Post by Icefanatic on Feb 18, 2014 18:11:56 GMT -5
You may have seen similar rules somewhere else. Understand that regardless of how they were or were not enforced somewhere else, they WILL be enforced HERE. Violation of the rules may result in a warning, which should be strongly heeded, or an outright ban. The severity of the punishment will be largely due to the discretion of the site's Moderator(s) or Administrator and the specific circumstances of the infraction.
1. BE CIVIL & RESPECTFUL
This is NOT a suggestion, we will not tolerate people acting like jerks and asses. Treat everyone with civility. Be polite. Be respectful of others.
Specifically:
NO TROLLING! If you want to get banned from this site, nothing will get you shown the door faster. We will have basic community standards, and they will be universally applied to ALL posters. Repeatedly making posts and comments to aggravate, antagonize and draw into conflict other posters; and following posters from thread to thread to do so will NOT be tolerated. Likewise, neither will going into an appreciation thread simply to state a negative opinion of that thread's character. Those threads are for people who like and appreciate a certain character, and want to share that in a conducive environment.
You can have a respectful disagreement with someone, but hurling insults and name-calling will NOT be tolerated.
Keep snarky comments to a minimum. This extends to when talking about creators/editors/publishers etc. You don't have to like everyone and everything and posting negative opinions is fine and valid, but repeated personal digs and insults are not.
RACIST/HOMOPHOBIC/HETEROPHOBIC/SEXIST/ANTI-RELIGIOUS/ABUSIVE POSTS
Any poster who posts racist, homophobic, heterophobic, sexist, anti-religious(and this includes negative comments regarding an atheist or agnostic belief) or otherwise abusive opinions will be dealt with SEVERELY. There will NOT be exceptions or allowances made due to one's own race, gender, ethnicity, orientation or religious affiliation. ONE rule, applied to ALL.
Any POSITIVE and/or RESPECTFUL comment regarding race, orientation, gender, religion etc is fine. Saying you don't want exclusive or excessive focus on some of those things to the detriment of a character is fine, too. Likewise with saying you don't want to see something changed that you currently enjoy or identify with about a character. Some examples, however, of what will and will NOT be acceptable:
Referring to cannon female characters as "Trannies", and suggesting they have male genitalia is NOT acceptable. Likewise saying a cannon male character has female genitalia. Regardless of whether you personally find these things offensive or not, the world does not end at the end of your nose, and some respect and regard for the sensibilities of others is a requirement for posting here.
Referring to a character as a whore, slut, etc will NOT be tolerated. If they have a past as a prostitute or a stripper, referencing that is fine, but keep it out of the realm of vulgarity. Speculating as to the number of abortions or STD's a character may have had unless it is specially stated in a cannon story for some reason is NOT acceptable, nor is saying a character currently HAS an STD unless it is referenced in a cannon story.
Referring to a character's sexual orientation as a negative or in a negative way is NOT acceptable. This applies to straight characters, too. Making comments that a character is a "closet-case", "needs to come out because they aren't fooling anyone" "needs to be cured of their denial" or repeatedly referring to one or both characters in a relationship as "beards" for the other unless that is stated in a cannon story is also unacceptable.
Saying you want/fantasize/believe that a character has a different sexual orientation than what is currently depicted in cannon stories is FINE. Talking about same-sex romantic pairings for currently-depicted-as-straight characters(or even the opposite) is FINE, but keep it respectful. Doing any of that in the context of insulting a character, making a dig at the character's currently-depicted sexuality, referring to "curing" them in some way of their currently-depicted sexuality or doing so to troll a character's fan base is unacceptable.
Labeling any member of the X-Men as a pedophile or child molester is unacceptable. Yes, some characters have had cannon relations and relationships with other characters while they were around or slightly below the age of consent, and you can freely post any disapproval you may have of that; but that behavior does not meet that of the definition of a pedophile or child molester. Until there is behavior that does, those labels are OFF LIMITS. Trying to make an assertion that a character is a molester simply because he is or has been a priest is also unacceptable.
