Forum Rules of Conduct

[Rizin]

The success of our forums depends upon the quality posts of our participants. We are proud of the success of our forums and give our thanks to those who have chosen to make our forums their out-of-game home. To ensure continued success we are posting these guidelines so that all participants of the PlaneShift forums understand what is considered unacceptable behavior and can result in a temporary suspension or a permanent ban.

• Posting Guidelines
• Signatures
• Behavior and Etiquette
• Moderation and Disciplinary Actions

- Original Author: Karyuu

[Rizin]

Use common sense when posting. We are a public, global forum. We are frequented by people of all ages and nationalities. What you find humorous others may very well find crude or offensive. Keep in mind we are a forum about the PlaneShift MMORPG. People don't come here expecting to be be confronted with offensive material or language of any sort.

Forum Members should not make any post that:

• Attacks or insults others.

Feel free to debate, but do not turn your disagreements into attacks upon other posters or any person or group. This includes engaging in name-calling, harassment, or threats. Do not try to be clever and hide snide remarks behind white veils. The moderators are not babysitters, and we do not appreciate needing to take on that role.

Threads that single out a player for ridicule or to accuse someone of actions in-game will be removed without notice. Repeatedly targeting another person is considered ongoing harassment and is a severe violation of the forum rules.

• Contains obscenity, vulgarity, profanity or is sexually explicit.

Bypassing obscenity or filtering it by using letter, number, or character combinations is unacceptable as well. If you feel you absolutely need to vent, do it privately, do it elsewhere, or just learn some self-control.

• Contains game spoilers.

This includes but is not limited to quest solutions, maps with the intention of showing “hidden” content (exits, entrances, mining locations), etc.

• Infringes upon anyone's privacy rights.

This includes but is not limited to logs or screenshots that you know someone may object to due to their involvement, revealing of “alts” without private and agreed upon discussions first, etc. Private Messages received on these forums are to be considered private and are not to be posted publicly unless the sender of the private message agrees. Reports of harassment that may need to include logs or screenshots should not be posted publically, but discussed either with Game Masters or forum moderators.

• Is in a language other than English.

We are a very diverse, international community, and it is therefore vitally important that all content be made in English only – posting in other languages alienates people who do not speak that language, and makes forum moderation difficult. If you need to make a post in another language, please provide a translation.

• Debates bans, warnings, Game Master or moderator actions.

Any inquiries or comments are to be sent in private messages or via email. A moderator may choose to publicly inform the participants of the forum about bans and warnings if this is in the interest of the forum. For further information on GM issues, check the "Reporting In-Game Abuse" thread.  Addendum from Oomi: Topics and posts that discuss PlaneShift policies in a general way without referencing specific incidents are allowed; however they must adhere to all of the posting guidelines just like any other topic or post. For example, making a post that says "I think that posting pictures of Albert Einstein should be disallowed on the forums" is OK, but one that says "I posted a picture of Albert Einstein on the forums and my post got removed - why did you do that?" is not OK.

IN ADDITION, forum users may not:

• Make multiple posts on the same subject for the purpose of getting attention paid to your issue. No need to cross-post to multiple forums – we’ll see the post no matter where you place it. If you cross post or spam the forum, your posts will be removed.
• Make a reply after your own reply.

The forums are enabled with a Modify button - if you forget to add something to your post, simply use the edit feature. Comments such as "Sorry for the double post ...." will be deleted. If you make an accidental double-post, notify a moderator or hit the “Report to moderator” link and it will be taken care of for you.

Double-posts are allowed in the Roleplay (Communitive Storywriting) section, as people may often need to post chapters of a story without a break for comments.

• Make posts which lack any substance, such as "nice" or "awesome".

These will be promptly deleted, as well as any one-word posts or posts consisting of smilies only. Posting for the sole reason of increasing your rank is not allowed.

• Post comments in threads for the purpose of drawing attention to another thread on a different subject.
• “Bump” threads with no useful information or to keep them at the top of the list.
• Make replies to posts that do not pertain to or are irrelevant to the original topic – for example, posting messages to reserve a reply spot with the intention of posting to it later.
• Make redundant threads.

As a courtesy to others before beginning a new thread, please look to see if an active thread on that topic has already been established. If so, place your comments there instead. Multiple threads on the same subject clutter up the forum needlessly and many good ideas may be lost. Duplicate threads will either be closed or deleted.

