Forum Rules (Sepember 23, 2008)

[Xrufuian]

1. Forum Rules

a) Posts are to be made in the relevant forum. Users are asked to read the forum descriptions before posting. Users consistently posting to the wrong forum may be given a warning (see Policing below). If in doubt as to where a topic should go, post in one of the General forums, or the Off-Topic forum.

b) Before posting about a problem with something, please use the search function to see if your question has been answered before.

c) Double-posts are not allowed. We realize that these are often accidental. Double-posts will be removed by a moderator or administrator.

d) Members are expected to post in a way that is respectful of other users. Flaming or abusing users in any way will not be tolerated and will lead to a warning. Remember that some users may be more easily offended than others.

e) Expanding on rule 1(d), new members to the forum may not be familiar with the rules and with where everything is located, etc. Existing members should be patient and tolerant of new members. If a user asks a common question, point them gently to the FAQ or the appropriate topic - don't be abusive towards them.

f) Members should remember this board is aimed at a general audience. Posting pornographic or generally offensive text, images, links, etc. will not be tolerated and will lead to a warning.

g) Members are expected to respect the copyright of other users, sites, media, etc. Users linking to or asking for information on warez, cracks, etc. will receive a warning and their post will be removed.

h) Members are expected to post in a way which is consistent with "normal writing". Members should not post excessive numbers of emoticons, large, small or colored text, etc. Similarly users should not SHOUT or use excessive punctuation (e.g. ! and ?) in topic titles or posts. Members who violate this rule excessively will be warned.

i) Members should use an appropriate, descriptive title when posting a new topic. Examples of bad titles include; "Help me!", "I'm stuck!", "I've got an error!", etc. Examples of good titles include; "Problem with GRF action 2", "Cannot build new stations", etc.

j) Spam of any kind is not tolerated here under any circumstance. The term "spam" includes, but is not limited to, unsolicited commercial marketing, flooding, boasting about post counts and single-word posts (for instance, a post only containing a smiley). Users posting spam will be warned and their post removed.

k) Further to the previous rule, posts of under three words are considered spam (with the exception of the word games)

l) There exists a number of "word games" in the Off-Topic forum. If you decide to participate in these games, please restrain yourself to one post per ten minutes in each game, at the very least. Constant 'flooding' of the word games by one or two members will be frowned upon.

m) The moderators and administrators reserve the right to edit, remove or lock any post at any time. The determination of what is construed as indecent, vulgar, spam, etc. as noted in these points is up to the Moderators and Administrators and not members. Members are welcome to inquire about a moderator's action, and the moderator should be willing to disclose their reasoning behind such actions.

n) If a topic has been locked by a moderator or administrator, please do not start a new topic to continue the discussion which lead to the original topic being locked. Doing so will result in the new topic being locked, and the user who restarted the discussion receiving a warning. If you would like to argue against a topic being locked, please contact one of the moderators or administrators (ideally the moderator who locked the topic) to argue your case.

o) Attempts to imitate moderators or administrators, by using similar usernames, signatures or post content, may result in a warning, banning and/or username change, depending on the severity of the case. The specific action taken will be decided upon by the administrators.

p) The above forum rules, where applicable, also apply to private messaging. Abuse of the private messaging system may lead to warnings (as above) and/or the revocation of private messaging for an abuser.

q) While the forum interface is available in a variety of languages, please only post to the forum in English. You may of course have conversations within private messages in whatever language you desire.

2. Signatures

a) Signatures may contain up to five lines (one line being that displayed on a browser opened to 800px width) of text (of small or normal size) and/or one image, valid combinations include; a single image of no more than 60px high, 468px wide and 10KB in size. Two images are allowable side-by-side if they abide by this height rule, and their total width does not exceed 468px. The total file size must be no larger than 15KB. Signatures containing an image this large may also include one line of small size text. Signatures containing an image of 30px high may include up to three lines of small size text or two lines of normal size text. Images of 15px height or less may allow up to three lines of normal size text or four lines of small size text. Please note that minor variations on this will usually be acceptable - in general, think of the common sense rule that your signature should not be longer than your post.

b) Text sizes should be between 9 and 12 (small and normal). Text in signatures is subject to the same conditions as posts with respect to decency, warez, emoticons, etc.

c) Links are permitted in signatures. There is no requirement to link to game-related material - commercial links are permitted. Links are included within the text and image limits above. Links to offensive sites, as interpreted by the moderators or administrators, may be subject to removal.

d) Users abusing these rules will be warned.

