The Rules Thread

The forums are a place of wonder and excitement, with the ebb and flow of conversation going on all day. They are also a place where we need to occasionally clarify the rules. This post does just that.

It is important that you realise the forums are effectively an open venue for people to voice opinions and comments. You will be welcomed by the vast majority of people on here providing that you stick to these very simple rules. These have been built up over the several years of Mod DB's history, and should be comprehensive and yet shockingly common-sense.

• The Mod DB Bar is where you should talk about things not warranting a whole new topic, such as what happened to you in the day (unless it's really interesting) or saying "hi" to people.
• Cosmos is for serious discussions only, such as wars or big philosophical issues.
• Neither the staff nor the members take kindly to meaningless spam, and you will probably be hated if you persist in it.
• Before clicking "Post", stop and think:
  1. Is this going to offend or annoy someone?
  2. Is this against the rules?
  3. Will this be my second consecutive post in this thread?
  4. Have I posted this before?

  If the answer to any of these is "yes" you probably don't need to post it.

• Pay attention to things like spelling and grammar; people aren't going to waste time deciphering nonsense.
• This is the internet, link to relevant things! If somebody asks about a game, link a review. If you know a good tutorial to help someone, link it.
• Make use of the WYSIWYG features for things such as spoilers, quotes, code, images and embedded video. It looks good, and if you keep posting well formatted and readable posts then people will listen to you more. Conversely, don't abuse things like the colours.
• Do not create more than one thread with the same topic, even if you think it's in the wrong forum. If it is, we will move it.
• Do not bump old threads. Really old threads are automatically locked, but something which has gone three months without a post probably doesn't need you saying "I agree".
• Think before asking questions. Where applicable, Google something first.
• Don't start waving around your opinion or what your sister's boyfriend's cousin's neighbour said as fact. Likewise, don't start shooting down what other people say without some evidence. People with a icon are employed full-time in the games industry and probably know what they're talking about.
• Don't argue in the forums, take it into PMs or risk administrative action.
• Flaming, trolling, racism and sexism are all against the Terms of Use and will not be tolerated.
• Posting of inappropriate or pornographic images or text - including in your avatar or signature - is not acceptable behaviour and will at least result in the content being removed. Bans await repeat offenders.
• Excessive swearing and profanities will not be tolerated on our forums. This is a bannable offense.
• We can't influence individual mods. Take suggestions for them to the mod's own forums.
• Please don't whore or advertise your gold selling site, servers or anything else.
• Game referral links are really, really bad. We don't want to be bitten by your vampire, shot by your gang member, have our brains eaten by your zombie, get hit by your car, or anything else of a similar nature. If you're making a good-natured referral to something like Amazon which you receive commission on, that's still fine.
• People with or icons are responsible for looking after the forums. Listen to them.
• People with or icons are Mod DB staff and can help you out with most things around the site. Listen to them as well.
• Try keep your signature to no more than 100 pixels high, and fast loading. Remember not everybody has as fast an internet connection as you. Moderators have been instructed to get rid of excessively large or slow-loading signatures.

Edited by: jacksonj04