• Make threads that are off-topic for the forum section.

These forums are provided to enable members to help each other in sharing their passion for the game. There is a section called Hydlaa Plaza for topics that don't relate directly to PlaneShift. However, be aware that the Rules of Conduct will still be enforced. Do not assume it is a section that welcomes every discussion - debates about religion, politics, looking for romance, etc. should be avoided. Excessive Off Topic posts will be dealt with on a case by case basis.

• Re-post the same topic or material of a thread that has been closed by a moderator, or continue the closed discussion through a new thread.

If you have any questions as to why a thread was closed or removed please contact the moderator via private message.

• Troll the forum.

“Trolling” is defined as: Clearly, deliberately posting in a manner for the purpose of angering and/or insulting the other participants of the forum. Trolling does not encourage further discussion in the long run, and only encourages personal attacks if left unchecked.

• No ranting. Ranting is posting irate, unconstructive (usually vague) comments to "blow off steam." This is considered a form of trolling since ranting does little but end up in flame wars.
• Post topics addressed directly to another player.

The PlaneShift forums have a private messaging system for conversations between two players. If you want to contact someone directly, use the private messaging system.

• Impersonate other members from the forum, including PlaneShift Staff and Team members.

Firstly you'll be bad at it, and secondly you'll be punished.

• Create another forum account to bypass a ban.
• Make posts with the sole purpose of advertising other websites or forums if they are commercial.

PlaneShift is a completely free open-source game, and advertisements to elsewhere must be similar. Posts discussing or linking to online game auction sites or the sale of in-game goods or services for real money are strictly prohibited.

- Original Author: Karyuu

[Rizin]

Signatures must follow these guidelines:

• Your entire signature should fit inside a height of 200 pixels. Images must not exceed 500x150 (width x height). Yes, if an image you have is off by 10 pixels we will ask you to change it.
• Try to keep the image file size under 100KB.
• Signature content must not break any of the other forum rules – no harassment, no spoilers, no inappropriate content.
• You may have links in your signature leading to personal/affiliate web pages, however the use of misleading links in your signature is not permitted. Do not attempt to trick other users into visiting pages they did not intend to visit, do not post links in signatures with referral links and please do not use your signature as a platform for advertising services.
• Excess typing or use of an over-large font size is also prohibited. Please make sure to contain your signature to no more than 6 lines of normal-sized text.
• Do not use excessive colors or animation in your signature.

Signature Rules Explained

In order to make sure that everyone has a pleasant experience while browsing PlaneShift Forums, we feel that a signature size limit and format policy is needed and must be enforced strictly. Having the forum table stretch hideously because of a poster that decided to have a 800x500 image is unacceptable.

This is what a 500x150 space looks like:



The rules have been written in order to provide members with suitable signature options that will allot them enough space to share a moderately sized and creative signature, while also providing an incentive for users that help to cut down on heavy bandwidth usage and page loading times. The faster pages load, the more enjoyable browsing the forums are for everyone.

If a member has a question/concern about his/her signature (whether current or prospective) after reading the guidelines and giving it considerable thought, the best thing to do is to private message a moderator.

If you are not sure how to change your signature: Click on Profile link http://207.244.96.64/PlaneShift/smf/index.php?action=profile) in the main tool bar. Then in the menus to the left under 'Modify Profile' select 'Forum Profile'.



You will see a form with a field for entering your signature to the right, and we have a guide to posting images ( http://207.244.96.64/PlaneShift/smf/index.php?topic=20453.0) stickied in the Forum Issues section of the boards.

Please note the following when adjusting your signature:
1) If it's got a funny quote and it's been up a while, chances are it's no longer funny.
2) If it contains a picture or reference to an "inside joke", chances are it's not only no longer funny, but it's also confusing to new people.
3) If you don't want to look at other people's signatures while you're surfing the PlaneShift forums, there's an option in the User Control Panel (see the "Profile" button at the top of the screen) to turn signatures off, under the “Look and Layout Preferences” link in the sidebar.

Signatures found to break the posted guidelines will be manually removed by the Forum Administrators if the poster ignores warnings, sent by Private Messages. We reserve the right to ask you to change and/or remove your signature at any time, for any reason. (Do you really need it explained that if your signature uses every forum code in existence, it'll be removed?)

