Forum Rules

[Dan Dixon]

Rule #1
Be nice to one another

Rule #2
Don't do or talk about these things:
- How to pirate software
- Inappropriate sexual adult content
- Gore or violence
- Insulting, threatening, slanderous, hateful comments... or just being rude
- Vulgarity or profanity
- Racist, sexist, or homophobic comments

Rule #3
Forum etiquette:
- Don't double post, edit your previous post instead
- No single word or bump posts
- No backseat moderation... if someone is breaking the rules, use the "Report to moderator" link
- No reaction images (image only responses that aren't screenshots or otherwise relevant)
- Don't quote entire posts without editing for relevance, only quote portions of posts that are relevant
- Don't make unreferenced claims about Universe Sandbox (like release dates, pricing, or project direction) without adding "I think..."
- Put actual topic information in subject line, rather than something like "I have a question", so a post can read "at a glance" as well.
- Please attempt to use proper grammar, spelling, and capitalization; do not use textspeak, chatspeak, or all-caps as examples.
- You're welcome to post in other languages, but only if you also provide a translated version of what you wrote in English (if only via Google Translate)
- Only one account per person. Do not create multiple accounts.

If you break these rules...
- Your message or thread will be deleted without warning
- Additional offenses can lead to temporary or permanent ban at our discretion

In addition...
- We reserve the right to change these rules at any time... and use our own judgement as to what is and isn't breaking the spirit of the rules
- Rules 1 and 2 apply to the Everything Else board as well, but it is less strictly moderated

[smjjames]

Might want to sticky this *just saying, not trying to prod you or anything*

Double post would be okay in certain situations like if you have more than four images to post since the attachment limit is 4. And of course, the screenshot thread.

Also, if you accidentially double post, there IS a delete post button in the top right, so just copy the text, delete that extra post, and paste the stuff into the previous.

[gabriel.dac]

Good. Rules. This forum has been kinda messy.

There should be rules for threads too. There are too many being created.

edit: The rule about reaction images surprised me. First because I don't see it getting posted often, and second because they can be fun. haha

[smjjames]

Having a single big bug report/issues thread would help with some of the clutter and there was an attempt or two to make one but it never caught on for some reason.

edit: The rule about reaction images surprised me. First because I don't see it getting posted often, and second because they can be fun. haha

I thought that was in reference to <someone> posting those meme images like the 'oh you don't say' one, which got really annoying. Besides, stuff like that really isn't appropriate for the Alpha testing section

[Dan Dixon]

Having a single big bug report/issues thread would help with some of the clutter...

A single thread would be a mess.

How about a new board instead...
http://universesandbox.com/forum/index.php/board,12.0.html

[smjjames]

Yeah you're probably right, given that the bugs change from version to version.

[gabriel.dac]

Having a single big bug report/issues thread would help with some of the clutter...

A single thread would be a mess.

How about a new board instead...
http://universesandbox.com/forum/index.php/board,12.0.html

you're awesome

[Xriqxa]

Having a single big bug report/issues thread would help with some of the clutter and there was an attempt or two to make one but it never caught on for some reason.

edit: The rule about reaction images surprised me. First because I don't see it getting posted often, and second because they can be fun. haha

I thought that was in reference to <someone> posting those meme images like the 'oh you don't say' one, which got really annoying. Besides, stuff like that really isn't appropriate for the Alpha testing section

But are reaction images plus the message okay? Or just no reaction images at all?

Anyway, not to be a backseat mod, but shouldn’t this be in Everything Else or something? 

Making that reference would be contradicting the rules. Especially for a dev. Anyway, I was an asshat back then. No need to remind me. And Dan, you didn’t have to remove my name. I was a jerk in the past, and people should know that.

[Bla]

But are reaction images plus the message okay? Or just no reaction images at all?

I think it depends on the situation. If the reaction images truly contribute something to the thread that's relevant, they might be ok, but I don't think they do that usually. Reaction images like the "you don't say" ones that used to be posted don't really contribute, but seem more to just mock the comments they respond to.
Anyway that's just what I think of the rules.

I don't think the rules are meant to be taken too strictly, bumping can also be legit sometimes.

Anyway, not to be a backseat mod, but shouldn’t this be in Everything Else or something?

The alpha boards are the ones that are the most in need of more order currently and not so much Everything Else, plus more people go to the alpha boards, so I think this is the best place to have them.
But it may be a good idea to duplicate them to the old rule thread that's stickied in Everything Else or at least link to it there.

