Board-Wide Forum & Chat Regulations.

We've now revised the rules of our site to make them more clearer but yet keep the same standards. I felt the previous rules were just... too long, and complicated. The rules are now divided into 4 sections, posting, images, Usage of Tags, and Videos. The 4 sections will cover the usage of the respective sections and guidelines on how to compose yourself while posting, and what is and isn't acceptable behaviour. Other sections deals with appealing a ban if you have been banned for a period of time, and what to do if you find a post that is in breach of these policies. Please read through this before posting if possible. Keep in mind that a forum may be exempt or have different rules imposed if it is stated in a particular forum. If this is the case the rules will be stated at the top of the forum.

Accounts and other policies can be found elsewhere in this forum - These rules relate SOLEY to our Forum & Chat. We have no age restrictions policies, but as a general rule, young children (under 13) should be supervised when using any online interactive service like a chatroom or forum. Beware that the rules on this forum are very relaxed and content may not be appropriate for young children.

Posting & Appropriate behaviour:

We are a general-based forum, which means we want to cover as many topics as possible. We also like to keep our forums as far as possible free for users to post what content they want. However, to make our forums friendly but yet keeping freedom of expression, please keep in mind the following when posting:

These rules are taken in a more lax manner in the MISC & Forum Games forums.


• Be respective of other member(s) opinions. It's okay to speak your mind about a particular topic, but it's not okay to throw personal insults and abuse into it. If you can't handle the heat, don't get involved. In other words, heated discussions are fine without abusive elements.
  
• Using abusive language, insults, racism, or any form of abuse towards members is forbidden on the boards (and in private messages). We want everyone to feel welcome.
  
• Do not hi-jack another member's thread. Hi-jacking is when you post a topic in a thread which has its own topic.
  
• No spam or advertising - we hate that stuff. This includes using excessive icons, smilies, and/or other emoticons. If you make a mistake on a post, rather than re-post it, use the edit feature. Advertising is defined on our board as (but not limited to) a post soley to encourage and invite the reader to join or look at the advertised service.
  
• Use the search feature - someone may have posted what you want to post!
  
• Use proper spelling and grammar to the best of your knowledge. It's okay if you make mistakes, but it's not okay to use text type or other forms of spelling that leave out letters from words. We're an English only board so this is the only acceptable language. Leet is also not permitted. CAPS is a no-no.
  
• Creating threads that encourage/discuss any illegal activity is prohibited. For example, encouraging the use of illegal drugs, pirating software, hacking etc.
  
• Swearing is permitted in posts provided it is neither racist, homophobic, or otherwise slanderous or directed at another member. However, usage for expression is permitted. Very strong language such as graphically sexual expletives (E.g, C**t) may not be permitted.
  
• Intimidation, harrasment, creation of posts & threads with the intention of bullying another user is strictly prohibited.
  
• Threads and/or posts which describe sexually explicit or violent activity is not permitted. In cases of stories or mature debates, usage of such mature material will be judged if it appears to be contextually justified. In other terms, if it's for shock value it'll not be allowed, but if its usage is judged to be used maturely and is of importance it will be permitted. Appropriate warnings may be required. In the case of reviews of books, stories or movies, appropriate spoiler warnings must be displayed and spoiler tags used appropriately.
  
• We're not for dating or anything like that - please do not post up threads seeking intimate chat or a relationship.
  
• Nonsense posts or threads aren't permitted. Keep to the forum topics and topics when posting in a thread. Always make sure your post is fitted to the category you post it in. Read the forum descriptions before posting.
  
• Titles of your topic cannot be misleading in any way. The subject heading of your post, must be related to your post content.
  
• If you're posting a link which is relevant to your post, please note that we do not allow usage of services that shortens or disguises a URL. Such links will be removed and we will not check them.

Images:

Images are judged on the same basis as videos. Their inclusion in a post must be justified by the nature of the post concerned - most especially if the image is sexual or disturbing. Images posted for shocking value are always prohibited and will be removed (E.g, Posting graphic pictures of dead bodies or mutilation, graphic sexual images, images likely to cause widespread offence etc). Other images that are prohibited would be any image judged to be illegal under UK law, and US law. Posting any images of that nature may mean your ISP being contacted and advised of such activities. Respect other users connection and bandwidth when posting images, and only upload them if required, otherwise use the IMG tag.

Please make sure you have the appropriate permission to use an image - some may be copyrighted.

Usage of Tags:

The various tags for formatting posts are fun to use, but please make sure you're using them correctly and not overusing tags such as "highlighting" or "strike". We do not allow a whole post, for instance to be all highlighted using the "highlight" tag or striked out using the "strike" tag. The "off-topic" tag is NOT for creating whole off topic post in threads; it could be used, for example for a one-off sentence in a post that is off-topic.

The spoiler tag comes in handy for posting reviews about books or films you've seen which include plot details that may spoil the movie or book for other members (eg, how the film ends or if an important character is killed of) who want to read or watch it afresh. Therefore you're required to use the spoiler tag, and to place a spoiler warning before your review if it contains important plot details. Failure to do so may mean your reviews being removed. Mis-use of the spoiler tag is prohibited.