Accusing characters of being racist, sexist, homophobic etc. without a cannon story where that is actually revealed is also unacceptable.
(Can I just say that realizing we have as a society reached the point where all of that has to actually be spelled out for some people makes me sad. The bulk of it should be obvious to anyone with an ounce of sense, a bit of common decency and an equal measure of respect for others.)
2. PROFANITY & PORNOGRAPHY
Is swearing allowed here? Um, Fuck yes!
Just don't use profanity to insult other users, and anything we deem excessive may be edited or even deleted. Your posts shouldn't read like outtakes from a Tarantino movie or have more f-bombs than punctuation, so use common sense.
DO NOT post pornographic imagery or imagery with graphic sexual content ANYWHERE on this site. Artistic nudity is allowed by our forum host, however it should be very clear that the work is art and not pornography. Nude or Semi-nude ILLUSTRATIONS are fine, but keep it tasteful. Any such image that is intended to arouse is against the rules. Think coffee table art book, not pornographic magazine. Think PG-13, not R or X. While nude or semi-nude illustrations and photographs of sculptures are permitted, nude imagery involving actual people, even if "Photoshopped", is not. This is an experiment, and if posters are generally unable to exercise good judgement when posting such imagery, the rule will be changed to prohibit such imagery from being posted. All images MUST be at or below a PG-13 content rating.
3. FLAMEBAITING
Please don't feel the need to inform someone you are reporting their post, or threaten to report their post. Same goes for telling someone they are on your ignore list. Making a thread to deliberately target a poster will be deleted and action WILL be taken. Do not start a thread with a clear negative intent, like insulting a character in the thread title, simply to get a rise out of their fans. You are free to think Character-X sucks, you are free to share that as an opinion, but starting a thread about how much Character-X sucks will not fly. There is a difference between sharing a negative opinion about a character and going out of your way just to aggravate their fans.
4. REPORTING POSTS
If you have an issue with a thread or poster, do not deal with this on the boards. Report the post, and if the mods see fit, they will deal with the situation. However, please use judgement when reporting. Not everything that offends you personally is offensive to the whole board. If you are in doubt, a good rule of thumb is to check the rules in this forum and see if there is a rule being broken. Do not report someone's post when there is no cause simply as a "tactic" or "move" against them. Think of it as the message board equivalent of filing a false police report, in the end the one getting in trouble for it will be you.
All of this is subject to change without notice at the discretion of the site's moderators and the Administrator.
5. POSTING GUIDELINES
Obviously we want and encourage thought provoking discussion and intellectual constructive debates, but there are some rules/procedures which need to be followed before you begin
On any forum, part of the object is discussion, and people won't always agree. Here, it's not about whether you agree or not, it's remaining respectful of differing opinions. For example, there's a huge difference in saying "Nightcrawler's outdated derring do is about as entertaining as watching a beige Volvo race put on by a retirement home. He should've stayed dead to make way for new blood." and in saying "I don't enjoy Nightcrawler as much as Pixie because it seems to me that his behavior is somewhat dated. I'd rather read about younger characters". Try to state your opinion in a positive rather than negative way. Having a negative opinion about a character is fine, but try to avoid just ripping on them when stating it, regardless of how witty you may think it makes you seem.
Check to see if a similar thread has already been posted. Use the search function.
Any purely negative threads such as "When is terrible Book X finally being cancelled" or "Name the Worst X-writers of all time" etc will be deleted.
No stakeclaiming threads, if you are making a review thread then you should have bought and read the book and put together at least a paragraph detailing your opinion and maybe some mild spoilers. Also don't forget to not have any spoilers in the thread title please.
Review threads of comics/books released that week should not be made any earlier than 9am 'Forum Time' on the day of release. Forum Time is Eastern Standard Time (EST) and is displayed at the top of each page. Basically from when shops would actually be open.
Your opinion about something is not, in and of itself, worthy of its own thread. We understand that you have opinions, and that you think your opinion is interesting, but we have so many discussions where you can express your opinion. You do not need to (and should not) form your own thread just to do so.
