Due to heavy criticism as of late of our fanposts we have been getting, We have decided to institute tighter qualifications for writing a fanpost. We want a fanpost to be as good as an article is on here. If you just have something to say, Fanshots are a better option. Clearly, a better Fanpost section is desired on Bucem, so that is what we will have.

To summarize the changes:

Fanposts should be well written with little to no grammatical errors. Use Word or follow your browser's recommendations. It should be thought provoking. Telling us Boldin was signed by the Ravens is for a Fanshot. Telling us WHY Boldin being signed by the Ravens is bad news for the Bucs is a story worthy of being on the fanpost section on Bucem.

For better understanding, I took the time to re--edit the FANPOST/FANSHOT guidelines, which will be printed below after the jump.

Or you can simply go to the following links...

Fanshot/Fanpost Guidelines

General Bucem Community Guidelines

FanPosts and FanShots:

Disclaimer: Feel free to create a FanPost; however please read below and consider before doing so. One helpful  hint, if you cant reach the 75 word minimum, you need to put more thought into it....or make a FanShot instead!

FanPosts:

FanPosts are just like front page stories, except they're written by you, the Buc ‘Em reader. They expand upon ideas  or  link to a relevant article, or are a "thinking question" for others to consider, etc. -- something beyond just the main idea itself.  Post your own opinions, too. They explore a topic, idea, or question. You can help keep the best FanPosts on the list longer by recommending them using the "Recd" link at the bottom of the post. Three recommendations puts a FanPost on the rec list.

FanPosts have to have a minimum of 75 words. If you cannot come up with the minimum words, then it's probably better off in the FanShot section.

Remember that your opinion may be better suited as a comment in another post. You don't want to write about the same subject someone else has, either in FanPosts or Main Articles; you wont get a lot of positive feedback from that. Creative people should make FanPosts. People with something quick to say about a topic already brought up should leave comments. People who have a photo, video, quote, news to share, should use FanShots.

The guidelines for posting a FanPost are:

·  A FanPost must be at least 75 words long or it is considered to be unsubstantial and will not be accepted by the site.

·  A FanPost must in some way belong on Buc ‘Em -- in other words, it must relate to the Buccaneers, NFL, Football, etc.

·  You shouldn't post more than 2 FanPosts or FanShots (you could have two of each, though) in any given day, and really 3 fanshots on the main section is pushing it, because it pushes everyone elses out and off the front section. If you are really good, we will make an exception to this.

·  It is not permitted to use FanPosts, FanShots, comments or signatures for advertising. Anything posted in a FanPost, FanShot, comment or signature that contains commercial advertising is subject to deletion without notice.

Fanposts that do not meet a quality standard will be removed. We will try to let you know why we removed it, and what you can do to do better next time.

When Should You Post a FanPost?

·  When you have something Substantial to say: When we say "substantial", we don't mean it has to be a dissertation or manifesto. But if you see the dreaded 75 word warning, it's either time to put some more thought into your FanPost or start over.

You wont get comments of a positive nature if you dont have a good 'take'.

·  When you have something Relevant to say: Your FanPost should relate to the Buccaneers in some way. If you want to talk about the Tampa Bay Raysor the Florida State Seminoles, there are sites on SB*Nation for that. If you want to do nothing more than post a link to your site, you're probably a spammer, and should expect your FanPost to be swiftly removed. If all you want to do is post a link to a news story or other online article or page, try a FanShot. If you DO want to tell us breaking news, make a story out of it. Put a bit more time in it. We will delete anyone elses fanshot if they do the same. First come, first serve is the rule.

We don't want to completely discourage Off-Topic FanPosting, particularly during the offseason. But if you're new and if you haven't made a FanPost before, your FanPost on tennis probably isn't going to be received very well. If you do make an Off-Topic post (meaning, specifically, that it is not related to the Tampa Bay Bucs in some way), please put OT: in front of your post. If your post is unworthy, We might delete it, depending of course on the level of unworthiness.

·  When you have something Timely to say:  If the link you're posting is a day or two old, chances are it's been posted once or twice before either in the comments or FanShots (more later). Check to see if it's been posted before. Please use the search function (located at the upper right of the front page) to see if your topic has been covered in the last few days. If it has, your thoughts on that topic can and should be posted as a comment on the original post.

