Welcome to our fair little community. Just so you know, we're fairly laid back. That's something to remember first and foremost. Half of all posts are probably borderline spam and sarcastic in some manner or another. We do, however, have some baseline rules to follow. Directly below is an outline of the rules and a sort of 'table of contents' of other issues. If you wish to view specific information about a rule, type Ctrl + F and type either the number of the rule between parentheses (ie, for rule 7, type (7)). For other issues, simply copy and paste the name in the pseudo-table of contents and Ctrl + F for that.

-----------------------------------------

[Rules]

(1) No (sincere) flaming or trolling.
(2) Don't stretch topics, and keep your sig small.
(3) No off topic posting.
(4) Don't spam.
(5) Do not necro-post or double-post.
(6) Do not link to porn or shock sites.
(7) The mods and admins are (usually) right.
(8) Be careful with your (and others) personal information.
(9) Do NOT make alternate accounts without permission.
(10) You must be 13 or older.
(11) No impersonation of other people.

[Etiquette]
[X-Fire Rules]
[Explanation of Warn System]
[DUTIES OF THE STAFF]
[STAFF PUNISHMENT]
[ACCOUNT DELETION POLICY]

-----------------------------------------

Rules

-----------------------------------------
(1) [No (sincere) flaming or trolling.]

Self explanatory. Serious flaming on others (not the light-hearted joking most of the regulars do) is bad and the number one cause of e-drama. Basically, so long as you're civil, everything will be alright.

Trolling is intentionally seeking flames (ie: negative attention) from others. This doesn't make you a victim, it makes you someone who probably deserved what they got and will be treated as such.

Punishment: Depends on severity and frequency of offense(s).

-----------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------
(2) [Don't stretch topics, and keep your sig small.]

It's almost sad that this has to go here, but extremely wide or extremely tall sigs are a no-no. For a baseline, use this picture of REDDAP's sig for the vertical;



For the horizontal, it is the same as the following bit on page stretchers.

Stretching a topic can be achieved a couple of ways; Typing an extremely long string of letters with no space, or via a picture. In the case of letters, this is something you shouldn't have done and you will take blame for it. With pictures, we are a bit more lenient as sometimes a picture will stretch a topic on one persons monitor, whereas the original poster (and others) may see it as not stretching the topic. If you promptly fix the mistake (and use a link or smaller picture), you will be let off.

-(Amended 2/12/08)-

To give a more numerical limit, the largest you can have is 500 pixels x 350 pixels. This also shouldn't be entirely an image, and isn't enforced strictly since people probably don't know how many pixels a line of text is. Still, keep sig images fairly small.

Punishment: First time, none; repeat offenses (without reasonable excuse), 20%.
-----------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------
(3) [No off-topic posting.]

Most of you will read this and think it's a joke. And to some extent, it probably is. It's okay for a topic to 'wander' off topic over the course of several posts, but if you blatantly spam something along the lines of 'YOU ARE A CONFUSED LOBSTER WHO LIKES TO TOUCH CROTCHES' in an otherwise mundane topic, that is considered off-topic.

Also, if a topic wanders off topic and the original topic creator wants to get back on it, you should oblige.

Punishment: Depends on severity and frequency of the offense(s).
-----------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------
(4) [Don't spam.]

Spam posts belong in the spam forum. There has, historically, been some question as to what belongs in spam and what doesn't. Generally, completely non-sensical posts and outright lies belong in Spam, whereas anything that's serious belongs in the appropriate forum or in General Chat.

Also, do not spam Private Messages to anyone, particularly the mods and admins as their limited PM space probably has better things in it than 'u suk hay how i shot RPGM2kBRPG!'. PMs should, as with every other sort of communication, be civil and have some sort of meaning to them.

Punishment: Depends on the severity and frequency of the offense(s).
-----------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------
(5) [Do not necro-post or double-post.]

Double-posting and necro-posting is allowed in Project topics of your own creation in the event you need two posts for screenshots or if you take more than one week between updates. ‘Long term’ topics such as the Links topic are also exempt.

In the event that you need to correct a mistake, instead of posting again, there is an Edit button. If there is some sort of glitch and you make double (or triple posts) by accident, you should edit the second (or third or both) posts explaining it and the staff will take care of it with no warn increase.

Finally, necro-posting. If a topic has not had any new posts within seven days, chances are, nobody really cares about it anymore. People's memories will be hazy, and they won't want to go through several posts to hear what you had to say. If you're merely attempting to carry on the conversation, it's probably better to keep it to yourself. If you have new, pertinent information, it's better to make a new topic. Something along the lines of 'Hey, remember that one topic? Well, now...' is generally regarded as much less heinous by most of the community.

