Why do we have group rules?
The rules that govern LAFB Inshore exist so you always find what you're looking for:
Our Community Rules
1
Treat others how you want to be treated.
No foul language, no putting other people down, no disrespecting admin.
No annoying "creel police".
Don't have anything nice to say? Don't say it all!
You get it.
2
No Foul Language
I want people to be able to read these fishing reports without the foul language.
So keep it clean.
3
No Creel Police
You're not a deep-cover agent for Wildlife and Fisheries, so keep it to yourself if you think a fish in someone's report isn't a legal length, because it probably is.
4
Louisiana-based, inshore fishing reports and discussion only.
My site, LAFishBlog.com, is focused on inshore fishing in Louisiana, and so is our community.
Not noodling in Oklahoma, not offshore fishing in the Gulf, etc.
If you post a video or additional pictures for your report, then please include a link to the original report. We ask this because when people search for past fishing reports we want them to be able to find them, and not videos or pictures that appear to be bragging reports (though they are not).
5
Allowed Species
Stick with inshore species, please.
The only exception is largemouth bass, because of its national popularity and that we catch them in the same spots we catch redfish and speckled trout.
Species like red snapper, marlin, tarpon, tuna, great white sharks, sacalait, channel catfish, choupique etc. don't count.
6
No Brag Reports
A "brag" or "ego" report has only a picture of fish and accompanying text like, "We whacked 'em."
These sorts of posts are not allowed because they're not helpful to the community and all they do is serve the person who posted it.
LAFB Inshore is not the place if you need your ego stroked.
Instead, we ask that fishing reports include what's in Rule Seven.
7
Include these three things in your fishing report:
We require that fishing reports, at a bare minimum, include these details:
That's it. If you want to add more detail, then go ahead. A lot of folks do! Otherwise we're not asking for your "honey hole" or to spoon-feed anyone.
By "general area" we mean examples like Hopedale, Dularge, Venice, Rigolets, etc.
Exact bodies of water are not required.
8
No post hijacking.
If you have a new fishing report or discussion, then please start a new thread.
This also applies to threads you started.
9
No buy/sell ads or advertising your business.
LAFB Inshore is not a place to advertise your business, buy/sell, or grow your social media (this includes YouTube channels).
Only admin-approved forum sponsors are allowed to advertise within LAFB Inshore.
10
No "should I go fishing" posts.
Also included are "where should I go fishing", "what are the conditions like", "do you think it'll be good", etc.
The answer will always be "yes, you should go fishing" and "you've got to go to know".
I don't allow these posts because they only serve the person asking them, and the poster rarely, if ever, returns to share a report.
My suggestion is to go fishing, post reports, and build a relationship with locals so you always have a point-of-contact. Otherwise, LAFB Inshore will not be clogging people's newsfeeds with last minute self-serving.
11
No off-topic posts.
LAFB Inshore is not the place to discuss religion, politics, Einstein's Theory of General Relativity or whatever.
This includes viral videos, funny cat memes or anything you may find interesting, but ultimately doesn't pertain to inshore fishing or contributes to a healthy discussion.
This also includes environmental activism and local politics.
In short, if it doesn't directly contribute to helping someone catch a fish, then don't post it.
12
No Mechanical Help Posts
It's not fun when your boat breaks down, but LAFB Inshore is not the place to get help to fix it.
We don't allow such posts because time has revealed that the OP hardly ever comes back to contribute to the community.
If you haven't gotten the point yet, we really don't like taking and not giving.
13
No Business Recommendations
Just like Rules Six and Seven, this is another type of post we've disallowed because of its hit-and-run nature.
If you're looking for recommendations on guides, lodges or whatever, it's strongly suggested you solicit Yelp, Google, Travel Advisor, Air BnB and all the other resources out there.
Otherwise we want to talk fishing in LAFB Inshore, not who has the best pillows :)
At the end of the day...
These rules aren't designed so folks can "game the system", they're here to provide a great online community for Louisiana's inshore anglers.
Deciding what stays and goes ultimately falls into the hands of the admin, whom I know and trust.
After all, members and their user experience are important to me.
Not giving bullies a second chance. Not hand-holding grown men on the Internet.
How we enforce these rules:
First and foremost, we will remove the offending post, or ask that the OP make the necessary corrections.
If it's an honest mistake, no biggie. Mistakes happen all the time. We're all human. It happens.
Unfortunately, we don't have time to message every single person about every single post, so understand that if your post doesn't match the rules above, it could be removed without warning.
Should someone blatantly disregard the rules, be a continual problem, and/or openly disrespectful, then they will be removed from the group.
If it's bad enough, we'll see that they are permanently banned from the group.
I've done this dozens of times and have no problems with telling that person "no, you cannot re-enter the group" after they acted like fools, doing one or all of the above.
Otherwise, happing posting!
- Devin from LAFB
