Keep Calm and dude, chill, no seriously

This happens. Win or lose, things start to get prickly around this time of year. People bicker with fans of other teams. They bicker with fans of their own team. They bicker with themselves.

This season, let's make an effort to not do this. It's always worse when the team is struggling, and it soon devolves into personal insults and disrespectful disagreements. Let's just not, okay?

Don't agree with someone? Provide a calm, reasonable response. Can't do that? Skip it. Move on. Just leave it alone.

When you read a comment, assume the tone is either neutral or snarky. If you're not sure, ask or post a "not sure if serious" picture in reply. Let's not be reactive because the majority of the time, tone is misinterpreted as more abrasive than it was intended.

I hate it when the conversations need mod intervention, so how about we all do what we can to prevent them from getting to that point in the first place? Everyone—staff and readers—will appreciate it.

Cheers and may the hockey gods smile upon thee.

For relaxation tips, check out

Chill Bro: 5 Tips for Calming Down on the Internet
Calm Clinic: Fool Proof Anxiety Relaxation Techniques
Huffington Post: Positive Affirmations