---(amendment on 2/8/08)---

A few recent instances have brought up some controversy surrounding this, and the following clarifications are to be made. Seven days is a guideline. This does not mean every necropost at seven days needs to be locked. Blatantly useless ‘=/’ ones along the lines of Mukmaster’s classic, however, should be dealt with.

That said, it is generally better for a mod/admin to just delete the offending post. This also means that users shouldn’t post ‘OMGWTFBBQNECROPOST’ when they see one, either.

Punishment: Deletion of post/locking of topic, Warn depends on the severity and frequency of the offense(s).
-----------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------
(6) [Do not link to porn or shock sites.]

Porn basically means anything that has naughty bits showing (real, computer generated, or drawn and of any species), and this rule includes stuff that is sexually suggestive. (ie swimsuits and handbras and the like). Every man (or woman's) libido is his or her own business, and I'm sure you can find another forum for such smut. This is the Internets afterall.

Sites such as screamers and the like are not permissible either. Anything along the lines of Goatse, Tubgirl, and anything else designed to disgust/scare/annoy people falls under this rule.

Punishment: Minimum 20% warn increase, more on repeat offenses.
-----------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------
(7) [The mods and admins are (usually) right.]

Do NOT argue with Mods or Admins. You may contest warns which you feel were unfair or overly severe, but you should do so in a civil manner with calm, logical reasoning as to why it was. A Mod or Admin will not punish you further if you do this, and they may let you off if you make a good case. However, whiny responses (listed after this), outright belligerence, and repeatedly pestering them will not make your situation better and will likely make it worse.

Unacceptable 'Contests':

-My friend told me to do it.
(And you're stupid enough to actually do it?)

-My friend/sibling/pet got on my account!
(Well, you should have made it more secure.)

-What I did wasn't wrong!
(Read the rules again.)

-I was only joking.
(This one goes without saying.)

Punishment: Highly situational
-----------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------
(8) [Be careful with your (and others) personal information.]

Unless you have explicit permission from the person whom you're posting about or it is already public knowledge, do not post others personal information. Do not attempt to wheedle personal information (such as address, phone numbers, or pictures) out of members, and please don't post your own (pictures excepted, as long as they're not noodz). If you wish to do that, arrange some other sort of means of exchanging them.

Punishment: 20% warn level when proven, more in repeat or extreme cases.
-----------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------
(9) [Do NOT make alternate accounts without permission.]

Anyone found making alternate accounts will have their alt(s) deleted and their primary account warned or suspended.

Punishment: First offense; 20% warn increase, Repeat Offenses; increasingly lengthy suspensions and/or bans.
-----------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------
(10) [You must be 13 or older.]

This is here as a reminder; you SHOULD have seen it when you registered. Simply, if you are 12 or younger, don't sign up. As soon as you mention that you are underage or if someone notices your profile having a out-of-bounds birthdate, you're gone.

Punishment: Suspension until users 13th birthday.
-----------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------
(11)[No impersonation of other people.]

This should be a given. On the forum, this basically means don't intentionally make a username similar to someone else's, or upload the same or a very similar avatar as someone else. On X-fire, it is possible to change your nickname to the same one as another users. Unless it's very clear that you aren't seriously impersonating someone else, this will result in a kickban, with a length determined by a staff member. And by the way, we do know how to tell if you're impersonating.

Punishment: 20% warn, name/avatar change.
--------------------------------
--------------------------------
[Etiquette]
(NOTE: Flagrant disregard for etiquette or serious, chronic offenses are grounds for Warning.)

1) Grammar:

We obviously can't force you to type like this is English class, but we do humbly request you avoid netspeak and 1337 in serious topics. Capitalization and punctuation are highly appreciated. Perfection is not expected, but we do expect people to proofread and make some attempt at proper grammar.

2) Swearing:

There is a censor, and bypassing it is bad. These words currently consist of 'heavier' swears, namely the ones people refer to as the (x)-words and politically incorrect stuff. We're fine with using the non-censored words as 'language spice', but overuse is just tactless. To elaborate, the odd use of a swear word is acceptable, but don't fill your posts with "%$&^ !@#$ %$&^ %$&^ !@#$ &%^$#@! $%#$@ %$&^!!!" etc...

3) E-Drama:

If you really get in to a spat with another member, try to resolve it via PM or X-Fire or something. This is probably just a token gesture, but let's try to keep things running smoothly, regardless for the penchant that even the Mod and Admin team seem to have for spreading it (intentionally or not).

