Signature Guidelines:
Every member is allocated a little bit of space to add a signature to their post, this signature will be applied to the bottom of every post and is a good way for forumers to identify each other. To stop clutter we have the following guidelines for signatures:
- File Size Maximum: 40KB.
Dimensions Maximum: 550x110 pixels.
Two lines of text if you have a full size picture, obviously more if you don't.
Commercial advertising in signatures is prohibited, but we're happy for members to advertise their gamertags, or personal websites in their signatures, as long as they stick to the signature guidelines. No R rated material is allowed on the forums and this includes signatures.
Avatars:
Underneath most of our forumer's names are little icons with pictures, names or cartoons on them. These are called avatars. We're happy for you to link to an avatar and avatars can be uploaded from the Edit Profile option. The only conditions of avatars is that they must be no larger than 90x90 pixels with a maximum file size of 25KB and they must be family friendly. If they are offensive in any way, shape or form then your avatar may be removed.
PALGN Voting System:
PALGN has a voting system in place where users can plus or neg a user based on their thoughts on that particular post. There is no input to justify the vote, but moderators may question the justification of votes and all users are expected to be able to justify their votes. If you are unhappy with a positive or a negative from a user PALGN advises users take it up directly with the user and if they are not satisfied with the response then contact a moderator or an administrator. PALGN moderators will continue to investigate vote pooling and will contact users if they suspect that multiple users are ganging up on a single user.
General Annoying Behaviour:
General annoying behaviour will not be tolerated on PALGN. It is expected that users will have respect for moderators and administrators and replying to warnings with sarcastic or rude responses may result in a ban. General annoying behaviour that is anti social or disrespectful will also result in a $poon fine or a ban.
$poons:
PALGN has a form of currency called $poons. $poons are awarded based on user votes, so if a user believes your post has merit and pluses you then you will receive $poons. $poons have all sorts of purposes, you can purchase a custom rank or bid on our auction system. Just as $poons can be awarded, $poons can also be removed from users. $poons have been reset several times on PALGN and PALGN reserves the right to reset $poons at any time, within our disgression.
Warning and Punishment Hierarchy:
PALGN follows a simple hierarchy for when members break the rules. The first time a member breaks the rules they will incur a 5.00 $poon fine, the second time they break the rules this amount becomes 10.00 $poons. The third time a user breaks the rules they will be banned from the forums for two days, then a week and finally there will be a life ban. These warnings add up, so it's best to be on your best behaviour.
Private Message Abuse:
Every forum member has their own Private Message Inbox, it is against the rules to spam a forum members inbox, send inappropriate content or to advertise via private message. Members caught doing this will be banned immediately. Private messages can be accessed by administrators if required, but aren't monitored on a daily basis, only when it is deemed necessary.
Spam:
What is spam? Spam is useless, non contributional unimportant posts. Anything deemed non contributional to a topic is considered spam, posts will be deleted if we spy spam. Please try and make sure when you're posting you're posting something worthwhile. If you have an opinion on a topic then please explain you stance. Dont simply make short comments. Spam can also be in the form of several emoticons in a row. Spam is cracked down on heavily at PALGN.
Discrimination:
Discrimination of any kind is against the rules. There should be no discrimination regarding sex, race or religious beliefs nor should there be insults or negative statements made regarding sex, race or religious beliefs.
Advertising:
PALGN has a zero tolerance policy to advertising and viral marketing. Companies may not sign up to PALGN for the sole purpose of advertising products. Advertising companies posing on PALGN will be exposed. Contact luke@palgn.com.au for advertising requests or permission to post advertising on PALGN's forums. Advertising also includes advertising in usernames, which is against the rules. Excessive advertising in signatures will also be minimised, we do not have a problem with a minimal amount of advertising but if deemed excessive by administrators you may be asked to remove your signature. Advertising topics will also be deleted immediately and PALGN reserves the right to take further action against any advertising companies who post on PALGN.
Bumping Old Topics:
Quite simple really, don't bump old topics without a good reason. On this board, an old topic tends to be more than a month old. Please check the date of the last post before posting a new reply. that said, you are welcome to bump a post provided your post is valid, and still has some relevance to everyone else. if you have some new news on an upcoming game, your best bet would be to start a new topic.
