Welcome to Pension Plan Puppets, a community of and for Toronto Maple Leafs fans. We don't have many rules around here, but those that we do have, we enforce - we're all for hard-hitting discussion, but let's keep the elbows down and have some fun, shall we?

The best way to learn about the community is to take some time to poke around, read these two posts about the vibe we are trying to create, read the conversations, and get the lay of the land. If you have any questions or need any help do not hesitate to e-mail me (pensionplanpuppets AT gmail DOT com).

Free Speech at Pension Plan Puppets

Pension Plan Puppets believes strongly in having a vibrant community that respectfully discusses ideas, opinions and events no matter the viewpoint. Users are, in general, free to express their opinions without fear of retribution. The diversity of personalities, beliefs, and styles is appreciated as being part of what makes Pension Plan Puppets strong.

However, Pension Plan Puppets is a community, and free speech does not mean "the right to say what you want, when you want, how you want," without being sensitive to, and respectful towards, the community as a whole. In a community, speech is not "free" - it comes with responsibility.

The following are simply not acceptable on Pension Plan Puppets (excepting, in some cases, for obvious humor between people with an existing rapport and if you aren't sure let a little time pass and you'll generally get your answer); they violate Pension Plan Puppets' Community Guidelines, and are subject to sanction as outlined below:

  1. Personal attacks on community members.
  2. Comments that are intolerant or prejudiced (sexist, racist, homophobic, etc.) in nature.
  3. Harassing/baiting of users.
  4. Relentless negativity. This one has caused a few issues already so here's J.P.'s explanation and like most of what he does it works great: What constitutes "relentless negativity"? Constantly complaining without reasoning or proposing solutions. We're all fans and we all get frustrated when the team doesn't perform or has bad luck, but regurgitating the same venom over and over again doesn't help anything or anyone - it just fouls the air, and we're all better than that. If you continue to do nothing but post negativity, you may lose posting privileges without warning. There's a difference between someone who aims to point out flaws and be constructive and someone who is destructive. That said, we understand the reality of emotional responses in real-time during a game, for example, and are likely to be a bit more lenient in such cases. Bottom line: the goal is to make this community fun for everyone.
  5. Excessive profanity - You guys can use your swears but like I said when you sign up, pick your spots, and don't go for shock value.
  6. Comments that bring highly inflammatory, non-hockey related topics, onto Pension Plan Puppets. The exception is the Chatty Cathys where difficult topics might arise but I expect people to discuss them like adults.
  7. Deleting a FanPost or FanShot that you created after others have commented on it. If you want to delete a FanPost or FanShot, contact one of the bloggers listed at the bottom of any page on the site and we'll take appropriate action.
  8. Misbehaving on other SB Nation blogs. Our community is part of the larger SB Nation community, and we have all the respect in the world for the work that our colleagues do. When you're a member of Pension Plan Puppets - especially if you're a Leafs fan - you are, to an extent, representing Pension Plan Puppets when you're participating elsewhere on the SB Nation network. Act accordingly. We all know how much we hate trolls. Other teams hate them too.
  9. Creating multiple user names for the purpose of trolling or disrupting the community.
  10. Libelous, slanderous or otherwise defamatory statements.

Consequences for Violating the Pension Plan Puppets Community Guidelines

Violations of Pension Plan Puppets Community Guidelines will be handled on a case-by-case basis. Some posters might get a few warnings depending on the severity others might get none if we are in an especially bad mood. You can roll the dice if you'd like. Banned users can apply for reinstatement at any point, but the onus will be on the user to explain why s/he should be allowed back into the community. The only benefit of getting banned is that Chemmy and I get to enjoy reading the final message to dismissed troublemakers.

FanPosts and FanShots

See "FanPosts - A User Guide" and "FanShots - A User Guide" for the "how to" of this area of community participation, but here are some additional guidelines for posting FanPosts and FanShots:

  • A FanPost must in some way belong on Pension Plan Puppets - in other words, it must relate to the Maple Leafs or to hockey or to Pension Plan Puppets or to an existing thread, etc.
  • It is not permitted to use FanPosts, FanShots, or comments for advertising. Anything posted in a FanPost, FanShot, or comments that contains commercial advertising is subject to deletion without notice.
  • We reserve the right to delete any FanPost or FanShot for any reason, and are likely to do so in the following instances:
    • A FanPost or FanShot that contains any of the above enumerated list of Community Guideline violations.
    • A FanPost or FanShot that is the subject or part of the subject of a post that one of the site's writers is soon to publish or has published may be deleted so as not to have redundant content on the site (it is extremely rare that a FanPost will be deleted for this reason, but a FanShot that contains a link that is going to be part of the upcoming From The Branches post, for example, may fall prey to such a deletion).
    • A FanPost or FanShot that is incorrectly formatted will likely be deleted - make sure to read "FanPosts - A User Guide" and "FanShots - A User Guide"

Legal Mumbo Jumbo Disclaimer Because I Borrowed Heavily from Japers' Rink. for all of this and he's a lawyer: These guidelines are intended to help you understand the policies, procedures, and processes generally used by Pension Plan Puppets. While you are using Pension Plan Puppets, which is a part of SB Nation, you are also subject to the SB Nation Terms of Use. Also, please take note of the SB Nation Privacy Policy, to which this site subscribes. Both of the above links are also available at the bottom of Pension Plan Puppets' front page. Finally, it is entirely at our discretion as to how to interpret and implement these guidelines, which are subject to change at any time without notice.