Smeags said:
Since early last year, the Mod Team began to slowly and steadily update the existing Forum Rules, using their experiences and situations to make sure that the guidelines that we are all held to meet today's community. First of all, a huge thanks to Kantor for getting the project started. Every member of the mod team has given their suggestions and critiques (especially StarCraft  ), and after all of the debates and discussions, AxumBlade, TruckOSaurus, and myself finalized the changes.
After a very long process (and Truck's new super powers), we feel confident with these updated sets of rules. And here they are.
You can always find the rules on the Forum Tab (which as been fixed by Trucks. Rock on!), hover over it and you'll find the link at the very bottom.
Not to ruin the party ('cause this might sound a bit harsh!), but these are now the rules that we all find ourselves under. If you break any of the rules in place, Ignorance is not an excuse. So be sure to go over the rules and familiarize yourself with them. These are the standards that we expect of all of us. The bar is set high, but we know you can meet it.
-Smeags, TruckOSaurus, and the Mod Team
Highlighted Updates/Changes:
(From Rule 1: Moderation on VGChartz)
- Any level of progression when it comes to ban length may be skipped in especially serious/heinous cases.
- In the same way, moderators may be more lenient when issuing a moderation period, due to a myriad of reasons (usually participating in the forums for a period of time without breaking the following rules). This leniency is of course at the discretion of the moderator.
- New accounts (Either in activity [less than 200 posts] or time [less than 3 months of participation]) that only offer trolling, flaming, or spam-type posts, will suffer harsher moderation or may be permanently banned immediately, at the discretion of the individual moderator.
(From Rule 3: Thread Creation)
- Was previously only about Thread Titles. Thread content added to be more comprehensive.
- Should use proper capitalization (no CAPS), grammar, and spelling. (No more ALL CAPS TITLES.)
(From Rule 5: Avatars)
- Avatars cannot exceed a 1:2.25 (4:9) width-to-height ratio. Ex. If the width of your avatar is 200 pixels, the height can be no more than 200 x 2.25 = 450 pixels.
(From Rule 6: Signatures)
- GIFs contained within signatures must not exceed 1.5MB and 270 pixels in height.
(From Rule 7: Work-Safe Content)
- If a moderator deems your username to be inappropriate, that moderator may permanently disable your account at his/her discretion. You are free to create a new account with a more appropriate name.
(From Rule 8: Substance)
- Do not only post a link, or a copy-pasted article. At the very least avoid committing plagiarism by giving credit to the original author of the piece. Providing original context or commentary is also highly encouraged.
- Quote trees should be no longer than three posts.
(From Rule 9: Spamming)
- Necro-Bumping (Namely posting in a non-Official/Moderator approved thread 30 days after the most recent post) will be treated as a form of spamming if the post in question has no valid reason for being posted, or treated as a form of flaming/trolling if the post in question is malicious in its intent. It will be up the moderator to rule on whether a necro-bumping post is pertinent or not.
- Backseat Moderating in the forums will also be treated as spamming, as it will derail the topic and conversation of the thread. You are not a moderator, so if you do feel like a user is breaking the rules, report them and move on. Let the mod team handle moderation.
- Examples of backseat moderating include statements like "Reported." "You should be banned for that." "I give you a week tops." "I've been banned for less." and the like.
(From Rule 10: Flamebait & Trolling)
- Any user has the right to request that you stop posting on his/her personal wall, for any reason. If you continue to post on the user's wall, you can and will be moderated for it. Respect the user's wishes and move on.
(From Rule 11: Website Criticism)
- On the same note, do not attack any moderator without basis. Whether you are a moderated party (see Rule 18) or not, any attack or unfounded criticism on any moderator may result in moderation against you. We are open to all kinds of feedback and constructive criticism (within the parameters of a mod sanctioned thread or PMs. Anywhere else is off limits and therefore a violation of the rules), but this must be done in a manner that is professional, respectful, and above all else, backed up with evidence and facts. Any baseless or unsupported accusation or criticism has no potential to serve anyone and therefore can be seen as an unfounded attack upon the accused moderator, and is therefore a violation of the rules.
(From Rule 12: Alternate Accounts)
- If you would like to make a new account for a "fresh start", new name (must be an appropriate name, see Rule 7), etc., let a moderator know so that they can ban the old account (after an account is switched, we will not allow you to return to your old account). Keep in mind that your entire moderation history will be moved to your new account.
- Sharing your account password with any other user will result in a permanent ban for that account.
- For creating an alternate account to contact a moderator while banned, see Rule 18.
(From Rule 13: Insults & Flaming)
- Disparaging, insulting, or baiting comments about users who are not participating in the thread.
- Inciting abuse or harassment - of anyone. This includes attempting to discredit any user based on their preferences.
- Similarly, avoid discussing the user who created the thread in a negative, insulting, or accusational fashion, rather than discussing the thread topic itself. If you feel a topic is baiting, trolling or rule-breaking, report it.
- Taunting banned members (in threads or on their/other's wall).
- All the previous rules apply to the forums as well as every other venue of this website. That includes User Walls, Personal Messages, Game Walls, and the like.
- Moderators will look at overt discrimination very harshly. Blatant forms of racism, sexism, homophobia, or any other sort of hatred towards a group of people(s) will not be tolerated, and will be met with firm moderation.
(From Rule 14: Requested Bans *New*)
- For any reason, a user may ask a moderator to ban them for a specific period of time. This ban will not stack against you if you are moderated for rule-breaking in the future. If you would like to return to the website before the deadline, contact a mod by way of an alternate account (See Rule 18). With all that said, we will not grant you a permanent ban.
(From Rule 17: Reporting Content)
- Do not report the same post more than once; there might be plenty of reasons for a reported post not getting handled immediately. Be respectful of the process and trust that every report is carefully examined before it is either dismissed or acted upon.
(From Rule 18: Problems with Moderation)
- If you are banned and cannot login, you may make an account specifically for contacting the moderators. This account may not be used for anything else. Use your banned username plus ALT added to the end so that the moderation team will know the accounts purpose (For example, if the user Smeags is banned, that user should make an alternate account named SmeagsALT).
- Submitted at 2:00 PM EST, to avoid use of these rules ex post facto. (friendly legal assistance from Mr Khan)
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