FAQ UPDATED 1/17/09

This is what I find a comprehensive rule book for all members. Everyone please read, even if you are a higher up member because there are some important and new rules in addition to the rules already in place. These rules are also for moderators, since I think we need a better banning and warning system.

WARNINGS AND BANS

This forum uses a warning system. Each warning makes the amount of time banned increase.

• 1 warning: No penalty.
• 2 warnings: One-Day ban.
• 3 warnings: Week-long ban.
• 4 warnings: Month-long ban.
• 5 warnings: Permanent-ban.
•

Appeals Process

If you have been permanently banned and you wish to come back, you must make an appeal to the moderators. There are two types of appeals - You can Contest a decision, or make a request for Clemency:

• If you feel you have been unjustly banned (IE, you wish to contest the infraction issued by the moderator/administrator), email a moderator/admin (list of emails below). In your email, you should explain you side of the story, in your own words, and explain why you think the moderator's decision was in error. The moderation team will investigate your claims and make a decision.

• Secondly; you make make a request for clemency. Send an email to one of the moderators explaining what you did, why you think you should be let back, and how you will keep from getting banned again. You should be prepared to accept full responsibility for your actions and convince us that there will not be a repeat offense.

In either case; The moderator/admin will then post your request in the Moderator's chat, and it will be discussed and, if necessary, voted on. If your appeal is accepted, you will be let back on probation for a month. If you break the rules within the probation period, you will be permanently banned and will not be permitted to appeal again - EVER. If you follow the rules during the probation period, you will be let back. If your appeal is denied, you may revise your missive and appeal again at a later date.

Regardless of your type of appeal, make sure you take an adequate amount of time to carefully write your email. It will be posted verbatim for the other moderators to review. Well-written appeals (ie, those written with good spelling and grammar and a clear and concise argument) will enjoy a much higher rate of success than those that contain ranting, poorly thought explanations, bad spelling, etc.



Do not use these emails for your own personal reasons. If you need to get in contact with a moderator/admin for issues besides an appeal, use private messages.

• Major Offences: Posting/Distributing inappropriate pictures (e.g. pornography, this includes animated gifs that do not actually show body parts, but imply a strong sexual undertone or nudity), mass spamming, extreme language and flaming, or any other major disregard of the rules will result in an instant permanent-ban.
Warnings are permanent and will be on your account forever.

GENERAL RULES

1. Register only ONE (inoffensive) username only. Do not log on to any other screen name but your own. Do not let someone else log onto your screen name. We can track this kind of stuff, so don't do it!
2. Do not flame, troll, post offensively, flood, spam, etc. Descriptions:

OFFENSIVE POSTING

Posts of a patently offensive nature are not allowed. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Using vulgar, profane, or sexually explicit language
• Using race, religion, sexual orientation, culture, ethnicity, disability, nationality, or gender as a means of insult
• Using threatening, harassing, defamatory, hate-speech, or libellous language
• Posting or requesting links to (or material from) pornographic, obscene, illegal, or hate-speech web sites
• Posting links to web sites with potentially offensive content without a clear warning
• Descriptions or details about any sexual act,sexual organs or nudity.

FLAMING (INSULTING OTHER USERS)

Posts clearly insulting other board members, directly or indirectly, are not allowed. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Name-calling ("You\'re an idiot", "You moron")
• Direct insults ("Screw you")
• Offensive orders ("Go kill yourself")
• Insinuations ("Are you stupid or something?") or insults toward family members ("Your mom...")
• Hit lists

In addition, do NOT flame "newbs." Treat them the way you\'d want to be treated.

TROLLING (INCITING FLAMES)

Posts intended solely to annoy or offend other posters by going against the clear nature of a board or topic is not allowed. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Provoking other users to respond with flames
• Making misleading topic titles
• Asking obviously useless questions
• Posting false information as fact
• "Spoof" Threads
• Informing users that you have reported their post
• Flooding with the intent of disrupting forum activities

Any member found flaming and/or trolling the forums will be subject to a week-ban. These will not incur a warning. Any member who does not desist in flaming may be subject to one or more warnings. If a user on probation is found trolling and/or flaming, he or she will be permanently-banned.

SPAMMING

Posts that clearly advertise a service or product are not allowed. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Repeated web site advertisements
• Scams, chain letters, and pyramid schemes
• Posting links to games like "OUTWAR".
• Posting one or few worded posts
• Posting multiple messages in succession. There is an edit button for a reason: USE it!
• Off-topic posting
• A post that contains no real words (exclusively random symbols, emoticons, 1337-speak, etc)
• A post simply telling someone that their post is spam (it is spam itself)
• Posting to ask a question that could be answered by a simple google search

DISRUPTIVE POSTING

Posts that disrupt the message boards for other users are prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Posts with large spacing
• "Bumping" older topics (posting in them well after the last post - 2 months as a general guide)
• Posting multiple, identical, or near-identical messages or topics, including "fad" topics
• Intentionally hard-to-read topic titles (i.e. ALL CAPS, ToGgLeD cApS, no spaces, no or excessive punctuation, 1337 speak, etc.)
• Posting multiple, hard-to-read messages in a single (or multiple) topics
• Posting absolutely uselessly (including double posts)
• Posting in a thread autoplaying flash/videos

INAPPROPRIATE LANGUAGE

Curse words or other inappropriate language are NOT allowed here. This includes images containing curse words. Using curse words results in a warning. We do warn for saying a curse word with merely one letter present: use something to completely censor the word (eg ####). Attempts to evade the swear filter (by intentionally misspelling swear words, for example) will result in a particularly harsh penalty.

