Other Chat Forum Rules

Before posting or creating a thread, please take heed of the following rules. They are enforced in this area and have have been decided upon by the community staff. Failure to adhere to these rules will result in warnings and/or infractions being distributed. Please note that while something may not be covered in the rules, it is up to the moderators of the area to make the final decision on locking a thread or other actions.

• This area is an off-topic forum.
  Note that this does not mean it is okay to go off-topic in any thread--it only means that this is a "catch all" forum for threads that don't fit anywhere else.
• No leaving/returning threads.
  We don't need to know this in Other Chat. If you're leaving, post in this thread and if you're returning after a long absence, make a new introduction thread in New Users / Welcome.
• No "Ask a Question" threads.
  If you can find the answer by a search engine, there is no need to present it as a thread. Google is your friend.
• No "Funny Video" threads.
  These can be shared in the Internet Forum. If you think a Youtube video will start a good/intelligent discussion, you may make a thread for it, but include your own opinions & discussion topics in the first post.
• No flaming or offensive remarks. RESPECT EVERYONE.
  Disagreements happen, and that's okay! We can't all see eye to eye. Try to keep your arguments at a civil and appropriate level. Do not make any offensive, disrespectful, or annoying posts towards another member. It can hurt people's feelings and start arguments. Flaming under any circumstances will result in a card warning or infraction, depending on prior offenses. If you see a member making a post that is offensive to you or another member, quietly report it to the staff via the report button.

Unless otherwise stated, the general [url-inline="showthread.php?t=54097"]PC rules[/url-inline] also apply to this area.

Out of Hand Discussions

We realize, from time to time, that discussions get out of hand. People start deviating from the topic and get more passionate about their replies and viewpoint on the subject. As a result, this often ends with a member consequently replying with more insults than any valuable content. While in the past, we immediately locked threads that grew into flamewars, we'd like to avoid this now so that everyone has a chance to reply. Rather than punishing the entire community from being able to contribute to discussions that result in out of hand replies, members involved in the flamewars will be restricted from the discussion using a "three strikes, you're out" method. If anyone continues posting after receiving three strikes, their posts will be removed from the thread and they will be punished accordingly. Staff will keep track of this through usernotes and you will be notified when you have received a warning by means of a private message. If you are restricted from one topic, you are still permitted to reply to other topics.

Trolling

Trolling is frequent in Other Chat, and it has been decided by higher staff to provide consequences for doing so. In internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages with the primary intent of provoking other users into an emotional response and disrupting the flow of conversation. At the discretion of the staff, any acts of trolling and walking on the edge of trolling and following the rules (borderline trolling) will result in an infraction or warning. If you are infracted for trolling, and disagree with the infraction, please take it up with the higher staff.

Any questions regarding these rules are to be directed to a [url-inline="showgroups.php"]senior staff member[/url-inline].