Before entering the forum, you must agree to the following rules (Updated 3/16/10)
1. All rules apply to the blog comment system, the forums themselves, and private messages within the forums. I have no ability or intent to control what happens outside this blog or forum system.
2. HARASSMENT OF ANY SORT WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. This includes, but is not limited to, serious insults, threats, sexual comments or advances (unwanted or otherwise), repeated web “stalking,” repeated bothersome or inappropriate comments, discriminatory comments aimed at a particular gender/race/sexual orientation/disability/religion/political affiliation/any related personal affiliations, and requests for personal information such as age/location/race/sexual orientation/disability/religion/political affiliation/any related personal affiliations.
3. Do not post illegal material or links to illegal materials. This includes, but is not limited to, unlicensed media or software files/torrents of copyright materials and ROMs.
4. Do not post or link to explicit material. This includes, but is not limited to, excessively graphic violence, pornography or nudity of any kind, and excessively vulgar themes. You may link to media (that isn’t banned by Rule #3) which contains vulgar language or mild violence, but please list it as such within the post.
5. The Spindash is not a place for you to buy/sell/advertise anything. You are welcome to make people aware of products being sold elsewhere, and you are welcome to briefly inform others of your personal site/blog/etc…, but direct selling or repeated personal advertising is not allowed.
6. Mild swearing is permitted with discretion. Do not use excessively, and only use when it seems appropriate. In the words of Bart Simpson, “I sure as Hell can’t tell you we learned about Hell unless I say ‘Hell’, can I?” F*** and Sh** are outright banned, as well as any word derived from them. Censored use is permitted, but, again, only use where absolutely-absolutely necessary.
7. Do not “spam” the boards with frivolous, repetitious, or clearly off-topic posts. Use topic bumping with discretion. If a topic is being constantly bumped but not seriously posted on, it will be deleted.
8. Unacceptable topics and conversations include, but are not limited to, sexual orientation/religion/politics. These topics are outside the scope of this forum. There are other forums you can go to on the internet that do allow serious discussion of these topics.
9. Discussions or arguments that degrade into petty bickering or insulting will be halted, and the topic may be frozen or deleted.
10. This forum does not allow attachments. You may, however, insert or link to images that are hosted elsewhere (unless the content owner specifies no direct-linking).
11. Role-play is not within the scope of this site. Fan art, fiction, or movies are permitted within their designated section, but clear role-play is not allowed. I have instituted this ban to maintain a level of professionalism that I wish the site to have. Again, there are other forums you can go to on the internet to participate in role-play.
12. Breaking any rules will result in warnings, topics/posts frozen or deleted, or temporary/permanent banning from the forum and/or blog comment system.
13. Though my staff and I will do our best to moderate these boards to prevent and delete inappropriate or harmful material, we take no responsibility for anything posted on this forum, including, but not limited to, offensive material or material harmful to your computer. Because we do not collect nor request any data on a user’s age, we cannot guarantee that all content will be appropriate for people of all ages.
14. We cannot easily moderate everything ourselves, and we have no access to personal messages. Therefore, we ask that you help us. If you feel that someone is deliberately breaking any of our established rules, please inform either myself or another moderator via personal message or e-mail.
15. We will change rules as necessary with or without notification. It is your responsibility as a user to read and follow the most up-to-date rules. All rules will be applied retroactively on previous topics/posts.
