Skip to content


Advanced search
Board indexLogin Register FAQ Search

Rules and FAQ

God help those who don't help themselves! This is the board where you can find answers to your questions, where you may ask questions and give us feedback on the site and forum.

Moderators: Site Admins, Forum Admins

Topic locked
12 posts • Page 1 of 1

Rules and FAQ

Postby Griffin » Sun Jan 03, 2010 3:56 am

In this thread, the rules of the forum are laid out, and some frequently asked questions are answered. It is recommended you read this thread before posting on the forum.

If you break any of the rules, you will be warned, and your posts/profile will be modified to follow the rules. If you continue to break the rules despite several warnings, you will be banned.

Unless your posts or profile are very offensive or disruptive, you will be warned at least once before being banned.

If you have any questions about the rules, the FAQ or the entire forum that aren’t answered here, PM an admin or a helper (see below).

Rules:
  • Spamming
  • Member Conduct
  • Iroh's Debate and Philosophy
  • Signature/Avatar
  • Chat
FAQ:
  • Admins and Helpers
  • Ranks
  • Signatures
  • Avatars
  • Forum Skins
  • Private Messages

Contributors:
Gotag
Conzu
Avatargate
Taunt011
Uncle Iroh
Hybrid
Zukotokozu
Griffin
SOTS

Latest update: March 30th, 2011
User avatar
Griffin
White Lotus Member
 
Posts: 3717
Joined: Mon Jan 01, 2007 1:25 pm
Faction: Air Nomads
Top

Re: Rules and FAQ

Postby Griffin » Sun Jan 03, 2010 3:56 am

Spamming

Roughly speaking, a post is spam when it doesn’t contribute anything.

Spamming is not tolerated on any part of this forum, although there are places where the content of your post is less important, like the White Lotus Club and the Misty Palms Desert Oasis, and places where the content is more important, like University of Ba Sing Se and June’s Tavern.


Double-posting

When you make two posts in a row in the same thread, it is called double-posting. This is spamming. If you want to add something to a thread right after you’ve posted in it, use the “Edit” button to edit your previous post. Don’t make a new one.

There are a few exceptions to this rule. If you have something very important to say on a thread, but it is already down to the next page, you may double-post. Another exception is when posting fanfiction: it is often convenient to have only one chapter per post. If no one has commented on your fanfiction in the mean time, you may double-post for the next chapter.


Short posts with no content

These are usually posts only made to make post count go up. Common ones are posts with only “lol!” or only “I agree!”. In chat threads this is not necessarily bad, as long as you don’t do it constantly, but keep these posts out of discussion threads.


Necro-posting

Necro-posting is posting in a thread in which no one has posted for a long time and which has become obsolete. There is often no reason to bring the thread back to the front page. Unless you really have something important to add, or feel that the thread’s old posts are important, don’t post on old threads. It’s usually better to start a new thread.

A good example of necro-posting is posting on an old welcome thread. The thread was made when the person arrived, for the person’s arrival, and posting in it later has no use.


Duplicate threads

On the other hand, you also shouldn’t remake threads too quickly. We don’t want a front page with a lot of threads on the same subject. Unless you feel that a threads is quite old, don’t make a thread for the same purpose, but just post in the old one.


Advertising

No linking to adware-related sites or sites that harbor a computer virus.

No advertising for any products/product-related sites (links to Avatar products may be placed in the Omashu Market Place forum).

Linking to personal accounts on other sites or forums is allowed. Linking to other sites or forums themselves is allowed, Avatar related or not, so long as the site/forum does not violate either of the above conditions. You may not make a thread just to advertise, but mentioning another site in an off-topic discussion or keeping a link in your signature is fine as long as it does not violate any of the above conditions.


Posting in the wrong section

Making a thread in the wrong section is also considered spam. These threads will be either moved or deleted.
User avatar
Griffin
White Lotus Member
 
Posts: 3717
Joined: Mon Jan 01, 2007 1:25 pm
Faction: Air Nomads
Top

Re: Rules and FAQ

Postby Griffin » Sun Jan 03, 2010 3:56 am

Member Conduct

Below are all things you need to be aware of in order to be a good member and successfully be part of the community and avoid an one-way ticket to Ban Land. More or less, this is the section of the rules that deals with your interactions with the community and how you are expected to treat each other during your time at The Avatar Portal.

