Rules & Regulations

WELCOME New Members!
Whether you're new to the concept of online forums or regularly use them please take the time to read through this post to gain an understanding of how we run things around here.

CONTENTS
Chapter I - The Environment
Chapter II - SPAM
Chapter III - Flaming
Chapter IV - Trolling
Chapter V - Thread Necromancy
Chapter VI - Thread Hijacking
Chapter VII - Review Theft
Chapter VIII - Bad Advertising
Chapter IX - Vigilantism
Chapter X - Constructive Criticism
Chapter XI - Multiple Accounts

CHAPTER I - THE ENVIRONMENT
These forums are a place for people of all ages to talk about pretty much anything and everything but with a clearer focus on gaming.

We have members of all ages here, young and old. As a result the maturity of threads varies from thread to thread and I encourage people to simply move on to the next thread if they believe a thread's subject matter, or the things members are talking about, are below them. It is important for younger members to understand that a high post count does not mean you gain more respect or attention here. With this in mind please don't try to reply to every single active thread on these forums unless you have something useful to add to the conversation. Common sense really, but we do have many young folks come here who think posting in every thread will make them more popular and it is just not the case.


CHAPTER II - SPAM
Spam is...

1) Posting one liners. Replying to a thread and just saying something like "hey!" "yeah!" "lol" "I agree" "no" etc..
2) Posting the same thread/post repeatedly in order to gain attention.
3) Posting something completely off-topic (OT) that has nothing to do with the thread.
4) Posting in a thread to simply "bump" it back to the top of the forum listings with no additional or useful content.


CHAPTER III - Flaming
Flaming is...

Posting personally or generally insulting remarks towards someone else, or a group of people (examples include calling someone an "idiot" for having views different to your own or being particularly demeaning to someone who is younger than yourself).


CHAPTER IV - Trolling
Trolling is...

Deliberately attempting to goad people into a "flame war" (or, simply put, a "bitch fest") by posting disparaging remarks or comments that you know will incite a negative or nasty response.


CHAPTER V - Thread Necromancy
Thread Necromancy is...

Reviving a "dead thread" (a thread that has had no new posts in it for more than a month) with something that has no relevance to it. For example posting "hey cool" (see SPAM) or "that was really helpful, thanks".
Please look at the date of the last post in a thread before posting something that lacks any real substance. If it was a month or more ago you can assume that this thread is dead, and unless you have something constructive to add that will continue the discussion, don't bother.


CHAPTER VI - Thread Hijacking
Thread Hijacking is...

Posting something unrelated to the topic in order to gain attention for your post or simply to steer people off the main topic.


CHAPTER VII - Review Theft
Review Theft is...

The posting of, word for word, a review created by someone else on another site without giving proper credit to the original creator, thus making it appear as your own work. Not only is this theft, it's also seen as an easy +1 to post count, and hence it is considered spam. The idea of writing a review on a game or something else is to do it in your own words so people can view your opinion on it, not so they can read something ripped from another site that you're using to spam.


Chapter VIII - Bad Advertising
Bad advertising is...

The posting of links to a site you own or are a part of without a decent amount of information supplied with it. If you are new to the forums and begin by posting links to your own forums asking others to join your post(s) will more than likely be removed.


Chapter IX - Vigilantism
Vigilantism is...

Performing a moderator/sub-moderator's job or impersonating a moderator/sub-moderator by telling someone they have done something wrong or against the rules. There is a "Report" button over each and every post on these forums -- if you believe someone has broken the rules please use this feature and a moderator will be there to sort it out pretty quickly. It is not your job to tell others what they can and cannot do on these forums.

Chapter X - Constructive Criticism

Constructive criticism is voicing your concern about an idea or implementation of a mod as well as providing a possible solution.

This requires both parts:

* Constructive = Providing a solution
* Criticism = Voicing concern

Constructive criticism is NOT directed at any person or group of people. Any comments that are directed at people can fall under vigilantism, flaming and trolling.

Chapter XI - Multiple Accounts

Only one account per person please. If you can't post with your main account it's likely what you're writing isn't going to be productive in this community and you might find your old account removed too. The only exception to this rule are Admins /(Sub-)Moderators which have normal accounts for testing the site without elevated privileges.

(( Note: these rules are copied from the Nexus....with some small changes to them by me to better fit this site. ))