This post is intended to serve as a quick introduction to Journals on Hornets247. If you have any questions, let us know via the comments.

What are Journals?

Journals are essentially blog posts written by registered users of Hornets247. (We avoid calling them blog posts so there’s no confusion with those posts written by Ryan and Niall that appear on the site homepage.) It’s all about creating a bunch of quality content that everyone can read, share and enjoy. To that end, each Journal entry should do one or more of the following:

• Entertain the reader.
• Express an educated opinion.
• Generate discussion.
• Inform/educate the reader.
• Share an original thought/idea.

Why would anyone want to write a Journal?

Discussion and Feedback

A good post is sure to generate discussion within the Hornets247 community. Both registered and unregistered users can give feedback via the comments. As such, you don’t need to have extensive knowledge on a certain topic to write a Journal about it. Readers will often help fill in the blanks and offer viewpoints that you may not have considered.

Freedom of speech

You can write about anything and everything so long as it relates in at least some small way to the Hornets. We do of course have some ground rules (see below) to ensure the quality remains high and nobody goes home crying, but for the most part we stay out of the way and let you do your thing.

Climb the Ladder

If you do real well at the Journal stuff, we’ll likely ask you to contribute to the Hornets247 Blog. And if that happens, you’ll have all the money, women and fame your heart desires other basketball geeks will know your name.

Reach

Anything posted in our Journals section is bound to be read by an abundance of knowledgeable Hornets fans. Entries are syndicated via RSS to maximize readership, and we also provide handy promo links (for BallHype, YardBarker, etc) at the bottom of each post.

Network

If you write about basketball or whatever for another site, feel free to link it up at the end of your post. If people dig what you’re writing here, they may be interested in reading more elsewhere. We’re happy to help drive traffic to your site as long as good and relevant content can be found there.

The Ground Rules

Anyone can register here at Hornets247 and begin posting Journal entries right away for the whole world to see. But as Spiderman’s dead uncle once said, with great power comes great responsibility, and with that in mind we moderate with a heavy hand when we have to. Here are some specific rules and guidelines that you should always abide by when posting Journals:

This is not a message board, so don’t treat it like one

Seriously. If you just want to post a funny picture or ask a simple question, you’re in the wrong place. You’re much more likely to get a response by posting such stuff in a forum like Hornets Asylum or Hornets Report (or both).

Check facts and cite sources

Don’t claim something to be fact unless you can back it up. If your post was inspired by something you read on another website, please link to the relevant page of that site. Not only does that ensure proper credit is given, but it also allows the reader to click through and read more on the topic.

Be your own toughest critic

Before posting anything, always stop and ask yourself, “Will anyone be better off having read this?” If the answer is “no” or you’re unsure, don’t post it.

Don’t write angry

If a Hornets player shoots 2-19 from the field and costs us the game at the buzzer, please refrain from claiming him to be the illegitimate spawn of Stephen Hawking and suggesting we trade him to the WNBA for two sports bras and a locker room credential.

So how do I get started?

First, you need to register with the site. Once that’s done, make sure you’re logged in (if not you can log in here), and then go to write a Journal entry. You must provide a title and content before you can save or publish. Be advised that you cannot edit or delete a Journal entry once it has been published.

Questions/Comments?

I’ll be happy to talk about anything Journal-related in the comments below.