Rules Thread 4.0 (Please Read)

ClockworkUniverse

NOTE: This thread has been superseded by the current rules thread.

Before joining, note that the applicant approval system is pretty much just a spam prevention measure.

 

With that out of the way, here are the rules. The basic rules are out in the open, and further elaboration is in the toggleboxes if you want it.

 

The Main Rule

• Be nice and be open-minded. This is a forum for discussion.

The Really Serious Stuff

• Don't break the law.
  
  Seriously, we shouldn't even have to say this. If you post something we can't legally host, or links to something we can't legally host links to, we'll remove it and almost certainly ban you. In egregious cases, we might even have to contact the proper authorities. This is not a joke.


• No spam.
  
  If you're just here to advertise, leave. If you're an established member of the community and you have some new business or something, mentioning it is fine, but otherwise, ads generally warrant a permaban.


• No impersonating other users.
  
  If you do this, we might just permaban you immediately.


• Keep the site SFW-ish.
  
  Don't directly post pornographic and/or NSFW content. Clearly-marked links to such content, as well as discussions of a NSFW nature, can be posted in threads marked as NSFW as long as you're reasonable about it.

The Fairly Serious Stuff: Drama

• Disagreeing is fine; attacks and rudeness aren't.
  
  When posting, keep your tone civil even if you disagree strongly.  Don't take others' disagreeing with you personally.  If you really don't like a thread and have nothing to say other than something like "this thread is stupid", then don't post.


• Don't start drama, and don't contribute to it.
  
  If you think someone's causing drama, talk to us and/or them privately. Do not abuse, harass or troll them.


• Don't import or export drama.
  
  Talking about other sites is fine. Talking about them in ways that will lead to drama, whether here, there or both, is not.


• User-ignoring extensions are discouraged.
  
  We can't reasonably outlaw them (that wouldn't really be enforceable anyway), but we don't like them. Don't say you're using one, and don't make it obvious you're using one. You're still subject to the same rules as if you weren't using one.

The Less Serious Stuff (But They're Still Rules)

• When making a thread, put it in the appropriate category.
  
  Our search function sucks, so if someone wants to find your thread a month later for whatever reason, they're probably going to need to rely on categories to find it. Important? Maybe not, but it takes about a second, so there's no excuse for not doing it.


• Natural thread derails: okay.  Intentional rerails: okay.  Intentional derails: not okay.
  


• Having multiple accounts is okay, within limits.
  
  First off, it's probably not as funny as you think it is. More seriously, though, if you're making a secondary account, tell the mods who you are. Making secondary accounts to ban-evade is obviously not allowed. Making secondary accounts to use day-to-day is allowed, but a bit sketchier. If you want a namechange, just tell us.


• Limit snowcloning.
  
  Snowclones are threads made just to make some joke on an existing thread title. If there's a legitimate topic of discussion for the new thread, that's fine. Otherwise, there can only be one snowclone thread per existing thread title. If you have more ideas for possible silly snowclone thread titles, post them in that thread.


• Limit wonderposting.
  
  AKA “shitposting.” It's allowed, but discouraged if you're not in the “wonderful posts” category.

Disclaimers

• This website makes no guarantees.
  
  Do not depend on this site, especially for your mental well-being. Using it in a school or workplace is at your own risk, as it may contain distractions, NSFW content and more.


• If something problematic is on this site, it's not our fault.
  
  This website and the people who run it disclaim liability (including liability for user-generated content) to the greatest extent allowed by applicable laws. This board may contain material (including language and/or content) not suitable for minors. If you are a minor, you understand that this board may contain material not suitable for minors, and that you view the material at your own risk.


• The mods reserve the right to do things not stated in the rules.
  
  We'll try to avoid this generally, but we don't want to turn the rules post into a law library, so these rules are not an attempt to cover every possible eventuality ever.

Consequences of Breaking Rules

In addition to stuff like closing, editing or deleting threads or posts, here's what we may do when rules get broken:

Warnings: In minor cases or some first offenses, we'll basically just tell you to cut it out.
Probation: If your problems are limited to threads you create, we'll just take away your ability to create threads.
Tempbans: Typically last a week or month. These happen when you do something really serious and/or something you've been warned about, but we don't think you need to leave forever, so we just give you a cooldown period.
Permabans: If you're doing something repeatedly after warnings or bans, or doing something especially bad, or trying to evade a previous ban, you're gone forever.

Contacting the Mods

• If a forum post breaks a rule or is somehow causing problems, hit the “flag” button to report it.


• If someone sends you a private message that breaks a rule or is causing problems, add a mod to the conversation.


• Issues concerning the website itself can be posted in the bug reporting thread or sent to the webmaster.


• A list of the staff:
  
  Moderators: All Nines, ClockworkUniverse, Forzare, glennmagusharvey, MadassAlex, ninjaclown
  Webmaster: Unknown_Entity

And Finally...

• It's just a forum. You should really just relax.