xXColdxFireXx
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posted on 21-8-2005 at 12:15 PM
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READ FIRST -- Haunting Echoes Board & Blog Rules
Overview
DO NOT POST MORE THAN ONCE IN A ROW. This is the biggest of forum sins. Make use of your edit button.
1) Respect the netiquette. Lurk and get to know the forum and the culture before you post - it could save you embarrassment.
2) Do not spam or blantantly advertise. Do not post just to increase your points. If you have nothing to say on a certain matter, then don't
post.
3) Respect moderators and their decisions. Instructions by moderators are to be followed. If a conflict arises with a Moderator, refer the issue to
an Administrator.
4) Stay on-topic: posts outside of the discussion topic of the respective board will either be moved to The Graveyard, locked or simply deleted.
5) Keep the size of personal images down. If you stretch the page, prepare to have your image removed without warning by a Moderator.
6) Signatures are for short comments or ONE image that does not impose on people attempting to view the forum. If your signature is too large, it
will be removed without warning.
7) Do not cross post. Post your message once, to the appropriate board and nowhere else.
8) Use a title that describes the content of your post. "Look at this" and "read me" are not appropriate titles for threads.
9) Be respectful to other members. Personal attacks and flaming are prohibited.
10) Do not give out personal information such as your phone number or address.
11) Multiple registrations are prohibited and are grounds for immediate account deletion.
12) Check the date of a thread when you post. Generally threads are dead for a reason and that reason is usually because members are no longer
interested in that topic. Posting in an old thread bumps it to the top and buries new threads.
13) If you are a long standing member, act like one. Lead by example and assist new members rather than attacking them.
14) This is a forum, not a chatroom. If you want to have a personal discussion with another member, go to the chatroom or make use of the private
message feature on the site.
The Rules
SPAM: SPAM stands for Stupid Pointless
Annoying Messages. Listed below are our definitions of "SPAM":
Off-Topic Posts - Any post that is either irrelevant to the topic of discussion, or forum is classified as SPAM.
Multiple Posts - The forum has an edit button for a reason and it isn't to look pretty. Do not post more than once in a row.
Intentional Point Raising: Posting comments just to raise your points is considered as SPAM. A common instance of this is replying to
questions that have already been answered and repeating the answer, or just posting nonsense that has absolutely nothing to do with that forum or
discussion at hand.
One-Word Replies: One-word replies are classified as SPAM.
Bumping Dead Topics - Bumping a topic that has not been posted in for over a month is considered SPAM.
Personal Member-To-Member Threads: If you post a thread directed at a specific member, it may be classified as SPAM. Members should
use the Private Messaging function to contact members privately about personal matters, or discussions.
Off-topic posts are allowed only in the Chat Here thread of the General Chit-Chat Forum. Chatting and member-to-member posting is allowed in
the blogs and is up to the member to decide whether it is acceptable on their profile or not; but if obvious and intentional point raising is
involved, a Moderator will intervene and your unfairly earned points will be taken.
Flaming: A flame is an insult or slur directed to a member. Listed below are our definitions of
"flames":
Insults: Any type of insult directed from one member to another member. Please remember that there is a big
difference between "criticism" and "insulting".
Homosexual Slurs: Any type of homosexual slur directed from one member to another member, whether it'd be false claims that the
member being flamed is a homosexual, or mocking a homosexual member for their sexual preference.
Sexual Slurs: Any type of sexual slur directed from one member to another member, whether it'd be describing explicit sexual
behaviors involving the member being flamed, or typing sexually explicit slurs using the likeness of the member being flamed.
Racial Slurs: Any type of racist slur directed from one member to another member or insulting a specific ethnic background.
Minimal flaming is allowed in the Rant & Rave forum, though it must not include serious insults and homosexual, sexist, or racist slurs.
What isn’t acceptable on the forum, isn’t acceptable on blogs and profiles. Serious insults and homosexual, sexual or racist slurs on profiles will
result in the deletion of offending material and disciplinary action.
Trolling: Trolling is often confused with flaming. The big difference between "trolling" and "flaming"
is that a direct insult is not always the factor. It simply has to be a comment intended to antagonize another person.
