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Shadowrun Forums Terms of Service--READ THIS BEFORE POSTING!

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JM_Hardy

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« on: <09-03-10/1355:14> »
Here are the basic Terms of service—read and heed!

Register and Login

By registering, you acknowledge that you will abide by the Shadowrun Forums posting rules. Failure to abide by these rules may result in temporary or permanent removal of your posting privileges.

Posting Rules

1. Play nice
When making a post on this message board, conduct yourself properly. Proper conduct includes treating each other with respect. Confront an opinion, rather than a person; personal attacks of any kind are not tolerated. The posting of messages or materials that are obscene, violent, abusive, discriminatory or threatening in nature, or designed to harass or intimidate another person are not tolerated.

We encourage lively debate about a number of topics, however when you object to a certain post to the point where you intend to attack the poster, contact the Moderators instead. The post may also be objectionable to us, in which case a heated response will just get you in trouble as well.

If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact Moderators directly, or by using the "Report to Moderator" button available in any post.

2. Watch the profanity
This is Shadowrun. We know there will be occasional cursing. We simply ask that you keep in under control, and if the Moderators decide you’re overdoing it, you could catch a Warning. If you don't like being subject to moderator review with regards to what goes too far and what doesn't, then play it safe and don’t risk it.

Note that discriminatory language, including racial slurs, and words that are derogatory of a particular ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation are always out of bounds.

3. Don’t ignite flames
Real world politics and religion are topics not allowed for discussion on this board.

4. Put things where they belong
The forum will work best when posts are organized in their appropriate forum and/or sub-forum. If you’re having trouble deciding where a post goes, feel free to ask. And if you think there should be changes to forum structure, let us know that, too.

5. Respect privacy
Do not post other people's personal information without their permission.

6. What happens elsewhere, stays elsewhere
Please do not bring problems or flame wars from other message boards or webpages to this one, or personal issues from any other source. You have a problem with someone, DO NOT bring it in here.

7. Be constructive
When you post, add something substantive to conversations (“funny” counts as “substantive”). Please do not post without contributing to the forum, or the discussion at hand. If your posts add nothing, you may be wasting people’s time and our resources. Do not post here if your only intention is to be confrontational. This includes behavior considered trolling by the Mod/Admin team. Problem posts will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Naturally, the odd frivolous post won’t attract attention, but systematic behavior, picking fights, and thread hijacking will be addressed with warnings and Bans as necessary. Posts may be moved or deleted at the Moderator/Admin’s discretion in these cases (see Rule 12).

8. The no-commerce clause
Do not offer to sell/trade anything on these forums. Do not offer to buy/trade anything on these forums.

Do not post links to active E-Bay auctions or similar content. It is acceptable to link to completed auctions.

Do not post links to online businesses without first gaining permission from a site Admin. It is acceptable to post links to online or FLGS or other resources to assist fellow posters in locating items, as long as the other rules are followed.

If you are unsure whether your link is acceptable or not, please contact a site Admin.

9. Credit Where It’s Due
If you post materials from other websites (including news sources), books and/or newsgroups credit should be given whenever possible. Summaries of news articles are acceptable and preferred with links to the original article included.

10. Use Images Sparingly
Can the right image add that certain something to a post? Yes! Can images be overused? A thousand times yes! So think before you add an image and make sure it’s truly useful to whatever you’re trying to communicate. Also, please don’t pirate images (see rule 11) and do NOT post or provide links to NSFW images.

11. Don’t be a pirate
This message board will not be used for trading, obtaining, making available or selling of unauthorized or illegally obtained copyrighted materials. Therefore it is strictly forbidden to post any link, make reference to, or mention the ability through any manner, the acquisition of or sharing of ANY copyrighted material obtained through unauthorized or illegal means, from any location be it on the internet or not.

12. Executive privileges
The Administrators and Moderators have the right to edit, delete, move or lock any message and/or thread for any reason. There may be NO warning and NO explanation as to why. The moderators of the Shadowrun Forums use their own discretion and judgment in deleting posts. Simply put—our decisions are final. We can be reasoned with, but we also can do what we feel we need to do to preserve order.

Note that any personal message sent to an admin, mod, or dev may be shared with the other admins, mods, and devs. They will not be shared beyond that group.

Some offenses may result in an automatic ban, including:

•   Communicating any kind of threat
•   Circumventing an existing ban
•   Posting using another person’s username with or without their permission. This can result in both parties being banned.
•   Creating more than one account on this site may result in an immediate ban. If you feel you have a legitimate reason for having multiple accounts, contact the Admins to discuss.
•   Posting pornography of any kind
•   Violation of Copyright as per the rule listed above
•   Hacking the site or someone's account

Please think carefully before you make or take any action that will cause you to lose you posting privileges. Ask yourself if it is worth it.

