but if you can't be nice, at least be entertainng.

from using the word "genius". It is the most overused (and inappropriate) word on this blog.

Even though it's mostly rubbish.

And if you've genuinely not heard of Danny Dyer, EastEnders, Simon Cowell or Rhianna, Google them.

To mention Heather Mills.

Inflections and intentions are often misinterpreted in plain text

..just because you think Belle and Sebastien are shite, it doesn't mean that they are.

Or so others will have you believe.

and then come back a month later, feeling slightly foolish.
(Hi everyone.)

...why people feel the need to contribute to threads merely to say they're not interested in the subject.

Rarely happens here, I'm pleased to say.

try and keep your posts fairly short. We prefer The Great Gatsby to War and Peace.

even if you're a girl.

Nickelback .... there I said it ...

Don't get upset if you start what you think'll be a really interesting thread and it gets no comments. It's pretty random what gets picked up.

and he doesn't NEED to wear the stupid sunglasses for spurious medical reasons.

Don't bother trying to convince the massive otherwise.

It would be easy to get the impression that we're all involved in the media or music biz or something. When we had a 'reveal' thread, we turned out to have a good cross-section of jobs.

The Electric Light Orchestra however cheesy you think they are. Get over it and move on.

"As a Word Blog discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Richard Thompson, Bob Dylan or Van Morrison approaches 1."

to see your posting in the hot topics

don't overcook the goose

multiple postings...unless you have something meaningful to say

Again, it's much better here than on other forums... but still bears repeating.

Imagine the Word blog as a conversation in a pub*. Join in, whether you agree or disagree... but remember it's good mannered & good natured here.

Sometimes the anonymity of the internet means people get a bit rude or aggressive when I'm sure they wouldn't "in real life".

So, whether it's about Bruce Springsteen's work or the use of another poster's grammar... don't say anything you wouldn't be happy to say directly to another person's face.

* Next Word London bloggers real life conversation in a pub: Friday 26th March. all welcome. (apols for threadjack)

If you've pressed the 'post comment' button, do not return to the 'post comment' button. Otherwise, you'll multipost.

Do not respond to an opinion with which you disagree by using either of the following phrases:
"Oh well, each to their own".
"If you don't like it, don't listen to/read/watch it" (delete as applicable).
These phrases are the enemies of this website and their proliferation could threaten its existence.

The correct approach is to fight your corner, even though all reason and the cumulative knowledge of the human race might indicate very clearly that you are wrong.

David Bowie

Post about punk/Industrial. No matter how many times you get told it's not "proper" music ignore the prog mafia.

Any post about anything Andrew Collins has written will divide the massive. Tread carefully. And don't mention the squirrels...

Unless it's really funny or has one of those Downfall parodies on it.

Don't criticise what you don't understand.

Please include just a few words to say what it is. Remember that some members of the massive have slow or severely restricted Internet access and cannot/are not allowed to watch You Tube.*

Even if we can't watch the clip, we might want to know what is, in your opinion, the best ever bass solo/guitar break/hand-clapping/scary kids movie etc..

*(yes, we know all about VPNs, Tor and Foxy Proxy - try streaming using these 'solutions').

or bands that "can't play their instruments very well", remember some of those bands might have had a very big impact on certain Blogger's lives (well, that's me then isn't it...?!).

I see this place as like a friendly pub, with a range of people in it - we don't all like the same music, but we are bound together by feeling strongly about music.

Sometimes things you say will be misinterpreted - sometimes you will misunderstand someone else. I have found the easiest thing to do is to ask for clarification in case I have picked someone up wrong, and also to apologise if I have upset or annoyed someone. This nearly always leads to a friendly reconciliation.

I prefer threads where we talk about things we like, as opposed to things we don't like. There are many bands who I cannot stand (for a range of reasons from pomposity to twiddliness to ... anyway) but I do try to resist the temptation to stick the boot into them when they are mentioned. Some of them are other people's favourite bands and I accept that my near irrational loathing of (it really doesn't matter who they are, it's a general point) is not going to change the opinion of a poster who has a fond memory soundtracked by that band.

Considering this is the internet, we do generally all rub along pretty well with each other, and that is a Good Thing.

Don't assume that because you reside within the confines of the M25 you are somehow more clued up than the majority of contributors from the remainder of the planet.

...pass it on...avoiding corporate bollocks (see separate thread)

Read The Word regularly (a subscription helps).

... to your FPO.

....don't pretend that your opinion is really controversial when it isn't. I've lost count of the number of times somebody has said, oh, something like that "The Shadows did neat dance steps" and then followed it with "retreats to safe distance". It implies that everyone else is easily gulled.

I was shocked and surprised at the wholesome and clean-shaven look adopted by The Word Bloggers at the recent pub get-together.

I'm meant to be the resident punk rocker complaining about the beards on each front cover and the championing of bands that sound like The Carpenters and look like extras out of The Waltons - and yet I was the only one who had a bloody beard!!

If you want us to hear one song that rocks your world, offer at least one alternative to the standard spotify link.

A little while ago somebody put up a beautiful collection of "shoegazing" tunes. I was even more impressed he used a slightly more international option of putting his selection up through Grooveshark.

I know Spotify is the business for sharing music - IF you have access to it. For those of us living outside the UK it sometimes feels like your friends have that super cool new toy that you know your parents can't afford to get.