Harassment

Harassing or excessively annoying people (including the forum as a whole) is not allowed on this forum. Attacking people personally, either through private messages or openly on the forum will not be tolerated. Examples include constantly spamming someone's PM box with hateful messages or always openly insulting one particular member in any thread he or she posts in. Sexual abuse is also not tolerated anywhere on AP and will result in a permanent ban. If someone is bothering you (harassment, annoying, sexually, etc.), do not hesitate to contact an admin for your problem will be dealt with promptly.

Along with this, you may not attack (or insult) anyone based on their gender, race, religion, sexuality, gender identity, age, class, ability, or anything along those lines.

This does not mean that anyone has the right to not be criticized. Opinions, views, arguments and actions are open for criticism – but not the person in question.

Language

Apart from the Iroh's Debate and Philosophy board and the chat, all of the Avatar Portal is PG-13. Your language should reflect that. That means no profanity, swearing, or explicit text. The same goes for pictures: no adult content.

In similar vein to what was mentioned above, language that is discriminatory based on gender, race, religion, sexuality, gender identity, age, class, ability, or anything along those lines is not allowed. What this means is, no racial slurs, no insulting a person because they're homosexual, etc. A good rule of thumb to follow is if you have to ask yourself whether or not a word is bad before posting, odds are it probably is and you're better off picking another word.

You and the Other Members

AP is a unique community in the sense of things are very close-knit even in the busiest of times on this site. So of course, relationships sometimes occur between members both friendly and romantic. It's ok to have a relationship here, but if things suddenly go bad (a break up or something like that) between whomever is involved in whatever type of relationship, that is not an excuse to try to get the other member banned. Bannings occur at the discretion of the admins. This means a situation in which a ban might have to be given to a member whom apparently broke a rule will be analyzed by the administration from all angles before a decision is made. If it is discovered that a banning is only in talks because another member is campaigning, subtly or blatantly, for the ban for their own personal reasons, they will face the appropriate consequences.

In relation to AP being very close-knit, this also has caused problems to arise regarding the join date of members. While the members who have been with us since the days of "www.theavatarportal.com" are appreciated for staying here so long, this is no excuse to constantly go around and constantly say why the time when you joined was so great. It's ok to bring up a memory and reminisce or talk about that personal meme you and someone else coined, but to out-right discriminate because someone's not from the era when you joined the site is not. This goes for anyone both old and new to the site. Discrimination based upon join-date shall not be tolerated.


So, just respect each other. Differences will arise among people, but there is always a civil way to handle things rather than resorting to breaking one of these rules. If you don't want to speak to a member about something, but truly feel that the member in question is causing a problem for you and/or the community, you can always PM an admin.

These rules go for any other fansite, forum, and chat in which you openly represent AP. Your behavior on other sites is expected to conform to AP's standards and will not tolerate any action that harms our site's reputation.
User avatar
Griffin
White Lotus Member
 
Posts: 3717
Joined: Mon Jan 01, 2007 1:25 pm
Faction: Air Nomads
Top

Re: Rules and FAQ

Postby Griffin » Sun Jan 03, 2010 3:57 am

Iroh's Debate and Philosophy

Iroh's Debate and Philosophy is a mature area. This means that we allow more in this area, which is rated NC-17+, than on the rest of the forum, which is rated PG-13. All forum rules still apply, unless they are specifically mentioned below.


Language

While it is not allowed on the other parts of the forum, in this board we allow some profanity and moderately explicit texts. Remember, though, that this is a mature forum. You are expected to act as such.


Adult content

Even in a mature area there needs to be some restraint. Writing about mature things is allowed, though not too excessively. Fanart may be linked to, but may not be posted directly. Fanart too may not be too explicit. Pornography is not allowed.


Writing

More than on other forums, Iroh's Debate and Philosophy requires proper spelling and grammar. A few mistakes are no problem, but make an effort to make your post legible: use punctuation, capitalize, make paragraphs.


