Post by chipper on Jun 13, 2007 11:35:28 GMT -5
Please read through the rules and guidelines below.
-----
Mission Statement:
"To keep the forums friendly and welcoming to as wide a range of users as possible."
Rules & Guidelines for the forum
Rule -1: In order to keep an eye on trolls and spam bots, please reply to the welcome thread if only to say hello. Those sort of posters are less likely to do so.
Rule 0: This is a privately owned board. Our word is law. None of the following rules give away that right. Despite that, we strive to be reasonable.
Rule 1: Users may be warned, formally or informally; suspended, short-term or long-term; or banned at moderator discretion. We try very hard not to do these things gratuitously. These rules are a guideline, so that we won't have to do them at all.
Rule 2: Respect other users of the forum. Do not make attacks, either in the forums or through Private Messages. Challenging ideas is fine, but do not attack individuals or groups. Racist, sexist, homophobic (including the use of "gay" as a pejorative) and other slurs are prohibited.
Rule 3: Respect our purpose and structure. Post in the appropriate forum.
Rule 4: Respect the law. Do not post anything illegal under UK law or encouraging other users to break UK laws or the laws of their country of residence.
Rule 5: Respect the audience. Do not post pornography and/or anything that can be considered inappropriate graphic sexual content in any format; this includes detailed descriptions of sex acts. Do not post links to pornography or otherwise inappropriate sexually explicit sites. For those threads that are a little 'riske', please preface the title with [NSFW].
Rule 6: Respect privacy. Do not post for public viewing any emails or Private Messages unless you have the explicit written permission of each person involved in the exchange. Do not use posts or parts of posts from these forums for commercial ends without the express permission of each person involved.
Rule 7: Respect our time. We have a forum specifically for selling and buying of game-related items. Do not try and sell items or services elsewhere. Do not spam the forums. Do not spam individual users through Private Messages.
Rule 8: Respect your account. Do not share your account with other individuals, as you will be held responsible for any rules violations that occur under your account. Do not impersonate other users, past or present. Do not impersonate any gaming industry celebrity. Sock-puppet accounts are permitted at moderator discretion.
Rule 9: Respect our expertise. We are gamers, not trained professionals. Do not request emergency crisis counseling or solicit personal financial donations from the forum in general or other users in specific.
Rule 10: Respect our decisions. The moderation team reserves the right to warn, suspend, or permanently ban users judged to be acting against the spirit of the rules, even users conforming to the letter. All moderator decisions may be appealed to the administration. Appeals against moderator decisions should be made through Trouble Tickets or (preferably) handled via PMs to one of the admins. Do not respond to the moderator action in the thread where it was posted.
Five Guidelines for Posting in the forums:
1) Be polite. Try to be considerate. Make some basic attempt at using proper capitalization, punctuation, spelling and grammar, because they all aid in communication. Use profanity as a spice, not the main course. Please do not use HTML to embed sound or video clips (such as those from YouTube) into your posts. If you want to share, post a link instead.
2) Don't threadjack. Derailing a thread's conversation is a good way to annoy the thread's creator and everyone else involved in the conversation. If you absolutely need to discuss something else, find an appropriate thread for your topic or start your own.
3) Don't threadcrap. If you wish to correct what you see as an error or fallacy in the initial post of a thread, that's fine, but if you have a problem with the basic premise of a discussion such that you wish it weren't taking place at all, ignore it. Don't tell everyone in the thread they're wasting their time discussing the issue, because if they agreed with you, they wouldn't be discussing the issue.
4) Think before you post. It can sometimes be hard to determine where acceptable conversation ends and attacks or other rules violations begin, especially in the heat of a debate. If you are unsure whether a post might cross the line, feel free to PM a moderator or administrator for advice — especially before making a post you might regret later.
5) Do not post just to increase your posts count without actually saying anything relevant. Just because you aren't selling something doesn't mean it isn't spamming. (If you just can’t help yourself, there are threads set up specifically for this that are noted as such.)
What to Expect From Moderators:
Firstly, remember that all moderators on these boards are also posters here, and are all individual volunteers. Some variance will occur as a normal by-product of the operation of the site. That said, the moderators do attempt to remain professional and to act consistently as a group.
All Moderator warnings, bans, or suspensions will be made in red text. Period. That way there will be no mistaking a joking comment for an official warning – and warnings will be unmistakable. Do not use red text otherwise.
Any suspensions or bans will be announced in “Trouble Tickets” in a closed thread. The format will be:
Originally Posted by Moderator
User XXX was suspended for YYY days for comments in (Link)
Any thread that is pulled for Mod Review will be announced in “Trouble Tickets” in a closed thread. The format will be:
Originally Posted by Moderator
(Thread Title) was pulled for Moderator Review.
