House Rules

[Hellscrag]

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1. Registration, Profile and Private Messaging

Users are requested to have regard to the following rules when registering an account or setting up their profile.

1.1. All users registering at the UnrealSP.Org forums must insert a valid, permanent e-mail address when doing so. Inserting a valid e-mail address will enable users to receive important e-mails from the forum administrator and automated e-mails generated by the forum software (your e-mail address will not by default be visible to any other users except for the forum administrator). Failure to insert a valid e-mail address will alert the forum administrator and could under certain circumstances result in a ban.

1.2. Users are permitted to use custom avatars and signatures linked remotely from other servers. However, custom avatars must not exceed 150x200 in size, and individual signature images must not exceed 400x100 in size (multiple-element signatures are permitted, but users including too many different elements in their signatures may be asked to remove them).

1.3. All users should get used to checking their private messages (see the options at the top of the page). Private messages could contain important information from a forum administrator or moderator, and are also the most appropriate medium for personal discussions and disputes.

1.4. Re-registering under a different username following a ban will not be tolerated and result in a permanent ban. Duplicate accounts will likely be deleted. The forum software monitors IP addresses and therefore this sort of activity is easily traced; users are asked not to risk a whole IP range being banned as a result of their behaviour.

2. General Conduct

Users are requested to have regard to the following rules when participating in general discussion.

2.1. The UnrealSP.Org forums are a "mature" forum community for a "mature" game. Users of all ages and backgrounds are welcome, but all users must be prepared to be civil and respect others' opinions. Flame wars, abusive language, name-calling and smear campaigns against members of other forum or gaming communities will not be tolerated; failure to respect these requirements will result in warnings and, in worse cases, suspensions and permanent bans. Users are also requested to express themselves without falling back on profanity to make a point.

2.2. Users are requested not to consciously "hijack" other users' threads, driving them off-topic. Threads do sometimes go off-topic of their own accord, and this normally results in the threads concerned being split by moderators, but users are asked to take some responsibility to minimise the need for thread splits.

2.3. Similarly, all new threads should be posted in the appropriate topic area. For example, threads about Unreal/UT etc. do not belong in the "Off Topic" section, and threads about multiplayer gaming belong in the "Multiplayer Matters" section.

2.4. Users are requested to use proper English in their posts, including spelling, punctuation and grammar, as this makes it easier for everyone to communicate. However, it is of course recognised that not all users of the UnrealSP.Org forums will have English as their first language.

2.5. USERS ARE ASKED NOT TO POST MESSAGES ENTIRELY IN CAPITAL LETTERS AS THIS CAN BE CONSTRUED AS "SHOUTING" AND IS TIRING TO READ.

2.6. Users are requested not to abuse the forums by posting huge numbers of new threads or polls in quick succession. "Bumping" old threads that have not been locked, however, is permitted, within reason.

2.7. The forums, and in particular Off Topic section, can by their very nature generate a certain number of "spammy threads". However, pure, meaningless spam, particularly when posted in large volumes, will not be tolerated and will result in warnings as well as, in the long term, a ban.

2.8. Users who have started threads are within their rights to request that they be locked or split by a moderator or administrator, provided that an appropriate reason is given.

2.9. Should words become censored, users are asked not to take measures to bypass the forum censor.

3. Rules for Serious Debate

Occasionally, off-topic discussions will give rise to debates on subjects about which different users feel passionately in differing ways. The UnrealSP.Org forums do not shy away from such discussions, but users are asked to heed the following:

3.1. If participating in a serious debate, users must be prepared to back up their views with calmly reasoned argument: blind prejudice and inflammatory language will not be tolerated. You as a registered user must understand at all times that other users or groups may have a fundamentally different view or belief system that cannot necessarily be reconciled with your own and, where this occurs, you should not take it upon yourself to judge the other users or groups, either directly or implicitly, on the basis of your own dogma or "received wisdom".

3.2. Serious debate will be allowed to unfold of its own accord for the most part, but there are limits as to how far such threads will be allowed to go. Should any user(s) commit serious and sustained breaches of rule 3.1, said user(s) will in the first instance be given a warning about their behaviour by the administrator or a moderator*. Any user(s) given an official warning about their behaviour will be expected to cease said behaviour and, if they fail to do so, may find themselves subject to a temporary or permanent ban. Serious debates that become out of control (or, in some cases, serious debates that have run their course and ended of their own accord) are likely to be locked.

