Post by Spirit on Apr 7, 2008 14:55:26 GMT -5
This is a simple quick guide to help you, well, not get banned.
First and foremost, what is the Cbox?
Well, see that little box full of text at the bottom of every HiddenCrossroads page? That's what we call a Cbox. It's a nifty tool. You can chat here with your friends about almost anything. Key word there, almost.
What are the Cbox rules?
Well, the Cbox rules are posted right about the Cbox itself on every page of the Xroads. I will go trough every one of them in the next few questions. There are also some things that aren't written in there that are also against the rules. I will go through everything that is contraband within the Cbox. ^^
What does 'No cursing' mean?
This is simple. No profanities. They are also called curses, and sometimes swears in America, at least. I'm not sure what country you're from, most of the time, and I certainly don't know what is acceptable where you're from. But, no words such as...
The 'F' word; the word which means 'Female dog'; the word for donkey; Hell; The word which often refers to feces; Any derogatory term for either the male of female body parts; any racial, sexual, or ethical slurs; Slurs based on sexuality; and possibly more I don't even know or remember.
What is spamming?
Spam is Internet slang for 'Stupid pointless annoying messages.' and, pretty much is exactly that. But, what exactly is considered stupid, pointless, and annoying in the Cbox? Well, here's a list in nice bullet form for you. Do any of these, and you will be banned.
Things that are spam in our Cbox include, but are not limited to...
-Posting the same message three or more times within the visible messages in the Cbox. {Visible Cbox is the part you can see without having to click '[Older messages]'}
(We understand that something may have glitched. In those situations, please try and say that there is a problem. It is utterly up to the staff to determine spam or not. Sometimes you can still be banned for posting it a lot, even not within the visible messages, so be careful.)
-Posting a link three or more times within the visible messages in the Cbox.
(If you accidentally 'broke' a link, or posted it incorrectly, the staff should understand when you post again with the correct one.)
-Saying 'Join the site in my name' repetitively, is spam. Like most other things, three times is more than enough. People will click the link in your name if they want to. No matter how much you advertise, no more people are gonna join than would have 5 minutes ago. If a staff member sees a problem with it, you will be banned.
-Using multiple punctuation marks. This is three or more of the same punctuation at the end of the same sentence. You can get your point across with a single question or exclamation mark fine. (An exception, of course, is the ellipsis (...))
-Any excessive use of ALL CAPS. We can understand a few words, but there is no reason you need to make a whole sentence in all caps. If you have something that's that important to say emphasize it by bolding it. Other ways to emphasize your text can be seen by clicking the 'Help' button at the bottom of the Cbox.
-AlTeRnAtE CaPs is also spam.
-Multiple posts in a row. If you have something to say, please try to keep it to as few posts as possible. Sometimes, you post something, and then have to correct it, or you post something, and something new you wish to respond to has popped up. In these situations, it is okay to post another, new message. But, there is never any reason to post more than three on top of one another. NEVER.
-Copying another persons message to reply to it. If you are not sure if someone knows what you are commenting on, you can always say their name at the beginning of their post. For example...
If I say...
Silver: I like kittens.
And you copy it, and then post something afterward, like this, it can be considered spam.
You: "Silver: I like kittens." Me too!
Instead, you can say something like "Silver, I like kittens too!".
-Posting a single letter or word. Okay, it's annoying. It's dumb, and nobody wants to see it. If you don't have more than a word to say, think of something more to say before you post. That's easy enough.
-Posting nothing but an emoticon. (Also called smilies, such as 
:3 XD and others)
-Posting a message consisting of only periods. (Like You: .....................................................) Uh, don't do it. It's stupid, annoying, and pointless, and is therefore spam.
Harassment?
Basically put, harassment is bullying. Anything that offends another user purposely, anything that hurts someone's feelings, calling someone names, swearing at someone (which is against the rules anyway), picking on someone, and/or being purposely rude to someone is harassment, and will get you banned.
What is chatspeak?
Let's make another list, shall we? Chatspeak includes, but is not limited to...
-Abbreviations for short words. Such as 'U; ppl; ur; any1; 2 instead of to or too; r instead of are; and sum1'. All are chatspeak.
-Purposely misspelled words, such as 'kewl; liek; awesum; plz; and sum' are chatspeak.
-l337 is chatspeak, or falls under the category when explained in the Cbox rules.
((Lol, brb, gtg, and such things are abbreviations for whole sentences, and are acceptable. Please try to keep them to a minimum, however.))
If you're upsetting other members - stop.
Couldn't have said it better myself. That's an easy one. If you make someone upset, even if you are not harassing them... stop. Plain and simple.