Don't post full articles from other sites, just post links. We get into sketchy copyright issues when someone posts an article or column fully in a thread. Just post a link, and cite the parts of the article you want to emphasis.
Do not post anymore than 3 pages from a book (unless they are part of an official preview release), and threads for requests of scans of issues will be deleted.
Making threads just to pimp out your blog/youtube channel etc is not allowed.
If you are posting art, if possible please credit the artist by name and/or link back to the original source/artist please. It's basic respect for the creator and allows the artist to be credited.
General Information:
Avatars
User avatars may be 150x150 pixels and up to 1MB in size, whether animated or not. Supported formats are: .gif .jpeg .jpg .png
The content of avatars should be kept to a PG-13 and work-place safe rating. If an avatar is deemed inappropriate by a member of the moderating team then further action may take place, depending on the exact content. This may range from a request to change the avatar to immediate replacement of the avatar by a member of the administration and a ban being issued (graphic content only).
Private Messaging and Posts
There is NO limit set for the number of personal messages you can store, so you can rest easy that you will not have to delete stored messages simply to receive new ones. The character limit for both personal messages and forum posts is currently set to the maximum of 262,144 characters. While that may seem high, it facilitates the editing of posts at a later date to add significant amounts of additional information without having to use multiple posts and disperse it throughout a thread. Likewise, the high character limit will allow for the sending of even lengthy fanfics to friends through the private messaging system. Also, it saves users time from endlessly reediting lengthy posts just to get them under a lower character limit allowed for posting or sending messages.
Copyrighted Material
To offset any possible legal concerns, Forum members must keep copyright issues in mind during their time at the ABP Forums. No more than three pages of any given issue should be posted at any one time (which should be plenty for review purposes) unless they are part of an official preview release. The posting of links to or about illegally shared comic book content is not allowed.
General Behavior
All forum members are expected to remain civil to each other at all times. Insults will not be tolerated; likewise a certain standard of conversation will be expected. Under no circumstances should any user issue a threat to another forum member. How you say something can matter as much as the content of your posts; you are more than welcome to disagree with anyone else but you must communicate your opinion in a civil and hospitable manner. Flaming, trolling or other such behavior will not be tolerated.
Moderators
Moderators are upstanding and knowledgeable forum members of the ABP Community who volunteer their time and effort to help keep our forum running smoothly. Parts of this includes keeping discussion flowing, removing inappropriate content and settling disputes. Forum members are expected to remain civil to members of the Moderating team at all times in the same way they are expected to remain civil to each other.
Multiple Accounts
Forum members should only keep one account at any given time; multiple accounts are heavily frowned upon. The Moderating team may ban members with multiple accounts without warning.
Signatures
Signatures may consist of text but not images. Please make your signatures relatively small and unobtrusive; likewise the content should be made up of material of a PG-13/work-place safe nature. Inappropriate signatures may be modified or deleted without notice.
Spamming
Selling items or linking to auctions with the intent of profit (including but not exclusive to eBay) are not permitted.
Can you delete my Forums account?
Unless there's an extremely good reason we will not be deleting anyone's account on request. If you no longer wish to visit these forums, that's fine, but there's no need for your account to be deleted - after all, you may change your mind and want to come back at a future point.
How do I become a Moderator?
If a Moderator position becomes vacant the position may be publicly advertised for any interested forum members to express interest in – the existing Moderators then consider those candidates and finally decide on the most suitable. Alternatively, the Staff may draw up their own list of candidates and offer the vacant position to a person of their own choosing.
I have a complaint to make about a Moderator. What do I do?
If you have a dispute with a Moderator which you have been unable to solve, then it is recommended that you send a PM, including all details surrounding the dispute, to the site's Administrator. The Administrator will then look into the matter.
What do I do if I believe I have been unjustly banned from the ABP Forums?
