| THE RULES FOR USERS POSTING ON MOVIEMANIACS.NET |
This is a great place to come and discuss things of various topics, and you will find a wide ranging group of great people from many different places with just as many different views. We do however have a few guidelines that need to be followed in order to ensure that this place stays the best board that it possibly can be.
To that end here are a few basic rules of the land that you agree to abide by in posting on these forums, listed here for your convenience.
To avoid any possible problems or misunderstandings please take the time to read and familiarise yourself with the following, in order to help ensure that this place continues to be a friendly and comfortable haven for fans of all kinds to hang out at and enjoy.
The rules are as follows:
1) THOU SHALT RESPECT YOUR FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS.
This rule, above all others, is key. Remember it, know it, live it.
Here we frown upon flaming, hurtful remarks and slanderous arguments of any kind. You can discuss and debate, in fact it's welcomed that you do so, but fighting or throwing around personal attacks or insults is not welcomed and will not be tolerated for any reason.
We thoroughly believe that everyone has the right to have, hold and express their own opinions, however if you can't express yours or debate without resorting to petty namecalling or the belittling of your fellow board members and their own views and/or opinions then in those instances we advise you hold your tongue and don't say anything, because we won't stand idly by and let anyone be slammed for simply expressing themselves, even if their views aren't exactly popular opinion, or whether you (and we on the staff for that matter) happen to agree with them.
That said also please keep in mind that "just stating my opinion" is still not a valid reason and/or 'excuse all' card that you can just throw down any time you feel like acting in an offensive or inflamatory manner either, so don't try to get bad behaviour past us with that one either because we'll see right through it every time.
Also try to remember the simple fact that often it's not what you say so much as how you say it that is most liable to cause offence and arguements in the first place, and so in matters and situations like that we will take action as we see fit and fair, based not only on who said what, but how they said it.
In short if you're just trolling for trouble don't expect to get away with it here. And if you continue to push it then you simply won't be here very long.
2) THOU SHALT RESPECT THE STAFF.
We have a great group of people who voluntarily take time to keep this board a nice place. They love the board and have proven themselves to be fair and good people who honestly try their hardest to both mantain order and stay fair and impartial. So if a Moderator or Administrator asks you let a topic drop or makes a suggestion towards you, you do it. Full stop, end of story.
At the end of the day this is our place, and to be here you play by our rules. You don't have to like it, you don't even have to agree with it, but this board is not a courtroom for you to argue your case, nor is it a cross for you to cry martyr on.
If one of us screws up or crosses the line, another of us will call them on it and take care of it, often in private, but we do monitor each others actions. And if thats not good enough for you then all Staff members have e-mail addresses readily available that you can see on their profile page, often as part of their signature, and who you can also email through this very board's automatic emailing facility. Therefore if you want to discuss any decisions that they (or one of the other admins/mods) may have made on the board then you are welcomed to contact any of staff members that you feel comfortable with at any time via email and we guarantee to get back to you and discuss and address whatever concerns that you may have, in private and off the board.
We may not always agree with you or your concerns once they've been aired, but you guys always have a voice here and as such we will always at the very least hear you out and discuss whatever you email us about.
3) THOU SHALT *NOT* SPOIL THINGS FOR OTHER BOARD MEMBERS.
Here in the Asylum we discuss everything from Toys to TV, if it's a hot topic or anything movie related, chances are you'll find it somewhere here. And by the very nauture of such discussions much of this has to do with new and upcoming things like films, tv, comics and so on.
Due to that fact we ask that when discussing anything of this nature that you show some simple consideration for your fellow board members and use a simple SPOILER warning in the subject of your post to ensure that no one reads anything they don't want to know about when posting topics with spoilers in them.
Also please keep in mind that in order for any spoiler warnings to work they need to be specific, so if you start a topic that says "Final Destination (spoilers)" then every post in that topic is covered from having to use spoiler warnings for the movie Final Destination, because it was made clear that spoilers for Final Destination were inside that very topic. If however you want to talk about potential spoiler material in any other film apart from Final Destination is said topic then you still need to use spoiler warnings for those other films as part of your posts.
Our preferred method of Spoiler Warnings within posts is something like the following:
SPOILERS for Smurf Goes To Smurfyland below:
Followed by ten or more empty lines, then you can feel free to type your spoiler material freely. After you are done with your spoilers simply leave another ten or so blank lines, like such:
END SPOILERS
And then type end spoilers, as above. Then continue posting as per normal if you've still got more to say.