Moderators are accountable to each other, the Administrators, and Catalyst Game Labs. If you suspect that a Moderator or Administrator is behaving inappropriately or has made a mistake, do not hesitate to contact the Administrators.

Opinions, advice, and all other information expressed by participants in discussions are those of the author. You rely on such information at your own risk. The Mod/Admin Team or Catalyst Game Labs will NOT be held responsible for the content of any message posted in the Shadowrun Forums.

Disciplinary action
This is our typical and preferred course of action:

Posts that break any of the rules or are deemed inappropriate by the Mod/Admin team may be removed to a separate storage area for review and documentation.

Every poster who violates the rules, with the exception of the violations listed below, will receive two warnings. On the third violation you will lose your posting privileges for the following time periods.

•   1st Offense: 5 day ban
•   2nd Offense: 2 week ban
•   3rd Offense: 1 month ban
•   4th Offense: 6 month ban
•   5th and final offense: Permanent ban

Posters will receive one warning between bans. This warning is used as a way to remind the poster that they will receive a longer ban on the next violation.

We have a statute of limitations on violations. All violations over one year old will be removed from a poster’s record and not considered in figuring bans. (Example: A poster has earned a five-day ban. His violations all reach the one-year mark. The poster’s “clock” starts again at 0. The poster commits three more violations under a new year. He will then receive a one-month ban).

« Last Edit: <06-15-16/1109:21> by FastJack »
Jason M. Hardy
Shadowrun Line Developer

"The thing is, I’m serious about what I do, and the people with whom I associate are serious about what they do. We’re all serious people. Look, I can even make a serious face. See?" --Quinn Bailey

JM_Hardy

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« Reply #1 on: <09-12-11/1929:05> »
Note that a slight change has been made to the ToS. Under "Disciplinary Action," it formerly said:

"Posts that break any of the rules or are deemed inappropriate by the Mod/Admin team are removed to a separate storage area for review and documentation."

It now says (italics added to highlight change):

"Posts that break any of the rules or are deemed inappropriate by the Mod/Admin team may be removed to a separate storage area for review and documentation."

Note also that the "About the Forums" board has been renamed "Forum Business" to include a widened scope that includes disciplinary matters. Any questions about these changes should be taken to that board. Thanks!

Jason H.
Jason M. Hardy
Shadowrun Line Developer

"The thing is, I’m serious about what I do, and the people with whom I associate are serious about what they do. We’re all serious people. Look, I can even make a serious face. See?" --Quinn Bailey

FastJack

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« Reply #2 on: <03-12-15/0951:08> »
Forum settings have been updated so that Personal Messages may now be reported to Admins, same as forum posts. We will use the same guidelines and Disciplinary Action rules for PM Reports as Forum Reports.

FastJack

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« Reply #3 on: <06-20-19/1344:56> »
With all the "opinions" people are posting about the limited glimpses they have concerning the new edition of Shadowrun, I thought it would be good to point out rule #7. In the upcoming weeks before Sixth World is released, please remember to be constructive in your comments instead of just say "the new rules suck", which could keep new players from even trying the game. We all want a fun game, and if the rules aren't to your liking, then find another way to play the game.

The reason I want to bring this to everyone's attention, is I'm noticing some members are jumping in on threads asking about the rules, when stuff is released, etc.; and responding with how much the new rules suck. This, in case you were wondering, is what is called Thread Hijacking and if it continues, warnings and bans will be sent out.

Quote from: Rule #7
7. Be constructive
When you post, add something substantive to conversations (“funny” counts as “substantive”). Please do not post without contributing to the forum, or the discussion at hand. If your posts add nothing, you may be wasting people’s time and our resources. Do not post here if your only intention is to be confrontational. This includes behavior considered trolling by the Mod/Admin team. Problem posts will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Naturally, the odd frivolous post won’t attract attention, but systematic behavior, picking fights, and thread hijacking will be addressed with warnings and Bans as necessary. Posts may be moved or deleted at the Moderator/Admin’s discretion in these cases (see Rule 12).

Edit: And to make this more clear, if you're on a thread and talk about how getting rid of Armor Soak is detrimental to the game, that is NOT a hijacking. If, however, you jump in and comment that you don't like the rules, without any reason behind the statement, that is a hijack.