Forum Rules

FORUM RULES!

In order to help out both us and you, the forumgoers, I have devised both an explicit set of rules and an explicit set of punishments for breaking each rule.

Please note: the judgment of the staff is final. I have no appeals court for bans. If a staff member says that you broke one of the rules, you broke one of the rules, and arguing about it is not going to help your case. Accept your ban, learn from your mistakes, and move on. We reserve the right to ban for any reason for any length of time.

By posting on these forums, you agree to abide by and follow all the rules, and you agree to be subject to any penalties incurred by violation of the rules. If you have a problem with any of the following rules, please contact a forum moderator or administrator.

If you see a post that you believe breaks one of these rules, please report the post and follow the instructions on that page.
That button will notify a staff member to investigate the post and take necessary action should there be anything to do.

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***For people who are new to forums in general, some terms are defined at the end***

Warning/slap on the wrist:
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Bumping an old thread.
Postwhoring.
Light flaming (Teasing is acceptable; light flaming isn't. Light flaming is still flaming; it's just weak).
Frequent use of text speak (omissions and substitutions of letters in words in order to shorten them; excessive use of Internet acronyms).
Quoting an obscenely long post.

1 day:
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-Any of the above, after being warned.
-Bumping more than one old thread.
--Making a nonsense post.
-Posting "In before lock" in a thread whether it becomes locked or not.
-Postwhoring.
-Making a ton of topics at one time.
-Requesting illegal content (MP3s/roms/warez/etc.).
-Posting a thread in the wrong forum. Some of these will just be moved, but posting "weres mah haxxxx?" Is just plain inexcusable.

2 days:
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-Advertising your site (unless it's within your first few posts, in which case it's perma).
-Trolling/flamebaiting (intentionally provoking an angry response or mocking site rules).

3 days:
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-Arguing with the judgment of staff (Includes creating "free <banned person>" threads).
-Disrespect of staff.
-Posting where to find illegal content.

5 days:
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-Spamming.


2 weeks:
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-Offensive remarks about race, religion, sex, nationality, etc.
-Minimum punishment for ban evasion.
-Heavy flaming.

1 month:
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-Posting illegal content.

2 months:
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-Staff impersonation.
-Evading a ban of 2 weeks or more.

3 months:
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-Very heavy flaming. Really going all out. Especially if it's in repeated posts.

6 months:
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-Evading a ban of 2 months or more.

Permanent:
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-Hacking/DoS.
-Vandalism.
-Evading a ban of 6 months or more.

Repeat offenses: ban length doubled, rounded down (in terms of the increments of time VB lets you ban for). Statute of limitations on a week-ban or lesser: three months. No dice on anything more.

Baiting: If it's obvious that you're posting just to "test the rules" and see what you can get away with, or if you're very obviously trying to get yourself banned, expect a ban length much much longer than the one listed for your offense.

Ban evasion: permanent ban on the evasion account, doubled ban length on original (exponential growth). Evade three times and it's a permaban.

Avatars and Signatures: please keep your signature to a maximum width of 500 pixels, and a maximum height of 250 pixels. Avatars must be no more than 200 pixels in height, and no more than 175 pixels in width.

 


Please Remember: We feel that quoting inappropriate material is just as bad as if you posted the content yourself, so don't do it! Quoting posts that are bannable will earn the quoter a ban of the same length as the original offense (i.e. quote racism = two weeks, quote porn = whatever ban applies to the porn).

Glossary of terms:

Bumping: Bumping occurs when a post is made in an old thread. A thread is generally considered "old" if there have been no posts made within two weeks. There are very few instances where bumping is acceptable. One is when new and relevant information is being brought into a thread discussion. Another is when someone who was not able to partake in a discussion before notices the thread and adds his or her own input into the thread. Keep in mind, if a post that brings an old thread back to the top of the page has no relevancy to it, the thread will be locked and action will be taken against the offending poster.

Spamming: Posting the same message multiple times.

Postwhoring: Posting for any reason other than adding content to a thread. An example of postwhoring is looking up the list of most recent threads and adding "yeah" or "i agree" or "lol" to every single thread. Another example is double/triple posting (consecutive posts one after another) multiple times. Posting relevant information into each thread you come across is acceptable. Otherwise, it is considered postwhoring. Simply put, postwhoring is posting simply for the purpose of posting, not for adding anything to the discussion.

Flaming: Flaming is a personal attack against another user. Name-calling and insulting are examples of flaming. Attacking another user's opinions is perfectly acceptable, but calling them names for writing their opinions is not.

Trolling: Posting for the purpose of inciting flame wars (back-and-forth posting of slanderous comments between two or more users) or inciting malicious replies. A good example of trolling is posting "u sux" somewhere in a topic. The general way to handle trolls is to simply ignore them. Replying to a troll post is exactly what the person who posted it wants you to do. Just report the post to a staff member and continue on with your life.

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Have fun on the forums