The Rules - 2006 Edition

[Justin]

It seems as if our rules were the only things lost during the server switch, so I'm going to do 'em again so nobody has any excuses. We retain the right to revise these per our discretion, but by the year 2006 I'd hope most people would know what's going to be considered an act of jackassery. So use common sense, people.

1. Hotlinking images. DON'T FUCKING DO IT! It steals bandwidth from other sites, and since we don't want people doing it to us, we're not going to be tolerating it either. www.imageshack.us provides free hosting for near any sort of image, except pornography. Which works nicely into the second rule...

2. If you're going to post anything of questionable content, LINK to it and give fair warning of it being not safe for work. A lot of people browse these forums from school and/or the office and we don't want them getting into shit because you just had to post that gross nude picture of Trishelle from Real World.

3. Speaking of images; we don't tolerate any depictions of animal violence. This extends to written depictions as well. Once again, use your head. Two puppies having a tussle on the carpet isn't going to get you banned.

4. Problems with the staff should be taken up, in private, WITH THE STAFF. There aren't any secret gestapo watching the forum and deleting your posts, dude. One of us did it and if you'd bother asking we'd find out who and for what reason. Problems can be resolved without public drama, so even if you think I'm a complete asshole and don't want to deal with me, talk with B or somebody and we'll work on straightening out our problems.

5. The feedback forum is there because we want to know what you guys think of our forum. Obviously something caught your eye and drove you to registering, so just pop in there and let us know what you think of what we're doing. We're not going to kill you for not liking something, but at least be ready to explain why. Telling us we suck isn't going to make us suck any less, after all.

6. Signatures. Keep them small; no images bigger than 600px wide, or 85px high. There's no reason for an image any bigger than that to be at the end of every post you make, especially if it's just a banner for your website, or graphic with your name & some things you like on it. Every one of your posts will have your username to the left, & a button that links to your website, should you choose to put it in, at the bottom. A flashy reminder of who you are will probably just annoy everyone.

7. Avatars. Nothing bigger than 125 pixels wide, 175 pixels high. Also, we've established a "Cool Kids Avatar Club" that we change the theme to about every month or so. You don't HAVE to play with us, but if you're not going to participate, don't post in the Avatar Club thread about how different you are.

8. DO NOT QUOTE THE PERSON DIRECTLY ABOVE YOU! There's no need for it, really. And if you're going to quote somebody, take the time to specify which sentence you're responding to instead of like, the entire five paragraph post. Oh, and no "chain quoting" either. We get it. It looks cool. Too bad it's retarded. Don't do it.

9. Private Messages (PM's) are enabled for a reason. I've even gone to the trouble of increasing inbox sizes for everybody, so use them if you've got a question to ask somebody not directly related to the topic at hand.

10. This is not AIM or IRC. Much like in the hit television series 24, things do not work in real time. Don't get bent out of shape if someone makes a joke while you weren't around to reply. It'll still be there tomorrow, Sally.

11. Spoiler tags. They hide valuable information as well as make the forum go faster. If we're talking about the ending to King Kong, there's obviously no need to spoiler it, but if we're talking about upcoming episodes of a TV show, do so. Once again, common sense. The month rule is a good way to judge whether or not something should be spoiled.

12. Put some thought into your topics and posts. Before rushing to hit that submit button, ask yourself if everybody's going to want to spend their time reading what it is you've got to say.

13. Grammar and spelling count. We're not nazis about it, but we also don't want this to degenerate into a community full of "a/s/l" "ur 2 hott!." On the same note, take the time and differentiate between your/you're and their/they're. It'll save you some face.

14. Don't talk about pirated or stolen software, music, games, etc. And yes, we're going to see through your attempt at being vague and clever by saying you DIDN'T pirate said bad nu-metal CD, so don't even bother.

That's it for the time being. Like I've said, these can change, but we'll usually make it a point to inform you guys of any major ones.
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Boys are rotten! Made of cotton!
Girls are sexy! They drink Pepsi!
Girls go to college to gain more knowledge!
Boys go to Jupiter to get even stupider!