheldon/Amy fans may not want to read this," etc, no matter what thread it is posted in. If the outside post, entry, or article is of the "appreciation" sort, it may be talked about in the appropriate threads as any online article can. If it is critical of another ship's arguments, points, or evidence for their couple, it may be linked (with warnings) to on

but discussed at the source.
4. There is a reason that we have an entire board for the show. It is so there can be places to appreciate all dynamics and aspects of the show. Each thread's title is marked clearly what it is for. If one does not want to read things that may compare and contrast one of their ships in a way that they do not like, then do not go onto those ship threads. Comparison and contrasting is allowed. Having it in threads does not green light anyone, regardless of their shipping preference, to go into a thread for a couple they do not ship and defend the other ship, because each poster has the same opportunity for such comparison and contrasting in the thread(s) for the couples that they ship.

What is comparison and contrasting, and what is not.

Say there was a fandom that had Ben, Julia, and Luke. Say this discussion took place in the Ben/Julia thread.

"Julia and Luke were just not good together. Their scenes are boring and I never saw the buildup that got them together. I don't see how Julia likes him at all, and I don't understand what the writers are doing with this.

My favorite Julia/Ben scene was definitely when they went out to walk their dogs together, I loved the way he smiled at her when she walked on the curb like a little kid."

This is not an example of appropriate conversation in the Ben/Julia thread. Yes, they mention Ben/Julia in their post, but it does not have any relation to the Luke/Julia conversation and really is two separate discussions.

Had they said this...

"Julia and Luke were just not good together. They were always just sitting around watching T.V., and I never saw the buildup that got them together; Julia and Ben had an established friendship before they went out and Julia and Luke just met at some bar and hooked up and started dating, I don't see how the history that Julia/Ben have can just be ignored. I don't see how Julia likes Luke at all; at least Ben and Julia do other things together aside from watching T.V., like when they took their dogs out and had that really nice walk and conversation."

This is comparing and contrasting a ship. It is very clear that the poster likes one ship and dislikes the other, but it is concretely explaining why, and they are posting in the ship thread of the couple they are talking about positively. Whether a poster agrees with what is being said or not, if it is respectable conversation and in the correct thread, the only thing the mods can do about it is suggest that the non - shipper not read the posts in that thread.

Now, if a poster says "but I am a friendshipper; I want to post in that thread!" of course they are welcome, but the first sentence of the quoted points above are there to remind everyone that it is a shipper thread first, just as the thread for the couple they ship is a shipper thread first. There is going to be slants in the direction of who that thread is for, and it may well contain comments and analysis' that aren't shippy for another couple. That is fine. It is not the shipper thread for the other couple. And please remember that disagreeing with someone, or saying things that aren't shippy about a couple is not bashing. Bashing is not allowed on

and if it occurs, mods will take care of it; we are aware of what is bashing and what is not and we will handle it.

Thank you all for your time, and happy postings! Remember to comment here that you have read and understood. Not commenting here will not be an acceptable excuse for anything in the future.

UPDATE JULY 2012

New update, please everyone read.

In the SAA thread, there were comments on people who know spoilers talking about promos in the episode thread (which in itself is fine) but making comments such as "wow, I cannot believe they showed that!" or "I'm kinda bummed they revealed that in the promo," or something like that.

I checked with people above me and they said that that goes beyond the type of discussion that is allowed in an episode thread, since people are drawing upon spoilers beyond the promo to make comments like that.

So here is the update: if you know what happens in an episode, do not reveal if the promo reveals the 'big moments' or clips irrelevant to the main plot. You may discuss the promo, but not how relevant anything is to a 'big moment' or the main plot of the episode.