Forum Rules

[Dehouston]

The Short Version

The Owners control everything. You have no rights. Play nice.

1. Do not break the law or do anything that may cause Supermarioscape (SMS) to break the law.

2. Do not be selfish or a jerk.

3. Do not do anything at all that may impede normal, reasonable, on-topic discussion.

SMS staff and forum moderators have total discretion to determine whether any thread or post merits correctional actions such as locks, warnings, bans, or otherwise.

The Long Version

Below, we have fleshed out the rules and added some additional specific rules. These rules apply to all posts in this forum, and it is your responsibility to read them. This thread serves as your only warning, and you may be warned and/or banned at the moderators' full discretion for violating any rule in this thread.

* Spam is prohibited.

What counts as "spam"?
"Spam" is defined in different ways on different websites. Here on SMS, the term is applied to any post that does not contribute to normal, reasonable, on-topic discussion on these forums. That includes, but is not limited to:

- All-caps thread titles and/or all-caps posts (unless specifically applicable to the subject of the thread)
- "Text-message" or "instant-messenger" shorthand posting (unless specifically applicable to the subject of the thread)
- Alternating caps and lower-case thread titles or posts (eXaMpLe)
- Threads that only require a one-liner reply such as a number or rank
- Rick Rolls
--"inb4[anything]"
- "youfail," "You Fail," "Epic Fail," "Phail," "youfail.org," or anything even remotely similar
- Posting "Banned," "Locked," "Enjoy your ban," "This will be locked," or anything similar.
- Posting "Wall of text," "China called...," "tl;dr," or anything remotely similar
- Posts in any language other than readable and intelligible English
- Typing upside down using an online translator
- Do not "break" the page width or forum formatting by repeating or special characters
- Posts that attempt to "catch attention" by using all-caps, false hyperlinks, or all-bold/italics/underline.
- Biased, unfair, irrelevant, non-contributory, or one-sided polls
- Any other post that does not contribute or encourage normal, intelligent, on-topic discussion as determined by any Bungie employee or moderator.

* Do not create "blog"-style posts unless they are part of a larger on-topic discussion. These topics do not encourage discussion and are therefore spam.

What counts as a "blog"?
A "blog" post is the original post in a new thread that merely relates a personal experience that another user can neither agree nor disagree with. In other words, it is a post that can result in nothing but other users "commenting" on that personal experience or relating similar personal experiences, rather than beginning a discussion.

*Do not flame each other! Use your manners and common sense. If you disagree with someone, do so gracefully.

What counts as "flaming"?
The act of "flaming" is the act of attacking or insulting a person who posts, rather than the ideas expressed within the post itself. Your post should remain on-topic and focused on the subject matter of the thread rather than any individual user

*Bumping is prohibited.

What is "bumping"?
"Bumping" is the act of posting in a thread solely to bring it back to the top of the forum. A general way to tell if your post is a bump is the following: if your reply is not an on-topic reply to another user's reply who posted after the last time that you did, your post is a bump. This is not an all-inclusive definition.

"Necroposting" (the act of making a non-responsive, repetitive, or off-topic reply in a thread that has not been active for weeks or months) is a form of bumping and is prohibited.

*Do not troll. Do not feed the trolls!
What is "trolling"?
Trolling is any post designed to evoke an emotional or flaming response instead of an informed, well-reasoned reply. These posts are characterized by broad generalizations and personal accusations about specific people or groups of people rather than a well-reasoned assertion backed up with support. Just a few examples of trolling include:

-SMS sucks.
-SMS staff suck.

Parody or satire threads are a form of trolling.

"Do not feed the trolls" means do not respond to trolling, and is also strictly enforced.

*Do not post off-topic or in the incorrect forum for the subject matter of your post. The forum definitions further down in this thread serve both as a guide and as the binding rules for on- and off-topic posting.

*No political or religious discussion of any kind will be tolerated on the forums.

*Do not link to inappropriate websites. This includes, but is not limited to: sites containing adult content, information on any type of software piracy or shock sites. Violation of this rule results in permanent ban.

*Do not post false information or mislead other forumgoers. This includes false information about SMS, SMS employees, and/or other players.

*Impersonating forum moderators and/or SMS employees is strictly prohibited. Violation of this rule results in permanent ban.


*Do not use the public forums to solicit donations. This forum is for discussion of relevant topics only, not for advertising.

*Advertisements for Groups, Clans, Tournaments, Custom Games, Parties, or Co-Op Play are to be posted in The clan forum only.

*Threads about groups of users based on age, gender, race, religion, or nationality, including discrimination against these groups, are prohibited.