Videos:

We judge posted video content by their inclusion in any given post (E.g, their contextual justification and relevance, with the exception made to music videos) in terms of language, nudity, violence and sexual content. If a video is judged to go above what we consider acceptable it will be removed. Most content on Youtube is acceptable. In theory, content rated from 'G' through to 'R' (equal to a high-end UK '15' rating) could be acceptable if the material is used with justification and not for shocking/exploiting purposes. We don't want to create a list of what is wrong and right when you post a video because we judge them by their context/theme, but things to stay clear of posting would be videos of animal abuse, explicit sexual activity, drug taking, and graphic death and injury, and illegal content. Clear warnings of any content that may be offensive to some users should be made clear above the posted video in your post. Only 3 embedded videos per post is permitted.

Please make sure you are not breaching copyright laws by posting video content.

Reporting:



Reporting inappropriate content to us can be of great help and we much appreciate members who take the time to tell us when we maybe have missed something that is in breach of our policies. To report a post to us use the ! mark at the bottom right hand corner of the post. If it's an embedded video within a post you're concerned with, please state what it is and time details in the video of where it appears.

As much as we like members to report abuse, please make sure that the post is in breach of the policies before reporting it. The report feature is not for reporting content you may find personally objectionable, but only for reporting content that breaches these guidelines. Excessive reporting of posts that aren't breaching rules isn't allowed.

Appeals:

If you think you have been banned in anyway unfairly or heavy handed, then you can appeal against that ban. There are certain bans you cannot appeal and bans you can appeal. If you have been banned for less than 3 days, then you cannot appeal against that ban. You also cannot appeal against any ban from the Chatroom. You can however, appeal against an account ban which lasts longer than 3 days. If your account has been banned, and you would like to submit an appeal please make sure you state your contact email for us to get back to you and your username of the account you're appealing the ban. You must be the account holder to appeal a ban. You can only appeal an account once every 3 months.

We will always try to reply within 24 hours, however given the nature of appealing bans, our replies may be slower when dealing with these matters. When you receive a response, the decision is final. If you have been banned indefinitely, it is most likely that the decision will not change unless you can prove otherwise.

Notice: Administrators can over rule decisions made by all other forum moderators. Global Moderators can over rule decisions made by Standard Forum Moderators and so fourth.

ChatRoom-Specific Rules.

The same basic principals apply in the chatroom; you can chat freely with expression as long as it's not abusive, or in breach of the following constraints:

• No flooding or repeat messages; this includes overuse of icons/smilies/and other symbols.
  
• No racist terms are permitted at all; the swearing policy applied to the forum is the exact same in the chatroom.
  
• If you don't like someone, it doesn't mean you have to bully or harrass them in our chat, it won't be tolerated, use the block user feature.
  
• Don't post up links to shock sites, gory images, sexual images, inappropriate videos or any other illegal content.
  
• Please respect that we're an English-only Chat. Therefore English is the only accepted language.
  
• The main Chat Lobby is for General Chat (ie, everything and anything not specific and/or topics that don't have a specific Chat Lobby), if however, there is a public room that is of particular relevance to your topic, please use the relevant Chat Lobby. (In most cases this is only a guideline and not a general rule that we enforce; however RPing is best done in PM, or in the RolePlaying room.)
  
• Sexual predatory behaviour will get you banned and your account suspended indefinite, and we may also notify your ISP.
  
• Room Owners who create their own rooms are subject to ALL of the rules. Just because you create your own room, it does not mean these rules do not apply. You may use room operator powers to kick users out of your room provided they're not moderators who may not be in status. Room names and topics cannot contain anything offensive, including swearwords.
  
• Private and personal information such as cellphone numbers, addresses, and any other information which may make it possible for someone online to contact you in real life should remain personal, and we very much condone members swapping such information, please, be safe and never give out personal information about yourself.
  
• If you want private chat, please either use the Private Messaging in chat or a private locked user-made room.
  
• Although our rules state at the top that we're aimed at mature audience, it doesn't mean you have to discuss the most inappropriate stuff that you can think of, it simply means the odd swear word, crude joke, etc is fine as long as you don't take it too far.
  
• Advertising is a no-no, you advertise, your account is suspended and you get banned from chat on sight - NO EXCEPTIONS.
  
• Blocking moderators/administrators is not permitted and you may be kicked/banned for doing so.
  
• Show respect to administrators and staff of the site. No, it doesn't mean you must speak to us or bow down, but it also doesn't mean you ignore us, it simply means treat us with respect, and if we ask you something regarding the rules, or your account, we expect you to reply.
  
• Caps lock should be kept to a minimal and not overused. It is at the decision of the moderators on chat at the time to decide if CAPS lock is being overused.

If you find someone behaving inappropriately in the chatroom, and there is no administrators or moderators at the time, please save a log and send it to us in our contact form at the top of the forum. You can also report abuse to us via the same contact form.

We reserve the right to remove any post or thread at any time for any other reason. We also reserve the right to suspend or terminate your usage of the service at any time.

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We review our rules regulary and they should be based on what the majority of what our users find acceptable content, ofcourse when we update them, everything has to be "within reason". We like to keep freedom of expression when a user is using forums or chat, but also stop abuse from happening. If you have suggestions please make them known to us - we are always happy to hear them.