If you do have some breaking news, post away. Even though we try, there's no way we can be the first to hear/read/see every piece of breaking Tampa Bay Buccaneers news. All of our authors have real jobs that do come before SB*Nation. That's where you can help. See above, though; if there's a major Tampa Bay Bucs announcement, and you think that you are absolutely, positively the first one to hear about it, please take a look at the post list first; someone else may have beat you to it.

Above all make your FanPost Coherent

You are much more likely to get someone to read your post if you follow some very simple rules:

·  Use proper spelling. You're not sending a text message. There's no need 4 U 2 use "time saving" abbreviations which only lessen the value of your post.

·  Use punctuation. You wouldn't stand up and attempt to give a speech in one breath, and you shouldn't try to make your FanPost one big sentence that never ends.

·  Use multiple paragraphs. There is something about reading text on the internet that makes reading a large block of text unpleasant and occasionally difficult. The ENTER key can be your friend in comments. In posts, use the "P" button to make paragraphs; highlight the text you want in a paragraph and hit "P"; it will put the proper opening and closing tags there. Be aware that if you are copy pasting a post you have made on another site, it may not keep the same paragraph formatting when posted in a fanpost. Make sure to check this.

·  Use proper formatting. You'd be amazed how much better your piece will be received if it's formatted properly. If I'm greeted by a wall of text in your FanPost, I'm probably not going to make it all the way through. Break it up. Make it more than one paragraph. Use the 'B' and 'I' buttons for bold and italic text, respectively.

The tech team at SB*Nation has built a powerful WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor, which we use all the time, you may opt to use the HTML editor (which is the default box you get if you're making a FanPost). However, if you know how to format using Microsoft Word, you can make a perfectly formatted FanPost here at Buc ‘Em.

·  Start by opening Word.

·  Write your post completely in Word, making all your formatting adjustments there.

·  Highlight and Copy your work.

·  Click New FanPost

·  Click the "Paste From Word" icon (upper right icon in the WYSIWYG editor)

·  Paste your content into the dialog box.

If you dont have word, a great online Grammar and Spelling checker is http://www.essayrater.com/.

NEVER attack a person in a FanPost or its title. Changing someone's name with use of words is an attack on the man, not his sports knowledge or what he does. If you have something to say about a man, BE A MAN and use the persons real name. Derogatory names will cause your post to be edited.

Give it a Descriptive Headline: "Question" may, in fact, be what you are posting, a question you want us to consider; but that doesn't exactly inform us what the topic is about. Your headline should be informative, above all else, with bonus points for creativity.

Here are some Examples:

A Headline: What do you think ?
A Better Headline: Larry English: A promising line backer in the NFL Draft?

A Headline: If you could have. 
A Better Headline: Brett Favre or Jeff Garcia: Who would you rather have?

A Headline: What Do You Guys Make of This?
A Better Headline: Luke McCown says he’s ready to dominate the NFL.

FanShots:

FanShots are quick posts, links, images or videos from around the internet -- it's not just for photos; there are several different types of things you can put in a FanShot. FanShots are for things that aren't long enough for a full FanPost, for example, if you find a link you think is interesting but don't have anything more to add. It could be a photo you find on the internet or a link to an article that mentions the Bucs. You can use it to embed and post YouTube (or other) videos.

When Should You Post a FanShot?

·  Whenever you find a link, a quote, a video, a photo, around the internet that you think your fellow Bucs fans will enjoy.

·  When you don't have any commentary to add other than your link, video, photo or quote.

·  When you can't meet the 75 word minimum for a FanPost.

How Do You Post a FanShot?

1. Click "New FanShot" -- Seems simple, right? While logged in, visit any page of Buc ‘Em and click the handy "New FanShot" button. Enter the link or pic URL in the proper place.

OR

2. Use the FanShot Bookmarklet -- Clicking and dragging the "Share on SB*Nation" button (which you can find here at the top of the FanShot section, right underneath the top ad bar; just click "FANSHOTS" on the front page to get there) to your bookmarks bar (the area under your address bar in your browser) will allow you to post to Buc ‘Em quickly and easily while browsing the internet. Once you have a "Share on SB*Nation" button in your browser, you have one-click posting of FanShots at your fingertips.

Configuring a FanShot:

Just select the type of FanShot you wish to post, apply the proper tags (more later) and hit publish.

Disclaimer: These guidelines are intended to help you understand the policies, procedures, and processes generally used by us at Buc ‘Em. 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.