Global Rules For the Pokécharms Forums

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Global Rules for the Pokécharms Forums

These rules have been written to keep posting in these boards, and talking in the chatroom, an enjoyable experience for you, the posters, and to make our lives easier as administrators. Respect these rules and abide by them, and if in doubt, look at other members posts and work from there, or PM a member of staff who will be happy to clarify.

The Rules

1. No SPAM. For a clear definition of SPAM, see the "SPAM Explained" thread in this Hall of Justice.

2. No member bashing/flaming. You are not allowed to be rude to other members or bash their points of view or ideas on any particular subject, such as religion, race, sexual orientation, age, gender, and so on. There's a fine line between a debate and flaming. In the same vein, if you think that your mood will cause problems, through flaming, general moodiness, or otherwise, please refrain from posting on the forums or participating in chat.

This also counts for mental health conditions: many of us have been there, and we sympathise, but it is still no excuse for causing problems on the forums or chat. If you are aware of it and know that you will be unnecessarily harsh or otherwise while suffering the effects, please remove yourself from the chat or forums.

3. Please try to use ENGLISH rather than Gibberish. That means writing to a basic level of English: paragraphs, punctuation, spelling, grammar, not using ALL CAPITALS, etcetera. This is not a requirement to have a perfect grasp of English, it is simply a request that you put enough effort into your posts that we can understand what you are saying. This also means that usage of 'chatspeak' or 'textspeak' is not allowed: 'u' is not a valid substitute for 'you', 'r' is not a valid substitute for 'are', etc.

4. Regarding swearing: Foul language is, for the most part, allowed within reason, if it used in moderation and sensibly. We are not prudes, but a long and senseless string of obscenities is pointless and simply makes you look immature. Also not allowed is swearing to offend, or against anyone else, which counts as flaming and will be treated as such.

5. Multiple consecutive posts are not allowed. It is generally considered poor form to post several times in a row in a single thread. Each post you make has an Edit button in the top-right corner: if you decide you have more to say on a subject, click that and edit your new thoughts into that post. The main exception to this rule is regarding Art, Sprite, or Writing threads: If the topic's owner has new material to add, they may make new posts.

6. Have patience when posting. When you make a post on the forums, it will remain visible, and have the New Post icon, until a member looks at your post. Posting again, or posting things like "Is anybody there?" will serve only to raise the ire of the moderators, and will not make your thread or post any more visible.

7. Rules about Grave Digging, aka. posting in old or dead topics: Sometimes it's appropriate to post in older threads, but sometimes it's not. If a thread has a commonly asked question (ie. "What does your username mean?" "What are your favorite TV shows?" etc.), is stickied, or still contains appropriate discussion value, such as story or art-related topics in the Pit of Creativity, it is okay to post in it with a relevant reply. All other threads should not be posted in after 60 days - two months - of inactivity. Note that this time frame may vary for WiFi/Clinic-related topics. When in doubt, don't bump a topic. Just post a new one, or PM a staff member and they will be happy to advise.

8. Respect the individual board rules: In addition to the rules and definition in the Pokécharms Hall of Justice, which apply globally to the Pokécharms Forums as a whole, each individual board may have its own set of "local" rules, which will be stickied at the top of the board. These must be respected, in reference to their particular board, and are just as important as the rules in this thread.

9. Always read through the thread you're replying to before making your own reply: It is possible that your inquiry has been already answered and therefore there is no need for you to ask it again. If the question HAS been answered - repeating the same answer over and over again is also a moot point. Staff can always tell when a member has not read the topic before posting, and it just makes you look silly.

10. Do NOT post pornography of any sort: This should be obvious, but NO Hentai or pornography is to be posted on Pokécharms, nor used in your signatures or avatars, nor sent by personal message. It goes without saying that we are a Pokémon forum, and thus many of our members are under the age of 18. Any porn, hentai, or "ecchi" material seen will be deleted, and the poster subjected to a high-powered Rocket Lawn Chair.

11. Artwork, sprite, or story theft of any kind is not allowed. We respect the various artists and story tellers who post on Pokécharms and the internet as a whole, and for that reason this can not be stressed enough. Never steal anything from someone else and claim it to be your own creation, or use material made by another creator without permission. Doing so will get you instantly, and irreversibly, banned.