Questionable breaches of the rules, and patterns of behavior that only skirt the rules, will be treated comparatively lightly, but continuing with them will cause rapid escalation up this scale. Breaches of the rules that are clear and problematic will receive more severe attention early on, and will escalate more rapidly if they are continued.
If none of the items on this scale suit the offense in question, then it's entirely possible that a new form of sanction will be created for that offense.
1) Admonition. This is the catch-all term for a mod telling you to that a certain behavior is frowned on by the staff. It's not a Warning, it doesn't get recorded anywhere, and it should be seen as a friendly "heads-up."
2) Warning. A warning is a statement by a mod to a group or individual that they're breaking a Forum Rule or Guideline. They are recorded Backstage. Warnings themselves do not carry any penalty, but we do review a user's history of warnings when deciding sanctions. In practical terms, we tend to forget about warnings after a month or so when viewing a user's history, so warnings from a year ago will rarely have any effect - or even be remembered by the staff. Warnings are a luxury, and Mods are under no compulsion to hand one out before administering a more significant sanction.
3) Thread-Bans. A thread-ban is simply a sanction wherein you are forbidden from taking part in a single thread anymore. The ban lasts for the duration of the thread.
4) Topic-Bans. A topic-ban is a sanction where a user is forbidden from posting regarding a single-topic. We use these when we like a user but feel that a single topic pushes him toward a permanent sanction like a ban.
5) Forum-Bans. A forum-ban is a sanction wherein a user is forbidden from posting in a particular forum anymore. We are primarily a gaming site, and if we feel that off-topic matter is causing you trouble but we value your interaction in other threads, we'll sometimes use a forum-ban.
6) Suspension. A suspension is a prohibition from using the site for a span from one day to a year. Creating a new profile or using a second profile to post while under a suspension is grounds for automatic, permanent banning from the site. This is sometimes called a temp-ban.
7) Banning. Banning is permanent removal from the site. There are a variety of levels of banning, but they're all indistinguishable to normal users. This is sometimes called a perma-ban.
Some of the above sanctions are rarer than others. We rarely use Thread, Topic, or Forum Bans, and most mods are loathe to use them. Do not expect to be able request a specific kind of sanction -- they occur at each mod's discretion for violations of the Rules.
The appeals process has been discussed in previous posts, but appeals can be directed at one of the Administrators of the site: via PM, or a new thread may be started in Trouble Tickets.
Lastly, keep in mind that we reserve the right to periodically purge unused account names from the system. At this point, we'll be looking to remove accounts that haven't been used for a year or more. If you want to keep your user name, post once in a while, or it'll be up for grabs again when we delete it.
-----
Mission Statement:
"To keep the forums friendly and welcoming to as wide a range of users as possible."
Rules & Guidelines for the forum
Rule -1: In order to keep an eye on trolls and spam bots, please reply to the welcome thread if only to say hello. Those sort of posters are less likely to do so.
Rule 0: This is a privately owned board. Our word is law. None of the following rules give away that right. Despite that, we strive to be reasonable.
Rule 1: Users may be warned, formally or informally; suspended, short-term or long-term; or banned at moderator discretion. We try very hard not to do these things gratuitously. These rules are a guideline, so that we won't have to do them at all.
Rule 2: Respect other users of the forum. Do not make attacks, either in the forums or through Private Messages. Challenging ideas is fine, but do not attack individuals or groups. Racist, sexist, homophobic (including the use of "gay" as a pejorative) and other slurs are prohibited.
Rule 3: Respect our purpose and structure. Post in the appropriate forum.
Rule 4: Respect the law. Do not post anything illegal under UK law or encouraging other users to break UK laws or the laws of their country of residence.
Rule 5: Respect the audience. Do not post pornography and/or anything that can be considered inappropriate graphic sexual content in any format; this includes detailed descriptions of sex acts. Do not post links to pornography or otherwise inappropriate sexually explicit sites. For those threads that are a little 'riske', please preface the title with [NSFW].
Rule 6: Respect privacy. Do not post for public viewing any emails or Private Messages unless you have the explicit written permission of each person involved in the exchange. Do not use posts or parts of posts from these forums for commercial ends without the express permission of each person involved.
Rule 7: Respect our time. We have a forum specifically for selling and buying of game-related items. Do not try and sell items or services elsewhere. Do not spam the forums. Do not spam individual users through Private Messages.
Rule 8: Respect your account. Do not share your account with other individuals, as you will be held responsible for any rules violations that occur under your account. Do not impersonate other users, past or present. Do not impersonate any gaming industry celebrity. Sock-puppet accounts are permitted at moderator discretion.
Rule 9: Respect our expertise. We are gamers, not trained professionals. Do not request emergency crisis counseling or solicit personal financial donations from the forum in general or other users in specific.
Rule 10: Respect our decisions. The moderation team reserves the right to warn, suspend, or permanently ban users judged to be acting against the spirit of the rules, even users conforming to the letter. All moderator decisions may be appealed to the administration. Appeals against moderator decisions should be made through Trouble Tickets or (preferably) handled via PMs to one of the admins. Do not respond to the moderator action in the thread where it was posted.
