Applicable Forum Rules

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**Work in progress**

[edit] Gaming Steve Forum Rules

The Gaming Steve forums are intended to provide a warm, friendly atmosphere for the Gaming Steve community. In order to maintain order and a sense of community, all users should read and follow these conditions. By participating in the forum, users are affirming their willingness to comply with these terms.

RULES OF CONDUCT

1. Be respectful of others at all times. The purpose of the forum is to provide a platform for the exchange of ideas. Occasionally, there will be conflicts that arise when people voice opinions. Be courteous when disagreeing with others. It is possible to disagree without being insulting. If someone disagrees with you, remember to respect their right to their own opinion. This works both ways. Don't be forceful or rude when expressing your opinion. Obscene or sexual references will not be tolerated. This forum is family friendly. If you want to talk with a filthy mouth, do it somewhere else.

2. Keep it clean. Bad words of any kind will not be tolerated. Using partial masking (such as asterisks or punctuation marks) to bypass the profanity filter is prohibited and will result in the same action as if the actual word had been typed. Think of the forums as PG-13 rated. If you wouldn't say it at a dinner table with new friends, then it doesn't belong here. If you are generally rude with new friends at the dinner table and the above doesn't apply to you, then you don't belong here.

3. Stay on topic. Keep all your posts on topic do not reply to off-topic posts. If someone is spamming the forums or posting useless banter, don't reply to it. If you reply to spam with more spam, YOU are also in violation of the rules. Inform the moderator and let them handle it.

5. Ranting is prohibited. A rant is a post which is long-winded, redundant and filled with angry, non-constructive comments. A free exchange of ideas is essential to building a strong sense of community, but rants are disruptive and incite flaming and trolling. Please post your thoughts in a concise, clear manner and avoid going off on rambling tangents.

6. No personal attacks. Commonly known as flaming, personal attacks are posts which are designed to personally berate or insult another. Text of this nature is not beneficial to the community spirit and will not be tolerated.

7. Trolling is prohibited. Trolling is the word used to describe a post that is deliberately designed for the purpose of angering and insulting the members of the forum community. Posts of this nature are disruptive and do not convey a friendly attitude.

8. No posting of personal information. Please respect the privacy of other community members and do not give out information such as phone numbers and addresses.

9. Immediate banning from the forum can result from any of the following: The posting of pornography; discriminatory remarks which are sexually explicit, harmful, threatening, abusive, defamatory, obscene, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive; excessive obscene or vulgar language; posts which discuss or illustrate illegal activity; posts or images that violate any laws; posts or images in breach of Non-Disclosure Agreements; providing links to sites that contain any of the aforementioned. Gaming Steve administrators and moderators reserve the right to ban users for any reason and without warning.

• If you are banned from the Gaming Steve board then YOU are personally banned. If you are found making additional accounts or trying to access the board in some other manner that will result in the banning of those accounts. In addition if someone on the board is found trying to help someone who was banned get access to the site it can result in their banning as well.

10. Spamming and bumping are prohibited. Spam is considered to be repetitive posting of the same text again and again or nonsensical posts that have no substance and are often designed to annoy other forum users. Bumping posts in order to keep them near the top of the list is also prohibited. Posts of this nature are not conducive to community spirit and are unwelcome.

12. Impersonating another forum user, moderator, volunteer, or administrator is strictly prohibited. You are expressly forbidden from impersonating anyone else, including those named above, on the forum even in jest. This rule also applies in any Gaming Steve chat rooms as well.

13. You may not post advertisements. Posts discussing or linking to goods or services for real money are strictly prohibited. If you want to link to your own personal web site or service please contact the administrator first and see if it's appropriate for the forums.

14. Post constructively. Negative feedback can be very useful, provided that it is presented in a civil, factual manner. Tell us what you don't like and why and how you feel it could be improved. Posts that are insulting and rude may be deleted, no matter how valid the ideas behind them may be.

16. Disputes which cannot be resolved between forum users and moderators may be arbitrated by the forum administrators. To discuss problems or concerns, please send a private message to Gaming Steve.

• New rule addition