12. This board utilizes a Private Messaging system for your usage. If you have something personal to say to anyone, or a message to deliver to them - you are requested to use this Private Messaging system. In other words,  Don't post threads like "Message to *random-username-here*". Instead, use the PM system accessible from the yellow "Forums" sidebar. Keep in mind, however, that standard forum rules also apply to Private Messages - and there is a facility for members to report rule-breaking personal messages, just as there is the ability to report posts. Flaming, advertising, etc. even via a Private Message is still SPAM and shall be treated as such.

13. Regarding the post report system: The Post Report system exists to let us know of posts that violate the rules. It does not exist to let us know that you're looking for a battle, or that you think a post is good. DO NOT use the Post Report system for anything other than reporting posts, as this would count as SPAM. We reserve the right to warn anyone who abuses the post report system.

14. Signature sizes: Due to the fixed length of the Pokécharms forums, you must be aware of the size of your signature. Generally, we ask that signatures be no higher than one full-height Trainer Card: about 175 pixels high.

While the amount is flexible within reason (one single long image won't cause problems), please do not unnecessarily stack images or use overly tall pictures in your signatures - and be wary when placing larger images side by side. For example, two standard Trainer Cards will fit side by side naturally. Adding a 3rd would cause it to vertically stack on certain displays.

For the record, to get an image into your signature, upload it to an external site like Photobucket or Imageshack, then place the uploaded image URL between image tags. Do not upload image as an attachment time and time again. Below is an example of what to put in the signature box:

Code: Select all

[img]http://i.imgur.com/abcd1234.png[/img]

15. Mini-modding is not allowed. Enforcement of the rules shall be executed by the Administrators and Moderators of Pokécharms alone. We hold the right to take whatever action - or not to take whatever action - against violators of these rules and policies. Therefore, if you have any requests for us to look into things - you may PM us and inform us or use the report button. However, please do not try to police the board yourselves. It merely clutters the forum and, if your judgement differs from the staff's, makes you look rather silly indeed.

In other words, when you see a SPAM thread, don't go around posting "This is SPAM." Report it to make us aware of it and we'll take care of it.

16. Please act maturely. The Pokécharms staff have a saying: members should be 13, or able to act it. We expect a certain level of maturity here, and although we do not hand out bans purely based on age, we do reserve the right to give obviously young members less slack when it comes to breaking the rules. Remember, this is a site inhabited mostly by older teenagers and adults, and we ask that you respect that.

17. Duplicate accounts are not allowed, under any circumstances. You are allowed one account on PokeCharms at a time. And only one. If we see a poster with more than one account, the duplicates will be permanently banned, and the original account will also be banned for a period of time appropriate to the offence.

Creating duplicate accounts simply to allow the original poster to post over and over in a thread is spam. It's a way of trying to get round the double-posting rule - and deliberately trying to evade a rule that you know exists is the worst kind of rule-breaking. Creating duplicate accounts so you can talk to yourself in a thread doesn't make you look popular, it makes you look sad. If you find yourself needing another account for whatever reason, let a staff member know why, and we will be happy to help you.

In the same vein, if you are temporarily banned and create another account to try to evade your ban, this will ensure a permanent ban.

Enforcement

1. Punishment for the breaking of forum rules is handled through the forum's warning system. This system works by sending private messages to warned members, and such messages constitute your official warning. Generally, if a member gets three warnings in a short space of time (normally a month), they will be banned from the forums, usually permanently. We can also set other detriments on members, such as rendering them unable to post, at our discretion.

2. Warnings eventually expire, giving offenders a chance to get their act together and better their ways. However, the staff are not beings of unlimited patience - and repeat offenders who simply refuse to 'get it' will be taken care of in the form of a swift, decisive and quite permanent ban.

3. This is important: AGE IS NO EXCUSE FOR ANYTHING. Do not attempt to try and weasel out of breaking the rules by saying 'I'm only a child!' or 'I am just 12!' or 'I AM NOT A DOCTOR! I AM ONLY FIVE YEARS OLD!'. We were children too and we had the common sense to read the rules and abide by them. We cannot and will not allow for age when upholding our rules.

4. In addition - it is an important thing to point out that the administration team and Global Moderators of this board reserve the right to warn or ban any offenders as we see fit. Sometimes, quality control IS needed to make sure 'Charms remains what it is intended to be.

In conclusion, respect these rules, abide by them, and we will have no problems. We hope that you will enjoy your stay here at Pokécharms!

Last edited by Linkachu on Thu Jan 20, 2011 5:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.