Forum rules:
By participating on these Boards you agree to conform with the following rules and precepts.
Please, understand that these rules have been generated through need rather than the whim of the Moderators. We started with no rules, so these have been generated as a direct response to some active necessity.
General Precepts:
Participation in this Forum is a Privilege not a Right. This privilege is maintained through courtesy and respect to the forum owner, the Moderators and your fellow members.
If a Moderator (including Bartenders) asks you to stop what you are doing, stop. Stop immediately.
All rules valid for the Forum are in effect for the Chat function.
Member Responsibility:
Members should always strive to practice positive attributes:
--Read carefully and post entertainingly, informatively, and economically.
--Acknowledge other people, assume good will, be quick to praise and slow to criticize, add knowledge, offer help, be slow to anger, apologize when wrong, politely ask for clarification, and exercise patience when your temper flares.
--Welcome new people. Point newcomers to these rules, links to related conversations.
--Bring your situation to the moderators if you are angry, puzzled, or otherwise uncertain about what to do.
Segmentation of Topics:
--Post items on the appropriate board.
Spoilers:
--Spoilers should only be posted in the designated section.
--Do not post the spoiler directly in the subject line. (Everyone can see that.)
--Use spoiler tags if you post something not covered in that topics subject line.
Forbidden Discussion Items:
Include, but are not limited to:
Theft of intellectual property
Stalking
Politics
Religion outside of Book Canon
Personal Attacks
Sex, Sexism
Other Touchy Topics
Promotional Posts:
The ability to make promotional posts is a privilege earned by active forum participation, not a right. If you make promotional posts without participating as a real live human in discussions elsewhere on the board, those posts are subject to deletion. Promo-only user accounts can be considered to be spammers and may be deleted as well.
Avatars:
--Personalized avatars must avoid touchy topics.
--Please keep avatars to a size not to exceed 150 x 150 pixels.
User names:
--Refrain from user names that include any extended ASCII characters in them (e.g.: Ü,ô,ñ,ƒ,í).
--You may not combine words that would result in a phonetically offensive name.
Support:
Everyone is encouraged to utilize the Site Suggestions and Support board to discuss the rules.
Response:
Any user who violates site or specific forum policy, including those who ignore personal direction given to them by a moderator, will be reprimanded and may be banned according to the following guidelines:
--Immediate bans may be issued without warning in circumstances including but not limited to those involving SPAM, explicitly prohibited activity, excessive harassment, or any behavior deemed malicious.
--A first offense for minor infractions will result in a written warning by moderator either via Private Message, or in the thread where the incident occurred.
--Upon second offense, the user will receive a temporary ban of anywhere from 3-30 days with a brief explanation of the reason behind the ban and the duration of the ban.
--Repeat offenders who continue to violate policy and/or moderator direction, will be permanently banned.
--The Moderators reserve the right to place bans immediately if, in their estimation, it becomes necessary to do so.
Recourse:
If you feel that you have been unjustly moderated:
--Do not argue in the topic.
--PM the Bartender/Moderator and ask for clarification.
--If you disagree with a Bartender's policy interpretation, contact a Moderator.
--If you disagree with a Moderator's policy interpretation, contact Iago.
--To request to change or clarify policy, start a thread in Site Suggestions.
