Message Board Guidelines
These are the general guidelines you must know before participating in this message boards. Read these and consider the fact that your constitutional rights have no bearing in what takes place here (No "freedom of speech" arguments will get around these). These are the rules based on common sense, respect, and consideration. If you break them, the administrators of the board have the right to take whatever action necessary, including banning your account if found suitable. The decisions of the administrators are final, information on these decisions are private and will not be discussed with anyone other than the parties involved.
A simple rule to follow is: "when in doubt, leave it out". You don't have to use excessive profanity to get your point across, and it's usually better to avoid it altogether. Also, please censor any images you display and chat logs or third party text you may copy/paste. It is your responsibility to nullify any violations.
Depending on the content of the offensive message, you may be warned or your message deleted without warning. Mild cursing is tolerated in moderation but be careful of your tone, especially against fellow posters and remember this is an all ages, general board. Please keep it clean.
Rule #2: Don't Attack Each Other
Don't attack individuals. Personal attacks on individuals will not be excused. Challenge others' points of view and opinions, but do so respectfully and thoughtfully... without insult and personal attack.
Also, no trollish, abusive, stalking or any other negative behavior will be tolerated. Any posts of this nature will be deleted.
Rule #3: Make your avatar/signature a reasonable size
Ensure that your avatar conforms to the site rules. A 96x96 pixels image is considered the standard size and the maximum size for the avatars allowed on these forums, is 128x128 pixels (<50kb). If your avatar contains an image over this limit, it may be removed without warning. If a PM is sent to you regarding this matter, simply change or resize your images so that they are within the rules.
Also, large, ugly and slow loading signatures visually pollute the board, enlarge threads and slow down modem users. Show respect for your fellow 56k brethren by ensuring your signature, if used, is somewhat discreet, space efficient (avoid using vertical content) and quick loading. You will be warned if your signature is unacceptable.
Rule #4: No nonsense posts on the main board
While we all have a sense of humor, material that's completely devoid of intelligence, thought or wit, does not belong on these forums. I have little tolerance for such post, and even less for those who publicly encourage this type of behaviors here.
Rule #5: Moderators
If you're not a moderator, don't feel compelled to act like one. If someone is breaking a rule in a way that annoys you or makes you feel uncomfortable, feel free to tell them that you don't think they should be doing that. Do not travel the boards looking for people who you feel are breaking rules so you can tell them off. Do not copy-paste quote sections of the rules at people. Do not warn people of the rules when they first arrive - that can be insulting. If someone is being a nuisance on the board, and a moderator is aware of the situation, consider backing off. Goading and provoking troublemakers takes control of the situation away from the moderator and makes their role more difficult.
You may not re-edit a post that has already been edited by a moderator (a mod's decision is final). You may not bait, insult, flame, or otherwise abuse a moderator; mods are here to make the boards a better place for everyone. If you have a problem with the moderation, please contact that mod or an Administrator with your concerns (we take them seriously).
Rule #6: Copyrighted Information
Information copyrighted or owned by any individual or entity other than the person posting should not be posted on the message boards or software libraries without the consent of the owner. If such an event occurs, the individual posting the information shall be held solely responsible and it post may be deleted to comply with copyright law.
Rule #7: Off-Topic Posts
You probably won't get banned for an off-topic post, but c'mon, try to post suitable subjects on each of the appropriate boards Keep posts in appropriate forums and stay within the basic topic originally posted. Please be respectful of whoever started the thread. If you have a post veering off track (getting off the original subject matter), start a New Post, and title it appropriately. Off-topic posts will most likely be moved or deleted but further action may be taken against repeat offenders.
Rule #8: No propaganda or preaching on the board
This board is a place for discussion as individuals, not a platform for recruiting, propaganda and preaching. I don't care what religion you believe into, you leave it at the door when using these forums. You'll find me pretty intolerant to anyone who expects to be able to use this place to ram their agenda down other people's throats.
Rule #9: Impersonating Other Users / Accessing Another User's Account
You may not impersonate another board member or create an account specifically for the purpose of provoking other users. Also, accessing or using someone else's account or attempting to access another poster's account is strictly prohibited and will constitute a reason for banning.
Rule #10: Questionable Content
Since we can't have a rule to cover everything, this is the rule to, well, cover everything. This is a public board, so act like you would if you were in a public place. These issues are left to the discretion of the individual moderators, but may include any material that is knowingly false and/or defamatory, misleading, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, racist, hateful, harassing, obscene, sexually explicit, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or that encourages conduct constituting a criminal offense.
It is sometimes reasonable to link to an external resource that contains borderline material because of it's redeeming attributes for artistic or scientific merit and it is preferable to warn people about what they might see or read. Please note this is simply netiquette and not a license to break this rule. If you have concerns about material you wish to post, you can contact an administrator first.
Rule #11: "Resurrecting" Old Threads
It is discouraged to post in a topic that is more than three weeks old. This is especially true for the General and Dragon Discussions forums, as this clutters up the forum. Any user bringing these threads to the front will be warned, and the thread may be locked. Useful threads will be moved to the Archives.
