Flaming/ Hazing/ Harassment

Flaming, hazing, and other forms of criticism without meaningful, constructive, discussion will no longer be tolerated. Post respectfully or do not post at all. If the Moderators have an issue with how a member is posting, the member will be privately contacted.

Malicious Programs

Bots are still a problem, but are only minor annoyances if handled properly. The Bot Control Thread has been set up so members can report where a suspected bot has been found, and the moderators will handle it from there. Alternatively, the Site Admin can be contacted through Private Message during all hours of the day. This form of reporting is the most responsive means of ceasing these malicious attacks. Do not acknowledge bot posts in any way, simply report them and ignore them.

Advertisements

Advertisements for products being sold or posts suggesting that people go to an external site strictly so they will purchase items is forbidden. If you have a website that you would like people to see and it is relevant to the discussion, feel free to mention it either in your biography or in a comment, but only if it is relevant. If the Site Admin determine that you are posting advertisements more than is reasonable, you will be warned or banned. Advertisements promoting a website, product, or other unrelated product will have 24 hours to live from the time of the post before locking the topic and banning the account. If the author returns within this time to discuss their product, the discussion will be allowed to continue so long as their advertisement is not meant strictly for luring customers.

Swearing

The word filter blocks a select amount of words. These words are unwanted on the website. If you feel swearing is necessary to prove a point or provoke an emotional response yet the word is censored, do not attempt to bypass the filter. Doing as such will have your content removed while being immediately issued a warning or ban. Aside from the filtered words, we ask that you keep swearing to a reasonable amount. The agreeable amount for "reasonable" is 4 swear words to a paragraph, which roughly equates to 5 sentences. Anything more than this may be seen as inappropriate.

Posting Etiquette

Posting in the correct Category creates an organized environment in a chaotic world. Organization assists you, the member, to find relevant information efficiently, and also creates for more effective discussion. The first step to organization is placing topics in the proper location. If you have accidentally posted in the wrong Category, please edit your topic and place it in the correct location. If you see that someone has placed a topic in the improper location, please send a Private Message to a Moderator. This will assist in organizing the forums greatly.

Searching

Searching will be enforced if the topic of a new post is either a beat-to-death topic or has been discussed within the last month. Past that, threads will be left alone. If a similar thread has been inactive for more than a month, the original thread can be linked as a response to the new thread. Simply point out the thread and either revive the old thread or continue the discussion on the new thread. There shall be no posting of content directed at the author for not searching for the topic before posting unless the subject is currently in the active topics box. When posting content directed at the author for not searching, be respectful and helpful in nature.

Punishment Policy

The standard punishment procedures practiced by the Moderators is two (2) warnings, one (1) week ban, two (2) week ban, one (1) month ban, then proposal for permanent ban. Warnings will be delivered through Private Messages. The warnings and bans a user has will be logged. If no infractions occur for six months, the record will be wiped clean of warnings. Bans, however, will always remain on the record and will continue to accumulate after warnings are issued again.

Serious infractions of the site rules may earn a ban immediately, which length will be determined by severity. Also, a member may earn a 1 day ban as a "cool off" period if they are found to be too worked up over an issue. Most often, a warning will precede any ban unless the offense is too severe.

If you are banned do not try to create another account. If for some reason the Site Admin decide that, after a time your ban has been sufficient for your transgression, your account will be reactivated and you will be contacted with this action.