Back up

This is a serious discussion forum, so if you state something, back it up. Give arguments for your opinion.
User avatar
Griffin
White Lotus Member
 
Posts: 3717
Joined: Mon Jan 01, 2007 1:25 pm
Faction: Air Nomads
Top

Re: Rules and FAQ

Postby Griffin » Sun Jan 03, 2010 3:59 am

Signature/Avatar

Your signature may be no more than 600 pixels wide and no more than 400 pixels high. This includes all pictures and text, not any particular image.

For reference, this is the maximum size of your signature:

Spoiler: show
Image


If you want to display something larger, put it between spoiler tags.

The maximum size of your signature and your avatar combined is 500 KB. This is very large; unless either is an animated picture, you won’t use up that much.

All forum rules for posting – apart from the rules on advertising – go for signatures and icons as well.
User avatar
Griffin
White Lotus Member
 
Posts: 3717
Joined: Mon Jan 01, 2007 1:25 pm
Faction: Air Nomads
Top

Re: Rules and FAQ

Postby Griffin » Sun Jan 03, 2010 3:59 am

Chat

The chat rules are present above the chat itself, too. They are as follows:

Rules: Rules: No spamming, no harassment, no racial slurs, no exccessive swearing, no advertising, religious debate goes in debate area, no explicitly sexual content, no impersonation of others, respect each other.


The rules are similar to those of the forum except the main difference is that profanity is allowed on chat as long as it is used in moderation (meaning, don't go in to chat and just start cussing every which way you look). Upon breaking any of these rules, a chat moderator, or basically any current helper (Chi Healer) or admin (Dai Li and up), will issue you one textual warning on the chat unless you are being overly offensive and/or disruptive. Breaking another rule after having been warned will result in a ban.

A ban on the chat is always permanent. If you wish to be unbanned, or feel that you’ve been banned unfairly, contact the moderator who banned you. If you don’t remember who that was, or if they aren’t present, contact any helper or admin, then they can find out who it was that banned you and forward your request to them.
User avatar
Griffin
White Lotus Member
 
Posts: 3717
Joined: Mon Jan 01, 2007 1:25 pm
Faction: Air Nomads
Top

Re: Rules and FAQ

Postby Griffin » Sun Jan 03, 2010 4:00 am

Admins and Helpers

What are Admins and Helpers?

The Admins are the people who maintain the site and the forum. They make changes as they see fit, they fix things when they break, enforce the rules, and help members out when they need help. The Helpers, as their name suggests, help the Admins in doing these things. They can close and move threads, and moderate the chat. The Former Admins are people who used to be Admins but left their position for whatever reason. They are mostly inactive.


Who are the Admins and Helpers?
You can recognize the Admins and Helpers by the color of their names and their ranks. The Admins have black, blue, green, red or yellow names. The Helpers have light blue names and are called "Chi Healers". The Former Admins have gray names. Site Contributors (people who post updates on the site, who are neither Helpers nor Admins) have orange names. Here's a list of the admins for quick reference.

Uncle Iroh - Site Owner

Site Admins

Tev
Snake of the South

Dai Li

Battery
Pleh
Count of Monte Fisto
Conzu
Zerolott
Metallica1554
scarletcougar
Disasterpiece

How do I become an Admin or a Helper?

Usually about once a year new Admins are picked by the existing Admins. A thread is then opened where people can post an application. Helpers are usually chosen out of those that didn't make the cut. On occasion new Admins or Helpers may be installed outside this process, whenever the existing Admins feel that there is a shortage of either.
User avatar
Griffin
White Lotus Member
 
Posts: 3717
Joined: Mon Jan 01, 2007 1:25 pm
Faction: Air Nomads
Top

Re: Rules and FAQ

Postby Griffin » Sun Jan 03, 2010 4:00 am

Ranks

What are ranks?

Ranks are little titles that are displayed below your name. They rank you based on how many posts you've made.


How do I get a certain rank?

The only way to get different ranks is to post enough to attain that rank. Former ranks can't be regained. There are a few ranks which are reserved for Admins, Helpers and Site Contributors: those aren't available to other members.