Trolling is where a member provokes another member into an argument or flame war by means of flaming the member, or making a post when the member
knows full-well that it will cause an argument or flame war.
A common example of "trolling" is when a member posts something that insults/provokes another group of members/moderators, e.g. posting in a metal
music thread saying that hip hop is better.
Minimal trolling is allowed in the Rant & Rave forum, but if you are warned to cease, you are expected to listen or you will face
disciplinary action.
Advertising: Advertising is when a member displays a link to a web site not associated with Haunting
Echoes with the intent to draw visitors of Haunting Echoes to their web site. Advertising is usually done in threads or posts, but it's not uncommon
to see advertising done in a member's viewable profile fields, such as their "Signature" or "Location". Advertising is not when members share
sites that they like to visit like gaming sites or music sites, or sites that are in the Haunting Echoes network, or links to their myspace, xanga, or
vampirefreaks profiles. Advertising is done with malicious intent to steal Haunting Echoes members and is usually done by competing sites.
The main websites in the Haunting Echoes network are Chat Maze and The Refuge
Advertising is not allowed in any of the Haunting Echoes forums. Advertising is not allowed on profiles and blogs. Advertising is not allowed in PM
or email.
Signatures: A signature appears at the bottom of a members post. A signature is a unique option that
allows you to include various bits of information in a small section after a post. Signatures are subject to the same rules as posts, so, if something
is not acceptable to post, then it is not acceptable for a signature.
Signatures are also subject to the following rules:
Length: Signatures may not exceed 10 lines of normal sized text or 13 lines of small sized text. Single images or an accumulation of
images must not excede a height of 250px in total.
Width: Signatures may not stretch the page, whether it'd be intentional or accidental.
Animations: Animated GIF images and Flash movies must have minimal loading time. Huge files will slow down the page load time for
people attempting to view it
If you do not follow these guidelines you will receive an official warning from a Moderator or Administrator, or your signature will be removed,
depending on the severity. A repeat offence will result in disciplinary action.
Disciplinary Action
If you break the rules set out for this forum, you will be subject to disciplinary action. The following covers all of the various disciplinary
actions, in order of severity:
Caution: An informal warning. Usually given to first-time offenders, new members, or members that are not
known to have any major infractions against the rules.
Warning: A formal warning. Usually given to those that have refused to acknowledge a previous caution, or
those that have committed an offence worth more than a caution.
Member Watch: All staff members are informed of the infraction and will be monitoring the offenders
activities. An Administrator will intervene and outline further action that will be taken if the behaviour does not cease.
Forum Access Removal: The offending members access to the forum is removed for a period of time, or
permanently. The period of time is decided upon by the Administrator after investigation and negotiation with the Moderators. A forum access removal
does not remove blog and profile posting priveleges.
Temporary Ban: The members account is temporarily banned from all site activities. The length of the ban
will depend on the severity of the problem and will be decided prior to implementing the ban.
Account Ban: The members account is permanently banned. The member no longer has access to the said
account, and is allowed to register a new account pending good behavior. If the member returns and continues to display disruptive behavior, then
further action may be taken to prevent the member from registering other accounts.
Ban On Sight Status: After 2-3 new accounts are created by a previously banned member with the intent to
cause trouble, a member can be placed on "Ban On Sight" status. This means that if the member is identified under a new account, he/she will be
automatically banned.
IP Ban: The members IP address will be completely banned from registering by having their IP address
logged and stored on a list of IP addresses that are not permitted to register accounts.
ISP Notification: Members that are a constant problem will be reported to their Internet Service Provider
for violating the Terms of Service of their provider and this web site. This can result in the Internet Service Provider cancelling the members
Internet Service.
Loss of points, deletion, or banning from HE can result from any of the following:
The posting of pornography; remarks and/or images which are sexually explicit, harmful, threatening, violent, abusive, defamatory, obscene, hateful,
racially or ethnically offensive; excessive obscene or vulgar language; posts which discuss or illustrate illegal activity; posts containing
plagiarised or copyrighted material; providing links to sites that contain any of the aforementioned.
As a member of Haunting Echoes you are bound to these rules during your time here. We reserve the right to alter these rules at any
time.
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