3. Avatars

a) Users are permitted to upload an avatar, or to link to one of their own. User defined avatars (this constitutes both uploaded and linked avatars) are to be no larger than 100 pixels wide by 120 pixels high, contain no image which attempts to portray the user as having an official status here (e.g. mimicking ranks or copying avatars of administrators/moderators), may not exceed 25KB in file size and must have a consistently high availability (i.e. links to images on slow servers or those prone to failure may be removed). Animated avatars are allowed, providing they abide by these rules and are not distracting. Flashing images, for instance, may be defined as being distracting by a moderator or administrator, and may be subject to removal.

b) Avatars are subject to the same conditions as posts with respect to decency, etc.

c) Users abusing these rules will be warned and/or may lose their avatar privileges.

4. Attachments

a) Users may upload up to three attachments per post. Attachments should only be posted in appropriate topics. Inappropriately placed attachments may be removed by a moderator or administrator.

b) Attachments may be up to 2MB in size each. Please note that large inline images (any image with dimensions of up to 800x600 will be displayed inline) may be removed by a moderator or administrator.

c) A list of allowed file extensions is available by clicking on the appropriate link in the "Add an Attachment" section of the posting form.

d) Attachments are subject to the same conditions as posts with respect to decency, etc. Vulgar, illegal or indecent attachments may be removed.

e) If you believe an attachment to be a violation of copyright law, please contact the Administrator (forum username Cornflower), and provide the following: a link to the topic the attachment resides in, a link to the specific attachment (if multiple attachments exist in the topic), a description of how exactly the attachment is violating copyright, and preferably a link to the original source material the copyright of which the attachment is violating. He will speak with the other administrators and moderators about this and reach a conclusion. Action may not be immediate; please bear with us on this as we have to consider all sides of the argument. Priority may be given to requests from registered forum users over unregistered users.

5. Policing

a) We operate a three strike policy. Users will be warned a maximum of two times for offenses committed. If a third offense is committed, the user will be banned for a period of one week. If, after being unbanned, the need arises for a fourth warning, the user will be banned permanently (at the administrator's discretion).

Specifically:

First warning: You have been warned and are asked to change your behavior so it fits the forum rules.

Second warning: You have been warned twice and are informed that one more violation of the forum rules will result in a temporary ban.

Third warning: You will be banned temporarily for a period of one week (unless otherwise decided upon by the administrators' discretion).

If you fail to change your behavior after being banned for one week, you will be banned permanently. Attempts to sign up with a new account will result in any new accounts being banned.

b) Arguing with administrators or moderators after having received a warning will lead to an immediate additional warning. Should this exceed three strikes a temporary ban will be put in place as above.

c) Users who feel they have been unfairly warned are welcome to contact an administrator or moderator. They will discuss the matter with the other administrators and moderators, and if collectively they feel you were treated badly, they may remove the warning.

d) Any attempt to circumvent a temporary ban will lead to that ban being made permanent. Circumvention includes re-registering under a non-banned username, changing IP addresses to evade an IP ban, or registering a new e-mail account to evade an e-mail ban.

e) If after being banned permanently a user attempts to sign up as a different user, the administrators reserve the right to ban any such accounts immediately and permanently.

f) An exception to the three strike rule applies when users contact administrators or moderators personally (via any method) and post insulting, indecent or vulgar material. Such users may be subject to an immediate permanent ban.

g) Permanent bans are a last resort and thought is given before implementing them. While the administrators may consider lifting permanent bans from time to time this is a rare occurrence.

If you have any comments or queries about these rules, please do not hesitate to contact an administrator or moderator about the issue.

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER

All original game graphics, sounds and music here are the intellectual property of their respective owners. The use of these graphics on this forum is believed to constitute "fair use".

If anyone has any complaints regarding copyright violations, please follow the process in Rule 4(e) to notify an administrator about your concerns.