Pg13
Yes, this site's PG 13. All of proboards is supposed to be. It doesn't mean we're like... Neopets for example. You can talk about things like nudity, and stuff... just no disgustng stuff. I trust you to know the line between artful nudity and porn. Don't make a big deal of it, usually you'll get a warning from a staff member verbally before anything bad happens. It's not a HUGE deal. Just, be respectful, and tasteful, okay?
If you are unsure of a link or something you can or cannot say, ask a staff member.
Languages in the Cbox.
The only language allowed in the Cbox is English. The site is all in English. The staff speaks in English. And we have no way to tell if you're swearing, saying mean things, or something else you aren't supposed to if you aren't speaking English. I'm sorry to any foreigners, but you have to have a basic knowledge of the English language to be part of this site, nonetheless the Cbox.
(A word here or there is okay. Maybe you want to say 'Bonjour' or, 'Konichiwa!' instead of hello. That's fine. But if a staff member has reason to suspect you are doing something against the rules with such words, you will be in trouble.)
Impersonating.
This is easy to do with the Cbox. Names aren't password protected... and so, anyone can pretend to be you. Only the staff knows the difference. It's uh, against the rules, 100%. You will INSTANTLY be banned from the Cbox, and probably the forum if you impersonate someone, especially staff. Using someone else's name is wrong, and you will be punished for it, no warning.
Proper grammar.
We expect our users to use as good of grammar as possible. We can't technically ban you for not capitalizing, and using periods... but it makes people mad. And, just to let you know, if you write like a 5 year old would write, people are gonna talk to you like you're a 5 year old. They're gonna think you're stupid, and they're probably not gonna talk to you. But, it's ultimately your choice how you want people to think of you.
Respect other users!
Treat people like you want to be treated. I don't care if you've been here forever, if they're new, if they're not as smart as you, if they don't have the cool pets like you, or if they don't like the same things as you. Respect them! Treat them like you want to be treated. If you're a jerk to people, people are gonna be jerks back... and hey! All we have are a bunch of jerks, and the world dies because everyone's mean. Okay, exaggeration, but still, BE NICE!
What is drama?
The Cbox follows the same drama rule as the whole site. If you don't know what could be considered drama, please click This link and read up. That's all I got to say here.
Violence is bad.
Yea, I don't know what happened, but for a while, there was all this talk of killing and shooting and biting in the Cbox. It was dumb. Really dumb. Don't be violent, especially to new members, okay? Some people take things more seriously than others, and some people get offended easier than others. Playing is one thing, random carnage, is another.
If a staff member tells you to do something... DO IT!
Not listening to a staff member will get you in big trouble. Any staff member. If you don't know if someone's staff or not, listen anyway! This should be a given, but sadly, it isn't. Don't make staff mad. It's not smart, ever. Even if you don't think it's fair, don't complain about it, you'll end up in more trouble. If you feel a staff member was unfair, report it to me, or even Kodai, who is above everyone else. One of us will see to it that it is taken care of.
Don't moderate the Cbox if you aren't supposed to.
Okay, this is especially annoying when staff tries to deal with something. If someone breaks a rule... don't yell at them!! If a staff member is there, trying to deal with a situation, leave it to them and go do something else. If you start going "Oh! Chatspeak! That's bad! Don't do that!" wan a staff member has already reprimanded that person, it just makes everyone more upset. I understand people who break rules are frustrating, but you have no reason to say such things. It's as frustrating as the rule breaker a lot of the time. All you do by yelling is make the staff member and the rule breaker mad. And when rule breakers get mad, they usually break more rules.
(Now, if staff isn't around, please do tell someone to stop breaking a rule... but do not NOT NOT yell at them! And, immediately report the rule breaking to me, or another staff member.)
What if I break these rules?
Well, as I've been saying, you'll be banned. You will loose your privilege to post in the Cbox, pretty much. And, yes it is a PRIVILEGE.
If it is a serious enough offense, you could be officially warned. This means a little number under your name goes up. When it gets to 100%, or a high enough percent, you will end up banned. You may also be banned from the HiddenCrossroads forum completely, without any warning percent for a single offense in the Cbox. This doesn't happen often, but it does happen.
I was new, I didn't know the rules!
I don't care how new you are. That's no excuse. It says above the Cbox to read this BEFORE posting. It explains everything. If you didn't read it, it's your own darn fault. I'm not gonna go easy on you because you're new. The rules are all here, in black and white. You break 'em, you suffer consequences. People who kill someone and say "I didn't know I wasn't supposed to." aren't getting off the hook because of it, and you aren't going to be unbanned because of it. READ THE RULES.
