Topic: Team Phoenix [PnX] Forum Rules

[MistaObvious]

Forum Rules

Please read through these rules and abide by them while using the Team Phoenix [PnX] forums.  Failure to follow these guidelines may result in a reprimand from our moderators and/or banning.  Banning from the site may also result in a ban from our game servers, at the discretion of the game server admins.

The Biggest of all Rules:
CHECK YOUR DRAMA AT THE DOOR

A major reason Team Phoenix started was to give solace to previous members of other clans who were looking to escape the drama of clan-life and just have fun gaming.  If you have a problem with another member of this site/forums, please PM them and have an adult conversation with them in private.  If that doesn't solve your problem, PM a moderator and/or admin about the problem and they will deal with it privately.  If a solution cannot be found, then please be mature about it and remember that we're here to have fun and nothing else.  So most of all, in the end, just let it go - whatever "it" is.

Bringing your drama out into the open will result in a warning and the deletion of the post.  Doing this more than once may result in the eventual disabling of your account until such a time that you can conduct yourself in a more mature manner.  I'm afraid you won't find too much patience in this department, so I can't stress enough to keep your issues private.

Obey Your Moderators

Look, these guys volunteer to keep these forums clean and fun for all.  It takes time and energy and generally means that they'll deal with drama the rest of you won't see.  For that fact alone, they are very deserving of everyone's respect.  So if a mod locks, edits or deletes a thread/post, let it be.  If you have a question regarding their decision, take it up with them directly

THROUGH PM, and be very courteous.  For the most part, these folks are understanding and patient, so you may find that it's a simple misunderstanding or there's a very good reason behind their actions.[/list]

Flaming

Please keep your posts respectful of others.  Flaming generally fits into the whole DRAMA issue, but will find very little patience from our moderators and/or admins.
As a definition, flaming refers to posting or replying to someone in a very nasty and disrespectful manner.  If you disagree with what someone posted and want to say so, then keep it clean and try not to immature about it.  There's nothing wrong with a healthy debate so long as you understand their position may not be the same as yours and you may not be able to change their mind.

Politics

Discussion of politics is very discouraged.  With the exception of religion, there is no subject that draws so many strong opinions and it's been seen time and again how these conversations can become out of hand.  If a thread starts to take on the appearance of a political debate, it will be locked.  It's not about censorship or opinions, but to keep to our goal of just having fun.  While having a debate may seem fun to you, it's often the case that others take these conversations too personal.  And what it comes down to is that political discussions are like crack to a lot of people...  no matter how unenjoyable the conversation may be.

Race, Religion and Sex

Generally, the discussion of race, religion and sex (as in the differences between men and women) is also discouraged.  All races, religions and sexes are welcome at Team Phoenix.  To refer to anyone in a derogatory manner regarding their race, religion or sex would ultimately result in the deletion of the post with a strong warning.  Further comments will result in a ban with no further warning.

pr0n (or porn for the 13371355)

Consider this site as PG-13.  There are exceptions to the rules, but be reasonable as there are still youngin's who will inevitably visit.  The display of or linking to images that show images that would draw a R rating (or worse) at the movies is strictly forbidden.  What would be considered art most often than not is a personal preference, but some exceptions can be made for the sake of the term.  In the end that will fall to a moderator and/or admin's decision if it's acceptable.  Don't get upset or argue over it...

Profanity...  or use of colorful language

There's a little leeway where this is concerned, so the occasional swear will not bother us.  But use some discretion, please.  There's plenty of people who easily get offended by "colorful" language even to this day, and there's also that whole age-thing.  Sure, kids see bad language in use all over the place, but there's also a lot of parents here who don't want their children to see that type of language in use in one of their favorite sites/communities.  Be respectful of their wishes, ok?  Generally it takes a heck of a lot more energy to type a swear than it does to blurt it out, so if you can manage to watch your language around your mother, it shouldn't be too hard to keep it toned down on a website forum.

Smurfing, or Multiple Forum Accounts

Multiple Accounts on the Team Phoenix

[PnX] website is discouraged.  The purpose for having a second or third account is usually for the purpose of hiding one's identity from others while creating havoc.  And for that purpose, you may find yourself banned from the site altogether.  This is just another example of drama we don't want to deal with.

If you'd like to change your username, please PM a site admin with your new name and the reason you'd like to change it and we'd be happy to do it for you.  We won't be actively looking for multiple accounts of the same person, but if one's discovered we may delete such accounts with a PM to you to make sure you understand why this has been done and so we understand why you have more than one account.

This does not necessarily reflect how we feel about smurfing on our game servers.[/list]

Images, Sigs, Avatars, etc...

This is the part where we tell you the same thing you'll hear on forums everywhere.  But still, it's necessary so we can keep the forums running relatively smooth.

• Image Width/Height:  Normally I would say something about keeping img sizes reasonable, but I've installed a forum mod that automatically fixes this issue with a popup of all images too large for the template.  
  
• Image Size (in KB or MB  ):  Most all of us here at [PnX] are on broadband, so it might not seem important, but it really is.  Not only do you want to be aware of anyone who might be on dialup (including those who travel a lot), but you should also be considerate of how the forum might respond in general.  Generally, if you use image formats like PNG or JPG, you should be able to keep image sizes down to a reasonable level thanks to compression.  Please stay away from bitmaps (BMP) that don't allow compression.  If your image starts to push several hundred KB (kilobytes), then you're pushing the limits of what's acceptable.  Please consider compressing the image or changing it's format to compress it.  Resizing an image's width/height will also dramatically affect it's size.
  
• Sigs: Please keeps sig sizes relatively small...  if your sig takes up half a page on a screen resolution of 800x600, then you may be asked to change it.  Have a look at the sigs others are using to get an idea of what's best.  If you need help w/ this, then make a post in the sig maker's forum and someone will be happy to help you.
  
• Avatars: Currently you can only use an avatar that's hosted here on this site.  In order to do this, you have to meet the strict forum guidelines that are already set by the forum.  Again, if you have trouble with this, please make a post in the sig maker's forum for some help.
  
• Flash: Isn't flash just wonderful?  You can animate almost anything AND have it interactive, all at a wonderfully small file size.  It's because of this that we've enabled flash to work within this forum...  too add that little bit of spice to every user's experience.  But with that comes a couple guidelines:
  
  • keep the file size to less than a MB, and for anything over 200 KB, consider getting a "loader" (Google Flashkit, which has some nice ones premade).
  • Keep the movie dimensions to the same standards you would for images (no bigger than 400 pixels in width, please).
  • ABSOLUTELY NO POPUPS ALLOWED unless they're set up as a clickable link within the movie.
  • ABSOLUTELY NO SOUNDS.
  • All links should be set to open a new window.

If at any time you're unsure of a rule, don't hesitate to contact one of the moderators or admins.  We'll all be happy to answer your questions.  And thanks for your cooperation in keeping this forum clean and friendly, and most of all fun.