Re: Before You Post: Know the Rules
by admin » 29 Jun 2026 19:04 (UTC)
Forum Rules
Welcome to the revived Zimbabwe Cricket Forum.
This place exists for one simple reason: watching Zimbabwe play cricket without somewhere familiar to discuss it feels wrong.
The forum is here for strong opinions, match-day frustration, ridiculous XI debates, selection arguments, tactical disagreements, player analysis, banter, nostalgia, and the occasional beautifully unhinged cricket rant.
You are allowed to disagree. You are allowed to be blunt. You are allowed to say that a selection makes no sense, that a player is out of form, that a coach got it wrong, or that Zimbabwe cricket has once again found a new way to test the human spirit.
But there are rules.
1. Stay on topic
Every thread has a topic.
Please try to keep your posts connected to that topic. Match threads should be about the match. Player threads should be about the player. Forum announcement threads should be about the announcement.
A bit of natural drift is fine. Cricket discussions wander. That is part of the charm. But if a thread turns into something completely unrelated, moderators may step in.
2. Disagree without personal attacks
Attack the argument, not the person making it.
You can say:
Do not turn disagreements into personal abuse.
Avoid:
Strong debate is welcome. Personal warfare is not.
3. Be respectful when criticising players, coaches, selectors, and officials
You are free to criticise cricket performance.
You can criticise:
But keep it within bounds.
Do not post personal abuse aimed at players, coaches, selectors, officials, or their families. Criticise what people do in cricket. Do not turn it into personal attacks on who they are.
There is a difference between:
and:
The first is cricket discussion. The second is rubbish.
4. Be very careful with serious claims
This one is important.
This forum is hosted under my name. If someone posts something unlawful, defamatory, or reckless, I may be the one who has to answer questions.
So please be careful with claims that could damage someone’s reputation or create legal problems.
Do not casually accuse people of things like:
If you are discussing a serious allegation, use reliable public sources.
Acceptable sources include:
Not enough:
Rumours that could create legal trouble may be removed immediately.
Members who repeatedly post false, reckless, or defamatory claims may be expelled from the forum without waiting for the three-strikes process.
5. No doxxing or private personal information
Do not post another person’s private information.
This includes:
This applies to forum members, players, coaches, administrators, journalists, and everyone else.
6. No impersonation
Do not pretend to be another person.
This is especially important because old ZCF members can reclaim legacy usernames.
If you claim an old ZCF username, you may be asked to provide evidence. This can include your approximate join year, active period, posting style, old screenshots, old email access, or other details that help verify the claim.
False legacy username claims may lead to immediate removal.
7. No spam, scams, malware, or nonsense flooding
Do not use this forum for:
Spam accounts will be deleted or banned.
8. Language and censorship
This forum may automatically censor certain words when posts are displayed.
That does not mean every rude word is a moderation issue. People get emotional during cricket. Sometimes the batting collapse deserves language normally reserved for engine failure.
But do not use profanity as a weapon against other members, players, coaches, or groups of people.
Swearing at the situation is one thing. Abusing people is another.
9. The three-strikes rule
For ordinary rule-breaking, the forum uses a three-strikes system.
Examples of behaviour that may earn a strike:
Three active strikes may result in a suspension of at least 14 days.
Suspended members can read the forum but cannot post.
Moderators and admins may remove strikes if the situation has clearly improved or if a strike was issued in error.
10. Actions that can lead to immediate expulsion
Some behaviour is serious enough that the three-strikes process may not apply.
You may be expelled immediately for:
This is not because I want to police every sentence. It is because my name is attached to this forum, and I am not volunteering to be dragged into trouble because someone wanted to play courtroom roulette with a cricket rumour.
11. Moderator and admin decisions
Moderators and admins may:
If you disagree with a moderation decision, raise it calmly.
Do not start a public war in every thread. That gets boring quickly, and cricket already gives us enough suffering.
12. Final principle
This forum is meant to feel like ZCF again: opinionated, funny, argumentative, cricket-obsessed, and full of familiar personalities.
But it also has to remain readable, safe, and legally survivable.
I am a huge proponent of free speech. Say whatever the f**k you want as long as it is on topic, isn't a personal attack or a false/defamatory claim.
So the rule is simple:
Talk cricket. Argue properly. Don’t attack people. Don’t post reckless claims. Don’t make the forum owner regret reviving the place.
Welcome to the revived Zimbabwe Cricket Forum.
This place exists for one simple reason: watching Zimbabwe play cricket without somewhere familiar to discuss it feels wrong.
The forum is here for strong opinions, match-day frustration, ridiculous XI debates, selection arguments, tactical disagreements, player analysis, banter, nostalgia, and the occasional beautifully unhinged cricket rant.
You are allowed to disagree. You are allowed to be blunt. You are allowed to say that a selection makes no sense, that a player is out of form, that a coach got it wrong, or that Zimbabwe cricket has once again found a new way to test the human spirit.
But there are rules.
1. Stay on topic
Every thread has a topic.
Please try to keep your posts connected to that topic. Match threads should be about the match. Player threads should be about the player. Forum announcement threads should be about the announcement.
