Forum Rules

Below is a list of rules and guidelines for the forum, these rules and guidelines apply to all threads and categories, the Chatbox located at the bottom of the main forum, and the Skype Chat, unless noted otherwise.



Forum Rules and Guidelines

1. Post in the Correct Category -
There are a number of categories which can be found in the home page of Realphobia, all of which are meant for specific threads and types of threads. If what you wish to post does not correspond to any of the pre-established categories, then it would go in the Junk Yard.

2. General Aggression and Trolling -
We want everyone to be welcome here, and thus we prefer that the environment is suitable to those therein. We ask that you limit rude comments, aggression, trolling, and other related things to the Junk Yard. This does not mean that you cannot troll or otherwise outside of the Junk Yard, but we ask that the other topics and categories remain serious and non-hostile.

3. Do Not Post Multiple Times in Succession -
Do not post more than once in a row in any given thread. It is bad form and takes up more space than is necessary. If you need to add on to something you said previously, you can edit the last thing that you posted if you were the last person to post. If you were not the last person to post, then you are of course free to post again. The only place where this rule is outright ignored, is in your personal blog, if you have one.

- (Sub rule) Flooding -
Flooding is a serious offense that will likely earn you a kick or ban, depending on the severity. Flooding is where you post an excess amount in succession. IE: In excess    of 5 times or more or so.

4. Do Not Post Personal Information -
This refers to things like your street address, or other things that can be used to track you down or related things, in real life. This is for your safety. You are more than free to post things like your email address, personal description, or links to your blog, etc however.

5. Avoid Necromancy -
Necromancy, as defined in this instance, is when an individual digs up a very old topic and posts in it. In some cases, it is acceptable to simply start a new thread instead of posting in an old one that has not been used in some time. Some time in this case typically refers to a period of several months or so.

6. Inappropriate Image Posting -
Simply enough, don’t post pornographic pictures, gore, or related images. You MAY posts links to pictures containing nudity, if they are of the art variety (IE: If you’re showing off a drawing you made). Otherwise, the above may be ignored if they pertain to drawn (digitally or by hand) images posted in the art section.

7. Do Not Spam -
Do not repeatedly state or post the same thing, anywhere. The Junk Yard is an exception.

8. Do Not Bully -
We all know what this means.

9. Moderation -
Moderators are tasked with keeping the order of the forum. They enforce the rules and have the final say. Moderators are able to kick and ban as they see fit, when appropriate. Remember, Moderators are there to assist and to keep the peace; they have the final say when it comes to the rules and judgments. Moderators are not in any way exempt from the rules. If you disagree with a decision a Moderator has made, or if you believe the Moderator was not in the right, feel free to report it to the next highest ranked Moderator.





Moderators and Moderation:

Ranks:

Chat Moderator -
The Chat Moderator enforces the rules of the chat box.

Moderator -
Also referred to as the Global Moderator, the Moderator moderates the forum as a whole.

Roleplays Administrator -
The Roleplays Administrator oversees roleplays and related activities, and has administrative abilities.

Administrator -
The Administrator runs the site, and has administrative abilities.


Becoming a Moderator:
If you wish to become a moderator, there are a number of criteria that must be met.

- You must be an active member. This of course means that you must be on at least once every couple days or so. We need Moderators who can be there to moderate.

- You must have at least 200 posts. Similar to the first condition, but with the added note that you must have a presence on the forum. Lurking will not help you become a Moderator, no matter how long you do it.

- You must be grammatically adept. You must be able to use English correctly; capitalize the first letter of a sentence, spell correctly, punctuate, etc. For a forum that is focused on writing (and our primary form of communication is such), Moderators must be able to communicate effectively and convey thoughts and statements fully and clearly.

- You must be professional. You cannot be biased or give special treatment to certain members. This also includes abusing your power, bullying, etc.

- You must be knowledgeable of the rules.

If these criteria are met, please contact a Moderator or Administrator for further assistance.

Private Moderation:
One or more of the above rules may be deemed unnecessary in the case of Private Moderation of a personal forum or thread. Should a member obtain a personal blog, or a personal roleplay, they may be given Moderator status within that thread or forum. Similarly, Administrators reserve the right to revoke that status at any time (See: Forum Rules and Guidelines- 9). Additionally, being granted a personal forum or thread automatically grants the owner eligibility for Moderator status of that forum or thread, but does not automatically entitle them to it; as assessment will be made to determine the appropriateness of granting Moderator status, or withholding status on the given forum or thread.