If you are banned it is most likely because you have either done something so egregious that it required an immediate banning by a moderator, or it was carried out after repeated warnings were issued, went unheeded, and after a careful period of review by the site's staff. If you feel you have been unjustly banned contact the site's administrator by email abetterplaceafandomcommunity@gmail.com
1. BE CIVIL & RESPECTFUL
This is NOT a suggestion, we will not tolerate people acting like jerks and asses. Treat everyone with civility. Be polite. Be respectful of others.
Specifically:
NO TROLLING! If you want to get banned from this site, nothing will get you shown the door faster. We will have basic community standards, and they will be universally applied to ALL posters. Repeatedly making posts and comments to aggravate, antagonize and draw into conflict other posters; and following posters from thread to thread to do so will NOT be tolerated. Likewise, neither will going into an appreciation thread simply to state a negative opinion of that thread's character. Those threads are for people who like and appreciate a certain character, and want to share that in a conducive environment.
You can have a respectful disagreement with someone, but hurling insults and name-calling will NOT be tolerated.
Keep snarky comments to a minimum. This extends to when talking about creators/editors/publishers etc. You don't have to like everyone and everything and posting negative opinions is fine and valid, but repeated personal digs and insults are not.
RACIST/HOMOPHOBIC/HETEROPHOBIC/SEXIST/ANTI-RELIGIOUS/ABUSIVE POSTS
Any poster who posts racist, homophobic, heterophobic, sexist, anti-religious(and this includes negative comments regarding an atheist or agnostic belief) or otherwise abusive opinions will be dealt with SEVERELY. There will NOT be exceptions or allowances made due to one's own race, gender, ethnicity, orientation or religious affiliation. ONE rule, applied to ALL.
Any POSITIVE and/or RESPECTFUL comment regarding race, orientation, gender, religion etc is fine. Saying you don't want exclusive or excessive focus on some of those things to the detriment of a character is fine, too. Likewise with saying you don't want to see something changed that you currently enjoy or identify with about a character. Some examples, however, of what will and will NOT be acceptable:
Referring to cannon female characters as "Trannies", and suggesting they have male genitalia is NOT acceptable. Likewise saying a cannon male character has female genitalia. Regardless of whether you personally find these things offensive or not, the world does not end at the end of your nose, and some respect and regard for the sensibilities of others is a requirement for posting here.
Referring to a character as a whore, slut, etc will NOT be tolerated. If they have a past as a prostitute or a stripper, referencing that is fine, but keep it out of the realm of vulgarity. Speculating as to the number of abortions or STD's a character may have had unless it is specially stated in a cannon story for some reason is NOT acceptable, nor is saying a character currently HAS an STD unless it is referenced in a cannon story.
Referring to a character's sexual orientation as a negative or in a negative way is NOT acceptable. This applies to straight characters, too. Making comments that a character is a "closet-case", "needs to come out because they aren't fooling anyone" "needs to be cured of their denial" or repeatedly referring to one or both characters in a relationship as "beards" for the other unless that is stated in a cannon story is also unacceptable.
Saying you want/fantasize/believe that a character has a different sexual orientation than what is currently depicted in cannon stories is FINE. Talking about same-sex romantic pairings for currently-depicted-as-straight characters(or even the opposite) is FINE, but keep it respectful. Doing any of that in the context of insulting a character, making a dig at the character's currently-depicted sexuality, referring to "curing" them in some way of their currently-depicted sexuality or doing so to troll a character's fan base is unacceptable.
Labeling any member of the X-Men as a pedophile or child molester is unacceptable. Yes, some characters have had cannon relations and relationships with other characters while they were around or slightly below the age of consent, and you can freely post any disapproval you may have of that; but that behavior does not meet that of the definition of a pedophile or child molester. Until there is behavior that does, those labels are OFF LIMITS. Trying to make an assertion that a character is a molester simply because he is or has been a priest is also unacceptable.
Accusing characters of being racist, sexist, homophobic etc. without a cannon story where that is actually revealed is also unacceptable.
