Forum Rules/Guidelines
Global Moderators: ProgramGamer and BakkusaActive Admins: Capntastic,
Silbereisen
The goal of the current rules are to make TIGForums a fun and safe place to hang out and discuss game development and games, as well as non-gaming related issues. We strive to be a relatively open forum for sharing ideas, but to a point. Actively or repeatedly hurting other forum members will not be allowed.
A few general guidelines before we get to more specific behavior:
1. General nastiness or rudeness is frowned upon. 2. Don't spread it around. If you've got some kind of beef, it's not appropriate to take that into other, unrelated threads.
3. Be direct without being an asshole. Passive aggressiveness will not be considered a defense for nastiness, nor will rudeness be conflated with honesty.
Temp BansTemp bans are the primary way of dealing with forum violations. The intent is to prevent threads from getting derailed by personal attacks or even by the discussion of what is appropriate. We also want to make people feel more comfortable sharing their ideas on the forum without going as far as to punish people excessively. Our hope is that banned posters will cool off and come back from the ban to keep contributing positively to the forum.
Not all violations in this list are treated equally, and calling someone a slur will be treated more harshly than simply posting several times in a row in a single thread. Ultimately, the moderators will use their discretion to determine whether a temp ban is necessary or how long it will last. However, they are expected to issue a public warning to the poster if it's the poster's first violation or if they might otherwise be unfamiliar with the forum's rules.
Violations include:
Spamming your game. If your first 1-3 posts are advertising your game, it may be considered spamming. To avoid this, make a post in the
Obligatory Introduction Thread before advertising your game.
Posting multiple times in a row in the same thread, particularly with rude behavior. Please spend a little longer thinking of what to post and use the edit button whenever possible.
Having a large or distracting signature image.
Repeatedly insulting someone, even with relatively mild words such as "stupid" or "idiot".
Creating a thread solely to call out another forum member. The thread will also be hidden immediately and depending on the contents of the thread, a ban may also be warranted.
Repeated infractions or escalation of behavior that results in warnings could result in a temp ban.
Calling anyone a racist, sexist, homophobic, or transphobic slur.
Telling someone to kill themselves.
Bringing drama from one thread to another, even if the original thread was locked.
Being overly hostile or otherwise creating drama outside of General and Games, particularly as a non-contributor.
Permabans Repeated infractions or escalation of behavior that results in temp bans could result in a permaban, particularly if there is no indication of stopping.
Threatening real harm on another forum member.
Treating anyone as or insinuating that anyone is lesser based on their gender, race, or sexual preference.
Posting images of hardcore pornography or gore with no purpose other than to shock. This does not include gory games or games that feature sex/nudity in them.
Continual and unwarranted harassment of a particular forum member, either in a thread or via PM.
Creating an account solely for the purpose of harassment.
Creating an account solely for the purpose of spamming.
Advertising Your GameThere is only one place that you can advertise your game, and that is the Townhall forum. Advertising your game here can still be considered spam, however, if it is your first post on the forum. Post in the
Obligatory Introduction Thread to avoid this.
Those seeking feedback should post in the Feedback forum.
Forum IssuesThreads about forum policy belong only in the
Forum Issues forum and not in General or any other forum. This is the place for:
1. Bringing up disputes with another forum member
2. Discussing issues with general forum policy
3. Suggesting a change to the forum
4. Nominating a moderator or applying to become a moderator
For the sake of transparency, admins and mods will use this forum exclusively to discuss policy, as well.
Drama ThreadsThreads can sometimes get very heated in General and Games, particularly if they are about a controversial topic. It's understood that when people are emotionally invested in a subject, they may resort to provoking others or making personal attacks in anger. In situations such as this, moderators are expected to warn or temp ban attackers and provokers. If escalation continues, the thread may get hidden from low-level members.
If You Feel You've Been WrongedIf you feel that you're being harassed by another forum member, please do not derail the thread by getting into an altercation there. If you end up violating one of the forum's rules/guidelines you could be temp banned even if you didn't "start it". The appropriate way to deal with that situation is to flag the post or bring it up in
Forum Issues.
If you feel that an administrator or moderator has treated you unfairly, you should respond in a similar manner. Post in Forum Issues and make it known what happened. If you've been unfairly banned, you can do this after your ban is over or by having another member raise the issue for you.
Problem with the Rules?This is the thread to discuss them.