Why do my rank and my faction say I'm in different nations?

Your faction is the nation you chose, while ranks are the same for everyone. They aren't dependant on each other.


What ranks are there?

These are the ranks, the number shows how many posts you need for them. There are a few more after Fully Realised Avatar -- we'll leave it up to you to discover those.

  • Commoner 0
  • Inexperienced Adventurer 15
  • Discovered Avatar 30
  • Novice Waterbender 50
  • Waterbender 100
  • Advanced Waterbender 200
  • Expert Waterbender 350
  • Novice Earthbender 600
  • Earthbender 1000
  • Advanced Earthbender 1500
  • Expert Earthbender 2100
  • Novice Firebender 3000
  • Firebender 4200
  • Advanced Firebender 5500
  • Expert Firebender 6700
  • Novice Airbender 8200
  • Airbender 9900
  • Advanced Airbender 11500
  • Expert Airbender 14000
  • Avatar-State Master 17500
  • Fully-Realized Avatar 20000
User avatar
Griffin
White Lotus Member
 
Posts: 3717
Joined: Mon Jan 01, 2007 1:25 pm
Faction: Air Nomads
Top

Re: Rules and FAQ

Postby Griffin » Sun Jan 03, 2010 4:00 am

Signatures

What are signatures?

A signature is a picture or some text in the area below your post.


How do I add my own signature?

To add a signature, you first go to the User Control Panel. You can find a link there near the top of the page. There, click the "Profile" tab. There you can select "Edit signature", and edit your signature.
User avatar
Griffin
White Lotus Member
 
Posts: 3717
Joined: Mon Jan 01, 2007 1:25 pm
Faction: Air Nomads
Top

Re: Rules and FAQ

Postby Griffin » Sun Jan 03, 2010 4:01 am

Avatars

What is an avatar?

Avatars are the little pictures that are displayed above your name next to your posts.


How do I add an avatar?

First, go to the User Control Panel. There's a link near the top that leads there. Once there, click the "Profile" tab, and go to "Edit avatar" to edit your avatar.
User avatar
Griffin
White Lotus Member
 
Posts: 3717
Joined: Mon Jan 01, 2007 1:25 pm
Faction: Air Nomads
Top

Re: Rules and FAQ

Postby Griffin » Sun Jan 03, 2010 4:01 am

Forum Skins

What is a skin?

Which skin you are using decides in what colours the forum shows up. The standard skin is the "prosilver" skin. There are currently also an "airtheme" and "firetheme" skin. Note, though, that these are not entirely finished; upon a recent update of the forum they stopped working properly and had to be remade.


How do I change my skin?

To change your skin, first go to the User Control Panel, for which a link is near the top of the page. Then click on the "Board preferences" tab, where you can edit your skin by changing the "My board style" setting.
User avatar
Griffin
White Lotus Member
 
Posts: 3717
Joined: Mon Jan 01, 2007 1:25 pm
Faction: Air Nomads
Top

Re: Rules and FAQ

Postby Griffin » Sun Jan 03, 2010 4:01 am

Private Messages

What are private messages?

Private messages (PMs) are more or less like an e-mail system within the forum. You can send each other messages which can't be read by anyone else. When someone sends you a PM, it will show near the top of the page, where it normally says "0 new messages". To read a message, go to your inbox by clicking on the link that informs you of how many messages you have. There, you can read your new messages (or any of your old messages).


How do I send a PM?

First, go to your inbox, then, click the "New PM" button. Add the username of whoever you want to send a PM in the box near the top, and put your message in the large box below. When you are finished, hit "Submit" to send the message.
User avatar
Griffin
White Lotus Member
 
Posts: 3717
Joined: Mon Jan 01, 2007 1:25 pm
Faction: Air Nomads
Top


Topic locked
12 posts • Page 1 of 1

Return to Guru Pathik's Help & Feedback Room

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests

  • Board index
  • The team • Delete all board cookies • All times are UTC [ DST ]
Powered by phpBB © 2000 - 2010 phpBB Group