Rules for posting during "Hot Stove" time

Lots of rumors will be flying fast and furious this week. There are four rules that I'm going to ask folks to follow during this period of time, as it relates to posting rumors and the like:

1) No hoax posts where you put something like "FIELDER SIGNS!!!!" in the subject line and then in the body of your post say, "An autograph this morning." Those are stupid and annoying.

2) Provide links or source. If something is on the interwebs or on Twitter that you are citing, link back to it in your post. If it is a radio or TV broadcast, say who and what station.

3) Know the difference between a rumor, speculation and someone talking out of their buttocks. Rumors are worth posting. That's when someone says something definitive that clearly has a source, whether the source is identified or not, i.e., "The Rangers are prepared to offer Mark Buehrle a three year deal." Speculation is more shaky. "Given the Rangers' history, they probably aren't going to offer Buehrle more than three years." Talking out of their buttocks is the author just saying what he thinks should happen -- "I think the Rangers should give Buehrle a five year deal." What is annoying is when someone posts, "Hey, have you heard this rumor about the Rangers trading for Josh Johnson?" and then it turns out they are referencing a Bleacher Report article called "Five Awesome Trades I Totally Think Should Happen!" No one cares about that stuff.

4) Don't cite, quote or reference Incarcerated Bob. Seriously. Don't come into the comments and say, "Incarcerated Bob says Fielder is going to sign tomorrow." Doesn't matter what he says, don't post it.