What follows are some simple rules that are in place to ensure that the forum runs smoothly. Generally speaking, these rules apply to every forum here at Roleplay Adventures, but where there is conflict the other forum's rules take precedence over these.
These are rules. Break them and you risk a locked thread, a warning and/or a ban. The original rules thread is located here. If you have any questions, contact an admin. Ignorance is not an excuse for breaking the rules. If you register without reading this, you're risking a ban without even knowing why.
1) Read the FAQs for each forum specifically before posting.
There are different ones for each forum: Roleplay, Community Interaction, Creative, and so on. The rules for a specific forum often supersede these rules. For example, pimping your work is welcome in Music but not here.
2) Do NOT flame.
Tearing into other users is not productive for anyone. If they have broken a rule, use the Report button. If they need to be pointed to the Rules & FAQ, point them to it and leave it at that.
3) Do NOT spam.
Spouting random gibberish at every opportunity is not good, especially if it is done in a thread that has a clear point. This includes comments such as "IBL" ("In Before Lock") and flaming/mocking pictures. If you want to chat, do it on IRC or AIM or even on the chatbox at the bottom of the page, don't do it here.
4) Make threads that have a point.
Meaningless, random gibberish will be locked. Likewise, this is not your LiveJournal. If your post does not kick off a conversation and is simply a diary for you, it will be locked.
5) Yes, this is the internet, but this is our corner of it.
While this is on the Internet, these forums are not a democracy. We have rules, and we expect them to be followed.
6) Do NOT be elitist or horrible to new members.
We will not tolerate ANYONE using any sort of Roleplay-related status to lord themselves over ANYONE ELSE. This isn't high school. Roleplay Adventures is a community of equals, and it will stay that way. Post count, join date, member number and all other such measures are irrelevant.
7) Do NOT pad your post count.
We know if you do, and then sometimes your title gets reset and your posts removed. Padding your post count is spamming the forums. Ridiculous gibberish often leads to temporary (or possibly permanent) bans.
8) Keep your sig small.
The limit for sigs is either 8 lines of text at default size and font, one 125-pixel-high sig image and three lines of text at default size and font, or the rough equivalent if you have a sig image that is less than 125 pixels high. The maximum width for a sig image is 600 pixels. The maximum total size for sig images is 35 kb. This will ensure that the forums load quickly for all users. Quiz pictures are, in most cases, too large for signatures.
9) Keep your avatar small.
Likewise, avatars should be no larger than 65 kb. The maximum size is 150 pixels by 150 pixels.
10) The forums must be work-safe.
All content on the forums must be work-safe. Where that really matters is images, whether posted or linked to. The Roleplay Adventures forums should be safely browsable at work or school. That means no explicit content. Generally speaking, if it could go in a PG-13 movie it's okay for the forums. However, just because something is free of nudity does not make it work-safe. In all cases, it is best to err on the side of caution. If you absolutely must share something that is not work-safe, then link to it and include a warning that states that the image or video is not work-safe. On a separate note, it is advised that you not post medical images that are gross or something along that line. We'll edit them as we see fit.
11) No site-pimping.
Do not create threads to promote your website, your online recruitment game, your webcomic, or anything else. Put anything you feel the need to promote in your sig, and please don't link to anything illegal. If you want to make a thread about something that you want people to check out in Music, Anime/Manga/Cosplay, Creative Writing, Arts & Drawing, and possibly some other subforums for the purposes of getting comments and critiques, you can! If you just want to "pimp", however, YOU MUST GET PERMISSION FROM A MOD OR ADMIN. Finally, check the appropriate forum and their Rules & FAQ before pimping your material.
12) This is not a file-sharing forum.
Please do not post requests or links for illegally-obtained games, software, music, scans or the sort. Freeware is fine. For things that you have to pay for, go buy it.
13) Don't flood.
Please don't kill the first page of the forums with too many of your threads; 3 or 4 is more than enough.
14) No forum wars.
Don't start, participate in, or encourage forum wars here or anywhere. You will be at the least temporarily banned. Use the Report button if necessary.
15) Don't repost locked threads.
If threads get locked, they get locked for a reason. Don't make new threads asking why it happened, and don't whine. Apologies are also unnecessary. PM a moderator if you have to.
16) Take problems with mods to PM first.
If you have a problem with the way a mod is behaving, discuss it with that mod in private via PM. If you feel that your complaints are still not being addressed, then take it to someone else from there. Raising the issue in a thread will not win you any points, as it is, 99.9% of the time, off topic and derailment. In addition, courtesy when communicating with the person in question will generally get you a much nicer response.
17) Search.
Search for previous threads before posting a topic, especially if it's related to popular topics. Rehashes of old and frequently-seen material will be locked if the poster doesn't have anything new to contribute.
18) Inappropriate names are not allowed.
Whereas cursing is allowed (see guidelines below), you can't have a curse word within your user name. Also, you can not withhold names that have words like 'cock', 'porn' or other sexual words. More of these can include racist terms, religious attacks and anything else we consider inappropriate. Keep your name clean or an Admin will come by and change your name to make it more advisable.
19) Do not open multiple accounts.
Only one account per person. If you are found to have more than one account then all of them may be banned. This also goes for proxy addresses. If you're found to be using a proxy ip address, you will be banned instantly. There really is no reason you should be using a proxy address.
20) Do not open a puppet account.
If you have been banned and you decide to create a new account and return, you may be immediately banned again without warning at the discretion of the moderators and/or administrators.
21) Avoid racism.
Racism is a delicate subject and may be discussed, but threads or posts that are made to be demeaning to any particular race are NOT allowed. This goes for issues on sexual orientation as well.
22) Respect the staff.
If you have been warned by a mod, responding by calling them names is the FASTEST way to get banned without your side of the story being heard. If you disagree with the mod then INTELLIGENT discussion via PM is the best way to present your case. PMs or threads like "F*ck you, d*ckhead!" won't get you far and will get you banned again, so try and work with the mods, not against us. We are all reasonable and chances are we'll help find a way to a happy solution for all parties involved.
23) No threats.
Do not threaten other members with physical violence or otherwise. This is not only against the rules, it's extremely stupid in a legal sense.
24) Your instant messenger conversations don't belong here.
No instant messenger / irc / live chat logs are to be posted on the site. If people wish to participate in live chat, they can do so at their own discretion, but posting logs will get you an infraction, if not more.
25) Do NOT drag the entire staff into your problems.
We can't stress this one enough. If you have a problem with someone, whether it's a member acting improperly towards you or a mod having done something unfair, ALWAYS DISCUSS THE ISSUE WITH THE PERSON INVOLVED BEFORE GOING TO A(NOTHER) STAFF MEMBER FOR HELP. Sure, the staff is here to help, but in most cases you'll be able to solve whatever problem you have by speaking to the person involved. The staff is here to moderate the forum and make sure the rules are followed, but we are not here to baby you. If we're all old enough to have our own opinions on matters and therefore disagree, we're also old enough not to have to go "Miss , threw dirt on my sandwich and called me ugly names!". This is not elementary school.
26) Do not use colored text. It hurts people's eyes, especially when against a background that contrasts against it in an unfavorable way. The forum has three different skins, so different colors contrast in different ways with each skin, so stick to the default color if you want to make sure you're not hurting anyone's eyes. Colored text with be met with a friendly request to remove the color(s), but if you don't complain you're risking a ban. |
6:04 PM Aug 20