Five Guidelines for Posting in the forums:
1) Be polite. Try to be considerate. Make some basic attempt at using proper capitalization, punctuation, spelling and grammar, because they all aid in communication. Use profanity as a spice, not the main course. Please do not use HTML to embed sound or video clips (such as those from YouTube) into your posts. If you want to share, post a link instead.
2) Don't threadjack. Derailing a thread's conversation is a good way to annoy the thread's creator and everyone else involved in the conversation. If you absolutely need to discuss something else, find an appropriate thread for your topic or start your own.
3) Don't threadcrap. If you wish to correct what you see as an error or fallacy in the initial post of a thread, that's fine, but if you have a problem with the basic premise of a discussion such that you wish it weren't taking place at all, ignore it. Don't tell everyone in the thread they're wasting their time discussing the issue, because if they agreed with you, they wouldn't be discussing the issue.
4) Think before you post. It can sometimes be hard to determine where acceptable conversation ends and attacks or other rules violations begin, especially in the heat of a debate. If you are unsure whether a post might cross the line, feel free to PM a moderator or administrator for advice — especially before making a post you might regret later.
5) Do not post just to increase your posts count without actually saying anything relevant. Just because you aren't selling something doesn't mean it isn't spamming. (If you just can’t help yourself, there are threads set up specifically for this that are noted as such.)
What to Expect From Moderators:
Firstly, remember that all moderators on these boards are also posters here, and are all individual volunteers. Some variance will occur as a normal by-product of the operation of the site. That said, the moderators do attempt to remain professional and to act consistently as a group.
All Moderator warnings, bans, or suspensions will be made in red text. Period. That way there will be no mistaking a joking comment for an official warning – and warnings will be unmistakable. Do not use red text otherwise.
Any suspensions or bans will be announced in “Trouble Tickets” in a closed thread. The format will be:
Originally Posted by Moderator
User XXX was suspended for YYY days for comments in (Link)
Any thread that is pulled for Mod Review will be announced in “Trouble Tickets” in a closed thread. The format will be:
Originally Posted by Moderator
(Thread Title) was pulled for Moderator Review.
Questionable breaches of the rules, and patterns of behavior that only skirt the rules, will be treated comparatively lightly, but continuing with them will cause rapid escalation up this scale. Breaches of the rules that are clear and problematic will receive more severe attention early on, and will escalate more rapidly if they are continued.
If none of the items on this scale suit the offense in question, then it's entirely possible that a new form of sanction will be created for that offense.
1) Admonition. This is the catch-all term for a mod telling you to that a certain behavior is frowned on by the staff. It's not a Warning, it doesn't get recorded anywhere, and it should be seen as a friendly "heads-up."
2) Warning. A warning is a statement by a mod to a group or individual that they're breaking a Forum Rule or Guideline. They are recorded Backstage. Warnings themselves do not carry any penalty, but we do review a user's history of warnings when deciding sanctions. In practical terms, we tend to forget about warnings after a month or so when viewing a user's history, so warnings from a year ago will rarely have any effect - or even be remembered by the staff. Warnings are a luxury, and Mods are under no compulsion to hand one out before administering a more significant sanction.
3) Thread-Bans. A thread-ban is simply a sanction wherein you are forbidden from taking part in a single thread anymore. The ban lasts for the duration of the thread.
4) Topic-Bans. A topic-ban is a sanction where a user is forbidden from posting regarding a single-topic. We use these when we like a user but feel that a single topic pushes him toward a permanent sanction like a ban.
5) Forum-Bans. A forum-ban is a sanction wherein a user is forbidden from posting in a particular forum anymore. We are primarily a gaming site, and if we feel that off-topic matter is causing you trouble but we value your interaction in other threads, we'll sometimes use a forum-ban.
6) Suspension. A suspension is a prohibition from using the site for a span from one day to a year. Creating a new profile or using a second profile to post while under a suspension is grounds for automatic, permanent banning from the site. This is sometimes called a temp-ban.
7) Banning. Banning is permanent removal from the site. There are a variety of levels of banning, but they're all indistinguishable to normal users. This is sometimes called a perma-ban.
Some of the above sanctions are rarer than others. We rarely use Thread, Topic, or Forum Bans, and most mods are loathe to use them. Do not expect to be able request a specific kind of sanction -- they occur at each mod's discretion for violations of the Rules.
The appeals process has been discussed in previous posts, but appeals can be directed at one of the Administrators of the site: via PM, or a new thread may be started in Trouble Tickets.
Lastly, keep in mind that we reserve the right to periodically purge unused account names from the system. At this point, we'll be looking to remove accounts that haven't been used for a year or more. If you want to keep your user name, post once in a while, or it'll be up for grabs again when we delete it.