Because of some things that went on between the past few years up until recently, it has become somewhat important that we as a small community need to treat each other better. Below are some rules that will encourage positive behavior and growth within the community.
I know that some people may come to question this, but you must understand that these are only put in place to improve the community, and are effective as of this post (19/12/2015). As staff we are patient with everyone and treat everyone with respect, so please do not look at this as a way of dictating and controlling the community.
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As a way to determine punishment, each member has 4 'strikes'. If a member reaches 4 strikes, a suspension of 2 weeks will be administered to them. After the suspension, they will start out with 2 strikes, which if they gain another 2 they may be suspended again for 2 weeks, For longer, or banned entirely, this is up to discretion by staff.
After a certain amount of time, strikes may be removed entirely if the member in question starts behaving in a good manner and/or does things to improve the community.
Suspensions and bans can be appealed to staff after a few weeks have passed. If we feel you were banned/suspended for a serious enough reason we reserve the right to say 'No', which will be the case most of the time. Strikes cannot be appealed.
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The rules will be broken down into 3 categories:
Guidelines- These are not punishable directly, but are merely strategies that you as a member can utilize to appear more professional and clear when posting.
- Neglecting some of these on a regular basis may result in verbal warnings.
Warnable- These are the genuine rules that everyone should know when communicating and interacting with others.
- Usually will result in verbal warnings or a single strike, but can be worse depending on severity of the offense.
Severe- These are the things that, if members do, will result in more than one strike or even potential suspensions.
- Some very serious situations may even result in an instant permanent ban (they are marked with a black asterisk *).
- Most situations will not escalate to this level, but are definitely possible and must be addressed.
The rules are non-negotiable and apply to every member. Follow them and you'll be gold.
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Guidelines- Use proper grammar and spelling to the best of your ability.
- Do not send help questions to specific members, please post these in the forums so others can learn from it.
- Avoid double posting unless it is to update a thread with new information or content. An example of this would be Hector Doomhammer's streaming announcements, or Gamenater's art threads, or even modding/mapping tutorials. These are completely fine. Utilize Edit buttons when possible though.
- Post threads in proper sections. Boards are clearly labelled as to what can be posted in them.
- Post on topic. Don't add something completely unrelated to a thread, Email and PMs are a good way to directly reach out to someone.
- Report spam when you see it. This helps moderators like me delete the spam posts as soon as possible.
- Use the 'thank' button only to thank someone, don't use it as a 'like' button.
- Be active! Participate in discussions relating to C&C or other things whenever possible to generate activity and discussion, it benefits all of us!
Warnable- Disrespect towards other members. Below are what could outline this broad definition, but it is always going to be up to discretion what may be deemed disrespectful, so always use your common sense.
Just to name a few:
- Making racist and homophobic remarks, or belittling a member based on their religion, age, sexual orientation, race, philosophy, political standpoint, lifestyle choice, favorite color, whatever. Treat others the same way you would want to be treated.
- Trashing somebody's content/artwork because you feel it's not up to par. We all started from somewhere. Constructive criticism is totally fine, but if a member does not want to be criticized or wants to learn on their own terms then let them do so!
- Harping at a member because they don't understand something/need more explanation. Be patient, we all have our strengths and weaknesses.
- Acting as if you are the smartest person in the room and belittling/mocking others because they don't agree with you. Being arrogant makes you look very ignorant, it does not make you smart in any way.
- Insulting, putting down, cursing at other members to make them feel unwelcome in any way for any reason.
- Challenging a decision made by a staff member and disrespecting them because of it. We make decisions that help the forum as a whole and do so with patience and reason, our word is final. constructive criticism is OK, so long as it's constructive and not destructive.
- Posting any illegal content, pirated content, or unauthorized software.
- Backseat moderating, which is trying to do the job of a moderator without being one (Trying to 'punish' other members for doing wrong, jumping in to flamewars to 'do your part' and try to break it up). Doing this can make a situation much worse, so don't do it. Utilize the report button when things go south, let us handle it.
- Trolling, testing, or blatantly disobeying any of the rules mentioned and trying to justify it. "It's just a prank" or "I was just kidding" are not get-out-of-jail-free cards, you WILL be punished.
Severe- *Hacking the site in any way.
- Making alternate accounts to avoid detection by staff.
- *Spamming.
- *Making threats against a member of any kind to harm them, whether they are serious or not.
- Successfully forcing a member to leave the community.
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I cannot control people's grudges or prejudices, so please put these quarrels aside when posting. It makes a huge difference when everyone is treated equally.
If you have any questions or if something is not clear, post below.
The goal of this is to create an environment where fans of this old, but great game series known as Command and Conquer can congregate, socialize, and flourish with positivity and creation. As our motto goes: Experiment, Create, Play. So instead of bringing others down, lets bring each other up into the unknown future of this series and experience it together. I thank you for your co-operation and for the great things to come from you guys.
SUPER-G,
Edited by user Saturday, March 26, 2016 6:30:51 PM(UTC)
| Reason: Not specified