Procedures on Breaking the Rules:

Warning
A Moderator requests that you stop doing a thing that you are doing. The Moderator or Administrator may optionally choose to implement a strike system depending on the offense. If a Warning is issued, it is advisable to heed that warning.

Kick or Temporary Ban
You may be temporarily removed from the forum or a Chatbox/Skype Chat. The duration of time largely depends on the offense, but can typically range from a Kick (simply being removed, but allowed back in), to a brief Ban (being removed for a longer duration, from an hour to a few days generally).  

Permanent Ban
You will be removed from the Forum or Chatbox/Skype Chat permanently.


Disputing and Appealing Bans and Rulings:
If you wish to dispute a ban, a decision a Moderator has made, a rule, and so on, you may contact the next highest ranked Moderator or Administrator in regards to the dispute or appeal. It is advised to make an attempt at working out the dispute with the Moderator in question, however that may not always be an option depending on the situation. In these cases, you may contact a higher-ranked authority as noted above. Should the dispute lie with an Administrator, you may contact another Administrator to handle the dispute or appeal.




Roleplay rules:


1. Posts within the roleplay must be made with proper spelling and grammar.

2. Roleplay hosts must define the setting in which the roleplay exists in the original post.

3. Posts within the roleplay must pertain to the roleplay.

4. Any given player is only able to control their own character(s) within the game world; you are not able to determine the actions of other players’ characters unless they give permission.

5. No God-Modding. God-Modding is defined as controlling your character or the game environment in a manner that exceeds your character’s in-game abilities as defined by the roleplay in which they exist, the rules therein, or the Game Master’s say.

6. No Meta-Gaming. Meta-Gaming is defined as acting with or having knowledge pertaining to things in-game that your character(s) would not have within the game, that you yourself as the player have yourself. This means that if you know something that your character does not, you are not able to have your character act upon it unless otherwise noted by the roleplay’s rules.

7. In-game hostility and relations are restricted to the game. Do not bring anger or grievances from within the game into the real world or the rest of the forum. If you have a conflict between characters, please keep them between characters, not the players playing the characters.

8. Individual roleplay rules are enforced within their respective roleplays. As a whole, posting things like profanity, sexual relations, violence, etc, is perfectly fine. However, if an individual roleplay has rules outlawing such, then it is recognized as an enforceable rule within that roleplay.

9. Inactive roleplays will be closed. Inactive in this case, generally refers to a period of 4 weeks without a post being made. However, in certain circumstances, this rule may change between individual roleplays, to the Game Master’s discretion.

10. If a roleplay thread goes off topic, no longer sustains the original roleplay, becomes inactive, or fails to meet the standards of these rules, it will be deleted, closed, or moved, at the Game Master’s discretion.

11. If a completed or abandoned roleplay is of high quality or value among members, it may be moved to the “Good ol’ Times” to be preserved on the forum, at the Game Master’s discretion.

12. You must have an accepted profile on the forum in order to participate in roleplays.

13. Character sheets (AKA, applications to enter a roleplay with a defined character) must be written clearly and must follow the rules put in place by the roleplay of which they pertain.

14. Read carefully. Be sure that when you roleplay, you read posts carefully, so your response fits logically in order with the rest of the roleplay. For example, it wouldn’t make much sense if you were on a pirate ship in the roleplay, and suddenly you have your character “Exit the airlock on the space station.”

15. Posts made by players must abide by the rules of the roleplay of which they are posted within.


Chat Box and Skype Chat Rules:

1. No Spamming -
Spamming in this instance is considered to be posting multiple sets of the same thing, such as saying a word, phrase, image, or other text or sound-based medium or media repeatedly. Repeatedly would be defined as doing the same thing as described above in succession approximately 3-5 (or potentially more) times in a row. In addition, posting the same thing as described above several times throughout a chat session, typically once or more times every 2 minutes (more or less), again in excess of 3-5 times.

