Dracophile
04-26-2009, 12:27 AM
Welcome to the GatorAIDS Forums. I'm Dracophile, a columnist for the website and also the site owner. Thank you for joining the forums, but before you are allowed to run free and do whatever we have some ground rules for the place. Failure to comply with the rules can land you punishments ranging from verbal warnings to permanent bans of your account. The GatorAIDS community and forums may contain content unsuitable for minors or those who do not wish to see or use profanities. This is your fair warning that this website and the forums may contain inappropriate content.
THE RULES
Don't spam. It's the number one rule of the Internet. Don't do it. It's not funny and we'll probably skip any and all warnings and just ban your account.
Don't attack the writers or the staff members. They have a job to do and most of them don't get paid to be here in the first place. If you disagree with a staff decision you may post a thread in the Feedback Forum. If you would like to critique an article or a writer then please do so in an appropriate thread in the content forums.
Keep your profanity in moderation. We don't really have a language filter here seeing as how some of the website articles may contain strong language. However there's a difference between using "fuck" to make something marginally funnier and using "fuck" to make you sound like a 12-year-old. Don't riddle a post with profanities just because you can.
Attention whoring is annoying. Don't post in random colors or use scripts to post in rainbows or litter your posts with emoticons and sparkling anecdotes in GIF form. This isn't a MySpace page, this is a message board. Rather than manually signing all of your posts upload it as a signature and let the forum do it atomatically.
Label things that aren't safe to view in public as such. If you're going to post something on the risque side make sure you make it a link, not a full blown image, and make sure you mark it "NSFW" (Not safe for work). If the whole thread is indeed NSFW, make sure to mark the thread title "NSFW". Naughty things within reason are allowed on the forums but keep them safe to view at work for those of us who don't want crazy shit all over our computers at school or work.
LIKEWISE: Do not QUOTE somebody who is breaking this rule or else you're going to be in trouble for the same thing.
Don't post warez/cracks or ISOs to current/nextgen games or PC games. Illegal downloads are called "illegal" for a reason. They are illegal. No full music/movie/game downloads unless they are freeware, public domain, or are out of print and no longer for sale (for example posting NES or Sega Genesis ROMs is acceptable, Xbox 360 ISOs is not).
Do not hotlink from other websites. Hotlinking steals bandwidth from other sites without granting them any traffic. It is not a bad offense but it is very rude in the scope of the internet. Please consider hosting your images on an image host. You can use the TrackMill-hosted "Up Urs" (http://www.upurs.us) for everything that isn't NSFW.
Do not bring outside drama to these forums. Nobody here cares if a moderator said or did something to you on another website. Keep it there and do not use these forums as a place to bother them about whatever nonsense needs fixing. You will end up banned. This also goes for trying to use GatorAIDS as a place to organize raids or to brag about raids you have done in the past. Don't do it.
You get ONE account not fifty. Don't make a bunch of accounts because it's annoying as all hell and we will probably just end up banning you. Registering accounts to avoid bans or infractions is just going to make us permaban you for good. Cut the shit, you broke the rules now sit in time out like a good little convict. Likewise if you want us to change your name PM an Administrator and it can be arranged. Do not make a habit out of it or else we'll just say "no" and that will bring us right back to telling you not to register a bunch of accounts.
Don't submit a request for an Award you haven't earned. This floods the queue and backs up awards from being given out to people who have earned them. When requesting an Award, however, be sure to include proof (if applicable) to expedite the process.
Regular crap that we didn't give its own mention but are still important include advertising, posting referral chain links, double posting, bumping threads, trolling other users, and breaking tables by posting huge image macros. They are no-no's.
We have a very generous "infraction" system that gives you 10 chances to slip up before you're banned for good. You'll get an infraction for any serious violation of the rules here. Certain infractions also come with an automatic ban of varying length depending on how many times you screw up (or how badly).
Table of Pain & Suffering
2 Infractions = 1 day
4 Infractions = 3 days
6 Infractions = 5 days
8 Infractions = 1 week
10 Infractions = Permanent
Infractions are given out solely at the discretion of the moderator reading a thread or post. Some are more strict that others. If you're not breaking rules in the first place then you have nothing to be worried about.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
"What is this place? RFSHQ-incarnate?": No, it is not and do not use it like one. While I may have spearheaded that website, the nature of RFSHQ was meant to imitate a completely different website format. This is a community for video game enthusiasts and fans of satire, not for Something Awful wannabes.
"Can I post a picture if it's dirty/bad/suggestive/adult?": "R-rated" material is fine on the forums as long as you label it as such. Posting it as an image or posting the links without a warning is grounds for an infraction or ban depending on the severity.
"What is Worst Forum Ever?": It's a forum where the rules here are somewhat relaxed and acting like an idiot is allowed. However it is not an excuse to excessively troll other users, outright spam, or generally be a smartass with the rules. If you don't understand how Worst Forum Ever works then do not post in there, otherwise you will ruin it for those who want to enjoy it.
"I'm funny and I write about video game related stuff. Can I help?": Absolutely. If you're interested in getting set up as a GatorAIDS columnist you can submit some sample articles for consideration. We recommend posting some of your work in the Viewer-Made Content (http://forums.gatoraids.com/forumdisplay.php?f=38) forum so you can test the waters and see if the community here favors your work. If you're good at what you do we'd love to have you aboard.