- Original Author: Karyuu

[Rizin]

Jump in and Post!

If you’re new to our community, it may seem intimidating to jump in and start posting publicly. Don’t be afraid to join, or start, a discussion. New people are always welcome here. We have a very supportive community that serves up heavy doses of encouragement and enthusiasm, while taking pride in its inclusiveness. While we hope that you will become an active participant and join in discussions, you’re welcome, of course, to simply hang out and observe threads until you feel more comfortable making a post.


Keep feedback constructive.
All feedback on the game is appreciated as long as it is constructive. Keep it straightforward and include examples and facts when applicable. For example, “This game is ****!” or “This game is dying!” is not constructive feedback. “I am way annoyed with the following things about the game and here’s why
” is constructive and useful to us. The best way to get your opinions recognized is not to be abusive or offensive, but to be constructive and communicate in a mature fashion.

Keep feedback high-quality.
Please avoid frivolous and duplicate postings. Threads to announce that the servers are up (after a downtime), for example, or threads made just because you want to be the “first post” in a newly created section of the board, are not quality postings and cause us extra work to remove.

Respect the opinions of others.
Often arguments can’t be won, so if you have a contrasting opinion, please state it simply and clearly. If necessary, agree to disagree with others who may have differing opinions. When discussions turn to long, hostile arguments, the thread will be closed or removed. Sometimes people can write something that you may find offensive, but before launching into a public condemnation, please consider that the person may not have intended to cause offense. It is very easy to misinterpret a post on forums. There is absolutely no need to resort to insults. Respect others' views even if you disagree with them.

Also, do not dismiss other players by calling them “whiners”, “fanbois”, or other derogatory terms, or suggesting that they “just quit”. This is not constructive.

“Write conservatively, read forgivingly.” Text messages can be prone to misunderstanding because it can be difficult to guess the writer’s intent. It’s best to be conservative with sarcasm when writing, and assume good intent when reading.

Remember the Human.
The other people on this forum are real people, and PlaneShift developers, moderators, and Game Masters are people too. They have feelings. Please respect those people - they are here to help you.

Personal Disputes.
Please do not use these forums for personal disputes, heated debates, flame wars, etc. You are expected to treat each other with respect in the forums and take any personal disputes to a private mode of discussion off the forums. If you should find that your discussion is becoming too heated or someone is becoming far too passionate about their argument, please take the discussion to private message or email.

If you're having a problem keeping your temper under control, get it under control, or post somewhere else. It's supposed to be fun. It's not combat. It's not necessary for it to become personal. If you want to point out an error, that's fine, but please find a way to do it that isn't the written equivalent of an eye-roll.

Have Patience.
All the participants of this forum are using the forum and participating in discussions on their own time. If you post a question and no one responds, you shouldn't take it personally. If someone knows, they'll contribute. If they don't, they won't.

Be gentle with the Wayfarers.
Remember, everyone was a beginner at one time! We don't want people to feel intimidated. Some may appear on the forum before having read these guidelines, so give people a break if they don't yet know the intricacies of forum etiquette.  Even if a poster repeatedly misses etiquette tips, give him or her the benefit of doubt and don't let your irritation own you.

If you don't have the patience to point them politely toward the posting guidelines, please ignore them and let somebody who does have patience answer them.

Smile Sparingly.
One of the first common sense lessons is that text communication lacks the intonations that express emotions in voice communication. This can cause problems and confusion for many people, until they discover good use of emoticons, or smileys. While it can add color and express conversation more poignantly, they aren't absolutely necessary and can be used to excess, annoying those that have mastered them (as well as slowing page load times). Simple rule here: If adding an emoticon doesn't improve the clarity of what you are trying to communicate, then it doesn’t. If what you have written can be taken more than one way by the reader, by all means, clarify with an appropriate emoticon. ‘Tis better to give a real smile by your wise posting than any .gif image.

For Effective Communication, Try English.
This includes proper grammar, spelling, sentence structure, punctuation, and word usage. Not everyone enjoys writing as if in an English class all the time, but it's true. English is such a complex and colorful language that it is entirely too easy to be misunderstood even when spoken, and more so when written without inflection. This is also a matter of respecting your intended audience, and garnering respect for yourself and your own intelligence. If your post reads like a phone text message, you may want to go over it again or risk coming off as lazy and uncaring. If your difficulties are due to English not being your native language, state it openly. You will find that most folks will be glad to help out anyone willing to learn
 and slam anyone that should know better but is too lazy to even try.

