Pension Plan Puppets 101

This is a re-post from February. We've had and will continue to have a constant stream of new arrivals. If you are lurking I hope that this helps you navigate the community and brings you into the light. If you're a new commenter, read through this to make sure you have the bases covered. If you're a regular commenter then something you did is probably the reason I had to write this and you should go to a box and feel shame. In two minutes you will be free.

If you have any questions about the content of this post, feel free to ask.

Community Guidelines: I've decided to set out more detailed community guidelines. They can be found here. Everyone, whether old or new, should read it right now. It, along with the user guides, can be found in the left-hand sidebar. Basically it boils down to this:

We are all here we love the Toronto Maple Leafs and love talking about them in depth and to death. Let's treat each other with respect. Feel free to disagree with anyone's opinion but do it respectfully. Remember there is a right way and a wrong way to talk to people. Help new people navigate the site because everyone's been new at some point. Except Jared. He's always been here.

Quite honestly, some of spend a good portion of our day on this site and we want to make it as enjoyable as it can be. The Overlords and the Girlfriends and the Contributors all do this because we enjoy it. The second you start ruining our enjoyment you are likely doing something wrong and are not long for this site.

Trolls will pop in from time to time. The best thing to do is probably to ignore them but that's not as much fun as crushing them with wit and logic. Then Chemmy or I can crush them under our bootheels.

Profile Pictures: This is a way of replacing the generic SBN star and lets you customize your profile. Definitely add one. It helps highlight your personality.

Photos: In many of our stories you will see pictures that are provided courtesy of the Associated Press or Getty. If you click on that photo, you will be brought to a gallery of related photos.

FanPosts: Have something you want to discuss? Something that's not getting the attention it deserves? Not reading what interests you? Write it up. It is simple enough that Senators fans can do it. If it's really good you might see it on the front page. If it really flaunts the guidelines, you might find it deleted.

FanShots: These are meant to be quick hit items (videos, quotes, links, lists). Check if it's been posted before in the morning links (From The Branches - FTB) or as a FanShot because I'll delete repeated material.

Tagging: Tagging fanshots and fanposts properly ensures that the SBN magic built into the platform works to its fullest. When you click through to a story, fanpost, or fanshot proper tagging ensures that the most relevant related stories, fanposts, and fanshots appear. Not doing so means that I have to do it and that makes me cranky.

Commenting: This is your main avenue for contributing to the site. Offer up your thoughts on the posts or on other commenters' comments. But please, for the Love of Wendel, use capitals, punctuation, and spell as well as you can. No one's expecting you to mimic Howard Berger's use of a thesaurus but if u rite lik dis eye will h8 u 4eva. Also, I'll delete your comments.

Player rosters and Schedule: At the top of the home page, there is a tab for "players". By clicking the tab, you can see the player page for every player on the Maple Leafs roster along with all their stats. The Maple Leafs' schedule is also there.

Game Day Threads: During every Maple Leafs game there is a game day thread if you want to chat with fellow Maple Leaf fans. Wrap Around Curl is the boss. When she says 'keep it cute or put it on mute' she means 'follow the rules'. Do that and everything will be fun. Usually at least one or two other members of the PPP team are in there. The threads go live 30 minutes before the puck drops unless I forgot that Wrap told me she couldn't make it.

PPP Dictionary: Ever wonder what the "!!!1" at the end of words means? What are the inside jokes? Well, check out the site dictionary and then you're on the inside too. Welcome, it's dark and scary but funny.

Post Topics: There are a few posts that are done every day. One is the Chatty Cathy. That's where all non-hockey talk gets corraled. Drop in, introduce yourself, literally talk about anything (almost). Read a few to get a sense of how things work. The other is the From The Branches morning links roundup. If you have a Leafs blog e-mail me and we'll make sure you get added to our Google Readers. If you're missed or have links to share this is the place for general hockey talk. Every other post should try to stay on topic as much as possible since I know we all have ADD.

Share us on Facebook: Also at the bottom of every story, you will see a button to share the story on Facebook. If you like the story, share us.

"Re-tweet" us!: If you are on Twitter, you can click the "Re-tweet" button at the bottom of every story and share it with your followers.

Follow us on Twitter: Your Pension Plan Puppets team can all be followed on Twitter! Here is how to find the folks that make this site run smoothly:

@mlse - PPP

@felixpotvin - Chemmy (Note: if you message him as if he was the real Felix Potvin he won't correct you)

@wraparoundcurl - Wrap Around Curl, finally, an easy one.

@SkinnyFishbowl - SkinnyFish

@gottabe_KD - Karina

@mforbes37 - MF37

@1967ers - 1967ers

Also, if you follow any of us on Twitter, you can hunt and peck through our followers lists, and you will see that many of our great posters are on Twitter as well.

E-mail me: At the bottom of the home page, you can email some of us. If you have an idea for something you would like to see on the site, or if you have a comment, complaint, or compliment, let me know and then I'll delegate the shit out of it. This site is for all of us, we want all of you to be a part of it, and we really do value your input. Note to trolls: any ludicrous hate mail will be published and mocked.

Oh go ahead and register, you know you want to: If you've been lurking, don't be afraid to join the conversation! We're all Leafs fans and we all have pretty diverse opinions and haven't killed each other yet so odds are you won't be the first. Even if you don't want to contribute the link will explain why registering makes your lurking experience better.

And with that, the class is over. Taking the time to read through all of the links will be beneficial to everyone so please, at your convenience, take a stroll through them. Now, for the quiz: What number would you wear if you were a Maple Leaf?

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