It's nice to know that people are out there trying to make OTD a better place. Sometimes it makes me want to pull my hair out when people come in here and start to destroy the place, most of the time not deliberately. +rep Jurnis
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It's nice to know that people are out there trying to make OTD a better place. Sometimes it makes me want to pull my hair out when people come in here and start to destroy the place, most of the time not deliberately. +rep Jurnis
"Crimes" of the Forum
Yes, there is a section on this as well. There is not a whole lot of rules on this Forum that you have to follow. I am just explaining them in some detail.
However, there are some widely accepted, and enforced, rules in the Off-Topic Discussion that need to be followed. The "do's" are plain to see: do whatever doesn't fall in the "Don'ts" category, right?
NO. Just because you can do it doesn't mean you do it. Doing something, even though it follows the rules, can make you look like you're out to give everybody a hard time, and people will see it and interpret it as such.
You may not get banned for these kinds of "legal" behavior, but I assure you that the community will nearly effectively do that and worse--you will be scorned and shunned, and your name will become a negative word in the OTD Dictionary (see that thread), like Zenrax.
So, in light of this, let me lay down some of the widely accepted precepts of this forum.
1. Spamming is a "crime" of this forum. As a criminal, you will indeed eventually suffer at the hands of the Moderators if this activity continues.
However, there are more immediate consequences to this behavior. Trust me, most if not all of the veteran posters will swarm all over your post, and label it spam, flame you, and make jokes about you. Not all of them are serious, but still it damages your public reputation heavily.
This is especially true if you are a new poster. If you spam a thread, or create a thread that is spam, you will be thought down on almost instantly, and shunned by the community. It is hard to recover from a string of repeated spammings if you are new.
If you are on any thread, too much spamming will get you infractions, warnings, and bans.
1a. The definition of spamming is as follows: Short and/or pointless messages posted to a thread. Spam can also refer to messages posted on the forum for the purpose of solicitation. Also referred to as comments posted that are off-topic to a thread.
2. It is a heinous offense to go do nothing but troll around the forums. This really makes you look bad, and in all the time I have been here, only two trollers have been actually listened to--Criplockin, and Trogdor1316 (if he even qualifies as one anymore, that is up to the community to decide.)
If your name is NOT Criplockin or Trogdor1316, if you value your reputation, don't troll any of these forums, EVER!!!!
Even Criplockin and Trogdor are on occasion flamed for trolling the wrong thread, and being a troll is not the best thing on this forum in particular.
If you are new, and go trolling from day one, it could result in infractions, and a ban being slapped on your name.
2a. The definition of trolling is as follows: The act of purposefully antagonizing other people on the internet, generally on message boards. When done in a moderated internet community, this can result in banning. When done to uptight people such as fundies, this can result in hilarity.
3. Ban evasion is exactly that. Creating an alt to avoid being banned is strictly against the rules, and there is a ludicrously high chance of your getting banned by the Moderators a second, third, fourth, etc. time that you do this.
If you have been banned for a good reason, especially if you are banned in and from the Off-Topic Discussion, your presence will not be tolerated except by close friends, if that. You will not be taken seriously before you are re-banned.
It also violates having an alt account for any other purpose than a light jest.
4. Alternate accounts (or alts, or alt accounts) are a sensitive topic in these forums. Having an alternate account is strictly against the rules for a good reason.
The only exception to this rule is just making a new account for a light jest.
However, you can NEVER give yourself reputation, as that is a clear violation of the forum rules, and is very much HATED by the community as a whole. Even the Mods don't like it.
Reputation is earned, and you will not gain anything by cheating to get more of those nice little green bars, because it's how much the community recognizes you as beneficial to them that matters.
5. Necroing a thread does quite a bit of harm to you, as a Mod is likely to be around a corner to rebuke you for your misdeed.
Too much necroing of threads can get you blasted by the Mods, much less the community.
5a. The definition of necroing is: to post in a thread that has not been posted in for quite some time, at least two weeks, three weeks, or more.
Lord-A'ing is not necroing. It is a Moderator, or a very well-respected member of a community bringing back a thread for a VERY good reason. This case is the only exception to necroing.
6. The most important rule in my mind is this. Don't post in a thread simply because it is there. That is a chief cause of necroing, spamming, and other offenses which can otherwise be avoided by thinking and reading before you post. (See the first part of this guide)
Posting recklessly can possibly get you banned, and likely infracted, and very likely warned, especially if you do it outside of this forum. This is the place where there are the lowest restrictions, but if you keep on and keep on, I guarantee you a bad future, no matter if or if not you get warned, infracted, or even banned.