Alternatively, you can make use of our very cool and easy to use vb code spoiler tags, by simply doing the following:
- [spoiler]This is where the Spoiler text goes![/spoiler]
This tag allows you to very easily place spoilers in a thread without the need to manually go through the traditional Spoiler Warning routine, as outlined above. Please be sure to type above your spoilers exactly what the spoilers are pertaining to, as per normal though.
All quite simple really, isn't it? And a blessing for your fellow board members who don't want a particular movie/comic/tv show/whatever spoiled before they get a chance to check it out for themselves.
Furthermore it should be noted that a topic like "greatest death scenes ever (spoilers)" is basically useless being so completely non specific, and as such nothing is actually covered by such a non descript spoiler warning. As such every post containing spoilers inside such a thread would still need to have individual spoiler warnings for whatever they happen to be spoiling, whether you do it manually or make use of our nifty vb code spoiler tags.
So please just take this all on board and remember the simple fact that you can not cover any and all films in a given topic with a non specific and arbitrary spoiler warning, because it means nothing, and gives no warning to anybody about what lies inside. Once again for any spoiler warning to work or be truly effective they need to be specific, the warning needs to inform people exactly what the spoilers posted are in relation to, what film(s) (or whatever) are being spoiled, or else people don't know where it's safe for them to tread and read and where it isn't. And if in doubt, then just use a spoiler warning anyways just to be safe and cover yourself and look out for your fellow maniacs. It really doesn't take much effort, especially with out new vb code spoiler tags.
As stated above it's just simple courtesy that we're asking for with this 'rule', and all we ask is that you think of your fellow maniacs, don't assume that everyone has seen everything and post spoiler warnings as required, thats it. It's not that hard (especially now with the tags), and it's not a big ask, so please remember to abide by this simple request, as in the long run it really is in the best interests of everyone who posts here.
4) THOU SHALT *NOT* POST SILLY ANNOYANCES.
Now this isn't nearly a bad as you think. We just ask that you don't post things that take up valuable board space such as "Firsties" posts, posts with no point, or containing no text. To not post "smilie wars", or posts that are private jokes with anything "inside" that only one other board member would get. That's what E-mail is for.
Also we tend to frown on spam or people posting things just to drum up hits for their own websites.
Don't get us wrong, we don't mind our active and contributing members promoting their own websites from time to time, and we have no problem whatsoever with people advertising their own websites in their signatures and banners and the like, just don't overdo things and don't come here to do nothing other than plug your own site and then leave without any further contribution, thats all we ask.
The latter especially is very disrespectful, not just to us, but to everyone here, so if you don't want to be a contributing member of this board then don't spam us, okay?
5) THOU SHALT CHECK THE BOARD BEFORE POSTING NEW TOPICS.
Mainly because if it's something to be discussed, there is probably already a topic for it. We really don't need 4 different topics on how good the latest movie is, or who you would like to see in the next toy line. Use good judgment and try to build on others post. We also have a search function on the board to help you in this. If you don't see a topic pertaining to what you want to discuss, feel free to start one of your own, but just do a quick look before you leap, that's all we ask, especially on subjects or news that obviously could already have been posted.
6) THOU SHALT WATCH THY MOUTH.
Now don't get the wrong impression, we are a not a clean group of rogues, and far from politically correct, but certain words, mostly associated with hate, are simply not welcome here, and their use will not be tolerated.
For this reason, this post is the only one in which you will see such words as f_ag, p_ussy, cock_sucker, or any derivative thereof, which have been deemed largely abusive and therefore off limits. We are also a socially mixed up group so anyone using a racial slur of any kind in an improper manner will absolutely be banned on sight.
Also because of the age and social mix, as well as certain rules we have to abide by because of our server hosts, there will be absolutely no posting images with nudity or any other pornography of any kind whatsoever. Not only does posting nudity or porn usually cause someone to be offended, or feel uncomfortable, it's easily seen as potentially objectifying to many, while many of our users access this board from work, school and other public locations, and such posts could land them in trouble, or at the least get them into embarrassing situations best avoided.