First and foremost, what is the Cbox?
Well, see that little box full of text at the bottom of every HiddenCrossroads page? That's what we call a Cbox. It's a nifty tool. You can chat here with your friends about almost anything. Key word there, almost.
What are the Cbox rules?
Well, the Cbox rules are posted right about the Cbox itself on every page of the Xroads. I will go trough every one of them in the next few questions. There are also some things that aren't written in there that are also against the rules. I will go through everything that is contraband within the Cbox. ^^
What does 'No cursing' mean?
This is simple. No profanities. They are also called curses, and sometimes swears in America, at least. I'm not sure what country you're from, most of the time, and I certainly don't know what is acceptable where you're from. But, no words such as...
The 'F' word; the word which means 'Female dog'; the word for donkey; Hell; The word which often refers to feces; Any derogatory term for either the male of female body parts; any racial, sexual, or ethical slurs; Slurs based on sexuality; and possibly more I don't even know or remember.
What is spamming?
Spam is Internet slang for 'Stupid pointless annoying messages.' and, pretty much is exactly that. But, what exactly is considered stupid, pointless, and annoying in the Cbox? Well, here's a list in nice bullet form for you. Do any of these, and you will be banned.
Things that are spam in our Cbox include, but are not limited to...
-Posting the same message three or more times within the visible messages in the Cbox. {Visible Cbox is the part you can see without having to click '[Older messages]'}
(We understand that something may have glitched. In those situations, please try and say that there is a problem. It is utterly up to the staff to determine spam or not. Sometimes you can still be banned for posting it a lot, even not within the visible messages, so be careful.)
-Posting a link three or more times within the visible messages in the Cbox.
(If you accidentally 'broke' a link, or posted it incorrectly, the staff should understand when you post again with the correct one.)
-Saying 'Join the site in my name' repetitively, is spam. Like most other things, three times is more than enough. People will click the link in your name if they want to. No matter how much you advertise, no more people are gonna join than would have 5 minutes ago. If a staff member sees a problem with it, you will be banned.
-Using multiple punctuation marks. This is three or more of the same punctuation at the end of the same sentence. You can get your point across with a single question or exclamation mark fine. (An exception, of course, is the ellipsis (...))
-Any excessive use of ALL CAPS. We can understand a few words, but there is no reason you need to make a whole sentence in all caps. If you have something that's that important to say emphasize it by bolding it. Other ways to emphasize your text can be seen by clicking the 'Help' button at the bottom of the Cbox.
-AlTeRnAtE CaPs is also spam.
-Multiple posts in a row. If you have something to say, please try to keep it to as few posts as possible. Sometimes, you post something, and then have to correct it, or you post something, and something new you wish to respond to has popped up. In these situations, it is okay to post another, new message. But, there is never any reason to post more than three on top of one another. NEVER.
-Copying another persons message to reply to it. If you are not sure if someone knows what you are commenting on, you can always say their name at the beginning of their post. For example...
If I say...
Silver: I like kittens.
And you copy it, and then post something afterward, like this, it can be considered spam.
You: "Silver: I like kittens." Me too!
Instead, you can say something like "Silver, I like kittens too!".
-Posting a single letter or word. Okay, it's annoying. It's dumb, and nobody wants to see it. If you don't have more than a word to say, think of something more to say before you post. That's easy enough.
-Posting nothing but an emoticon. (Also called smilies, such as
:3 XD and others)-Posting a message consisting of only periods. (Like You: .....................................................) Uh, don't do it. It's stupid, annoying, and pointless, and is therefore spam.
Harassment?
Basically put, harassment is bullying. Anything that offends another user purposely, anything that hurts someone's feelings, calling someone names, swearing at someone (which is against the rules anyway), picking on someone, and/or being purposely rude to someone is harassment, and will get you banned.
What is chatspeak?
Let's make another list, shall we? Chatspeak includes, but is not limited to...
-Abbreviations for short words. Such as 'U; ppl; ur; any1; 2 instead of to or too; r instead of are; and sum1'. All are chatspeak.
-Purposely misspelled words, such as 'kewl; liek; awesum; plz; and sum' are chatspeak.
-l337 is chatspeak, or falls under the category when explained in the Cbox rules.
((Lol, brb, gtg, and such things are abbreviations for whole sentences, and are acceptable. Please try to keep them to a minimum, however.))
If you're upsetting other members - stop.
Couldn't have said it better myself. That's an easy one. If you make someone upset, even if you are not harassing them... stop. Plain and simple.