Roberta from Spotify™

anything as "seminal" (unless you're talking about semen), and do not describe every double album as a "sprawling masterwork", even if it is - it's not even appealing when Stuart Maconie does it.

Please remember that not all of us live in London, and that despite what some of you might assume, Apple have a 14% (and not a 100%) share in the smartphone market; there is no-one more punchable than an apple fanboy in geek-talk overdrive.

Please remember that it is quite possible to enjoy both Eater AND Supertramp (but only just), that not all of us have an FPO and massivelets at home, and above all else please be mindful that this is a site that is mostly used by men, rather than a men's site. I hate to be a great big PC monkey, but the occasional moment of casual sexism is annoying, not because it's "right off", but because it's lazy and presumptuous.

And it's not daring to suggest that Simply Red, Phil Collins and Dire Straits have had their moments; merely true.

If you read something that tickles your fancy. It's polite.

It is advisable not to drink while reading the blog. Many a monitor has been sprayed by tea/coffee/coke/single malt whisky in the past. Occasionally some posts are that good.

Just simply post, even if you don't think anyone will reply.

They'll at least read it.

... in complimenting Word staff about a new format to the magazine. It makes them really happy - and none of them seem to realise that the implication is that the previous format must have been really shit :).

Write about anything you damn well want, from Punk to ornamental wooden hippos from Benin (of which there is one in this room at my eye-line at the moment).

Just be concise, witty and enthusiastic. There are some eloquent ladies and gentlemen here who make my day on a regular basis with turns of phrase you simply will not find anywhere else in cyberspace.

Make me laugh if you're in the mood. Make me think if you're not. Inform me anyway.

It's great here.

... but txt spk & emoticons are 2 b avoided ;-(

I personelly try to keep my spelling and grammer good and make good use of the edit fasillity to remove typoos as well.

It's by no means compulsory but it does give the place a nice tone.

David Hepworth mentioned a while back that he gets up early on saturday morning to clean up all the broken glasses on the floor from the night before. Thanks David.
I think that Friday night posts should be given a little slack. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has woken on saturday and had a litttle shudder thinking 'oh why did i post that?' Sorry for mine but it's the end of a working week and some of us let our hair down a bit and drink the odd bevy or whatever floats our boat.
Friday night 80's disco night was great fun though!

...examples being Led Zep at the O2, the last new Dylan/U2 album, the Beatles reissues and so on, think before starting the 25th thread on the same topic that week. The Word is pretty good at avoiding hyperbole, sometimes at times of high excitement the blog less so.

Be tolerant as we do not all share the same perspective, beliefs, humour or idea of what is appropriate behaviour. Maybe it's best just to ignore some things.

No one's in charge here other than The Word.

Just follow the FAQs. They're the only rules you need. No other restrictions should apply, no matter what anyone says.

Develop a bit of a thick skin - i.e. best not to be too sensitive.

Often the less cool, the more interesting.

and Paul Beard will be upset by that fact.

Patrick Crowther is a top chap and shares my love of Supertramp and we also both live in Oxford(ish).

And threads on Kate Bush and pedantic views on our mother tongue will be read!

... before starting a new thread. The self same subject may have been posted yesterday to which your added comments would doubtless be invaluable

to posts by David Hepworth

..and bloody learn.

The three 'P-'...er, the 'P, T and B'.

Apologies if somebody's already done this comment...

Accept that Master Lewry should be listened to at all times, for verily he is the Kofi Annan of Development Hell.

Yes, wrong spellings and misplaced apostrophes are irritating. Don't let it consume you.

and don't worry because Fraser will let you change it to something less embarassing someday, maybe.

grand sweeping gernalisations about a place you may have had a fortnight's fly-drive in and your company sent you to twice.

I`m a bit of a newcomer to all this but did pose a question last week to which no-one replied or even made up an answer and it`s a question thats been bugging me for years......someone "out there" must have a theory..

Why is the 10CC drummer Paul Burgess introduced on a live album as "the man responsible for the windscale disaster"?

Help me help me help me.....

It could be couldn`t it? But I recall there is some laughter from the audience so could be a big private joke.
I`ll have to go and listen to it now.....oh, and it was Andy Peebles making the announcement.

It was one of many year zeros, all of which co-incide with someones discovery of the music that speaks to them.

Noteable year zeros include 1956, 1962, 1966, 1976, 1988 and probably many more besides.

a more imaginative word for those common slang terms that seem to pepper most blogs. Y'know, the f-bomb, the c-word, ecky th*mp and the like.

Having said all that, my favourite censorship on this blog in the past has to be "f**uck". Still trying to fathom that one out.

only any good with PG on the vocals, some say otherwise but they're meringue

*meringue means wrong

but then every internet forum has its nutjobs.

The best craic I had last year, online, was the Glastonbury weekend at the Word blog. Not to be missed.

I'm cringing reading all of these DONT'S and ticking off the ones I've done without realising it. Please forgive me!

You could write a brilliantly witty and erudite post, but your inability to perform simple sums will prevent you from posting.

it would be of hemispheres

a number of times I have thought aboutputting pen to paper to object to various slights

references to bruce or sheila or crocodile dundee when a review is of an australian band, nay anything australian

one review, a few editions ago, suggested a band's retro style was because it took a long time for new music to reach australia

I didn't

but I have now

..that yer average Englishman's antipathy to Australia is born of jealousy.

Probably the first thing many of us do after logging on to the internet is to check out this blog.

Let's keep it that way!