So the rule is this, no nudity, no porn, not posted on this board, ever. Not in posted images, not in direct links, not in banners or avatars. No excuses. Again you want to dabble with that stuff fine, but just not here.
7) THOU SHALT LEAVE THY POLITICS & RELIGION AT THY DOOR.
Because these two particular subjects often seem to get otherwise rational people all wound up at the best of times we've had to make this place a no politics and no religious debating zone. After all people are usually very passionate in their views on these particulat matters (as they are entitled to be) but because of this these types of topics all too often turn into a powderkeg just waiting to explode. And more often than not they seem to do just that, invariably blowing out of control with diametric opposites setting up camp on opposite borders almost ready to kill each other. So, through bitter experience we've found it best to just ban those debates from this forum completely. It wasn't a choice that we wanted to make, but ultimately it was a choice that we had to make.
Furthermore we do not tolerate any insults that denigrate the faith or religious beliefs of any of our various members here, so whether you believe whatever or not, no ripping on, insulting or belittling anyone elses religious beliefs. This isn't the place for that, and it won't be allowed from anyone for any reason, so do us all a favour and just don't do it.
We're not saying you have to share the belief system of anyone else, just show your fellow members some respect and don't go out of your way to insult what they may hold dear, thats all. It's not very much to ask, is it?
8) A NOTE ON BANNER & AVATAR SIZES:
While we try our best to accomodate everyone here in creating and expressing their own individual identities and personalities by allowing you all to have either offsite linked, or locally stored avatars, as well as either hotlinked clickable personal webpage banners, or indeed just a plain made up banner that you think looks cool, we do ask you follow a few simple ground rules for the good of the board and all those on it.
First up,banner sizes can be no longer than 430 pixels wide, and thats the boundry that we ask you all stick within for a number of reasons, including file size, loading time and other board issues. As far as height goes all we ask is that you keep it within a semblance of basic common sense.
Also, no more than one banner per member please. If you don't stick within these limits you will be asked to remove and resize your banner, and if you don't do so then your banner will be removed by the staff until such a time as it fits within the allowed for limits.
As far as Avatars go, if you wish to upload and host your avatar locally on our server then the size limits are as follows:
- Max width: 145 pixels
- Max Height: 180 pixels
- Max file size: 22k
We've found that gives us all the best of both worlds in term of being able to have cool and nicely sized avatars, while not putting too much stress on the board or on loading times, especially for those of us still stuck with dial up.
If you have your own off site hosted avatar that you intend to use instead then we ask that it still be no bigger than:
- Max width: 150 pixels
- Max Height: 250 pixels
You get a little bit of a bonus leeway for hosting off site, but please still keep in mind that we do have a lot of people on dial up connections, so keep the file size within common sense limits, thanks.
Also when it comes to banners, avatars and personal signatures please remember once again that all the usual rules (no nudity, pornographic images or personal slams/insults etc.) still very much apply, and should your banner or avatar break those rules it will be removed. And repeat offenders will have the option of being able to display avatars and/or banners taken away from them.
Please keep these limits in mind and stay within them, as it not only helps us and the board, but it gives everyone the best of both worlds while also keeping the strain as low as possible for all the members of our community still on dial up. Thanks.
Thy Penalties For Breaking The Rules:
Now, the penalties for breaking the rules are very simple, you get one warning from a staff member, and if you screw up again you will be banned from posting. Simple as that. And once you're banned, you're banned. And not only is the staff very vigilant in enforcing such things, but with this new board we can keep you out better than ever, so just don't break the rules, okay?
Just follow these few simple common sense rules and not only will everything will be cool, but this will be a better and more pleasant place to hang out at for everyone. Also remember that by registering and posting on this message board you have agreed to abide to these few simple rules as stated above.
Now most people won't have a problem with any of this, it's all just basic common sense and simple courtesy in order to keep the board free and open to all comers and to help keep this board just what it was always intended to be: one of the best and most welcoming and enjoyable fan hangouts on the whole net. So please don't be dismayed or offput by anything you've read above, we don't bite, well, not unless we have to anyway.
So just come in, relax, join us, be cool, and have fun. We've been waiting for you...
Oh yeah, and Welcome to The Asylum!
The Staff of www.MovieManiacs.net.
Russ, Bishop, Bloody Thumb, The Lunatic25, Titus37, Rassputin, Why The Ear Man & Severen. |
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