7. Double or triple posting is posting two or three consecutive times. It is generally frowned upon, as it is occasionally used to boost a person's post count. Not good.
It is looked down upon, and you will indeed be trampled by everyone who reads all those posts.
That is what the Edit and Delete options are for. You can plainly see the Edit button, and there is a "Delete this post" option within the editing box.
8. We all know what Dishonesty means, and it is not permitted on the Forums. It is not tolerated in the least by anyone, and you will indeed get trampled for good, you will almost never be forgiven for blatant lying to your community, and you may get infracted and/or banned.
9. Do not post threads that don't belong on this forum.
That is what the RPG Section, the Entertainment, Games, and the other forums are for.
9a.It is widely frowned upon to just post web sites in your first post, if you are not well-known and trusted by the community.
9b. Advertisements are spam. Period. End of story, you already know what spamming will do to you, and now multiply that by at least three. If that is your first post on this forum, you might as well be a spam bot and get your thread killed on the spot by a lynch mob, and only to have it followed with a perma-ban by a Mod.
Trust me, you would not want to blatantly advertise a product on these forums, because it is counted as one of the worst kinds of spam to the community. If you do, you WILL be found, and if you are coming onto these forums just to do that, you WILL be banned PROMPTLY. No trial, no jury, no judge. Just a mob of executioners.
It is the worst fate for a thread to suffer--dying in spam along with its poster.
Credits
Pieman
http://bbs.evony.com/showthread.php?t=105341
Found on posts #9, and #11
Credit due for giving me the inspiration to write this guide, and the first part of the guide up to "The Formation of Ideas."
DeSalvionjr
"The Off-Topic Dictionary"
http://bbs.evony.com/showthread.php?t=100804
Found on the first post, and more info on the second.
Credit due to him for the definition of the words "Spam" and "Trolling."
FoxyBunny
"Our Ten Commandments"
http://bbs.evony.com/showthread.php?t=37286
Found on the second post
Credit due to her for the "Dishonesty" clause, and the reference to Zenrax.
Criplockin
Post #49 of this thread
http://bbs.evony.com/showthread.php?t=105469&page=5
Credit to to him for the creation of Rule 4c, Section "Moderators," Part II.
LOL!!!!!!!
I would like to apologize for any "trolling/baiting" i did in this thread. ;)
Posting in Game Threads
Many of us love to see new faces participating in these threads. We have much fun in these threads, but the fun can be dampened a bit by wrong posts or comments. To enhance yours, and our, gaming experience, please follow these guidelines:
1. Read the instructions on how the game works first. Oftentimes, it's the person who thinks they've got the rules down, but doesn't that bogs the game.
1a. If you're unsure of the rules after reading them, ask the OP or another poster in a quick mail with your questions. Many of us will answer a question asked in game, but depending on the game, it may end up not being seen.
2. Apply common sense!!!
No two people have the same sense of humor, but certain posters WILL react unfavorably to certain comments made in these threads.
Time will show you who reacts to what, but assume that if you wouldn't make the joke to your mother/grandmother/child, that it wouldn't be received too cheerfully here.
2a. Once you learn more about the posters in that particular game thread, tread carefully, and be willing to apologize/change if someone says something about the inappropriateness of your post.
3. Creativity: Once again, be careful!!!
3a. We love creativity in some of the game threads (ie: "Ruin A Wish", "Spank Me", "Nommish/Awkward/ect..."), but keep it appropriate to the game/poster. For example, Th0r referring to me as "Polar Bear chariot driving elephant" is fine between myself and him.
A new poster using the same reference to me would be glared at, due to having no idea where that usage CAME from.
A new person, using a bit of imagination to make a good, clean joke about me, will be treated much better by me. With running jokes, like Foxy Bunny being Skynet, we don't mind sharing the laughter with a new person, as long as the new person respects the person who's the center of the joke, and uses the reference in a good, funny manner.
The community suffers sometimes from running jokes being turned into something they were never intended to be.
This very thing has caused threads to crash, wars to brew, and flamings of such proportions that the forum has been torn into rifts several times in the past.
If you do this repeatedly, the above will happen--to you.
Fallbreeze
Is the one to thank for the existence and creation of this post.