The message board guidelines doesn't mean that we're going to be catching every violation. However, when we do see one, we will address it, as always. If you see one that we haven't addressed in a timely manner, feel free to contact any Moderator from any forum and it will be taken care of.
Not reading these rules is not an excuse for any violation!
Rule #1: Inappropriate languageA simple rule to follow is: "when in doubt, leave it out". You don't have to use excessive profanity to get your point across, and it's usually better to avoid it altogether. Also, please censor any images you display and chat logs or third party text you may copy/paste. It is your responsibility to nullify any violations.
Depending on the content of the offensive message, you may be warned or your message deleted without warning. Mild cursing is tolerated in moderation but be careful of your tone, especially against fellow posters and remember this is an all ages, general board. Please keep it clean.
Rule #2: Don't Attack Each Other
Don't attack individuals. Personal attacks on individuals will not be excused. Challenge others' points of view and opinions, but do so respectfully and thoughtfully... without insult and personal attack.
Also, no trollish, abusive, stalking or any other negative behavior will be tolerated. Any posts of this nature will be deleted.
Rule #3: Make your avatar/signature a reasonable size
Ensure that your avatar conforms to the site rules. A 96x96 pixels image is considered the standard size and the maximum size for the avatars allowed on these forums, is 128x128 pixels (<50kb). If your avatar contains an image over this limit, it may be removed without warning. If a PM is sent to you regarding this matter, simply change or resize your images so that they are within the rules.
Also, large, ugly and slow loading signatures visually pollute the board, enlarge threads and slow down modem users. Show respect for your fellow 56k brethren by ensuring your signature, if used, is somewhat discreet, space efficient (avoid using vertical content) and quick loading. You will be warned if your signature is unacceptable.
Rule #4: No nonsense posts on the main board
While we all have a sense of humor, material that's completely devoid of intelligence, thought or wit, does not belong on these forums. I have little tolerance for such post, and even less for those who publicly encourage this type of behaviors here.
Rule #5: Moderators
If you're not a moderator, don't feel compelled to act like one. If someone is breaking a rule in a way that annoys you or makes you feel uncomfortable, feel free to tell them that you don't think they should be doing that. Do not travel the boards looking for people who you feel are breaking rules so you can tell them off. Do not copy-paste quote sections of the rules at people. Do not warn people of the rules when they first arrive - that can be insulting. If someone is being a nuisance on the board, and a moderator is aware of the situation, consider backing off. Goading and provoking troublemakers takes control of the situation away from the moderator and makes their role more difficult.
You may not re-edit a post that has already been edited by a moderator (a mod's decision is final). You may not bait, insult, flame, or otherwise abuse a moderator; mods are here to make the boards a better place for everyone. If you have a problem with the moderation, please contact that mod or an Administrator with your concerns (we take them seriously).
Rule #6: Copyrighted Information
Information copyrighted or owned by any individual or entity other than the person posting should not be posted on the message boards or software libraries without the consent of the owner. If such an event occurs, the individual posting the information shall be held solely responsible and it post may be deleted to comply with copyright law.
Rule #7: Off-Topic Posts
You probably won't get banned for an off-topic post, but c'mon, try to post suitable subjects on each of the appropriate boards Keep posts in appropriate forums and stay within the basic topic originally posted. Please be respectful of whoever started the thread. If you have a post veering off track (getting off the original subject matter), start a New Post, and title it appropriately. Off-topic posts will most likely be moved or deleted but further action may be taken against repeat offenders.
Rule #8: No propaganda or preaching on the board
This board is a place for discussion as individuals, not a platform for recruiting, propaganda and preaching. I don't care what religion you believe into, you leave it at the door when using these forums. You'll find me pretty intolerant to anyone who expects to be able to use this place to ram their agenda down other people's throats.
Rule #9: Impersonating Other Users / Accessing Another User's Account
You may not impersonate another board member or create an account specifically for the purpose of provoking other users. Also, accessing or using someone else's account or attempting to access another poster's account is strictly prohibited and will constitute a reason for banning.
Rule #10: Questionable Content
Since we can't have a rule to cover everything, this is the rule to, well, cover everything. This is a public board, so act like you would if you were in a public place. These issues are left to the discretion of the individual moderators, but may include any material that is knowingly false and/or defamatory, misleading, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, racist, hateful, harassing, obscene, sexually explicit, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or that encourages conduct constituting a criminal offense.
It is sometimes reasonable to link to an external resource that contains borderline material because of it's redeeming attributes for artistic or scientific merit and it is preferable to warn people about what they might see or read. Please note this is simply netiquette and not a license to break this rule. If you have concerns about material you wish to post, you can contact an administrator first.
Rule #11: "Resurrecting" Old Threads
It is discouraged to post in a topic that is more than three weeks old. This is especially true for the General and Dragon Discussions forums, as this clutters up the forum. Any user bringing these threads to the front will be warned, and the thread may be locked. Useful threads will be moved to the Archives.
The message board guidelines doesn't mean that we're going to be catching every violation. However, when we do see one, we will address it, as always. If you see one that we haven't addressed in a timely manner, feel free to contact any Moderator from any forum and it will be taken care of.
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