This thread holds all the rules of the forum. While we try to present ourselves as being a fairly laid back community, there are of course some explicit rules which are here to keep everything friendly and the forums running as smoothly as possible.
No Spamming - Pretty obvious, but don't make spam posts outside of the Fun & Games forum. This includes posts of just a few words, or not relating to the topic in any way, posts containing just smilies, or just random nonsense.
No Flaming - This includes insulting, racist, sexist or homophobic remarks, and outside of the Warzone forum this is not acceptable.
No pornography - We like to keep the forums relatively family friendly. Members found posting links to or any pornographic media will be dealt with accordingly
No warez - Discussion about illegally obtaining copyrighted material is strictly forbidden
No Multiple Accounts - Unless you have a legit reason for creating another account, you should not be using more than one to post here. Members found using multiple accounts will be disposed of.
No Advertising - Do not make topics/posts to advertise your website, or worse, advertise by PM'ing other members. Links in your sig are fine.
No impersonation - Impersonating people such as R* employees, or trying to disguise yourself as another member is not allowed.
No staff backchatting or ordering - Don't order staff around with orders like "close this topic" or "delete this post please" - The staff already know how to deal with this and will take care of it. Also, if a moderator/admin tells you to, remove your oversized signature, for example, then you must do so, don't argue with them. Staff have authority. You don't.
Guidelines
Keep on topic - Try to keep on topic at all times, when you go off topic (OT) it makes other people go OT too and then we get a topic full of posts unrelated to the OP's (original poster).
Signature And Avatar Rules
An avatar is a little picture you can have beneath your user name when you post a message. A signature is a message or picture that will be automatically added onto the end of each post you make
Max Signature Size:
Width - 500 pixels
Height - 200 pixels
Size: 100kb
Max Avatar Size:
Width - 100 pixels
Height - 100 pixels
Size - 30kb
If your signature is larger than the specified you will be notified by a mod and be given 24 hours to change it. If it is still unchaged after 24 hours it will be removed and a message left in place of it.
Breaking any of the rules set out here will result in administrative or moderative action being taken on your and/or your posts. Generally your topic will be locked or deleted, and you will be warned for repeated offences. Depending on the severity of offence and habitualness of them, you may receive a suspension or a permanent ban. We reserve the right to remove you from the forums without giving any prior warning.
You should of course follow basic 'netiquette' when posting on these forums. i.e. you shouldn't be posting in AIM/MSN speak or whatever. Just type natural English with good spelling and grammar, and remember we are an international forum, so not everyone speaks English as their first language and may have trouble understanding you. If you're new to forums in general, it's probably best you lurk for a while, just to get a feel for how things are done, before you start posting yourself.
Using the search feature should be your first action when you're looking for a quick answer to a question you have, or browsing the first few pages of the related subforum. Do this before starting a new topic, as this will make sure we don't get forums full of duplicated topics.
A Note About Bumping Topics
If you've found a topic in which the posts were all made a long time ago, you should ask yourself this question before replying.
Is this topic useful and/or will other members appreciate me bringing this topic back up to the first page?
Now if the answer to this is yes, then you're fine so long as your reply is on topic and somewhat meaningful and/or insightful. There's no point bumping a topic and just saying "thanks for the info". If the answer is no, then there porbably isn't much point replying.
Bumping old topics which aren't on the first 2 pages of a forum without a worth reply will usually result in the locking of the topic, and/or your post being deleted. You'll be warned for repeat offences.
As long as you use a bit of common sense when using these forums you should get on just fine. We want the forum to be clean and fun, so abiding by these rules will help in the continual running of this place. So enjoy the forums and enjoy the community!
A more in depth guide for newbie members can be found here in the near future, which explains in more detail about terminology and other important things.
