This idea was kicked around some time ago. I was bored tonight, so I typed this in...
Should I register for a membership? How much does it cost?
Absolutely you should register for a membership! It is
free to register, and until you do, your actions are limited to reading posts. For some, and we could never know who or how many, reading the posts is sufficient. But to participate in the discussion, you need to register. There are many members who registered years ago and are still very active in the forum.
How do I show that I am referencing a rule from the rulebook? ...a case from the casebook?
The convention has been to reference
rules with dashes, and to reference
cases with dots. Here are some examples: Rule 2-3 is the elastic power rule, while case 2.3 gives examples how to implement rule 2-3. Some reference rules using R2-S3-A1 to mean Rule 2, Section 3, Article 1.
What is the difference between a Member and a Senior Member?
A newly joined participant is a Member. When that person
reaches 100 posts, they are bumped to the Senior Member category.
Why doesn't the search function work?
The search function was disabled because the forum has become so large, that allowing searches using the internal search function degrades performance.
As an alternative, you can use Google's (or other search engine) advanced search functions, limiting the search to
officialforum.com
Google example:
catching your own shot site: officialforum.com
What rule sets are discussed?
Most posts are questions and/or discussions surrounding the
Federation (
Fed,
NFHS) rule set. The next most common discussed posts deal with
NCAA (College) rules.
NBA and
FIBA (International) posts do show up from time to time.
Keep in mind that many posts deal with
officiating philosophies. These topics are universal, and could differ between codes, governing authorities, or in the rarest of cases, between local associations.
I see acronyms/slang in many of the posts. What do they mean?
Leagues and Their Websites
NFHS, Fed, Federation : National Federation of State High School Associations, http://www.nfhs.org
NCAA : National Collegiate Athletic Association, http://www.ncaasports.com
NBA : National Basketball Association, http://www.nba.com
WNBA : Womens National Basketball Association, http://www.wnba.com
NBDL : National Basketball Development League, http://www.nbdl.com
NAIA : National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, http://www.naia.org
FIBA : Fédération Internationale de Basketball, http://www.fiba.com
Divisions
V : Varsity
BV : Boys' Varsity
GV : Girls' Varsity
JV : Junior Varsity
BJV : Boys' Junior Varsity
GJV : Girls' Junior Varsity
FR : Freshman
D-I, D1 : NCAA Division 1
D-II, D2 : NCAA Division 2
D-III, D3 : NCAA Division 3
JUCO : Junior College or Community College
Officials
T : Trail
L : Lead
C : Center
R : Referee
U, U1, U2 : Umpires
Players
Ax : Team A player where x denotes a unique player
Bx : Team B player where x denotes a unique player
Areas of the Court
FC : Frontcourt
BC : Backcourt
SL : Sideline
EL : Endline
IB : Inbounds
OOB : Out of bounds
FRA : Foul Reporting Area
Violations
BI : Basket Interference
GT : Goaltending
O/B : Over and Back
Fouls
PC : Player Control
TC : Team Control
T : Technical
F : Flagrant
INT : Intentional
CF : Common Foul
DF : Double Foul
Whack : Technical Foul
General
POI : Point of Interruption
POE : Point of Emphasis
LGP : Legal Guarding Position
FT : Free Throw
FG : Field Goal
3FG : 3-Point Field Goal
OT : Overtime
TO : Timeout
Blarge : A case where at least one official signals a block and at least 1 official signals a PC
HM : Howler Monkey
Where can I buy basketball officiating gear (clothing)?
There are many places. These are the most common:
US
Honig's www.honigs.com
The Official's Choice www.theofficialschoice.com
Canada
Honig's Canada www.honigs-canada.com
World of Sports www.worldofsports.ca
Im interested in demographics of the forum. Is there anything for me?
There is a map hosted by Frappr. Visit
www.frappr.com/officialforumbasketball
Any additions/deletions/changes?
[Edited by JugglingReferee on Feb 16th, 2006 at 11:05 AM]