Don't Double Post
Make sure you aren't already the last person to have posted on a topic, if you are, use the
button, thats what it's there for. However, if you are adding something to a thread that has dropped quiet for a few days, bumping it by double posting is allowable to make sure everyone else sees the new additions to the thread.
Name your source:
If you post news or a rumour make sure you reference it so members know you're not pulling a piece of news out of thin air. If you're directly copying text from an article it needs to be referenced as well, so content is not plagiarised.
Reporting System:
On December 11th, 2007 PALGN introduced a reporting system so users could report posts which break the forum rules. Every user has the ability to report posts but the system is not to be abused. Users who abuse the system could face $poon fines or bans.
Spoilers:
If you are posting about a game, and you are describing some element of the plot or anything that isn't otherwise mentioned in the instruction manual, and sometimes, even if it is, a spoiler warning would be nice... the best way to do this is to simply type SPOILER, leave 5 lines, write your piece leave another 5 lines and type END SPOILER. alternatively, you could make it so the user has to take some effort to view the spoiler by changing the colour of your text. the BEST way to do this is using the following tags:
| Code: |
|
[quote=">>>SPOILERS<<<"][color=white]<insert spoiler text here>[/color][/quote] |
This will produce ">>>SPOILERS<<< wrote:" followed a white box, with white text, which anyone who doesn't mind being spoiled has to highlight the text within with their mouse to see. Like so:
| >>>SPOILERS<<< wrote: |
| nifty, hey? |
Spoilers are not appreciated at all within PALGN and users posting spoilers regarding films, books, games and any other form of entertainment will face either a $poon fine or a banning.
Piracy and Illegal Content:
PALGN is a huge website with around 400,000 unique visitors a month. The writers here maintain a professional relationship with many game developers and distributors and are actively against any forms of piracy. PALGN will not condone any conversation relating to roms, or how to get illegal and pirated material. Mod chips are legal in Australia to circumvent region locking, so discussion of them on this basis is permissible.
Television & Movie Discussion:
Users are able to discuss anything that has been shown on television or released in Australia or Internationally, as long as spoilers are marked as described above.
Mature Rated Content:
As mentioned earlier, PALGN is a family friendly site, but users must be over 13 to post on PALGN. Swear words are censored completely and evading the swear filter will result in $poon fines and warnings. No swearing is permitted on PALGN.
Spelling Mistakes and Errors:
As a sign of courtesy it would be great if forumers wouldn't point out spelling mistakes of other users, if it's perfectly clear what the other user is writing then it doesn't really matter if they've made a mistake.
Game Exchange Rules:
PALGN has a huge trading forum called the Game Exchange. There are several rules associated with the Game Exchange such as:
1) You are personally responsible for any transaction (sale or trade) that you participate in. PALGN only offers the means for interaction between users and offers no guarantee regarding the validity of any games available on in the Game Exchange.
2) You must be a registered member of PALGN to use the Game Exchange.
3) PALGN will not be liable for any losses you incur as a result of using the Game Exchange.
4) Games are allowed to be posted in the Game Exchange if they available for sale on another site, but you canot post eBay links.
5) You may not use the Game Exchange to sell Games commercially.
6) You will not discuss, suggest, engage, or encourage any illegal activity. Links provided to locations that deal with any such activity are also expressly forbidden. Titles which have been refused classification in Australia can be sold on the Game Exchange, but any links to illegal materials will result in warnings.
7) Formats for the titles will always be assumed to be from a PAL region unless stated otherwise
8) Retail and promotional titles can be sold, they must be playable on an unmodified console and properly identified.
9) You will not post messages that violate Federal, State, or Local laws which include, but are not limited to, anything that violates a copyright, trademark, patent or trade secret.
10) PALGN reserves the right to ban any user from this forum, or from our forums for violating these terms and conditions.
11) PALGN reserves the right to edit or alter these terms and conditions at any stage without notice.
12) Titles can not be put up for preorder as this could indicate commercial reselling. The titles must be in hand and available to ship.
13) Topics can be bumped once, as long as the price has dropped.
14) Items can be listed on PALGN as well as on other websites.
15) Posts complaining about prices etc.. will be deleted.
By using the Game Exchange you are subject to these terms and conditions. To protect buyers we also have a respected traders list which we advise forumers to look at before trading with a member.
