Don't Doubt The Rules

by **Bela Talbot** Wed Jun 13, 2012 8:20 am

1. Be Cool.
Don't be a flagrant douche-bag. Don't spam. Don't advertise. Don't excessively flame others. Respect the community and the staff. Act like a civilized human being.

We're cool with things like light swearing. However, if you start swearing too much, you're probably simultaneously not being cool, so you're breaking Rule #1.

2. Keep Private Stuff Private.
Nobody wants to hear you squabbling with others. In fact, chances are you're only squabbling with others because you have an audience. And let's face it: You're probably not squabbling about anything that's not pathetic, so I don't want the rest of the community having to feel sorry for you. That consumes a lot of energy and I don't want a community of exhausted zombies because they spend all their time listening to pathetic e-fights.

We all come here for social interaction. Conflicts are part of social interaction. We aren't Neopets. Nor do I try to pretend like conflicts don't happen. Just have them in private messages.

However, if someone isn't leaving you alone, DO contact a Moderator. We do draw the line between conflicts and serious personal attacks. If you're attacking someone privately, you're also breaking Rule #1 because you're not being cool.

3. Keep Spam on The Playground.
If you're going to derail a thread or just "spam" take it to The Playground. It's made just for you to get your socks off there. Don't ruin someone's serious thread just because you're bored.

Now it's a little different when it comes to actual games. It is okay for you to go a "little" off-topic in the game thread. We understand that you don't want to talk complete game-play in the threads, but we also don't want you completely derailing the game. Just be conservative.

4. Report Problematic Users.
When you press the Report Post button, your complaint goes into our private Moderator forum where Moderators can discuss the nature of your report privately. We depend on you to report issues because I don't want a staff of Nazi Gestapo patrolling the forum. I believe that a community can weed out its own issues.

DO Report:
- Spammers (excluding in the Spam forum)
- Advertisers
- People that are extensively flaming.
- People that don't belong in your thread.
- People that obviously aren't here to be a member of the community.
- People disrespecting Guild staff authority.

What probably doesn't need to be reported:
- People disagreeing with you.
- People that are only moderately swearing.

We understand that you don't want to be babysat, but we DO want to ensure that you have a good experience here. Sometimes you just need to ignore other users or add them to your ignore list.

Don't worry about reporting something that you're not sure breaks any rules or not. There's almost always a grey area and by bringing these to our attention, you can help us spot users that may be more problematic in the future or point out rules that we may need to adjust or even establish.

5. Debate. Don't Squabble.
Everyone has a right to their own opinions. Sure you may not approve of their opinions, but that doesn't mean you can just "crap" all over them. You may present your point of view and even heatedly debate, but do not reach the point where names are called and mothers are disgraced.

"I don't wanna talk to you no more, you empty headed animal food trough
wiper!" is different than "I'd rather end this discussion. Your opinions aren't in my taste."

The Bottom Line Is.
There aren't many rules, here. Use common sense and use good judgment.

Most important of all: Report disruptive/problematic users.

We depend on you to help us keep the community clean. Why have
Moderators painstakingly scan the forum for problems when we have members who could help out?

Sincerely, Bela Talbot & The Doubt Team