(Can I just say that realizing we have as a society reached the point where all of that has to actually be spelled out for some people makes me sad. The bulk of it should be obvious to anyone with an ounce of sense, a bit of common decency and an equal measure of respect for others.)
2. PROFANITY & PORNOGRAPHY
Is swearing allowed here? Um, Fuck yes!
Just don't use profanity to insult other users, and anything we deem excessive may be edited or even deleted. Your posts shouldn't read like outtakes from a Tarantino movie or have more f-bombs than punctuation, so use common sense.
DO NOT post pornographic imagery or imagery with graphic sexual content ANYWHERE on this site. Artistic nudity is allowed by our forum host, however it should be very clear that the work is art and not pornography. Nude or Semi-nude ILLUSTRATIONS are fine, but keep it tasteful. Any such image that is intended to arouse is against the rules. Think coffee table art book, not pornographic magazine. Think PG-13, not R or X. While nude or semi-nude illustrations and photographs of sculptures are permitted, nude imagery involving actual people, even if "Photoshopped", is not. This is an experiment, and if posters are generally unable to exercise good judgement when posting such imagery, the rule will be changed to prohibit such imagery from being posted. All images MUST be at or below a PG-13 content rating.
3. FLAMEBAITING
Please don't feel the need to inform someone you are reporting their post, or threaten to report their post. Same goes for telling someone they are on your ignore list. Making a thread to deliberately target a poster will be deleted and action WILL be taken. Do not start a thread with a clear negative intent, like insulting a character in the thread title, simply to get a rise out of their fans. You are free to think Character-X sucks, you are free to share that as an opinion, but starting a thread about how much Character-X sucks will not fly. There is a difference between sharing a negative opinion about a character and going out of your way just to aggravate their fans.
4. REPORTING POSTS
If you have an issue with a thread or poster, do not deal with this on the boards. Report the post, and if the mods see fit, they will deal with the situation. However, please use judgement when reporting. Not everything that offends you personally is offensive to the whole board. If you are in doubt, a good rule of thumb is to check the rules in this forum and see if there is a rule being broken. Do not report someone's post when there is no cause simply as a "tactic" or "move" against them. Think of it as the message board equivalent of filing a false police report, in the end the one getting in trouble for it will be you.
All of this is subject to change without notice at the discretion of the site's moderators and the Administrator.
5. POSTING GUIDELINES
Obviously we want and encourage thought provoking discussion and intellectual constructive debates, but there are some rules/procedures which need to be followed before you begin
On any forum, part of the object is discussion, and people won't always agree. Here, it's not about whether you agree or not, it's remaining respectful of differing opinions. For example, there's a huge difference in saying "Nightcrawler's outdated derring do is about as entertaining as watching a beige Volvo race put on by a retirement home. He should've stayed dead to make way for new blood." and in saying "I don't enjoy Nightcrawler as much as Pixie because it seems to me that his behavior is somewhat dated. I'd rather read about younger characters". Try to state your opinion in a positive rather than negative way. Having a negative opinion about a character is fine, but try to avoid just ripping on them when stating it, regardless of how witty you may think it makes you seem.
Check to see if a similar thread has already been posted. Use the search function.
Any purely negative threads such as "When is terrible Book X finally being cancelled" or "Name the Worst X-writers of all time" etc will be deleted.
No stakeclaiming threads, if you are making a review thread then you should have bought and read the book and put together at least a paragraph detailing your opinion and maybe some mild spoilers. Also don't forget to not have any spoilers in the thread title please.
Review threads of comics/books released that week should not be made any earlier than 9am 'Forum Time' on the day of release. Forum Time is Eastern Standard Time (EST) and is displayed at the top of each page. Basically from when shops would actually be open.
Your opinion about something is not, in and of itself, worthy of its own thread. We understand that you have opinions, and that you think your opinion is interesting, but we have so many discussions where you can express your opinion. You do not need to (and should not) form your own thread just to do so.
Don't post full articles from other sites, just post links. We get into sketchy copyright issues when someone posts an article or column fully in a thread. Just post a link, and cite the parts of the article you want to emphasis.
