Forum Rules and Guidelines
Originally Published by Chief
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As a user of Guild Wars Guru (GwG) services, internet relay chat (IRC) room or message board ("Online Services") you confirm that you have read, understand and agree to these Rules, MMOGuru.com Network’s Terms and Conditions Of Use of its Web Sites and you agree to the terms of GwG's Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use GwG's Online Services, or if you are already using GwG's Online Services, please stop immediately.
GwG is not responsible for the content of any messages that are posted. GwG has the right, but not the obligation, to monitor any activity and content associated with the Online Services. GwG does not vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any message.
The messages express the views of the author of the message, not the views of GwG. GwG reserves the rights, in its sole discretion, to edit, delete, or refuse to post any message or thread for any reason whatsoever.
Any user who feels that a posted message is objectionable should contact GwG by sending an email to our staff here.
Postings to Online Services become public information. You should be very careful about posting personally identifiable information such as your name, address, telephone number or email address. If you post personal information online, you may receive unsolicited messages from other users in return.
GwG reserves the right to issue warnings, suspend or terminate the registration of users who refuse to comply with these rules. GwG may modify these rules from time to time and such modifications will be effective and binding on you when posted online. You will remain solely liable for the content of any messages or other information you upload or transmit.
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Contents
- Content of the Forums
- Blogs
- No Flaming/Trolling
- Hijacking Threads
- No Spamming
- No Advertising
- Offensive Content, Illegal Material
- Screenshots
- Do Not Abuse the English Language
- Do Not Double Post
- Search Button
- Warnings from Administrators/Super Moderators/Moderators
- Ban (Temporary and Permanent)
- Mini – Ban
- Moderation Questions and Assistance
- Final Note
Guild Wars Guru strives to provide a wealth of useful resources and an environment of expertise. As such, every post and thread should add to knowledge rather than mislead or contribute to the confusion. We provide an Off Topic section for insubstantial and less serious issues. Please keep help us keep the forums free from clutter by making use of the appropriate sections and adhering to these guidelines.
We reserve the right to edit posts for format, content, or clarity, without notice. However, we will not intentionally change the substance of what anyone says, and will inform you if we make any substantial changes. Posting meaningless deranged psychobabble with no substantial merit or posts that do not contribute to the thread discussion will more than likely be deleted without notice.
Any post which violates civilized standards of decency or good conduct will be deleted immediately and without any further notice. Repeat offenders will be temporarily or permanently banned.
2. Blogs
Guild Wars Guru is primarily a gaming site dedicated to the ArenaNet and NCSoft games of Guild Wars, Guild Wars Factions, and subsequent upcoming chapters. As such, it is not our function to provide bandwidth for personal blogs and threads detailing every minute aspect of members' lives. There are literally hundreds of other more appropriate places and services available for users to keep a running chronicle for themselves and others.
Second and equally important: Please think carefully before posting highly personal information about yourself. It is always wise to remain mindful of the flame potential that such threads engender in other members.
3. No Flaming/Trolling
Flaming is the act of posting messages that are deliberately hostile and insulting. A troll is a person who posts inflammatory messages intended to cause a disruption in discourse and to provoke other members into hostility.
We encourage discussion and healthy debate, and personal attacks are not warranted in either. If you cannot be respectful to others, then don't be surprised if those in charge are not respectful of your continued privilege to post.
The posting of Private Messages between users or a user and moderator will result in a ban.
4. Hijacking Threads
Thread hijacking is the act of trying to steer a web forum discussion thread off topic by discussing a subject entirely unrelated to the subject at hand.
This is an intentional act of taking the thread off at a tangent to the original subject matter at hand. The results are often provoke a feeling of resentment from the author of the original post.
5. No Spamming
Post count - no matter how impressive a high number might look - is irrelevant here. Therefore, please do not spam these forums, or such posts will be deleted. To determine whether or not your post can be considered as spam, ask, "does this add to or advance the thread in a constructive way." If you answer, "yes," then chances are, you're good to go. Examples of spam posts include: “Yeah me too," "lol”, “that’s what I wanted to say…,” “what the guy above said…”, etc.
6. No Advertising
If you're only registering to make a post advertising your site / miracle bath ointment / whatever, once and then leaving - you can expect your post to follow you on the way out. See Terms and Conditions.
7. Offensive Content, Illegal Material
Don't post / link to pornography, warez, illegal material or offensive content. Also, please be mindful of your language. Message boards of this nature draw many different kinds of people, and people of different ages - observing these rules are just good common sense and etiquette when dealing with others. See Terms and Conditions.
8. Screenshots
Sexually Explicit or other Offensive Material:
Do Not post screenshots that abuse various emotes to simulate characters engaging in sexual activities. This INCLUDES personal Avatars. See Terms and Conditions.
Image Size:
If you're going to post screenshots over 640 pixels in width, please make sure that you use the [ URL ] tag and not the [ IMG ] tag. When a wide image is displayed within a post, it messes with the forum alignment and can load in a chaotic fashion when there are multiple images present in a thread.
Please note that this also applies to quoting a post with an image in it.
