Secondly, keep in mind that the ZDoom Forums are moderated, like it or not, so proper language is requested and any deviation from proper social behavior is definitely not recommended.
Thirdly, individuals causing trouble will be warned at least twice to stop, and then they'll be banned if all else fails. This isn't a hard three-strikes policy; depending on the case, a user may not be banned for their third warning. Warnings are really more intended for record-keeping purposes. That makes them no less official (i.e. you should still take heed of their advice) but by no means do three warnings equal an immediate, permanent ban.
Finally, the moderators are very friendly people, like everyone else, if you are friendly to them and everyone else for that matter. Quid pro quo.
Staff of the ZDoom Forums
- Randy - Our Benefactor. Owns the port, the site, the forum.
- Graf Zahl - Effectively in charge of the Development area.
- wildweasel
- BlazingPhoenix
- cutmanmike
- Siggi
- BoldEnglishman
- QBasicer - Though he rarely visits the forums these days, he is still listed here in honor of his services.
MANDATORY FORUM RULES - Severe punishment is doled out for breaking these.
- There are to be no objectionable posts - i.e. pornography, very graphic violence (outside of video game screenshots or movies), or "shock sites" like mentioned in this Wikipedia article. No porn whatsoever, not even if you link off-site and label it NSFW. This isn't so much our rule as it is a rule of the hosting provider, and we don't want to lose the forums. Remember that there are some users on here that are under 18.
- A corollary to the above: don't post that kind of content as an avatar either. So no naked people in your avatars, everyone. (Same goes for signatures as well - they may not show up in your posts but anybody can see it by looking at your profile.)
- We do not tolerate the free distribution of warez, ROMs, illegal music, torrents (aside from legal material), or other pirated materials. In other words, don't post asking for a Doom 2 IWAD (tip: if you need one and can't pay, check out Freedoom). Sorry, but this includes "Abandonware" links as well!
- No spamming, trolling, or flaming. Spamming goes both ways - don't make your first post on this forum a cheap plug for some other website or product, and don't post the same thing in multiple forums (whatever your motive). Trolling, or flamebaiting, goes for saying something to make another person attack you. Please don't insult or attack other users, this includes racist/sexist/otherwise-discriminatory language, or anything else that's obviously offensive. (Side note: we may ban usernames if they're found to be offensive to other users. In this case though you may be able to re-register under another username, but this is under a case-by-case basis - please ask us first.)
- In the interest of preventing spammers, your first post will need to be approved by a moderator before it will be visible on the forum. If you haven't had your post approved in a while, contact one of us. More information can be found in this announcement thread.
- If an admin moved, edited or deleted your message, there is probably a good reason behind it - so don't just post it again. If a discussion was locked for any reason, don't start another thread "continuing" it, because that is probably going to be locked as well (though there are some exceptions; you may want to contact a moderator before you re-post a discussion).
- Do not attempt to hack in to the forums, webspaces, or anything on the ZDoom servers. Attempts of such will be treated without any compromises and WILL include real life consequences (such as having your ISP shut off your service). It's very easy to track down an individual by his IP. You have been warned.
- If you've been banned, registering a second account for yourself is a bad idea and could probably get you banned again.
MINOR FORUM RULES - We're a tad more lenient about these.
- The projects forum is only for projects that exist. If you can't provide some proof that your project is actually in the works (i.e. screenshots, Youtube videos, or best of all, a download link), your project thread may be locked. See the Project Posting Guidelines for more information.
- "Reviving" dead discussions will probably get you yelled at - there is likely a reason why nobody has posted in a given thread for over a month. Bumping a thread where it has no relevance or has no content is usually frowned upon. Bumping a thread if it DOES have content or has a question that is relevant to the original discussion can be okay.
- Be careful about derailing threads. It may be confusing to look at a thread about somebody's project and see it changed into a source port war.
- We are perfectly capable of doing our jobs as administrators - backseat moderating may be generally frowned upon (though this does not mean you shouldn't report posts if the need arises). We're also content with the current level of moderation for the forums, so please don't ask to become a mod/admin.
- People shouldn't feel the need to have the last say on a subject. Just because someone is calling them out and possibly breaking some of the other forum rules doesn't mean that they are free to respond to them in any way they see fit. Arguments can be quickly deflated if one side just ignores the other rather than just adding to the fire. (It's a bit sad that a great number of terrible fights on the forums could have been avoided in such a way.)
