Forum Etiquette

Forum Etiquette
(Effective August 11, 2015)

Do not flame or troll
Wikipedia defines flaming and trolling as "a hostile and insulting interaction between Internet users" "[posting] controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum or chat room, with the primary intent of provoking other users into an emotional response or to generally disrupt normal on-topic discussion", respectively. While we do encourage debate and discussion, it crosses the line as soon as it gets personal.

Do not spam
We define spamming as posting unwanted or irrelevant post or topic. A secondary definition would be the repeated posting of the same, or similar things, in rapid succession. Rule of thumb: if it does not move the topic in the intended direction, do not post it.

Keep swearing to a minimum
Swearing happens, we all know. While we're not going to ban you for the occasional swear word, if you find every other word you use is a swear word, there will be consequences. Do not direct swearwords (or any other words meant to offend or harm, for that matter) at other users.

Try to use proper spelling and grammar
MaiRO is an international community. We understand that not everyone is fluent in English, but trying your best to communicate well will make things easier on everyone. Chatspeak and 1337 are not acceptable.

Resolve personal issues through PM
And by resolve, we mean maturely. If you have personal issues with someone, do not spread it all over the forums. The forums are a method of communicating with the whole community, and not just a single person.

Do not harass other players
This should be obvious. Do not spread rumors about, insult, post demeaning comments, or send demeaning PMs about or to another player. Do not try to find a loophole in this rule, just because we did not mention it, does not mean it's not harassment.

Use the search button
We have a lot of members, so chances are, someone was also curious about what you're curious about, they just happened to have been curious long before you were.

Refrain from necro-posting
Necro posting is, basically, posting on a really old thread and bringing it up to the surface. This is, more often than not, frowned upon, because usually the issue or question on that thread has already been resolved or no longer applies. There are some cases in which necro-posting is tolerated, but they are few and far between.

Post in the right section
Self explanatory. Not only will this help get more replies to your thread, it will keep our forums happy and spiffy. If you are unsure what section a thread should be in, try your best to place it. if a forum moderator feels there is a better place for it to be, he or she will move it.

Do not abuse the report button
The report button is used for reporting infractions of the forums rules, not for drawing attention to your topic because you want a GM to reply faster.

Be courteous with your signature and other images
Firstly, images in signatures should be no bigger, in total, than 500x250 pixels, and that's being very generous. If you find that your signature often dwarfs your post, that is a bad sign. Avatars and signatures should be acceptable for forum viewing. (READ: No pornography or excessively gory images). Moreover, if you want to post a picture specifically, please use the gallery option.

No "free money" solicitation
This includes a link in your signature, a PM to another player, or making a topic directing players to an awesome way to get money via surveys, posting, or anything of that nature. This is easily abuseable and will be dealt with simply by not allowing anyone to post even legitimate sites.

Use your common sense
Behave, be polite, and be rational.

Do not reveal the "legit" of a GM
If, by some reason other than the GM making their legit public, you discover who it is, do not reveal this information to anyone. It is the prerogative of the individual GM whether or not to make their legits known. Unless they chose to do so by revealing his or her identity to one or more players, you may not discuss this information with other players. This includes knowledge gained from other GMs as well as "educated guesses."

And the catchall

We reserve the right to ban, warn, or otherwise punish you for whatever we deem fit. If you feel the catchall has been used against you inappropriately, feel free to POLITELY petition a higher authority through PM.

Breaking these rules may result in warning, suspension of privileges, or banning.