The Editor's Thread: My Site Expectations

By Paul Semendinger

April 20, 2025

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There will be no Readers' Thread today.

Instead, I'd like to make clear a few expectations I have for this site.

The first expectation is very clear, and simple, I want this to be a place where baseball fans can come to find news, stories, and great writing, mostly about the Yankees. This is what we do here. We've been doing it every day since October 2017. What we're doing works. We're also very good at it. (I think we're the best.)

All fans are welcome here. Fans who love the Yankees are welcome here. Fans who hate the Yankees are welcome here. Fans who have no opinions about the Yankees are welcome here.

Next, and this is very important, this is a baseball site. Baseball. It is supposed to be fun. None of this is serious or important in the grand scheme of life. I laugh when my friend EJ calls me the Yankee Pessimist on his podcast. I've always been the guy who is Mr. Positive, but I want the Yankees to win so badly, that I sometimes look at the team with a glass half full mentality. Still, I keep it in perspective. Yes, I write what I feel and believe, but I never lose sleep over the Yankees (except when I stay up late watching games). When the Yankees lose, life goes on.

Next, this site does not have a singular perspective. Our writers agree on some things, but we do not agree on everything. Behind the scenes we have our own debates and discussions. I have never told a writer to have any opinion about anything. The writers here share their own honest perspectives. They are free to praise or critique the Yankees however they want (respectfully). This is an honest and open forum for all our thoughts.

Fans are also welcome to comment on the site. I encourage fans to comment on the site. (Of note, readers now need to register in order to comment due to the fact that we went through a period where we were riddled with spam in the comments. But, once you are registered, you will be able to comment on any of the articles, the game threads, and everything else.) ALL ARE WELCOME.

The expectation for commenting is simple. One must be respectful. Period. I don't allow swearing. I don't allow profanity. I don't allow bullying. I think the rest is obvious. Here is a simple rule of thumb - this is a family site. A young fan should be able to come here and safely read the articles and comments. This is not difficult. Inappropriate comments are taken down as soon as I see them.

In recent weeks, some readers here have developed an incorrect expectation that a person who writes a comment must then engage in a back-and-forth debate, or use statistics, or whatever, to support their comments. Let me be clear - that is NOT necessary. At all.

A person is allowed to write in and say, "The Yankees are horrible" (or whatever). They need not say more. That person does not have to debate that point. At all. Ever. A fan can voice his or her frustration so long as the person is writing in a respectful manner. Period. This is not difficult.

Some of opur readers have now ganged up on one person when he comments. That is unacceptable. And that was bad enough. What is even worse is that now some are calling that person out - even when he doesn't comment. That has happened at least twice. This is also completely unacceptable. Completely. There is no gray area here. None. It's wrong. That type of behavior is not accepted here. It is bullying. Period. Its ends, now.

If a reader doesn't like a comment, that reader is free to ignore it. Or, if one desides to reply to the comment, that new comment should not be demeaning or insulting (either directly or through innuendo). I will soon start to delete comments that are so obscure that I don't even understand them. I'm going to take such comments as ways around this very clear, and very simple, expectation. If a comment is posted that seems insulting to me, it is then by definition, insulting. It's my site. That's my rule. The nonsense will go on no longer.

When people are disrerspectful, rude, or act in these ways, they make this a site where others do not feel free to comment. Readers do not wished to be attacked by anynomyous others just for feeling a certain way about the Yankees. When people see bulling, it ends discussions. They walk away. They leave. Bullying makes the site less welcoming. This then becomes a place where only a few comment. That hurts everyone - including the few who comment.

I want all of the people here, some who I would consider friends, to feel welcomed here. You are. I appreciate all of you. But if these simple rules cannot be followed, you need not comment here. There are other places to go to be rude or disrespectful. I hope you all stay, but if you can't be kind...

Over the years, I had to shut down commenting on articles for some short periods. I've also had to block people. I don't want to do any of that. At all. It's enough work to block all the spam I still get every single day in the manner of requests to join the site. (If you all only knew.)

I want to come here to write about and talk baseball, respectfully. I spend hours every day creating a place where you can all come, for free, to read about and talk about the Yankees. I don't litter the site with ads. I even have high standards for the very few ads that are on the sidebar. Free sites that give the amount of content we give here are far and few. Actually, we're the only ones who do this so well and who provide this much high quality content in this manner.

You are all guests here. You're guests in a home that I have created on-line for baseball fans. SSTN is a wonderful place (that's why you are here). I am not asking too much to expect that my guests all behave responsibly and respectfully toward one another.

I apreciate your understanding.

Now that we all know (or have been reminded of) the rules, I look forward enjoying, together, yet another Yankees season..