* This does NOT refer to the administrator or moderator having a differing opinion on the subject being discussed; this refers to the administrator or moderator considering that the offending user's behaviour being unacceptable in terms of rule 3.1.

[Nahand]

...seems fine by me. UnrealSP.org already follows these rules, i think. But... is 'jesus' some kind of offending word? Because... i have family name to somewhat back that up ...

[Buff Skeleton]

Honestly, I think your average forumgoer is going to look at that and say "too long" and then skip right over it. You should try to make it as condensed as possible, such as a simple bullet list. A bullet per point with just a few words will actually get read and the point will still be delivered. You could leave the lengthy stuff in a thread, but be sure the sign-up agreement is as concise as possible for the hyper-ADD-afflicted internet populace.

Also, avoid saying things like "this COULD get you banned;" say "this WILL get you banned." That way, even if you prove to be more lenient with the rules in practice, the people who read them will at least not realize it immediately and they will probably be less inclined to test their strength. This is your forum; if you want the rules to be respected, you need to present the image of having an iron fist and a ban hammer ready for smiting at any moment, whether you behave that way or not. It's not Machiavellian--it just makes good sense.

All throughout school, the teachers I remember having the best control of the class were the ones who started the year or semester off with a really hard-ass front, but softened into being respectful and respectable people. The ones who were really nice up front and relaxed never were taken seriously by the students. And while I'm mostly referring to high school and below here, most of the people who sign up for this site are about that age.

So,
- Be concise
- Appear to be a wrathful god

The people you want to attract, the mature ones, will not have a problem abiding by concise, reasonable rules. The immature ones who otherwise would skip (and disregard) the rules will be more likely to read the shorter list, and will be less likely to act out if they think there is a good chance that being a retarded jackass will get them banned instantly and permanently.

[zbreaker]

Excellent restatement of guidelines by Scrag....equally excellent analysis by Waff...somewhere in the middle lies the the truth of the matter.

Though it is a shame nowadays as Waff points out that peoples attention span is so short as to not want to attempt to digest a moderate piece of composition

[UB_]

But... is 'jesus' some kind of offending word?

Only to certain people.
Is generally not anyway.

[Darkon]

But... is 'jesus' some kind of offending word? Because... i have family name to somewhat back that up ...

Depends on how it's used. No one will use "Matthew", "Bob", "Rasheed", "Terence", "Pocahontas" or "Ronald McDonald" as "cuss"-words, but will use Jesus or other religious words (christian mostly) as "cuss"-words, same with diseases, or words that have (to do with) sexual content. So try to understand someone elses feelings when it comes to that and act in a mature way (in other words: try to avoid them or replace them with something else).

Edit: I had to re-read Scrag's post: "Users are also requested to express themselves without falling back on profanity to make a point."
Can't say it in a better way...!

Edit2: How about: New people should read a whole thread before posting a comment/question about the topic... ?

[Hellscrag]

Thanks for the feedback.

Waff - I thought I had already struck that balance, but I'll take another look at it. This isn't actually a "sign-up agreement", though (the forum software doesn't have a feature for that), it's something that we usually refer people to after they've started posting - so does the same really apply?

[Buff Skeleton]

It is concise for a normal person, but for the crack-addled internet youths of today, it's too long to hold someone's attention. Perhaps you could preface it with a giant bold headline saying "BASIC RULES" and have a bullet list, and then have the elaboration below it.

[Hellscrag]

Perhaps you could preface it with a giant bold headline saying "BASIC RULES" and have a bullet list, and then have the elaboration below it.

That's not a bad idea; I may do that.

[UB_]

Didn't know that the avatar's max size was increased.

[Hellscrag]

Didn't know that the avatar's max size was increased.

It was 150x200 before, and is now. Nothing's changed...

[UB_]

Must confusing myself with BU rules... Ok anyway.

[ividyon]

I think these rules are A-OK, so I changed the thread title a bit and unstickied the old rules thread to tidy Site Speak up (since it had 4 stickies).

[redeye]

I could never understand what the big deal is about bumping threads.
I mean hell, just delete all the old threads, whats the purpose of forums if ya can't just post once you find the dang thing.

very odd

[Hellscrag]

I could never understand what the big deal is about bumping threads.
I mean hell, just delete all the old threads, whats the purpose of forums if ya can't just post once you find the dang thing.

very odd

Where do the rules say that you can't bump threads?