Forum rules

From UnknowableWiki

Forum rules. The terms in this section apply to the discussion forums attached to the Unknowable Room. Admins have jurisdiction over all areas of the site and discussion forums. Mods only have jurisdiction over the discussion forums.

Admins for the UR.org boards are generally friendly. Users are warned that Eden may bite, Christy has evil tendencies, and everblue3 will rap her cane hard if things get out of hand.

Contents 1 Forums Registration 2 The Rules 2.1 Posting 2.2 Language and Conduct 2.3 Rating 2.3.1 Flames 2.3.2 Spam 2.4 Copyright Infringement and Privacy 2.5 Photos and Images 2.6 Signatures 2.7 Disciplinary Action

Forums Registration

Registration is not required to visit UR.org or any message boards, but is required to post messages anywhere on the forums (though not for reviewing fanfiction or fanart), to submit fanfiction or fanart. It is encouraged, but not required, for participation in any Challenge or Awards.

The Rules

Posting

• All posts made on UR forums must be "on topic" and relevant to the forum and thread in which they are posted;

• a thread is a series of posts on a single topic or group of topics under one heading;
• the exceptions to this are in the Hijacking, Obsessions and Introductions forums, where hijacking (off-topic, chat-like discussion) is acceptable in moderation; hijacking to excess will result in discouraged and may result in the forum being locked by a Mod or Admin.

• You are free to set up a new thread on any relevant topic in any given forum. UR.org reserves the right to move or merge any threads that are not relevant to the forum topic or are duplicative to other threads.
• If you believe a post in the forums to be in violation of the Forum Rules, please PM a Mod or Admin with details about and a link to the post in violation. Violating the Forum Rules is not acceptable, even if in response to someone else's having done so. If you realize that you yourself have violated the Forum Rules, you may edit or delete your post to move it into rules compliance, and are encouraged to do so.
• New users are encouraged to post on the Introductions Forum. Be kind to them.
• Post count is not transferable to any other site user.

Language and Conduct

• Be respectful, civilized and mindful of other people's opinions. Debate is encouraged, but never rudeness.
• The following things are not allowed on any discussion boards on UR.org:

• L33T or webspeak (such as "ph34r" or "hax0r") or the use of alphanumerics like "U" in place of "you", "l8r" in place of "later", "4" in place of "for", or "R" in place of "are" (some exception may be made for off-topic posts, but is generally discouraged);
• cryptic abbreviations that are not explained elsewhere in the thread, in the Fanfiction Glossary, or in the post itself;
• erratic capitalisation, such as "tHiNgS wRiTTen Like thIs".
• excess use of formatting (including bold, italic, or underlined text), color (red font is strictly prohibited), or differently sized font (whether larger or smaller than the default)

• Proper grammar (spelling, and punctuation) is encouraged, to the best of your ability.

Rating

• The UR.org Ratings System is located here.
• The content of posts to UR.org should remain on a PG-13 level, and therefore, some swearing is allowed. Rationality is the primary motivation; be mindful of the young teenagers who may read your posts. Do not post any NC-17 or X-rated material anywhere on the UR.org forums. UR.org assumes no responsibility for content of any website referenced by links provided in posts; access third party links at your own risk.

Flames

• Flaming another user will not be tolerated. Flames are defined as:

• any post, or portion of a post, containing defamatory statements aimed toward other individuals, whether singly or as members of any group;
• any post, or portion of a post, where the stated primary intent or the clearly implied primary intent of the poster is to insult, to engender hostility or to incite terror in any other individual;
• any post, or portion of a post, where the stated or clearly implied intent of the poster is to incite a flame war.

• Flaming should immediately be reported to a Mod or Admin for deletion, and users who flame may be subject to suspension or bans from the forums or UR.org in its entirety.

Spam

• Spamming is not allowed. Spam is defined as:

• repetitive postings of the same message across numerous forums (Note: making the same argument multiple times on a discussion thread, in the course of a discussion, is not Spam.);
• posting an advertisement for an auction, sale, or some other commercial venture that benefits the poster, the family of the poster or an organisation connected with the poster.
• posting multiple brief messages in a short time period for the purpose of increasing one's post count (the exception is in the hijacking threads);
• posting multiple messages to a single thread in a short period of time without said posts being interspersed with other users' posts to the thread; this is also considered double-posting, and is not tolerated. Users finding themselves double-posting should edit their previous post rather than post a new reply.

Copyright Infringement and Privacy

• Do not post content on the board that you do not have a right to post. This includes, but is not limited to, Instant Messenger logs, Private Messages, e-mail, pictures, content from other webpages (including media reports), and other private details, in the absence of permission from the appropriate third-party.
• If you suspect a writer of engaging in copyright or trademark infringement, please inform the Admins via a PM.

Photos and Images

• You may upload or attach a small image or graphic that is at most 33 KB or 200x300 pixels in any post; such image must be relevant to the thread under discussion.

• Acceptable file formats are: .gif, .jpg, .jpeg, and .bmp.
• You may link to images or graphics that are hosted off-site in posts and in signatures.
• No image or graphic that is linked, attached, or used as an icon, may contain offensive or indecent content.

Signatures

• Signatures are permitted on the UR.org forums, but should be limited in size.

• No signature images over 160 (width) x 80 (height), or 100x100 are allowed.
• No offensive language, or exceedingly colourful/big formatting.

• Common sense is the bottom line here: signatures should not disturb anyone's reading and forum experience (ergo, no blinking or heavily animated graphics). UR.org reserves the right to request a user modify or remove their signature, and may remove the signature if the user does not comply.

Disciplinary Action

• Initial or minor violations may result in a public or private warning (via PM) from a mod or Admin. Continued infractions may result in suspension of any of the following privileges: use of avatar, use of signature, use of posting capability, use of private messages. UR.org reserves the right to change or expand on this list without notice.
• UR.org will temporarily or permanently ban those users attempting to sabotage the smooth running of the site (i.e., those sending viruses to the site's staff, those attempting to hack the site, etc.) or those who continue to break the Forum Rules after multiple warnings and posting rights suspensions.