"Does GatorAIDS pay for articles?": At this time no, unfortunately. GatorAIDS currently does not offer compensation for articles but we instead offer a platform for budding writers to refine their skills and get a small taste of publishing and writing in a professional environment. We hope aspiring writers will take our website and use it as their platform to more on to bigger and better things in the future.
"What's with the alligator theme?": It's a branding gimmick that went completely out of control. Nice, eh?
THE RULES
Don't spam. It's the number one rule of the Internet. Don't do it. It's not funny and we'll probably skip any and all warnings and just ban your account.
Don't attack the writers or the staff members. They have a job to do and most of them don't get paid to be here in the first place. If you disagree with a staff decision you may post a thread in the Feedback Forum. If you would like to critique an article or a writer then please do so in an appropriate thread in the content forums.
Keep your profanity in moderation. We don't really have a language filter here seeing as how some of the website articles may contain strong language. However there's a difference between using "fuck" to make something marginally funnier and using "fuck" to make you sound like a 12-year-old. Don't riddle a post with profanities just because you can.
Attention whoring is annoying. Don't post in random colors or use scripts to post in rainbows or litter your posts with emoticons and sparkling anecdotes in GIF form. This isn't a MySpace page, this is a message board. Rather than manually signing all of your posts upload it as a signature and let the forum do it atomatically.
Label things that aren't safe to view in public as such. If you're going to post something on the risque side make sure you make it a link, not a full blown image, and make sure you mark it "NSFW" (Not safe for work). If the whole thread is indeed NSFW, make sure to mark the thread title "NSFW". Naughty things within reason are allowed on the forums but keep them safe to view at work for those of us who don't want crazy shit all over our computers at school or work.
LIKEWISE: Do not QUOTE somebody who is breaking this rule or else you're going to be in trouble for the same thing.
Don't post warez/cracks or ISOs to current/nextgen games or PC games. Illegal downloads are called "illegal" for a reason. They are illegal. No full music/movie/game downloads unless they are freeware, public domain, or are out of print and no longer for sale (for example posting NES or Sega Genesis ROMs is acceptable, Xbox 360 ISOs is not).
Do not hotlink from other websites. Hotlinking steals bandwidth from other sites without granting them any traffic. It is not a bad offense but it is very rude in the scope of the internet. Please consider hosting your images on an image host. You can use the TrackMill-hosted "Up Urs" (http://www.upurs.us) for everything that isn't NSFW.
Do not bring outside drama to these forums. Nobody here cares if a moderator said or did something to you on another website. Keep it there and do not use these forums as a place to bother them about whatever nonsense needs fixing. You will end up banned. This also goes for trying to use GatorAIDS as a place to organize raids or to brag about raids you have done in the past. Don't do it.
You get ONE account not fifty. Don't make a bunch of accounts because it's annoying as all hell and we will probably just end up banning you. Registering accounts to avoid bans or infractions is just going to make us permaban you for good. Cut the shit, you broke the rules now sit in time out like a good little convict. Likewise if you want us to change your name PM an Administrator and it can be arranged. Do not make a habit out of it or else we'll just say "no" and that will bring us right back to telling you not to register a bunch of accounts.
Don't submit a request for an Award you haven't earned. This floods the queue and backs up awards from being given out to people who have earned them. When requesting an Award, however, be sure to include proof (if applicable) to expedite the process.
Regular crap that we didn't give its own mention but are still important include advertising, posting referral chain links, double posting, bumping threads, trolling other users, and breaking tables by posting huge image macros. They are no-no's.
We have a very generous "infraction" system that gives you 10 chances to slip up before you're banned for good. You'll get an infraction for any serious violation of the rules here. Certain infractions also come with an automatic ban of varying length depending on how many times you screw up (or how badly).
Table of Pain & Suffering
2 Infractions = 1 day
4 Infractions = 3 days
6 Infractions = 5 days
8 Infractions = 1 week
10 Infractions = Permanent
Infractions are given out solely at the discretion of the moderator reading a thread or post. Some are more strict that others. If you're not breaking rules in the first place then you have nothing to be worried about.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
"What is this place? RFSHQ-incarnate?": No, it is not and do not use it like one. While I may have spearheaded that website, the nature of RFSHQ was meant to imitate a completely different website format. This is a community for video game enthusiasts and fans of satire, not for Something Awful wannabes.
"Can I post a picture if it's dirty/bad/suggestive/adult?": "R-rated" material is fine on the forums as long as you label it as such. Posting it as an image or posting the links without a warning is grounds for an infraction or ban depending on the severity.
"What is Worst Forum Ever?": It's a forum where the rules here are somewhat relaxed and acting like an idiot is allowed. However it is not an excuse to excessively troll other users, outright spam, or generally be a smartass with the rules. If you don't understand how Worst Forum Ever works then do not post in there, otherwise you will ruin it for those who want to enjoy it.
"I'm funny and I write about video game related stuff. Can I help?": Absolutely. If you're interested in getting set up as a GatorAIDS columnist you can submit some sample articles for consideration. We recommend posting some of your work in the Viewer-Made Content (http://forums.gatoraids.com/forumdisplay.php?f=38) forum so you can test the waters and see if the community here favors your work. If you're good at what you do we'd love to have you aboard.
"Does GatorAIDS pay for articles?": At this time no, unfortunately. GatorAIDS currently does not offer compensation for articles but we instead offer a platform for budding writers to refine their skills and get a small taste of publishing and writing in a professional environment. We hope aspiring writers will take our website and use it as their platform to more on to bigger and better things in the future.
"What's with the alligator theme?": It's a branding gimmick that went completely out of control. Nice, eh?