This is a thread about the rules...
Look guys, we staff are a group of volunteers who love the forum and want to see it run smoothly. Our efforts usually go largely awarded by the great discourse we generally have around the forum. Lately, however, there have been flaunters and trolls; mad reporting abuse and 30/30 breaches galore. We've been ripping our hair out- surprised by some of you, even. It's time for a little refresher.
These are the rules. Let's go over some of them carefully:
This one's a big "duh" but it seems a lot of you need to be reminded:
Trolling is not "oooo that guy hurt my feewings!" We get way too many reports accusing people of trolling just because an insult was thrown during conversation. Grow a thick skin, people.
Seriously, newbs. There is a very good reason we have this rule in place, and if you're ignoring the rules from your start here, you more than likely won't last long around here.
That's just a reminder. A couple of months ago, we realized quite a lot of you have some of us on ignore. If it happens again, the offender will receive at least an official warning, if not, a ban.
I can't believe I have to remind some of you of the "No Calling Out" rule. Fucking hell.
By gawds. If you change someone's quote, you must indicate your change. Misquoting someone without attributing it is, again, an official warning, if not a ban.
(bold mine)
(Fixed it for you)
(I think you're a dick, so I'm going to rephrase this to make you look like one)
Anything like that.
We've had to clean up WAY too many threads lately, with no one even PMing one of us saying, "I screwed up my post, can you help?" This sucks because then posts get quoted and quoted and quoted, and we have a bunch of word soup we have to clean up off the floor. If you're unsure about formatting, just ask. It's not difficult, and once you understand it, you'll actually want to use it.
Now, just as an aside, the reporting system is getting heavily abused. If you're unsure whether to report something, just click "The Rules" link at the top right corner of your page and refresh yourself. We obviously appreciate you guys reporting appropriate posts, but if we get one more report of "so-and-so called me a poopyface, mommy," I'm gonna set my banhammer to automatic, I swear.
Thank you, and have a nice day.
Look guys, we staff are a group of volunteers who love the forum and want to see it run smoothly. Our efforts usually go largely awarded by the great discourse we generally have around the forum. Lately, however, there have been flaunters and trolls; mad reporting abuse and 30/30 breaches galore. We've been ripping our hair out- surprised by some of you, even. It's time for a little refresher.
These are the rules. Let's go over some of them carefully:
This one's a big "duh" but it seems a lot of you need to be reminded:
Quote:No Trolling
Trolling is where a person makes a deliberately provocative posting with the aim of inciting an angry response, and is not allowed. As discussions can at times get heated, not all provocative posts will get classed as trolling. However, if a member is found to be making multiple such posts, or appear to only be using the forum to provoke people, they will be in violation of this rule.
Trolling is not "oooo that guy hurt my feewings!" We get way too many reports accusing people of trolling just because an insult was thrown during conversation. Grow a thick skin, people.
Quote:30/30
In addition to the No Advertising rule, there is also the 30 days and 30 posts requirement. New users must accrue 30 posts and be a member for 30 days before they are allowed to post external content, such as links, images or videos. This is to ensure that advertising is not your sole purpose on this forum. Any posts where the sole intention is to link to external sites/videos may also be removed at the discretion of the staff. Once you have met the 30/30 requirements however these particular rules no longer apply.
Seriously, newbs. There is a very good reason we have this rule in place, and if you're ignoring the rules from your start here, you more than likely won't last long around here.
Quote:Ignore Lists
Members are not permitted to add any member of staff to their ignore list. Doing so will result in a warning and persistent offenders will be banned.
That's just a reminder. A couple of months ago, we realized quite a lot of you have some of us on ignore. If it happens again, the offender will receive at least an official warning, if not, a ban.
Quote:No Calling Out
Do not any create threads that call out a specific member. Calling out is whenever someone creates a thread that is aimed at a specific member in order to insult him, complain about him, and/or to put him in a awkward position such as by challenging his views or even by asking him questions. This type of attack is sometimes accompanied by a display of a member's username in the title of a thread as well, and that is not allowed either. Any such posts or titles will be edited by the staff as soon as they are brought to our attention.
I can't believe I have to remind some of you of the "No Calling Out" rule. Fucking hell.
Quote:Quoting Others Accurately
When using the quote function to quote other members, you may quote in whole or in part, but may not change the quoted text in any way. Breaking this rule may result in staff intervention. Depending on the circumstances surrounding the misquote(s), you may be warned, banned, or have your post edited to indicate the violation and / or amend the misquote. Adding to the quoted text for clarification (i.e. bolding, numbering, italics, etc.) is okay provided you indicate that the additions are yours and not the quoted member's, and provided it doesn't change the meaning of the quoted text. Use of textual alteration for the purpose of parody may be allowed, provided it is clear that the changes have been made to the original quote. In the case of ambiguity, staff will err on the side of preserving the author's original words rather than preserving your artistic license. If in doubt, include the phrase "Changes made to original quotation." at the top of your post. Staff reserve the right to consider misquotations on a case-by-case basis, weighing context and additional factors.
By gawds. If you change someone's quote, you must indicate your change. Misquoting someone without attributing it is, again, an official warning, if not a ban.
(bold mine)
(Fixed it for you)
(I think you're a dick, so I'm going to rephrase this to make you look like one)
Anything like that.
Quote:Quoting Large Posts.
Creating long posts is absolutely fine (as long as they are your own work), but when you are replying to one try to avoid the temptation to quote the whole thing. Instead, simply quote small sections that you are replying to, as otherwise it tends to make the thread quite difficult to read. An alternative might be to wrap up large sections using the hide tag.
We've had to clean up WAY too many threads lately, with no one even PMing one of us saying, "I screwed up my post, can you help?" This sucks because then posts get quoted and quoted and quoted, and we have a bunch of word soup we have to clean up off the floor. If you're unsure about formatting, just ask. It's not difficult, and once you understand it, you'll actually want to use it.
Now, just as an aside, the reporting system is getting heavily abused. If you're unsure whether to report something, just click "The Rules" link at the top right corner of your page and refresh yourself. We obviously appreciate you guys reporting appropriate posts, but if we get one more report of "so-and-so called me a poopyface, mommy," I'm gonna set my banhammer to automatic, I swear.
Thank you, and have a nice day.