Post by Teh Donut on Jul 22, 2008 3:28:41 GMT -5
We are the Elite Authors' Boards for a reason, but not because we're some elitist snobs who turn people away we don't like. You are, however, expected to hold to a higher standard of performance and behavior than on many other role-playing and writing forums. We won't kick you for being inexperienced, but we do expect you to do your best to improve. Listen to other members’ advice and don’t take offense; keep in mind we’re only here to help you get better.
GENERAL FORUM RULES
1. Spamming and flooding are immediate bannable offenses, no exceptions. This includes non-linked image strings, Smiley Wars, and “Multiple character” replies outside the L33t and Roleplay boards. Double posting is prohibited on the boards, except under the rare instance where it is used for important updates, such as relevant additions to character profiles, notifications in RP discussion threads, new and relevant information on the subject of the thread, etc.
2. ALL board content is to be no more explicit than “PG-13”, with “R” being the exception for roleplays and literature. That means hentai, pron, and other graphic images or animations are out of the question. Graphic descriptions of sexual acts and such are likewise prohibited; “they had sex” gets the point across well enough. We really don’t want to deal with either angry parents or COPPA lawsuits.
3. RESPECT is the name of the game, people. If it’s a huge picture, link it; if it’s a huge animation, link it. If you must make a sailor blush, find a thesaurus and censor yourself. If you find yourself steering way off topic or “thread hijacking”, then try to redirect it back on topic. Don’t antagonize people due to their interests, beliefs (including religion), lifestyle, etc… It’s just plain R.E.S.P.E.C.T, people. It’s not so hard.
3a. Harassment of members outside the forum is still subject to you being banned from the forum. Respect applies to everyone on the board, anytime they are online. If you are found guilty of off-site harassment, you will be banned.4. Religious discussions are hereby banned from all topics. That includes religious jokes and religious debates. Only horrible things can come of them, such as violations to rule three. The only exceptions are religious references in stories and roleplays, which are allowed.
5. If you intend for whatever reason to leave The EAB with little to no intention of returning, do not attempt to delete your posts. Regular members lack the power to do this properly. Just send a PM to an Admin or Global Moderator and we'll take care of things.
6. All stuff posted by users is copyrighted to them. Plagiarism is strictly forbidden. If you don't want to risk getting plagiarized, then do not post your things.
7. Enforcement of the rules is at the admins' discression; there are no such things as “loopholes”. If you believe the judgment of an admin to be unjust or “abusive”, speak with the other two admin or a moderator, and they will look into the matter.
Thread Necromancy
As a general rule, any thread which has been inactive for at least a month is deemed “dead”. Reviving it is what is called Thread Necromancy. This IS allowed if an RP has been waiting on you and you finally manage to post (though we encourage you to stay more active so you don't hold others up) or if it's an information thread and you have new data to present. This IS NOT allowed when it's a dead RP and you're asking for admission, if you're just trying to chat it up, or if it's on a subject that has long since passed (like the Elections of 2004). Illegal acts of thread necromancy will first result in a warning, and repeated, frequent offenders will be temporarily banned.
Signatures and Profiles
1. The character limit for signatures is 400 characters, and the collective size limit of all pictures in your signature is 600x200 pixels. (width x height) The personal icon is set at 100x100 pixels; we’re sorry, but we can’t change this one. In both cases, this is to prevent screen stretching. If your signature is too large, we will delete it, and leave a nice little note explaining why.
2. Profile content (including personal text), signature, and personal icons must fit all general rules, especially the first three. Administrators reserve the right to go in and delete inappropriate content.
3. Changing your screen name is allowed, but be reasonable. If you wish to change your screen name, change it into something you're sure you like, and keep it that way. People who change their names more than once will be PM'd by a member of the staff about it, telling them to pick a screen name and stick to it. Changing your screen name every other day is confusing and unnecessary.
4. Only one account per user! If we catch you creating multiple accounts, we delete all except the oldest one, which we ban for a limited amount of time. Sometimes, you may not receive an activation e-mail with your password. In this case, contact a staff member and we can take care of that for you.
ALWAYS REMEMBER
"The Golden Rule"
This community is meant to be a nice one for people of similar interests to hang out and converse freely. Though not everyone will have the same interests as one another, there is absolutely no reason to create any bad blood between friends. This is the internet. We respect the rights people receive as part of the United States Constitution, but if you can’t make a reasonable effort to follow the rules, then leave. It’s that simple.
A Word on Administrators…
We the administrators are in charge. It is our responsibility to keep things in order. Anyone who feels the need to constantly break the forum rules or defy the power of the administrators will be dealt with how we see fit. Whether or not you believe the rules are fair, by participating on our forum, you are agreeing to follow them. Our rules are here for a reason, and if you believe they should be changed, you are free to recommend your changes through this thread, the suggestions thread, or contacting a staff member. However, we have no reservations when it comes to banning rebels.