Pg13
Yes, this site's PG 13. All of proboards is supposed to be. It doesn't mean we're like... Neopets for example. You can talk about things like nudity, and stuff... just no disgustng stuff. I trust you to know the line between artful nudity and porn. Don't make a big deal of it, usually you'll get a warning from a staff member verbally before anything bad happens. It's not a HUGE deal. Just, be respectful, and tasteful, okay?
If you are unsure of a link or something you can or cannot say, ask a staff member.
Languages in the Cbox.
The only language allowed in the Cbox is English. The site is all in English. The staff speaks in English. And we have no way to tell if you're swearing, saying mean things, or something else you aren't supposed to if you aren't speaking English. I'm sorry to any foreigners, but you have to have a basic knowledge of the English language to be part of this site, nonetheless the Cbox.
(A word here or there is okay. Maybe you want to say 'Bonjour' or, 'Konichiwa!' instead of hello. That's fine. But if a staff member has reason to suspect you are doing something against the rules with such words, you will be in trouble.)
Impersonating.
This is easy to do with the Cbox. Names aren't password protected... and so, anyone can pretend to be you. Only the staff knows the difference. It's uh, against the rules, 100%. You will INSTANTLY be banned from the Cbox, and probably the forum if you impersonate someone, especially staff. Using someone else's name is wrong, and you will be punished for it, no warning.
Proper grammar.
We expect our users to use as good of grammar as possible. We can't technically ban you for not capitalizing, and using periods... but it makes people mad. And, just to let you know, if you write like a 5 year old would write, people are gonna talk to you like you're a 5 year old. They're gonna think you're stupid, and they're probably not gonna talk to you. But, it's ultimately your choice how you want people to think of you.
Respect other users!
Treat people like you want to be treated. I don't care if you've been here forever, if they're new, if they're not as smart as you, if they don't have the cool pets like you, or if they don't like the same things as you. Respect them! Treat them like you want to be treated. If you're a jerk to people, people are gonna be jerks back... and hey! All we have are a bunch of jerks, and the world dies because everyone's mean. Okay, exaggeration, but still, BE NICE!
What is drama?
The Cbox follows the same drama rule as the whole site. If you don't know what could be considered drama, please click This link and read up. That's all I got to say here.
Violence is bad.
Yea, I don't know what happened, but for a while, there was all this talk of killing and shooting and biting in the Cbox. It was dumb. Really dumb. Don't be violent, especially to new members, okay? Some people take things more seriously than others, and some people get offended easier than others. Playing is one thing, random carnage, is another.
If a staff member tells you to do something... DO IT!
Not listening to a staff member will get you in big trouble. Any staff member. If you don't know if someone's staff or not, listen anyway! This should be a given, but sadly, it isn't. Don't make staff mad. It's not smart, ever. Even if you don't think it's fair, don't complain about it, you'll end up in more trouble. If you feel a staff member was unfair, report it to me, or even Kodai, who is above everyone else. One of us will see to it that it is taken care of.
Don't moderate the Cbox if you aren't supposed to.
Okay, this is especially annoying when staff tries to deal with something. If someone breaks a rule... don't yell at them!! If a staff member is there, trying to deal with a situation, leave it to them and go do something else. If you start going "Oh! Chatspeak! That's bad! Don't do that!" wan a staff member has already reprimanded that person, it just makes everyone more upset. I understand people who break rules are frustrating, but you have no reason to say such things. It's as frustrating as the rule breaker a lot of the time. All you do by yelling is make the staff member and the rule breaker mad. And when rule breakers get mad, they usually break more rules.
(Now, if staff isn't around, please do tell someone to stop breaking a rule... but do not NOT NOT yell at them! And, immediately report the rule breaking to me, or another staff member.)
What if I break these rules?
Well, as I've been saying, you'll be banned. You will loose your privilege to post in the Cbox, pretty much. And, yes it is a PRIVILEGE.
If it is a serious enough offense, you could be officially warned. This means a little number under your name goes up. When it gets to 100%, or a high enough percent, you will end up banned. You may also be banned from the HiddenCrossroads forum completely, without any warning percent for a single offense in the Cbox. This doesn't happen often, but it does happen.
I was new, I didn't know the rules!
I don't care how new you are. That's no excuse. It says above the Cbox to read this BEFORE posting. It explains everything. If you didn't read it, it's your own darn fault. I'm not gonna go easy on you because you're new. The rules are all here, in black and white. You break 'em, you suffer consequences. People who kill someone and say "I didn't know I wasn't supposed to." aren't getting off the hook because of it, and you aren't going to be unbanned because of it. READ THE RULES.
