Well, here's the rules for my forum (well, it's not really mine, but I'm an admin so bleah):
The following was added on Tuesday, March 10, 2009, 12:05 Eastern Time. The following was edited on Saturday, March 14, 2009, 5:02 PM Eastern Time, for the first time. The following will be subject to change until March 16, 2009.
RULES AND GUIDELINES FOR GOLDEN SUN HACKING COMMUNITY
Hello, I'm Charon, and I will be your Administrator for the time that Atrius will be leaving. I have decided that some rules and guidelines for our newer members would be a nice addition to the forums and would reduce any future idiocy/trolling/bashing ect..
For current active members of this forum, I am not aiming to be a forum Nazi and I will only swing my banneth hammer as necessary. Currently active members (which I believe are Zach, Maxipower, Role, Weckar, and a few others of the time of this writing) have truely nothing to worry about; just keep on doing what you are doing now and you guys will be just fine.
For new members of this forum, I will be monitoring your behaviour and making sure its not something that will tear our little community apart. Thus I am highly recommending you to all to read these following rules. Most are simply common sense and are meant to make this forum a better place.
Now, for the rules.
I will be making use of the "warn system". It's a very nice little thing on the bottom of your user information by your post. If you follow the rules, your warn level will be 0. If you infract any of the rules in Part II, I will raise your warn system accordingly. If you, however, improve your behaviour, I will lower your warn level.
A warn level of 5 will result in a 2-week ban. I will then clear your warn level. If your warn level reaches 5 again, I will permanently ban you. In order for you to return to Golden Sun Hacking Community, you must send me an email on why I should unban you and an apology ect.
Part I. Infracting any of the following rules will result in an instant 2-week ban (with the exception of bots which will be banned permanently).
The second infraction of the following will result in a full permanent ban which can only be reversed by emailing me and asking me to unban you with a good explanation why.
1. No Posting Commercial Rom Files. It's illegal, and most people can find their own anyhow. Instead of posting a link, give more information about a ROM, for example, its language, ROM code and number. Unless it's a homebrew, just don't do it. If you would like to distribute a rom, distribute it in a patch file, such as an IPS.
2. No Trolling. Not that we're particularly prone to it, but if you want to be a jerk and stir up a fight for no reason, we won't need you around. If you come on here and just dis Golden Sun, the forums or even some random user, expect to be banned.
3. If I find a bot, it will be automatically be banned permanently. So do not go around advertising like a bot (although advertising a website is perfectly fine). A bot is a user made by an advertising company to seek cheap advertising, and in addition to the bot being banned, I will remove the advertisement and lock the thread.
4. No alternative accounts. You don't need it. I will remove both accounts if this is done.
5. Infringing on any of the following categories to an extreme extent. For example, posting 5 or 6 posts in a row ect.
Part II. Infracting any of the following rules will result in a possible boost in your warn level.
Remember, once it reaches 5, it will result in you having a 2-week ban.
NOTE: Infracting some of the following rules does not mean a definite raising of your warn level - however, constant infraction of a rule may result in a boost, and if it is rather prevalent, a boost of two or more.
Infraction of rules marked with a star will boost your warn level by 1.
*1. Respect the board's members. No random flame wars or bashing of any sort.
2. Please try to avoid spam (stupid pointless annoying messages). Don't just post for the sake of boosting your post count. 1 word posts are not permitted. If it persists, I will activate a minimum character amount requirement.
3. Try to keep your posts clean. Keep sex, drugs, swearing, ect. to a minimum. This applies to avatars and signatures as well.
4. Try to remember that us less fortunate members may have crappy internet connections and posting a ton of pictures, unless completely necessary, will not be tolerated.
5. Advertising is allowed, but in a minimal manner. Advertising to other forums is acceptable, as long as it is not random.
*6. Do not double post. This means posting twice in a row, unless this is applying to an art/hack thread and you are the creator and adding an update.
Part III. The following are guidelines for having a friendly, forum experience.
If the following are excessively, constantly or in any other extreme way infringed, I will add 1 to your warn level. Some I will be more tolerant on than others.
1. Please try to type in legible English. I'm not asking everyone to be a Grammar Nazi, but if your post is so poorly written that no one can understand it, we will have issues.
2. Please try not to forum chat. It's okay if you're asking a question and someone gives you a response, but no, "How's the weather?" "Oh, fine" "LOL" ect.. We have MSN for a reason.
3. Don't purposely do anything obnoxious or anything stupid. Basically, be good.
4. Do not ask for betas/updates of any programs or hacks that other users may be working on. Well, it's okay, just not to the point of harassment.
If you notice your Warn Level has been risen and you don't know why, you're welcome to contact me via PM or email me at ############.
You'll find that I'm a very lenient person and that I won't just try to make your life a living hell for the laughs. But please remember that I do have my limits and I will not be taken advantage of.
I hope you all have a nice day.
Hope it helps.