CATEGORY SPECIFIC RULES
”General”
1. Music Station – This is also a board for rap battles, but don't go overboard with the insulting and everything.
2. Introduce Yourself – No advertising for other sites/boards in this section. That’s what the Links section and your signatures are for.
3. Guests - This board is for guests to come and ask questions, NOT for banned members to come in and gripe and complain. If you were put under a ban, it means you’re not allowed to post anywhere on the site, not that you can come in with some adorable nickname and spam the Guests' section. Banned members found posting in the Guests' section will have their bans extended by a minimum of one day for each post made. If it becomes habit, your IP addresses will be blocked as well.
"Stories, Etc."
1. All authors are to be respected as equals. If you do not like the work of someone, feel free to give them constructive criticism and try to help them further their talent. If you receive constructive criticism, do not take it as offensive. Obvious intentional offensiveness from either party will result in immediate bans, no questions asked.
2. The highest rating we allow for stories is R, just like FanFiction.net. If you believe your story might be a bit too risqué for even an R rating, consider not posting it, as it will be deleted.
"Other Stuff"
1. Links - None of your personal selfish links. (Such as ones with PayPal links or selling things) We don't care. Also, links to spam sites (Outwar, King of Chaos, etc.), where the entire idea is to make people visit the site, will be deleted without warning.
2. This is L33T - Don't get too insane in here. This forum is for pointless fun stuff. Spam machines just for the sake of spam will be deleted.
ROLEPLAY SPECIFIC RULES
1. All roleplay is subject to the General Forum Rules.
2. No autoing, godmodding, metagaming, etcetera. This involves doing things outside your character's abilities, controlling the responses of others, using knowledge that you know about the plot and what's happening in the story and suddenly having your character know it, and many more things. If someone ever accuses you of autoing, godmodding, etcetera, and you don't believe you are, ask a staff member for their opinion and they can mediate the situation. Opinions from staff members are final.
3. All character's profiles must have a complete and balanced character profile that adheres to the minimum standard form set here before they can be used in an RP. It's alright to put "Pending" as an entry for a section of a profile if you're in a hurry and want to get up what you have before you forget it, but you MUST finish it before you use that profile in an RP. Similarly, if your character is of an original race, you MUST complete a profile for that race in the Race Section before using that race in RP.
3a. The only exceptions to character creation rules are in the case of plot-based characters and NPCs. These do not require a profile, and if one is put up for information for the members, it does not have to have information that could give crucial plot or puzzle information away. However, such things must be filled out before they can be used in other RPs.
4. Administrators reserve the right to decline any and all use of certain characters within roleplay if they are deemed unreasonable, or in violation of any of the forum's General rules. While our roelplay is open-ended, please remember how much is too much when designing either a character or a race. Just because you CAN submit a race of ancient super-angels with infinite lifespans, the ability to cross the width of the multiverse and back in fractions of a second, and the strength to knock whole planets out of orbit, doesn't mean you should. Creators of roleplays reserve the right to deny any characters admission to their roleplays for the same reason.
5. Rights of RP creators: RP creators have the right to refuse any character on any condition, so long as it isn't due to personal discrimination against the other member. RP creators have the right to perform non-lethal autos for the purpose of preserving or progressing the plot with or without consent. However, RP creators MUST give critical warning before executing something that would terminate a character's life; failing to heed critical warning is the fault of the roleplayer.
6. Reality shall be respected in our roleplays: six-shooters only carry six shots, five-year-olds don't have the physical size or strength to swing Giant Swords, and two-year-olds don't have the mental development to build super-computers out of spare pacifiers. All roleplayers shall STAY IN CHARACTER; If your character is an innocent girl searching for her lost love, she should NOT turn around and be the right-hand wench of an evil super-villain one RP later just because you like the other character's player. If this is too hard, then make characters appropriate to the situation or your roleplaying style.
7. In the interests of readability and respect, all roleplayers shall make a reasonable attempt at proper grammar. Chatspeak is completely against the rules, as is gross abuse of the English language. RP posts are ENCOURAGED to be in paragraph format. We're not grammar nazis, but we do expect you to put forth some modicum of effort into making your posts. Furthermore, it's okay to ask a few OOC things in posts, but extensive OOC discussion should be taken to PMs, Instant Messenger, or the RP Discussion section, instead of cluttering the thread.
8. The RP Discussion section is only there for convenience. You are not required to discuss an RP in advance there before creating it, and neither is anyone else. Anything related to roleplaying on the EAB may be discussed in this section.
9. The Humor Roleplays may disregard certain roleplaying rules in the interests of humor, at the RP creator's discression.
10. If you wish to make an RP, you have the right to do so, so long as anyone has equal opportunity to get involved, within reason. If it's only going to be for you and someone else, and you really have no intention of including anyone else, please do the RP over instant messenger then post it in the Chat RP section. If you're just going to open it to others to get around this, this is discouraged, as it makes it a very poor RP experience for others.
Appendix:
[2]All rules ever made between the dates of March 31 and April 2 do not ever apply.
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