Post by Jeannie on Sept 17, 2013 10:24:39 GMT -5
If this is your first time joining a BNL message board, WELCOME! Here are a few tips for helping you join in the discussions!
1. The internet is a wonderful thing. You can find information about BNL's tour and the general history of the band at www.barenakedladies.com, and you can see many of their videos at www.youtube.com/artist/barenaked-ladies . You can also check out our website at www.bnlfans.net. If you come on the board and immediately ask "When is BNL coming to X" or a similar question that can easily be answered by a quick Google search, the impression you are giving other members is that you are not interested in taking 30 seconds to answer simple questions. As you can imagine, that's not the best way to present yourself as a first impression.
2. This board is fan run. We do not have an address or email for you to contact the band or their management directly, nor can we influence them to play in certain locations. If the answer to "When is BNL coming to X" is "not on this tour", we can't explain to you why they chose not to play there.
3. Likewise, the band members rarely post on message boards (while not entirely unheard of, it has only occurred a handful of times over the years). While it's true that the boards are visible to anyone, including band members, who want to read them, this is not the forum for trying to have conversations with the band. If a band member does register an account, we will make every effort to verify that they are who they say they are.
4. Occasionally fans may have memorabilia that they are trying to sell. Bnlfans.net is not responsible for these transactions and cannot attest to the reliability or provenance of any offers that are posted here. We recommend that you take precautions to protect yourself, your identity, and your finances whenever you consider participating in an online exchange of goods or services. If you feel that an exchange has gone poorly, you may share the relevant details to assist other members in future transactions, but recognize that the other member will also be allowed to respond with their side of the story. We will allow some back-and-forth discussion with the hopes that both sides can find a satisfactory resolution, but will lock down discussions that become unproductive or overly hostile.
5. Many members have been fans of BNL for decades now. There are many close friendships and inside jokes floating around the internet, and as a newer member, you won't "get" every single joke that's made or understand all of the connections between fans. If you are confused or feel like a comment was directed at you, the best approach is to ask for clarification before getting upset--there is a good chance that the other posters are posting something to make each other laugh, and weren't even referring to you. The longer term fans who post here are open to meeting new fans (heck, we were all new fans once!), so don't feel like there's an "unbreakable" clique of people who are immediately going to ignore you. Join in discussions, don't demand answers to questions that are easy to find or impossible to answer, and approach conversations in a positive manner, and you'll soon make lots of BNL friends!
6. On the other hand, there are pockets of BNL fans who've decided for various reasons that they no longer want to be active in the fan community. In some cases, they've left legacy sites on the web to share the information they gathered when they were more involved. We appreciate the efforts they've made in gathering and preserving earlier BNL history and we respect that they've chosen to allow us to still access this material after they've decided to step away. If you come across one of these sites in your exploration of all things BNL, please feel free to discuss the BNL related materials. However, we will not tolerate insults or complaints about their current lack of interest in participating in BNL discussions.
7. Have fun! Liking BNL is a fun hobby, and should never be a negative thing. If you are finding yourself getting angry or upset about discussions, take a break and go do something else, even if you need to step away for an extended period of time. We'll still be here when you are ready to rejoin the fun!
1. The internet is a wonderful thing. You can find information about BNL's tour and the general history of the band at www.barenakedladies.com, and you can see many of their videos at www.youtube.com/artist/barenaked-ladies . You can also check out our website at www.bnlfans.net. If you come on the board and immediately ask "When is BNL coming to X" or a similar question that can easily be answered by a quick Google search, the impression you are giving other members is that you are not interested in taking 30 seconds to answer simple questions. As you can imagine, that's not the best way to present yourself as a first impression.
2. This board is fan run. We do not have an address or email for you to contact the band or their management directly, nor can we influence them to play in certain locations. If the answer to "When is BNL coming to X" is "not on this tour", we can't explain to you why they chose not to play there.
3. Likewise, the band members rarely post on message boards (while not entirely unheard of, it has only occurred a handful of times over the years). While it's true that the boards are visible to anyone, including band members, who want to read them, this is not the forum for trying to have conversations with the band. If a band member does register an account, we will make every effort to verify that they are who they say they are.
4. Occasionally fans may have memorabilia that they are trying to sell. Bnlfans.net is not responsible for these transactions and cannot attest to the reliability or provenance of any offers that are posted here. We recommend that you take precautions to protect yourself, your identity, and your finances whenever you consider participating in an online exchange of goods or services. If you feel that an exchange has gone poorly, you may share the relevant details to assist other members in future transactions, but recognize that the other member will also be allowed to respond with their side of the story. We will allow some back-and-forth discussion with the hopes that both sides can find a satisfactory resolution, but will lock down discussions that become unproductive or overly hostile.
5. Many members have been fans of BNL for decades now. There are many close friendships and inside jokes floating around the internet, and as a newer member, you won't "get" every single joke that's made or understand all of the connections between fans. If you are confused or feel like a comment was directed at you, the best approach is to ask for clarification before getting upset--there is a good chance that the other posters are posting something to make each other laugh, and weren't even referring to you. The longer term fans who post here are open to meeting new fans (heck, we were all new fans once!), so don't feel like there's an "unbreakable" clique of people who are immediately going to ignore you. Join in discussions, don't demand answers to questions that are easy to find or impossible to answer, and approach conversations in a positive manner, and you'll soon make lots of BNL friends!
6. On the other hand, there are pockets of BNL fans who've decided for various reasons that they no longer want to be active in the fan community. In some cases, they've left legacy sites on the web to share the information they gathered when they were more involved. We appreciate the efforts they've made in gathering and preserving earlier BNL history and we respect that they've chosen to allow us to still access this material after they've decided to step away. If you come across one of these sites in your exploration of all things BNL, please feel free to discuss the BNL related materials. However, we will not tolerate insults or complaints about their current lack of interest in participating in BNL discussions.
7. Have fun! Liking BNL is a fun hobby, and should never be a negative thing. If you are finding yourself getting angry or upset about discussions, take a break and go do something else, even if you need to step away for an extended period of time. We'll still be here when you are ready to rejoin the fun!
so great to have a forum!! whoop whoop 
?