Give A Notice.
If you name someone in a post, if they are prompted for a certain action, if you need their attention, extend some extra effort into notifying that individual of the post. Failure to do so might result in the addressed person never knowing about that post or thread. This doesn't have to apply to cases where the named person was the one that started the thread you are posting in (for he/she would likely expect a reply) or when the named person has replied to that thread (in that case chances are he/she will check the thread again) or any other situation where chances are said person won't miss the message. But otherwise, it would be considerate of you to let that person know that they are being referred to.

Ignore Spammers.
Spam is a blight upon the face of the net. Nobody likes it. However, it is hard to avoid. Despite our best efforts, you will occasionally see spam within the PlaneShift forum. If you feel the need to flame the spammer, don't do it publically. Complaining about spam in public increases noise, but not signal. It may make you feel better, but it doesn't help. So report the spam to make sure it finds the exit quietly, and with whatever remains of grace it can salvage.

Do not flame the staff.
They have the final say. This forum isn't a democracy. Your vote doesn't always count. They try to please everyone they can, but in the end, they're charged with making this community as enjoyable for as many people as they possibly can. They can not always be right, nor can they please everyone with the decisions made, but they're doing their "jobs" and hopefully we can all agree that they're doing their bests to ensure a good community here. Even if you despise authority and curse down the highest ranking official in your national government, let it be known that senseless acts of lack of respect will not be tolerated.

If you feel that an egregious oversight has been made, then please PM any of the forum administrators: Acraig, Vengeance, or Talad. Do not post complaints on the forum.

This last one is strictly personal. You are posting problems and asking complete strangers to solve them with no expectation of reward other than the satisfaction of knowing we helped. Hey - that's what we're here for and we're happy to do it. Still, as is the case with pretty much everything we do in life, an occasional "please" and "thank you" won't hurt and are really nice to hear.

- Original Author: Karyuu

[Rizin]

Moderators may or may not notify forum posters of moderator actions taken, though they are not required to – some may tell you if a post or thread has been removed, or its disappearance will not be commented upon. If any post is edited by the individual who made it with “Delete this please,” “Never mind,” or similar, do not wonder where it went. Issues and questions regarding forum policies and procedures should be addressed to the head game developers or the specific moderator via private message or email. All private messages will remain classified unless otherwise agreed upon. Public threads on these issues will be removed.

Disputes which cannot be resolved between forum users and moderators may be taken to the forum administrators - Acraig, Talad, or Vengeance. The actions of these three forum administrators are not up for review.

The moderators of the PlaneShift forum have the authority to use their discretion and common sense on a case by case basis when moderating these forums and dealing with punishments for violating any of these rules.

If you disagree with our measures, we ask you to contact us privately, again, by sending a private message or email.

Thou Shalt Not Mention "Freedom of Speech." This is a private forum, and you are our invited guests. The moderators have a tough job trying to keep the forums clean and presentable while not willingly stifling open discussion. If a thread or post is locked or deleted, that was the necessary step to take in the judgment of the moderator. Please don't bandy irrelevant constitutional law and hope to plea the case for less "censorship." Don't start a vote, don't throw food, don't throw a hissy fit, don't light up torches and mob our 'central office.' We don't censor, we exercise judgment and quality control on something in which we invest a lot of time and effort.

Action that the forum staff might take in regard to a post in violation of rules on the PlaneShift forums will vary depending upon the misdeed. It may include any number of the following (in order of severity):

• Informal warning (a private correspondence between the moderator and the violator advising the violator of the offense and what (s)he can do to correct it).
• Editing of the post or signature.
• Removal of the ability to have a signature.
• Deletion of the post/thread.
• Closing of the thread.
• Formal warning.
• Banishment (results in the user's forum posting privileges being revoked. At the discretion of the development team, your PlaneShift account may be closed and you may be prevented from making more).

Not responding to or ignoring moderator warnings can lead to a forum ban. Discipline and control are the staff's responsibility. If you see posts which are offensive to you please use the Report function; DO NOT take matters into your own hands. Doing so may result in escalating the situation and cause you to also receive a warning in the process.

- Original Author: Karyuu