- If you suspect a user of ban-evading, identity deception, or any other sort of thing, please get in touch with the moderators. DO NOT call them out in public, as this tends to make them more careful and thus harder to build an effective case against, in the event that it turns out to be true.
- Under NO circumstances should you make any attempt to reply to shit posts, especially if the shit poster isn't the topic starter, because this just makes it harder for us to clean up the mess. Use the Report function or alert the moderators at #ZDoom on IRC.
GENERAL GUIDELINES - We don't really enforce these; consider this more of a "Forums 101" section.
- Don't be an ass. Being an ass generally makes the other forumers not like you.
- Please speak in clear, coherent English - we understand that some people may not speak English as their first language, so please keep them in mind when posting. Excessive l33t-speak, SMS-speak, or typing your post in an accent will make it hard for non-native speakers to understand you. While I'm not against people speaking in other languages on here, this is primarily an English forum, and we need to be sure that you're not discussing where to find the best drug deals in your native language. =P
- When posting a thread with several images, it may be wise to put a warning in the thread title so 56k users (yes, there are some around here!) will know that there are lots of pictures, and so Weasel's browser doesn't crash trying to look at it.
- Be sure to report any posts that break the above rules to a forum administrator or moderator with a private message or the "Report to mod" button.
- If you have problems with the forum, please be sure to let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible. Otherwise, try another browser and see if that works.
- We can't keep a constant watch on the forums. Most of us have jobs or classes and can't waste much time keeping an eye out for trouble. If a problem has gone on longer than you expect after reporting the issue to an admin, just be patient.
- If you have a good idea to improve the forums, or if you wish to report an issue with the forum software, don't hesitate to let us know. We might just fix it.
- When you reply to a topic, make sure your post contributes to the discussion - if you agree to what's being said, don't just say "I agree" - tell people why you agree. Make a few points of your own. Rule of thumb: if your post is less than ten words long, think about why you're actually posting, then ask yourself if it's really necessary to say it.
- Try to post in the right forum. If there doesn't seem to be a specific place for what you're posting, ask yourself this: does it have anything to do with Doom? If yes, use General. If no, use Off-Topic. If there's any doubt, ask one of us, we'll be able to put your thread somewhere for you.
- Try to respect people's work (wads, scripts, graphics, audio) even if it's crap. Don't bash it without providing a reason first and keep it civilized (i.e. non-aggressive).
- If a moderator has left the community or has stepped down from his/her position and the other moderator(s) need help, you could ask randy, but the chances of getting picked are slim.
- When asking for help or requesting things for your project please keep in mind a lot also, still, depends on your efforts. At least try to learn how to do what it is you need help with - there are a lot of tutorials and documentation online, including at the ZDoom Wiki. Asking for help is generally considered as the last resort. You can't just do nothing and expect others to do your work for you.
- Try not to double-post (make another post immediately after another post you've made) - if you need to add a last-minute thought to your post, there is always the EDIT button for such things. Making several posts in a row without other people replying first tends to be something of an Internet faux-pas.
- Patience is a virtue! If nobody's replied to your project thread within half an hour, don't just make another post and complain about how slow we are. Generally you'll want to wait a week (or until your thread drops off the first page) to bump it, if it's something important. Not everybody lives on the forums, and this isn't nearly as fast-paced as other message boards - it could take upwards of a couple days before anybody notices your thread, so count on that.
- Need help? That's fine, feel free to ask and don't be too embarrassed about it. Though we would really prefer it if you didn't "blank" your help question afterwards, and it's really not necessary to ask that a help thread be locked when your issue has been resolved. People that have the same issue as you may opt to use the forum's Search function to find a solution, and if you blank out or delete your original post, then these people won't be able to figure out how to solve the issue themselves. As for locking threads, we (the moderators) only tend to do that when rules are being broken or if a discussion is getting unruly, so there should never be a reason for that to happen.
HOW TO USE YOUTUBE TAGS
By popular demand, ZDoom Forums can embed YouTube videos within your posts. There is a very specific way you must do this, however. First, copy the YouTube video URL. You can get this from your address bar or by clicking "Share" on the video's page and copying the URL. It should look like this:
- Code: Select all • Expand view
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUQIDRu92QE
In your post, use a youtube tag and copy only the video ID - that is, only the characters to the right of watch?v=. An example of how that should look in your post:
- Code: Select all • Expand view
[youtube]jUQIDRu92QE[/youtube]
If you have suggestions for rules to be added, send them in.
(Yes, these rules are based on DRD Team's - I wrote both.)
