Chat rules & privacy
A public Oilers conversation
Messages, replies, reactions and your chat name are visible to anyone. Keep it about hockey. No harassment, threats, hate, spam or sharing someone’s private information. Use the flag beside a message to report a problem.
Your chat name
Choose a name or X handle to join. Names are chosen by visitors and do not establish ownership of an X account. Oilogosphere stores a random chat ID, your chosen name, messages, reactions and reports. A secure cookie remembers you on this browser and renews when you return, for up to a year between renewing visits. Signing out or clearing browser data means choosing a name again; entering the same name does not recover your previous messages or identity. No X account or password is required.
Sharing
Share prepares an image of the card or message you selected. You can send the image through your device, copy it into a post or save it to attach yourself. A separate Link only option shares text and a URL. Your chat messages do not otherwise appear on social media.
Posting card images to X
Image sharing is an optional, separate X authorization. After connecting, “Post image + link on X” publishes the displayed card and caption to the connected account. Connecting alone never posts. We keep that account’s access credentials encrypted on the server so you can share again without reconnecting. Disconnect X in the card’s sharing panel to remove the stored connection, or revoke access in X’s settings. We record delivery status and the X post ID to prevent duplicate posts. This does not grant the site permission to post anything you have not selected.
Picks, polls, Oil Pressure & share cards
Your picks, poll votes and confidence rating are saved against your chat identity. Polls allow one vote per chat identity; signing out or clearing cookies does not prove a different person. Shared cards are public snapshots of the rating, prediction, poll results or message you choose to share. Predictions can be edited until the server deadline; a previously shared card still shows its original timestamp. A challenge opens the latest saved pick. Recent results are kept on this browser’s identity; clearing the cookie does not recover them. The confidence average uses each participating identity’s latest vote from the past seven days. Guest identities are not proof of a unique person.
Owner-authorized promotional posts may advertise the activities on @TheOilogosphere. These do not automatically publish visitors’ messages or personal picks.
Activities & predictions
Lineup drafts stay on your browser until you press Share. Shared lineups and three-stars cards are public snapshots with the card credit you enter. Other fans can copy a lineup to make their own version. Remove your own cards from Activities to disable their links. Images already downloaded or copied elsewhere cannot be recalled. Predictions and personal results live on the Activities page. Public prediction standings are currently hidden. Your saved picks and results are retained.
Shared-link activity
We count visits to chat and whether those visits lead to joining, making a pick, rating Oil Pressure, voting in a poll, creating an activity card or posting. A random, first-party cookie groups activity for 30 minutes. Reports retain the source category and activity times for up to 30 days; they do not include your name, message text or IP address. These are approximate browser visits, not verified unique people. Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control signals disable this measurement.
Fan voice on the home page
Use “Feature my take” on your own recent message to submit it for The Quote. Your message and chat name will only be featured after owner approval. Submissions must be 30–280 characters without promotional links. Fan quotes are labelled as opinions, link back to their chat message and expire seven days after posting. Use “Withdraw” beside your message at any time to remove it from consideration or the quote section; this does not delete the chat message. Deleted messages and restricted accounts are not displayed as fan quotes.
Moderation & removal
You can delete your own messages during the first five minutes after posting. The server enforces this deadline. After that, flag the message or contact the owner for a removal request. The owner can remove messages and mute or restrict accounts. Messages remain until deleted; deleted message text is removed from the chat database, while basic records and reports may remain for moderation. Hidden panel choices, draft text and your last-read marker are stored on this browser. For account or data-removal requests, send us a message.