9. Do Not Abuse the English Language
This is a message board, not a chat room. DO NOT use "Leet-Speak", slang or chat lingo our forums. Avoid Colloquial writing. This can best be described as "writing in the way that one would speak." It is an informal, slang style of English that should be reserved primarily for speech, as it can seem unprofessional and sloppy in written text. A casual tone can be interpreted positively in person with face-to-face contact, but can be perceived negatively in writing. As such, you have all the time necessary to articulate your posts in a coherent matter. "You" is only two more letters than "u." It will not kill you to type them. Completely illegible posts are subject to moderation - and I can not guarantee their accuracy of 'translating' the author’s original message.
Additionally, when one punctuation works instead of 10 (example: ? instead of ?!?!), use one.
10. Do Not Double Post
In these forums, a double post consists of any two consecutive posts from the same user. It does not matter whether or not the contents differ -- if no one else's words or opinions come between two posts from the same person, it's a double post. Since the forums are growing extremely fast, and the moderators have limited time, those who ignore the edit button and repeatedly double/triple/quadruple post can have their second, third, fourth, etc, posts deleted without notice, and without having their contents pasted onto the first post as per usual.
Use the EDIT Button
As the EDIT button will never disappear, you can always go back to edit your last post and add new thoughts. The practice of "bumping" is highly discouraged in these forums. If people wish to respond to your thread, they will add their opinions without the need of repeated spammed "bumps." Repeated "bumping" of a thread will most likely lead to the thread's deletion, instead.
11. The Search Button
When you have a question on a topic, use the Search button as, most likely, your question has been asked and answered before. Posts in which users have clearly NOT performed even a superficial search will be unilaterally deleted in order to maintain the content integrity of the forums. We do this to ensure that Guild Wars Guru has a high content-to-thread count ratio.
12. Warnings from Administrators/Super Moderators/Moderators
A warning may or may not be issued for violating any of these guidelines. Violations will be reported to the USER NOTES of the individual. If Warnings are sent, it will be delivered through PM’s or in your Closed Thread. We do not allow the discussion of any moderating acts on the boards. If you have a concern or problem please PM or Email an administrator.
13. Ban (Temporary and Permanent)
When you have accumulated a substantial amount of warnings in your USER NOTES, you will be temporarily banned for a period at the discretion of the Administrators or Super Moderators. If you break the rules repeatedly you will be permanently banned, no questions, no excuses. However, depending on the severity of violations, disciplinary measures may vary.
If we see any member evading a temporary or permanent ban, i.e. creating another account after being banned, posting on another member's account, this account will be permanently banned.
You will be banned, for a period at the discretion of the Administrators, for repeated violations of the Terms and Conditions.
14. Mini – Ban
Violations to the Rules of the Ventari Sell Forum will result in a Mini-Ban. This is a short period of time, usually 1-5 days, depending on the amount of posts a user has and the severity of the reported issue. During this temporary ban, you should review all the policies of this forum it’s importance.
15. Moderation Questions and Assistance
• What is the difference between an Admin, Super Mod and Moderator?
Administrator – full control of the website, forum and users.
Super Moderators – full control of the forum and users.
Moderators – ability to control specific forum area(s) assigned.
• I see a user posting inappropriately, or a thread I don't feel belongs. What should I do?
Use the Report Bad Post icon. This will send a message to all Administrators/Moderators. Please help us keep these forums clean and running smoothly by using this feature and report guideline violations or questionable material.
Please do not otherwise engage the inappropriate poster in conversation. Don't call them a troll (even if they are one, you are only "feeding" the trolls in this way), or engage in any similar behavior. Use the Report Bad Post feature or you may PM a mod to alert him or her to the situation.
A list of Administrators and Moderators are found here.
• A moderator has closed a thread (or done some other action) and I don't agree it was the right thing to do. What should I do?
PM the moderator and talk to him or her about it. Hint: explanations work better than accusations if you want to be listened to. Remain calm and explain your reasons clearly and carefully.
• I PM'ed a moderator, but he or she didn't agree with me and did not reverse what was done. What should I do?
Understand that not everyone is going to agree on what is or is not appropriate, and where to draw the line. However, it's the moderator's job to make that decision, to determine where to draw that line, whether people agree or not. They are the referees of these discussions, and their calls are final.
Do not start yet another thread disagreeing with the action that was taken in the previous thread. PM the mod, and if after that you still really believe the mod's actions are truly out of line, above and beyond a simple disagreement on where that line should have been drawn or what should have been done, see the next question.
• I believe a moderator is being abusive, or has moderated unfairly. What should I do?
First, PM the moderator and talk to him or her about it. After that, if you still feel the moderator was being abusive and feel the issue is sufficiently grievous, PM the Site ADMINISTRATOR’s about it and explain the situation and what you did to try to resolve it. The Site Administrators will then resolve the situation as he or she deems appropriate.
• At what point can I start a public thread to discuss the issue?
Never! Whether your disagreement is with a user or a moderator, it is never an appropriate action to start a public thread about it. Disagreements with individuals are to be handled in PM's, period. If you start a thread to "call out" or complain about any individual, it is a personal attack, and whether justified or not, this is a violation of forum guidelines that may result in disciplinary action against you. Please respect the rules, and take any disputes you have with any individual (user or moderator) to PM's with the appropriate people as specified above.
In short, if you have any questions or issues regarding moderation, either with another user or with a moderator, send a PM to the appropriate moderator or site administrator.
16. Final Note
From this point forward, we will close/delete threads started by individuals who don't to follow these rules (See Ban and Mini-Ban).
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