Do not post anymore than 3 pages from a book (unless they are part of an official preview release), and threads for requests of scans of issues will be deleted.
Making threads just to pimp out your blog/youtube channel etc is not allowed.
If you are posting art, if possible please credit the artist by name and/or link back to the original source/artist please. It's basic respect for the creator and allows the artist to be credited.
General Information:
Avatars
User avatars may be 150x150 pixels and up to 1MB in size, whether animated or not. Supported formats are: .gif .jpeg .jpg .png
The content of avatars should be kept to a PG-13 and work-place safe rating. If an avatar is deemed inappropriate by a member of the moderating team then further action may take place, depending on the exact content. This may range from a request to change the avatar to immediate replacement of the avatar by a member of the administration and a ban being issued (graphic content only).
Private Messaging and Posts
There is NO limit set for the number of personal messages you can store, so you can rest easy that you will not have to delete stored messages simply to receive new ones. The character limit for both personal messages and forum posts is currently set to the maximum of 262,144 characters. While that may seem high, it facilitates the editing of posts at a later date to add significant amounts of additional information without having to use multiple posts and disperse it throughout a thread. Likewise, the high character limit will allow for the sending of even lengthy fanfics to friends through the private messaging system. Also, it saves users time from endlessly reediting lengthy posts just to get them under a lower character limit allowed for posting or sending messages.
Copyrighted Material
To offset any possible legal concerns, Forum members must keep copyright issues in mind during their time at the ABP Forums. No more than three pages of any given issue should be posted at any one time (which should be plenty for review purposes) unless they are part of an official preview release. The posting of links to or about illegally shared comic book content is not allowed.
General Behavior
All forum members are expected to remain civil to each other at all times. Insults will not be tolerated; likewise a certain standard of conversation will be expected. Under no circumstances should any user issue a threat to another forum member. How you say something can matter as much as the content of your posts; you are more than welcome to disagree with anyone else but you must communicate your opinion in a civil and hospitable manner. Flaming, trolling or other such behavior will not be tolerated.
Moderators
Moderators are upstanding and knowledgeable forum members of the ABP Community who volunteer their time and effort to help keep our forum running smoothly. Parts of this includes keeping discussion flowing, removing inappropriate content and settling disputes. Forum members are expected to remain civil to members of the Moderating team at all times in the same way they are expected to remain civil to each other.
Multiple Accounts
Forum members should only keep one account at any given time; multiple accounts are heavily frowned upon. The Moderating team may ban members with multiple accounts without warning.
Signatures
Signatures may consist of text but not images. Please make your signatures relatively small and unobtrusive; likewise the content should be made up of material of a PG-13/work-place safe nature. Inappropriate signatures may be modified or deleted without notice.
Spamming
Selling items or linking to auctions with the intent of profit (including but not exclusive to eBay) are not permitted.
Can you delete my Forums account?
Unless there's an extremely good reason we will not be deleting anyone's account on request. If you no longer wish to visit these forums, that's fine, but there's no need for your account to be deleted - after all, you may change your mind and want to come back at a future point.
How do I become a Moderator?
If a Moderator position becomes vacant the position may be publicly advertised for any interested forum members to express interest in – the existing Moderators then consider those candidates and finally decide on the most suitable. Alternatively, the Staff may draw up their own list of candidates and offer the vacant position to a person of their own choosing.
I have a complaint to make about a Moderator. What do I do?
If you have a dispute with a Moderator which you have been unable to solve, then it is recommended that you send a PM, including all details surrounding the dispute, to the site's Administrator. The Administrator will then look into the matter.
What do I do if I believe I have been unjustly banned from the ABP Forums?
If you are banned it is most likely because you have either done something so egregious that it required an immediate banning by a moderator, or it was carried out after repeated warnings were issued, went unheeded, and after a careful period of review by the site's staff. If you feel you have been unjustly banned contact the site's administrator by email abetterplaceafandomcommunity@gmail.com
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