Rules & Guidelines

The Zombie Preparedness Initiative is a survivalist website, however, we are not in so dire straights that we would forgive all sins and transgressions just yet. While viewing and participating in what is offered on this site, please make sure you are aware of the rules and guidelines.

Rule #1: Be Nice.

Whether leaving a comment, replying to a forum post, or just sending a private message to a fellow user, please remember to be kind, respectful, and intelligent in what you write. A good natured jab is one thing, pointing out that someone said or did something stupid is fine as well, however, when all one writes is criticisms without offering any sort of useful information, it is reaching a bit into the "not nice" category. If moderators or admins see you saying something inappropriate, we will make a point of noting this to you and if you repeatedly post cruel or rude natured posts, or simply post something that is so bad in one post as to be directly offensive to one of the moderators or admins, you will be banned. While it should go without saying, any sort of material that is racist, sexist or is in some way offensive to a certain group of people will earn you a ban.

Rule #2: Be Smart.

The Zombie Preparedness Initiative is a place for ideas. We embrace those who take time to think and prepare properly for all events. We should hope you take time to think about what you want to say and then take the time to say it properly. Submitting articles, making posts, or creating stories that lack proper forethought, grammar, or spelling, or posts that make us wonder why, dear lord, why we took the time to read will get you a warning and a ban quite quickly.

Using an abundance of swear words or profane language will quickly make the admins and moderators question your intelligence and probably earn you a ban. What constitutes swearing? If it's allowed on network television, it will be allowed here, at least in moderation. If you can make cursing an interesting part of the post, we might let it slip. If we feel it is unnecessary or disruptive, we'll respond by warning you and then suspending you. Of course, it's best to be on the safe side, it might be best to assume that ANY AND ALL CURSING might just be considered unnecessary. Even words like damn, hell, etc. should be limited as they are words that create emphasis when used properly, but become distasteful if used too freely.

Furthermore, use of leet-speak or AIM-speak or signing of your posts will bring about the wrath of the admins and, when used too freely, makes the poster susceptible to banning. Finally, any activities that the moderators or admins deem to be disruptive or would break any of the aforementioned rules purposefully will earn that person an immediate ban.

Rule #3: The Admins/Mods Are Always Right.

While there may be some debate as to what constitutes an overuse of AIM-speak or what is rude and what's playful banter, this rule should be very clear: the moderators and administrators are always right. If a moderator on the forum tells you something (i.e., "You're swearing too much, watch it.") just accept it and move on. You may ask a clarifying question if you are confused about the rules, but be warned, if we decide that you are asking this question more out of sarcasm and anger than out of genuine confusion or curiosity, you may not be given an answer and may in fact be banned. Any open challenges, rude/offensive statements, or anything else that is directed at an admin or mod which we find unpleasant or unnecessary will quickly lead to a ban.

Rule #4: Stay on Topic

This site is designed for the discussion of a hypothetical survival situation in which zombies show up and must be dealt with, though discussion of other topics related to survival are quite permissible (and sometimes encouraged). Users should try to stick to the topics being discussed as much as possible, though it is understandable that there may be some wandering, you should try and stick as best as one can. Debate can sometimes be difficult to keep focused, so do your best and avoid wasting everyone's time.

Rule #5: Avoid Forbidden/Distasteful Topics

At ZPI, we have encountered an unbelievable amount of crap being spewed out by various users at various times. There are some topics that this site does not want to see:

1. Suggesting killing of humans
2. Instructions on creation of explosive or chemical devices
3. Instructions on creation of weapons designed to injure or kill humans

First, and foremost, we must point out that this site is for knowledge, however, ZPI recognizes that there is some knowledge that can be dangerous in the wrong hands, as such, the aforementioned topics should not be discussed at any time. Any article, forum topic, comment or piece of content posted to this site with one of the inappropriate topics will be removed and the poster will be at risk for getting banned. Please note that we are not banning discussions regarding the ethics of the above topics, but at no time should instructions or advice for the construction of said devices ever be posted on this site nor be discussed in the context of being used against living humans.

Beyond this initial list of topics which are outright banned, we should add a list of topics which, whenever discussed, will start a flame typically end in the forum topic being zombified (locked) and/or deleted, not to mention that users that begin their posting career with these topics usually end up getting into a quickly degrading cycle which ends in them getting banned:

1. Attacking zombies with fire
2. Eating zombies
3. Sexual relations with zombies
4. Debating the perfect anything...
5. Political/Religious rants

Some of these topics are just so morally and/or culinarily repugnant that ZPI members don't want to have to seive through this stuff to get to the parts worth reading. It should be pointed out that these are not in themselves bannable topics -- they have been discussed many times throughout the forums, but they are often, today, ill-recieved so we recommend avoiding them for your own safety.

Miscellaneous Information

Signature

A signature is the text that is automatically appended to the end of posts. It can be set by going to your profile page and editing the textbox marked 'Signature' -- there are a few guidelines that must be followed when creating your signature. Do not modify the text in your signature so that it is obvious or obtrusive. The signature should not draw the eye as much as the post itself.

You may include images in your signature if they are respectful, non-disruptive and are of a limited size, though we appreciate it also if you avoid noxious animated gifs. The size allowances for images in the signature are as follows:

1. width: no wider than 400 pixels
2. height: no taller than 150 pixels
3. total area: no greater than 45000 pixels

If you have questions, feel free to contact the Site Admin privately.

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 relavent. If the admins or moderators determine that you are posting advirtisements more than is reasonable, you will be warned or banned.

Punishment

To show our displeasure with you, we will take a number of steps. We will usually start with a warning if it seems to be an innocent mistake, but that is not always the case. Our next step will be to suspend you temporarily, usually this ranges from a couple hours to a year. This will allow you to access the site and log in, but will restrict your access, keeping you from posting. Finally, if we just don't think you can get along on the site, you will be banned. Banning is permanent unless otherwise noted. If you are banned do not try to create another account. If for some reason we decide that, after a time your ban has been sufficient for your transgression we will reactivate your account and inform you of such.

Posting in the Forums

The forums are a place where people can publicly share ideas and questions with other users. The rules still apply, but the forums are more informal than the other formats in which users can post. To post to the forums, either go to the forums by clicking the "Forum" link at the top and click the "Post New Forum Topic" button, or else, in your navigation tab choose "create content" and click "forum topic."

Posting an Article

Articles are the most formal format that can be posted in and they are designed as a place for well-thought, well-written and at least moderately researched material to be posted and shared with the public. When you post an article, we ask that you take a little extra time to make sure that aesthetics are paid attention to and that proper grammar and spelling are used. Articles, as noted before, should be well-thought out and at least moderately researched -- we don't want material going up in an article that can be clearly contradicted by bad facts and information. To post an article, simply click "create content" and then click "article" -- the article, when posted, will not go live right away, it will first go to an approval queue where an admin will give it a quick check to make sure it meets the requirements before making it active on the site.

Fire/Explosive Weapons

Due to the extremely dangerous nature of fire and the fact that the site admins are in agreement that fire is a less then effective means of dealing with zombies, any article that attempts to recommend the construction of a fire based weapon will be rejected. Furthermore, any post of any kind found to contain instruction about the creation of explosives of any kind will be deleted. If the poster who makes these posts insists on continuing to attempt to post this information despite warnings, they will be banned. This does not mean that the debate about the USE of such weapons is banned, however, just that instruction about creating them is purely forbidden.

Posting a Book/Story

Stories and books can be posted -- these are purely fictional creations of our users. The only requirements are that the stories follow the 4 general rules of the site. To create a book/story click on "create content" and then click "book page".