2. Don't Disturb the Peace -
Disturbing the peace is defined in this case as causing trouble, irritating someone, fighting, arguing, inciting argument, goading, provoking, and what have you. It should be noted that this rule generally refers to extremes, one or two small instances may be ignored depending on the severity and the effect it had on those involved. Unlike rule 1, rule 2 is more properly defined on a case-by-case basis. It is up to the moderator and/or the chatbox users (including normal users) to determine if a particular action is considered disturbing the peace.

3. No Harassment -
This rule should go without saying, but unfortunately not everyone adheres to it. Don't harass people, or bully people. Harassment is defined similarly to rule 2, but with the addition that it applies to specific users and groups of users who may target one person or group of people. Harassment/bullying can be defined as something as severe as verbal abuse (IE calling the person names, insulting their race, intelligence, upbringing, etc), threats, and so on, or being as simple as to antagonize them with prodding (defined as pushing a specific topic on them that they do not have interest in or have asked to be dropped, such as pushing a question or debate), directed negativity (loosely defined as being hostile or showing hostility toward a specific person either directly or indirectly through word choice and speech mannerisms), and so on. Again, like rule 2, rule 3 is addressed on a case-by-case basis. It is up to the moderator and/or the chatbox users (including normal users) to determine if a particular action is harassment. However, unlike rule 2, the primary factor contributing to the judgement of whether or not a circumstance is considered harassment or bullying, is determined primarily by the individual or group of individuals that are allegedly being harassed or bullied. Depending on the severity, we ask that the individual confront the offender directly in an effort to resolve the issue as most things can likely be sorted out via simply talking it out.

4. Supplemental Rule: General Conduct -
On a case by case basis, the Chatbox and Skype Chat rules coincide with rules established for the Forum in general. These rules may be enforced depending on the situation, and are up for review by a Moderator or Administrator depending on the offense.

Kicking and Banning By Vote -
Any user may submit a public request for a vote to remove another user from a Chatbox, Skype Chat, and/or the Forum. Once a request has been submitted, it requires 5 votes to establish. In other words, 5 or more people must accept the vote, otherwise the vote will not be held. Once a vote is established, active users may submit their votes publicly or privately. An active user is defined as someone who makes public contribution to the Forum or Chat via message or post, at least once a month, or within the past month once the vote is established (new users or inactive users who attempt to vote after the vote has been established will not be accepted). For a vote to pass, it must have 5 votes in favor, or at least 3 more votes in favor than out of favor should there be a tie. In other words, if the vote ties, the favor must meet the opposition, plus 3. Otherwise, if there is no tie and all votes are in favor, there must be a minimum of 5 people voting for the vote to pass. If 9 people vote, 6 must vote in favor to pass, if 23 people vote, 13 people must vote in favor to pass, and so on.
In addition, those involved in the vote must come to an agreement on the type of Kick or Ban that is established, whether it be temporary or permanent, and so on.





General Statements:

Harassing a Moderator -
While it is not technically against the rules, prepare to get kicked or banned if you harass a Moderator. Moderators must not abuse their power, however a kick or ban may be merited if you provoke one with such power.

Public Enemy -
If you become a public enemy to the forum, have repeat offenses meriting multiple bans, a “Ban on sight” policy may be put in place against you. This of course typically only pertains to those who have found a way around the ban system. To date, only one individual has been dubbed a public enemy; Worthbeads.

Respect others -
It’s good practice to take others’ thoughts and feelings into consideration.




Requests:

Rank Change -
If you would like your rank changed, IE to become a Chat Moderator, Moderator, etc, please contact a Moderator with administrative ability. Be advised that the deciding factor in whether or not you are eligible to have your rank changed is dependent on your qualifications, the need for a new Moderator, and other factors. Occasionally, this may be put to a vote.

Name change -
Please contact a Moderator with administrative ability if you would like your name changed.

Password change -
Please contact a Moderator with administrative ability if you would like your password changed.

Personal Blog -
If you would like a personal blog, please contact a Moderator with administrative ability. You are free to post anything you like in your personal blog (aside from illegal material, pornographic material, or gore, with exception to personal drawings and art).

Suggestions -
If you have a suggestion for the forum, please post it in the Suggestions/Questions category.

Long Live Realphobistan

All Hail Realphobia

- TS