It seems that there has been an increase in activities on the boards that go to forum rules... forum rules that were previously only known through common sense and message board experience. The moderators have decided to lay out the rules so there will be no question when they are broken.
If these look familiar, that's because they were blatantly ripped off from the GalacticBattles.com forums. ;) Thanks to the guys over there who provided the basic rules, and thanks to the others here who tailored them to fit our needs at JK.net.
Rules
1. You cannot, in any way, insult (or "flame") someone else on the board. People may not be insulted just because their opinion differs from your own. Flaming includes calling people names, insulting them in any way or saying offensive things to them.
2. Refrain from using excessive profanity in your posts. Basically, let the censor do its job. Don't attempt to undermine it.
3. Spamming is strictly prohibited. Your post needs to contribute to the discussion or the topic.
Spam Details
In any discussion board, the continuous posting of messages irrelevant to the topic or discussion is strictly prohibited.
You should not consistently be able to look up at your screen and see that the majority of topics or messages on a page were just created or posted by you.
To Discuss: To talk about a subject in detail.
To Chat: To talk in a light, familiar way. Informal talk. (ie one sentence posts such as, "I agree" etc.)
Chatting is considered spamming and will be dealt with accordingly in the Jedi Knight Series and other related boards, but will be tolerated in Yoda's Swamp. Please remember, however, that Yoda's Swamp is for off-topic discussion, not no-topic discussion. Threads that are blatantly spammy in nature or just pure spam will be locked at the staff's discretion.
End of Spam Details
4. The posting of links to sites that contain illegal material and the discussion of where to obtain illegal material (ie where to get illegal MP3s, warez, etc.) is prohibited. We reserve the right to edit/delete any thread/post that breaks this rule at our sole discretion.
5. The posting of obcene material is not allowed. (ie pornography, violent and disturbing images and/or writings.)
6. Avoid duplicating anybody's nickname, avatar, and/or sig images. Make or find your own. This also applies to people outside our community (ie names of people of another community). It is strictly prohibited to impersonate someone else.
7. Threads and posts must be placed in their apropriate forums. See this (
http://www.lucasforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=39026) thread for more details, and be sure to check out the forum description before posting your message in it.
8. Before posting a new topic, do a search to see if there is already a recent thread pertaining to what yours is about. If there is already a post similar to yours, feel free to read it and post a reply which will bring it to the top. Note that sometimes the search function is disabled, so do your best without it.
9. Be specific in the naming of your topic. This will aid in topic searches and help prevent someone from posting something you already have.
10. You remain solely responsible for the content of your messages, and you agree to indemnify and hold us harmless with respect to any claim based upon transmission of your message(s). We reserve the right to reveal your identity (or whatever information we know about you) in the event of a complaint or legal action arising from any message posted by you.
11. You may not register another account under the same IP number. You must also use a valid email address when registering.
12. You may not re-register after receiving a ban.
13. You may not post threads dealing with the amount of posts, post status, or rank you or a fellow member has.
14. Do not hound current moderators or admins. This is namely referring to a past influx of unwanted moderator applications.
Penalties
Penalties for registering another account under the same IP:
The person will be warned, and the extra account(s) will be immediately deleted. If the person recidivates, his/her IP will be banned from the community.
Penalties for spamming, cussing, and flaming:
First, the person will receive a public warning in the thread in which the offense occurred.
If the person does not comply, he/she will be given a final warning via private message.
If the person keeps flaming/cussing/spamming, he/she will be banned.
Spamming may also result in the reduction of the user's post count (to 0).
Penalties for stealing:
The "victim" (the person whose username/sig/avatar/etc. was stolen) will be contacted by the mods. This person will decide what penalty to enforce. The mods will then see if it's an adequate penalty.
Penalties concerning illegal activities:
If the person posted links to ROM sites and/or warez sites, the post will be edited and the person will be warned. If the person do it again, it's a temporary ban.
If it's about posting pornography, the user will be permanently banned without warning.
And the most important rule of all: Don't be stupid
It's a good rule that covers a lot of ground.
These rules were originally drafted over at GalacticBattles.com. They have been modified mainly by OnlyOneCanoli. Minor rule adjustment/addition by matt-windu and the rest of the LucasForums/JK.net staff.