The following is a list of the rules of the Show Me Your News Forums (henceforth referred to as "the forums"). In order to maintain consistency in rule enforcement, anyone who breaks a rule will get a certain amount of points, and when a user (henceforth referred to as "you") receives 100 points, they will be banned. (See the bottom of the list for more info.)


POST IN THE RIGHT SECTION 0-10 pt

Each section of the forum is a category for the discussions that happen within. When posting a thread, please make sure that you place all threads that you create in the proper section to keep everything organized and so that other members can easily find what they are looking for.

DON'T MAKE STUPID POINTLESS POSTS (aka SPAM) 10 pt

Discussion forums are meant to be exactly as they sound: a venue for meaningful discussion. Please do not post anything that doesn't add meaningful content to the discussion at hand. Jokes are okay here and there; we all have a sense of humor. But please use discretion and your better judgement to determine what is appropriate for posting. Something that simply says "what they said" is never an acceptable post. And remember: keep your posts on topic.

DON'T BE THE CAT SITE All of the pts
Just don't

DON'T DOUBLE-POST 10 pt

There's usually no need for posting twice in a row. If you realize you forgot to say something, you can just edit your last post. Not many newcomers to forums realize that there is an edit button, so please remember it. If your computer messes up and creates a duplicate post, you won't be punished, but should delete the second.

Double-posting is justifiable only as a legitimate bump to a topic. A legitimate bump is explained below.

DON'T REVIVE OLD TOPICS WITHOUT GOOD REASON 1-5 pt

Generally speaking, you should not bump a topic in which the last post is over one month old unless you have something relevant to add. For instance, if a topic about a certain game hasn't been touched in four or so months but new information just cropped up about its impending release, feel free to post in the old topic with that news. Of course, you're just as welcome to create a new topic if the old one has fallen beyond the first page.

There is, however, an exception to this rule. Any topic which is still on the first page of a forum is immediately exempted from the aforementioned rule. Thus, in slow-moving sections, topics on the first page which could potentially be a few months old are still valid to post in no matter how old the latest post. There's no reason to create duplicate topics on the front page as it only leads to confusion, particularly among newer members.

Aside from topics which meet the first-page criteria, any topic which is over one month old and is revived for no clear reason will result in five points for the poster, as well as 5 more for each additional month that the topic has been idle. So, if you post in a topic over one month old, you'll get 5 points. If you post in one that's over two months old, you'll get 10, and so on. The maximum number of points which can be awarded for a single offense is 30.

SIGNATURE/AVATAR GUIDELINES

Avatar image size limit: 100x100 pixels
Signature image size limit: 200 pixels in height 5+ pt

That limit for signature sizes applies to all of your images combined.

Signatures that exceed the limit will receive 5 points, and an additional 5 points for every 100 pixels over the limit it is.

We don't currently have a file size limit for signatures or avatars. If everyone keeps their images a reasonable file size, we shouldn't need to limit you for that, but if too many people attempt to make massive .gif files in their avatars or signatures, then we might have to make some changes.

NO ADVERTISING SPAM 15 pt

Creating topics to advertise other websites is forbidden. We're not trying to crush out the competition or anything, but it ends up becoming a cluttered mess when people are trying to plug other things everywhere. If a website is relevant to an ongoing discussion in a thread, feel free to bring it up.

DON'T REQUEST OR PROVIDE ILLEGAL MATERIAL 10 pt for requesting, 50 points for providing.

This rule is very very serious, and cannot be stressed enough. We, the staff of the SMYN Forums, can be put in trouble if illegal content is exchanged on our boards. Chances are, if some commercial company made it, it's illegal for you to get it for free. Don't ask for how to download or pirate anime episodes, games, computer software, etc. The legality of emulators is debatable, but to be safe, we're labeling them illegal. As for homebrew and other general system hacking for gaming consoles, we'll allow the discussion of homebrew, but do not provide any information on how to obtain it, and do not post any links to where you can obtain it.

Remember, we're not trying to tell you what you can and can't do. But the staff of the SMYN Forums can be put in trouble if illegal content is exchanged here.

DON'T POST OFFENSIVE MATERIAL 20 pt

The posting of pornography/hentai, racially insensitive content, grotesque/disturbing imagery and other materials that would most likely offend other users is strictly prohibited. We strive to make sure our site and the content within is relatively safe-for-work and fosters an inviting environment for all our users, and we don't want to run the risk of permanently driving people away because of one bad picture or particularly nasty message.

DON'T DERAIL THREADS 15 pt

Derailing a topic is defined as a deliberate attempt to disrupt the direction a thread is heading or intends to head. This is not to say that going a little off-topic will get you penalized; this is mainly for posts with the sole intent of disrupting the flow of a topic. For example, posting irrelevant or mocking information in a thread that requests help; or in a discussion about a certain game on XGamestation, you mention that GameXstation is better.

DON'T ABUSE EMOTICONS (SMILIES) 1 pt per emoticon

You don't need a big long row of them to get your point across. You're not limited to a certain number of emoticons per post, but using a whole bunch of image emoticons together with nothing else of note between them is pointless. In other words, you will not be punished for having over 10 emoticons in your post if they're actually be used, but if you have a row of 20 smiling faces, then you will be penalized.

The point penalty applies to any more than 3 emoticons. The points will count for every emoticon in the row, not just the ones after the three-emoticon limit.

TREAT OTHER USERS WITH RESPECT 25 pt

The SMYN Forums have a reputation as the friendliest place on the internet, and we intend to keep that going. All members are expected to be respectful of each other, and we take that very seriously. We know you understand what that means; it's a part of every day life. Being on the internet doesn't make any difference.

DON'T TROLL 15 pt

Trolling is defined as posting with the intent of irritating everyone else or trying to cause an argument. It's fine if you disagree or debate with someone on some matter, but if you post in an antagonizing manner, it could be considered trolling.

DON'T RESPOND TO TROLLS 15 pt

If they're obviously just trying to cause trouble, anything you say to them only causes more trouble. Contact a moderator rather than try to deal with it yourself.

OBNOXIOUS QUOTING 10 pt

Obnoxious Quoting is when you quote a post that has a large image or YouTube video embedded without removing the image or video. This tends to disrupt the flow of the page by having the same large image/video over and over again pointlessly, and can cause some issues with loading times for users with slower connections. There is no defined meaning for "large image"; use your good judgement. Similarly, don't quote a long string of other quotes by existing users, because as you can see...

Quote:This

Quote:can

Quote:get

Quote:really

Quote:ANNOYING

Quote:after

Quote:a

Quote:while.

BAN-DODGING 100pt

Let's face it: If you screwed up enough that you managed to get yourself permanently banned, there's a good reason we kicked you out, and we're not in any rush to bring you back into the fold. Therefore, if we find proof positive that any member is in fact a banned user operating under a new account, the profile will be banned on the spot, no questions asked.

GOOD BEHAVIOR -X pt
This isn't actually a penalty; it's just the opposite. The penalties you receive last only a month. At the end of this period, the points will be subtracted from your total. However, if you accumulate more penalties over the course of the month, it doesn't matter very much.



ACTUAL PUNISHMENTS:
How to get temporarily banned:
--Get 70+ points total

How to get permanently banned:
--Get 100+ points total
--Get 15+ points in your first post upon joining
--Get 20+ points when you first join

If you get to 70 points, you'll get a fourteen-day deactivation of your account. Any attempt to circumvent this deactivation will result in a penalty of 20 points.

If any problems arise with these rules, the staff will discuss it.