4) Politics:

Some things just don’t belong at the dinner table. I forget the others, but politics is one of them. Now, we aren’t here to berate and squabble over opposing views, but neither are we here to squelch people’s voice. A topic about politics is fine, but I don’t trust myself (or others) to not completely and irrevocably derail a topic that was not originally about politics. I will personally request the conversation move away from politics should it come up in one of our off-topic ramblings.

-----------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------
[X-Fire Rules]

First and foremost, if you wish to contact a staff member for any (reasonable) reason to have a one-on-one real time chat, all of us currently use X-Fire with the following usernames:

REDDAP (REDDAP)
Rodpop (Rodpop)
Knight of Eonia (owenquillion)
Zephyr Runeglyph (zephyrruneglyph)

(to join the X-Fire chat, add one of us as a friend and we'll invite you, if we're on)


Considering the nature of the punishments in an X-Fire chat (and our very own playful, laid-back nature), the staff reserve the right to Peon (mute) and kickban (with prompt reinvites) should the situation prove lulzy or to prove a point. If it gets out of hand and someone says it makes them feel uncomfortable (and not just spewing hate), we will desist.

Naturally, we also reserve the right to kickban as a ban and peon as a suspension should repeated blatant spam (not just someone honestly talking about something that someone else isn't interested in), trolling/flaming, or various offenses (spamming a voice chat invite, changing of names to impersonate, etc.) specific to X-Fire.

Finally, to all members joining the X-Fire chat; there are several members of the gaming guild Chronicles of Heroes in there, and most of the regulars who actually hail more from RGP are considered to be members of said guild as well (ironically, not Rodpop and REDDAP as neither of them actually play many online games. But that's just lol). So expect a few unfamiliar names, even considering name changes like mine.

As for rule enforcement on X-Fire, the most flagrant of offenses (repeated or flagrant spamming, sincere flaming, etc.) are grounds for Warns on the forum. The precedent was only recently set, and the case needs to be fairly extreme for it to occur, but it is possible. Be forewarned.
-----------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------
[Explanation of Warn System]

So you may be a little confused by what all these percents means. It's very simple. When you break a rule, your warn level is increased, in increments of 20%. If you reach 100, you get suspended for a certain amount of time depending on just what you've been doing to increase your warn. If you're at 0%, you're a model forumer and the staff likes you. If you manage to come back from a suspension and reach 100% again, then, to put it lightly, you're outta here. You should also take note that certain actions (IE epic trolling) will most likely get you banned instantly.

-----------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------
[DUTIES OF THE STAFF]

First and foremost, the staff must be active and uphold the rules, both by not breaking the rules themselves and pointing out infractions and doling punishment to the members.

As the communities equivalent of a civil servant, they should also graciously accept reasonable criticism of their actions.

Also, as a matter of house-cleaning;

1) On the first of each month, someone delete all accounts with fewer than ten posts and flag all accounts that have been inactive for a month as Inactive (preferably by changing their user group.)

2) Also on the first of each month, someone will check for members who have been given warns, and given that they've been on good behavior and actually active during that month, remove one 20% mark.
-----------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------
[STAFF PUNISHMENT]

Mods that break rules will face the possibility of being stripped of their powers, and those that abuse their powers may, in addition, be suspended or banned.

(special note: this cannot be enforced upon REDDAP, being the original Admin, but does apply to Rodpop, although that's not very likely. If REDDAP becomes a rule bending, power-abusing tyrant, the only way he can be punished is by community backlash.)
-----------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------
[ACCOUNT DELETION POLICY]

If an account is inactive for a substantial amount of time, particularly low-post accounts, they will be regularly deleted. Most people that are known will not be deleted after any amount of time. But for safeties sake, it's best to always mention lengthy inactivity or possibility that you will be departing our community for an unknown amount of time in the Hellos/Goodbyes forum.

Also, we obviously reserve the right to delete banned members.
-----------------------------------------

And if you haven't died or screamed 'TL;DR' yet, I welcome you to the community again and applaud you having read all of the rules and various other tidbits contained herein. As most of this is pertaining to the one thing we regularly host outside of the forums and rules, you can get to know the community itself a little bit better by visiting the guide to site fads and various other junk.

Also, if you're rusty or have no clue what bbcode is, you can learn a bit about it in this topic.

|---------------------------------------|
TABLE OF EDITS:

4/7/08 - Changed rule six to include 'annoying' links.