Also, swearing in code is not allowed (e.g. spelling out words making each letter the first letter of a word).

IMPERSONATION

Users will be immediately banned (along with any associated accounts) for impersonating other boards users by creating and/or using a message board account with a name clearly intended to impersonate, mock, or antagonize another user, or otherwise falsely claim to be another message board member. Anyone found using the avatar and/or signature of a moderator/administrator after being given a light reminder via PM will be given a warning. His/her avatar/signature will be automatically removed as well.

Spammers chat is unique. Anything reasonable, inoffensive, and not directly harmful to others can be posted in Spammers chat.

REPORTING POSTS

While we moderators/admins do as much as we can to keep the forums running smoothly, we can't catch everything. If you find a post that breaks the rules, please report it. Reporting posts using the 'report post' button helps the moderators handle inappropriate posts. Please use the post report button rather than contacting a moderator via email/IM/pm as this allows the first available moderator to respond.

In the event that something requires immediate moderation (highly graphic images, etc), Most moderators' screen names (and email address) can be found in their profiles. You can also click the "The team" button at the bottom of the forums.

MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS

If you have read and fully understand the rules, you know that creating accounts in addition to your own is against the rules, and will result in an instant-ban.

If you are going to make an additional account, you must first receive approval from a moderator or an administrator. To receive this approval, simply send the noted official a private message containing the following information:

1. Reason why the additional account is wanted
2. Who will use this account
3. What the account's name will be

In providing this information (and after being approved), a moderator can ensure that you are not simply creating this account for reasons such as gaining post count or eluding past indiscretions.

NOTE: If you have a sibling who wishes to create an account on these forums, you must still receive approval. Otherwise, the moderators may come across this additional account and ban them "for no apparent reason" as the multiple has not been approved.

In the case that you have a multiple account (i.e. a sibling posts on Thoosje.com as well, but we do not know of the duplication), please submit a PM containing the information required for approval. This ensures that you will not be banned if you appear to be multi-accounting (same IP, same photo-albums for sig hosting, etcetera).

If you have any enquiries regarding this, please feel free to post them.

SIGNATURE RULES

1. Images: must not exceed the size limit
5. GIF signatures should not contain excessive or overly distracting animation.
7. Signatures should not contain images inappropriate for school or work.
8. THESE LIMITS ARE NON-NEGOTIABLE AND ARE STRICTLY ENFORCED

SPAM PLOTS

Any member using our forum to plot the spamming of another forum will receive a week-ban.

Also, any member proved to have spammed a forum that is affiliated with Thoosje.com will receive a ban.

PIRATED SOFTWARE

Anyone who is found posting links to illegal software or providing sites, keys, warez, cracks, keygens downloads, etc. will receive a permanent ban. General discussion on where to obtain such is still allowed, so long as no specific details are provided.

PORN

There has been some issue regarding whether or not porn is allowed. Artistic nudity as in Zeus' skin pack here http://www.thoosje.com/vista-forum/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=5310 is ok, because it is used in a strictly artistic manner.

We do NOT allow or condone the posting of full body nude, or sexual images/videos.

Administrators/Moderators have full discretion over what is allowed, if you are unsure if your image/post contains appropriate content please pm one of the Administrators/Moderators

Additional Note

Moderators and Administrators may, at their discretion, issue a ban for any length of time for any reason to any user.

Well the serving arena is kind of out of these rules. What I want to do is make the serving arena private so that if you don't have a certain number of posts you can't see it. Right now these rules apply to the general forums excluding the serving arena. I think for just now I'm going to password lock the serving arena and we will work this out tomorrow. We're working on it lol.

Yea, I was wondering too about if these apply to the serving arena


EDIT: never mind, you posted right before I asked the question lol

Ok I've temporarily locked the serving arena until we can figure out a way to protect it from every user who visits or registers the forum.

i suggest: Every user, who wnats to read servign arena/ fught there should write a pm to a mod/admin (e.g. you buo) which contains he has read this rules, is not very sensible and knows that there are offenses etc. in and has 20 or more quality posts. (means that he didn't posted 20 posts in our forum games just for getting a visitor of our arena^^)

it wouldn't be locked via password. you could manage that via..for example a usergroup. (you can make a forum viewable for users only, which are in a special group)

we don't have many new active users per month. so the work would be small only

no one ask...err btw aski for vip affects your chances to get it negatively

pff...have more than 3 times more.
the only way to get a higher rank is being a good user with quality posts and no shit+ not asking for a higher rank