RULES

Before you decide to start posting, please take a look at the rules. I don't have very many, but I would ask that you please respect them. Violating these rules will not only have you removed from the community, but if the violation is severe enough, you will be publicly mocked in the Hall of Shame.

Forbidden

These are rules that are set in stone, and are the Ten Commandments of this message board. A violation of the rules below is a much more serious offense than anything else you can do.

Racism. This includes racial slurs, and harassing people because of race, religion, gender, or ethnic origin. We're all human beings, and we all deserve the same basic respect. Racism of any kind is not tolerated under ANY circumstances. Anyone who makes racist comments will be banned and put in the Hall of Shame.
Flaming. Flaming is posting hateful messages just to demean or belittle a person. If you want to criticize someone or something, make it constructive and respectful. Any flamers who violate these rules will be banned and put in the Hall of Shame.
Spam. This includes repeatedly posting the same message over and over, or filling the board with unnecessary messages. I don't have anything against you plugging your site, but don't post 50 messages saying "GO TO MY SITE!!!!!!!" Also, please don't post for the sole reason of plugging your site (unless it's in the "Plug Your Site" subject). At least make it part of the discussion somehow.
Harassment. This includes making fun of people, stalking people, or any other kind of aggravation. And sexual harassment is not tolerated.
Espionage. The purpose of this forum is free expression and discussion. Occasioanlly, there are people who join this forum for the express purpose of spying on another member in order to get some kind of "dirt" or other so-called incriminating evidence. Many members here are also members of other forums. I will not tolerate people who come here to spy on members to make fun of them or harass them on another message board. Anyone who is found to be spying on other members will be banned and put in the Hall of Shame.
Harassing peope because of differences of opinion. Not everyone on this forum has the same opinion as me or other members. Everyone is entitled express his own opinion without fear or reprisal. Harassing or insulting another person because of their opinion won't be tolerated. However, the right to express your opinion falls under certain guidelines of common decency. Needless flaming, insulting, harassment, and untrue accusations and comments disguised as opinions won't be tolerated.
Libel and slander. Libel and slander are two similar concepts. They both mean to falsely accuse somebody of something with no factual basis. Slander is technically verbal, and libel is printed. Willingly posting false information or accusations about people is not only not tolerated, in many cases it is illegal. So don't come to this board and accuse people of being Nazis when you know for a fact that it's not true.

If you violate these rules, you will be given ONE and only one warning. Any further violations or disruptions will result in being BANNED.

Your Rights as a Forum Member

Just like the Bill of Rights in the US Constitution, you have certain inalienable rights when you are a member of this board. Freedom of speech and expression are very important to me, and I think it's necessary to tell you what rights you have. But always remember that if you do something that violates the rules, that is not exercising your rights.

Freedom of opinion and expression. You have the right to express your own thoughts and opinions, regardless of whether or not they conflict with those of other members or myself. Dissenting opinions are welcome and encouraged. But you must know the difference between an honest opinion and malicious comments. Saying you don't like someone's fanfic or fan art is an opinion. But insulting that person because of it is malicious and not allowed. You are allowed to express any dissenting opinion you may have as long as it is done in a civilized manner.
Fair and impartial judgment. If you are accused of any wrongdoing or troublemaking, you have the right to defend yourself and to be treated fairly. I don't base any of my judgment on friendship or lack thereof. Everyone will be treated in the same way, and I do not believe in favoritism. Even if I don't like you or I personally find you annoying, that will not factor into any decisions I make.
Complaints. you have the right to complain about anything on my site, the message board, or you can complain about me personally. If you have a complaint about another member or his behavior, please direct that complaint to me personally, and don't publicly ridicule someone. Not all complaints will result in a change, but there's no harm in trying. Remember not to confuse complaining with flaming or insulting.
Advertising. No, I'm not a dictator who thinks that you should only visit my site, and that there are no other Zelda sites in the world. My site is not the only Zelda site out there, and there are plenty of people who want to advertise their own home page. So you are free to use the "Plug Your Site" topic to advertise to your heart's content. The only exception is that this forum may not be used to advertise objectionable sites such as pornography or hate sites (KKK, Nazis, etc.).

Netiquette

These are things that aren't really laws, but they fall into the category of netiquette and common decency. For the good of the people who use these forums, try not to commit these annoying faux pas.

ALL CAPS. This is the most annoying thing in the world. It really looks stupid when you type something in all capital letters. It is the text equivalent of screaming. One word is okay, but for the love of God, please don't type whole messages in all capital letters. This applies to topic threads and subjects.
Excessive Exclamation Points. This is another thing that bothers me. Using too many exclamation points makes what you say look ridiculous. Don't type "I love Zelda!!!!!!!!!!!!" when "I love Zelda!" is just as effective.
Pathetic Subject Lines. If you're starting a new topic, try to make the subject informative. Don't make up some stupid title like "...Um...uhh...yeah..." Make it easier for everyone, make it clear what you are talking about.
Stay on Topic. Remember which forum you're in. Don't talk about Pikachu in the Zelda games section. Nobody will listen to you.
Useless Comments. This won't lead to removal, but please don't post messages that convey absolutely no information. Posting a message like "....-..." or "boboboofjafkdjg" is annoying to everyone. Don't waste the Internet's bandwith with useless posts.
Cussing. I don't necessarily hate cussing, but don't swear just because you can. I don't have any censors, except for racial slurs. Please don't abuse this.
Excessive Emoticons. People like to use the various emoticons and smiley faces that the forum offers. But please don't make a mockery of the smiley faces, it looks really dumb when you post a message with 50 smiley faces in a row. Try to keep them at a sane level.
Bragging about your post count. First of all, a person's post count is not displayed in topics in the forum. The only way to view a post count is to view someone's member profile. So in normal usage, you won't see a person's post count. But if you know you have a high post count, don't brag about it. That only leads to childish competition. So don't brag about a high post count, and don't be jealous of other people. We should all just get along.

Things you will NOT see on this message board

These are things that many other message boards on other sites are fond of doing, but I will never participate in. So don't bother asking for any of these features, because I will never implement them.

Ranking systems. This basically refers to the many ranks given to people on other boards, such as a person with only 5 posts would be a "newbie" and someone with 1000 posts would be a "Super-duper Zelda Master". The only ranking system here is the post count, and that is not used to divide people into different classes. Also, the post count is not displayed in the normal forum topics, in order to prevent useless competition. I find ranking systems to be irrational, demeaning, and I think they lead to a kind of class division between new and old members. No one here is better than anyone else, and I'm not about to put up a ranking system to make it look like that. Ranks are demeaning and belittling, and do nothing but make some people seem better than others.
Favoritism. I don't play favorites with anyone. You can have 3 or 3000 posts, but that has no bearing on how seriously you are taken here. Everyone is entitled to be heard and a post count should not factor into that. So if you're a new member, I will take you just as seriously as someone who has been on the board since it opened. No one here becomes a favorite or an "elite" member. Everyone is to be treated equally.
Restricted boards. I see many message boards that have special restricted topics that are only accesible to certain people, e.g. old members, or people with the highest post counts. I feel that a board that allows only certain people to access some topic is disgraceful. It's an abomination to the principle of a free society. Everyone here has access to all forums, and can post anywhere (the Announcements section is an exception because I use it to post news, and don't want it cluttered with forum traffic). There are no restricted boards, no private boards, and no secret forums that only long-time members or particular social groups can access. Everyone has access to the same message board. The only exception to this are the staff members, who obviously have access to extra features that are necessary to maintain the forum.

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