A bit of natural drift is fine. Cricket discussions wander. That is part of the charm. But if a thread turns into something completely unrelated, moderators may step in.
2. Disagree without personal attacks
Attack the argument, not the person making it.
You can say:
- “I disagree with that XI.”
- “That selection makes no sense.”
- “That argument is weak.”
- “I think you are underrating this player.”
Do not turn disagreements into personal abuse.
Avoid:
- insulting another member personally
- following people from thread to thread to provoke them
- turning every disagreement into a fight
- making the forum unpleasant for everyone else
Strong debate is welcome. Personal warfare is not.
3. Be respectful when criticising players, coaches, selectors, and officials
You are free to criticise cricket performance.
You can criticise:
- selection decisions
- captaincy
- tactics
- batting, bowling, and fielding
- fitness
- form
- coaching decisions
- administration and governance
But keep it within bounds.
Do not post personal abuse aimed at players, coaches, selectors, officials, or their families. Criticise what people do in cricket. Do not turn it into personal attacks on who they are.
There is a difference between:
That was a poor shot.
and:
This person is worthless.
The first is cricket discussion. The second is rubbish.
4. Be very careful with serious claims
This one is important.
This forum is hosted under my name. If someone posts something unlawful, defamatory, or reckless, I may be the one who has to answer questions.
So please be careful with claims that could damage someone’s reputation or create legal problems.
Do not casually accuse people of things like:
- corruption
- criminal conduct
- match-fixing
- sexual misconduct
- fraud
- theft
- bribery
- drug use
- deliberately throwing matches
If you are discussing a serious allegation, use reliable public sources.
Acceptable sources include:
- official statements
- court records
- reputable news reports
- ICC, ZC, board, or club statements
- direct public quotes from the person involved
Not enough:
- “I heard from someone”
- “My cousin knows a guy”
- WhatsApp rumours
- anonymous X posts
- vibes
Rumours that could create legal trouble may be removed immediately.
Members who repeatedly post false, reckless, or defamatory claims may be expelled from the forum without waiting for the three-strikes process.
5. No doxxing or private personal information
Do not post another person’s private information.
This includes:
- private phone numbers
- home addresses
- private email addresses
- workplace details not already public
- private messages
- personal family information
This applies to forum members, players, coaches, administrators, journalists, and everyone else.
6. No impersonation
Do not pretend to be another person.
This is especially important because old ZCF members can reclaim legacy usernames.
If you claim an old ZCF username, you may be asked to provide evidence. This can include your approximate join year, active period, posting style, old screenshots, old email access, or other details that help verify the claim.
False legacy username claims may lead to immediate removal.
7. No spam, scams, malware, or nonsense flooding
Do not use this forum for:
- spam
- scams
- malware links
- fake promotions
- commercial advertising without permission
- repeated low-effort flooding
- AI-generated junk posted at volume
Spam accounts will be deleted or banned.
8. Language and censorship
This forum may automatically censor certain words when posts are displayed.
That does not mean every rude word is a moderation issue. People get emotional during cricket. Sometimes the batting collapse deserves language normally reserved for engine failure.
But do not use profanity as a weapon against other members, players, coaches, or groups of people.
Swearing at the situation is one thing. Abusing people is another.
9. The three-strikes rule
For ordinary rule-breaking, the forum uses a three-strikes system.
Examples of behaviour that may earn a strike:
- personal attacks
- repeated thread derailment
- baiting or trolling
- ignoring moderator/admin instructions
- abusive criticism of players or coaches
- reposting content that was removed
- repeated low-quality disruption
Three active strikes may result in a suspension of at least 14 days.
Suspended members can read the forum but cannot post.
Moderators and admins may remove strikes if the situation has clearly improved or if a strike was issued in error.
10. Actions that can lead to immediate expulsion
Some behaviour is serious enough that the three-strikes process may not apply.
You may be expelled immediately for:
- posting defamatory or legally dangerous claims after warning, or in a serious case without warning
- threats or encouragement of violence
- doxxing
- impersonating another member
- false legacy username claims made in bad faith
- spam, scams, or malware
- ban evasion
- harassment of members
- posting illegal content
- repeatedly trying to create legal risk for the forum
This is not because I want to police every sentence. It is because my name is attached to this forum, and I am not volunteering to be dragged into trouble because someone wanted to play courtroom roulette with a cricket rumour.
11. Moderator and admin decisions
Moderators and admins may:
- edit or remove posts
- lock threads
- move discussions
- issue warnings or strikes
- suspend accounts
- reject username claims
- remove spam
- delete or hide legally risky content
If you disagree with a moderation decision, raise it calmly.
Do not start a public war in every thread. That gets boring quickly, and cricket already gives us enough suffering.
12. Final principle
This forum is meant to feel like ZCF again: opinionated, funny, argumentative, cricket-obsessed, and full of familiar personalities.
But it also has to remain readable, safe, and legally survivable.
I am a huge proponent of free speech. Say whatever the f**k you want as long as it is on topic, isn't a personal attack or a false/defamatory claim.
So the rule is simple:
Talk cricket. Argue properly. Don’t attack people. Don’t post reckless claims. Don’t make the forum owner regret reviving the place.
ZCF Admin
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