[gabriel.dac]

After having two of my posts deleted in this same thread, I think I'm starting to get into the so-called spirit of the rules

[WitheHole18]

Rule #1
Be nice to one another

Rule #2
Don't do or talk about these things:
- How to pirate software
- Inappropriate sexual adult content
- Gore or violence
- Insulting or threatening or slanderous comments... or just being rude
- Vulgarity or profanity
- Racist, sexist, or homophobic comments

Rule #3
Forum etiquette:
- Don't double post, edit your previous post instead
- No single word or bump posts
- No backseat moderation... if someone is breaking the rules, use the "Report to moderator" link
- No reaction images (image only responses that aren't screenshots or otherwise relevant)
- Don't quote entire posts without editing for relevance, only quote portions of posts that are relevant
- Don't make claims about Universe Sandbox (like release dates, pricing, or project direction) without adding "I think..."
- You're welcome to post in other languages, but only if you also provide a translated version of what you wrote in English (if only via Google Translate)

If you break these rules...
- Your message or thread will be deleted without warning
- Additional offenses can lead to temporary or permanent ban at our discretion

In addition...
- We reserve the right to change these rules at any time... and use our own judgement as to what is and isn't breaking the spirit of the rules
- Rules 1 and 2 apply to the Everything Else board as well, but it is less strictly moderated

good rule

[Xriqxa]

Seems like Bla edited "The Rule" in Everything Else, giving a link to this thread. Might not be a good idea. Why not just copy-paste these rules into "The Rule"?

[Bla]

Seems like Bla edited "The Rule" in Everything Else, giving a link to this thread. Might not be a good idea. Why not just copy-paste these rules into "The Rule"?

If the rules are edited in here they become outdated in EE. By linking to this we only have to update in one place and we make sure they don't conflict if we don't remember to update them in all the places we would copy the rules to.

[Xriqxa]

Smart one =P 

Shouldn't "Don't quote if you are responding to the post above you" be a rule? I mean, some people do this with really long posts, and it just makes for unnecessary long sessions of scrolling.

[Bla]

- Don't quote entire posts without editing for relevance, only quote portions of posts that are relevant

I think this covers it. Quotes are useful for if people delete their posts. If they aren't quoted the posts lose context.

[Xriqxa]

Makes sense.

[Xriqxa]

I think the rule about no gore is a bit too restricting. Why can't we have links to it [with warnings], but no direct posting of gory of violent images?

[Dan Dixon]

I think the rule about no gore is a bit too restricting. Why can't we have links to it [with warnings], but no direct posting of gory of violent images?

Because there are plenty of other places on the internet to share and discuss gore.

[Xriqxa]

There are also other places to talk about Civ V, Universalis, etc.

[Gordon Freeman]

Why are these rules being broken almost constantly

Rule #1
Be nice to one another

Rule #3
Forum etiquette:
- Don't double post
- No single word or bump posts
- Don't quote entire posts without editing for relevance, only quote portions of posts that are relevant
- Please attempt to use proper grammar and spelling; do not use textspeak or chatspeak as examples.

[The Ventifact]

What's Gordon Freeman doing out of Half-Life anyway?

Jokes aside, I don't see those rules being broken that often, and I come on here a lot. I consider the rules to be more like guidelines, they're not set in stone completely (though you should follow as much as possible). If someone were constantly being rude and not following the forum rules, then they're liable for the consequences.

If you have good manners on the forums, then you're fine.   

[gabriel.dac]

This forum isn't about following the rules. It is about helping to develop a software. It actually saddens me that we need a thread for the rules.

[smjjames]

They're more like general guideline rules than 'YOU MUST OBEY' rules.

[Gordon Freeman]

"-Don't post links to piracies when reporting them publicly, PM it to a dev" rule? IMO this is becoming a common issue ~:c

[Jorster]

Can we add a "No images purely for shock value" rule? I think that images like that add no conversation, and potentially brings down the quality of the boards.

[Gordon Freeman]

How about a rule against constantly asking when the next Alpha of US2 will be released? I think that falls under spam.

[Dan Dixon]

Spam  = "irrelevant or inappropriate messages sent on the Internet to a large number of recipients" (like random ads)

A question about the release date of Universe Sandbox ² is not irrelevant or inappropriate... especially given the significant delay of Alpha 15. That said... asking isn't going to make it happen faster, but there's no need for a rule against it.

[Gordon Freeman]

And yet there are multiple posts in the Versions History Board and just about all of the Alpha 15 update threads asking when Alpha 15 will be released. Personally I think it's very cluttering and not very much adding to any discussion, seeing as the answer is always "Soon."

A question about the release date of Universe Sandbox ² is not irrelevant or inappropriate

Why not? It's not like the starters of such threads even refer to anything other than themselves. There's almost never any "How's the work going on Alpha x?" or "What new features can we expect in Alpha x?" or "Good luck, bois!" threads.

It's nearly always, "yo guys i'm really bored of there not being a new update for like two whole weeks so hurry it up a little because i don't feel like hyping up another project so that i'm not bored"

[Dan Dixon]

I agree it doesn't add much to the discussion, but it is not 'spam' as we define it. I think of spam as random ads or automated posts, not something posted by an actual user of Universe Sandbox.

And while you may find the repeated question annoying... it's not irrelevant or inappropriate.

[fredetuc]

great guide lines.