Jo/Deathsrsvp here on a new name - at last!

Hope you’re all well and have a fun transition from the new board. Looking forward to seeing (hopefully) floods of new members. For old members and those who have moved over from the Chit Chat board, you’ll know these rules, but for any new members please read them and keep them in mid! They maybe be edited to keep up with the changed, but the general/basics still apply.

Have fun! :)

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These are the general board rules. Please obey them and check for any updates in future. Complaints about its length will be ignored. Moderators do not take out time out of their own lives to listen to the issues people how with reading a few extra sentences.
I would hope that both NEW and OLD members are willing to read through this to check to understand and agree. We are not monsters trying to rule you under an iron, Machiavellian thumb we have feelings to but we like to keep the peaceful and friendly environment for you all :)

If you have any suggestions/opinions/extra points they would like to see added, please feel free to leave a comment, I’d appreciate in put, especially from anyone who finds any of the points confusing.
Thank you for reading.

This is the FAQ for those of you who are not familiar with it.

Swearing or offensive language will not be tolerated. ALSO please do not post topic after topic. We generally like a MAXIMUM of 2-3 from each user.

1. I’ve seen a few people advertising emails here (Chit Chat) so please keep that to the Pen Pals. Also some people have mentioned Music, that is more appropriate for the Polls but if you would like to have a discussion, then yes, Chit Chat is the place, but please try to be a bit more detailed in your discussion openings and questions; a little more than Do you like ____. What’s your favourite ____ would be nice - facts and opinions help. Etc.

2. Please try to use correct spelling and grammar. This, need I remind you, is an English speaking board, and not all of the members speak it as their native tongue so you know, be considerate. Also, text talk hurts my eyes and makes those who use it appear immature and often lazy this doesn’t help if you want to try and have a serious debate, does it? Its not that difficult, really. Any text not in English will be removed.
I understand that some people may have difficulty with spelling- we are not taking a pick at people with dyslexia and anything else related. We do not expect perfection, but clarity and coherency would be great. Checking it over really isn’t that hard, and can often really do you a favour in the long run (by which I mean it gets you into the habit of checking said spelling and grammatical errors, which really is helpful in school. So, learn whilst you chat. Grand, no?).

3. Being polite/respectful.
I’d like to make a point of the newer members and how they are treated by those who have been around here for a while some people haven’t been as welcoming as they could be, we need to work on this. If said new member has issues (by which I mean not following rules, rude and spamming) after they’ve been here for a while, then you have every right to complain. But! When they are NEW and know no better, so please just welcome then, direct them to the FAQ and say hello. It shouldn’t be too difficult.

4. Please, when posting in a topic whether it is your own or someone else’s, to keep on topic. Especially if it has a certain genre such as music/books/etc ” :)

5. This board is an all ages board, explicit/inappropriate writing and images should not be posted here. Let’s keep it clean and fun for everyone!

6. Lastly, I shouldn’t have to remind you all of this, but I feel that as a moderator I should give you all a kick (myself too, before you deem me a hypocrite) in the right direction. And for Mad Darren Fans, I’m sure he’d like to see us all getting along nicely, wouldn’t he? A pleasant conversation makes a pleasant day, or at least it should do.

Hi there everyone.

I’ve been noticing a huge increase in the number of people breaking general forum etiquette rules, and it’s becoming blatant that we need them to be reiterated. I’ve taken the time to write this up for everyone’s sake, so please read it, take it in, and if you notice you’re breaking any of these rules, fix it! Persistant breaking of these rules will possibly lead to me having to pass your name to the BIG BAD Pablo, and we don’t want that. Remember that this forum is for everyones enjoyment, not just your own.

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Language use and Text Talk.
This board is frequented by people who are not native English language speakers. This means that when you post using text talk, or without at least attempting to spell check your post, some people may not understand you. Also, even for everyone else, it’s still not nice to have to read something in which I have to work out what you’re saying because you don’t use proper English. Of course, if you’re dyslexic, or not very good at spelling you may make the odd mistake, but generally, try and write in proper English (that is, no, “wht r u up 2 2nite”.)
Also, I’d reiterate the fact that swearing and inappropriate content is similarly not allowed. Spoilers about Darren’s books should also only be posted in the relevant forum, and a spoiler warning should be in the title of the thread, or if not, at least before the spoiler in the post.

Thread Necromancy.
This is when you look through to the older posts, and post something in a topic which has been silent for over a month or so. Generally, if it’s fallen silent, people have lost interest in it, or everything that could be argued has been done already. It is against general forum etiquette to post in these topics, and bring them back to the front page. This is especially true if all you are going to post is “LOL” or “hahah”. Generally, we don’t want to see posts being resurrected from beyond the grave just for that. If you feel a topic is good enough to be discussed again, why not make one of your own? Or, in rare circumstances when you have something really important to add, then maybe, just maybe, bringing the old one back would be acceptable.

Forum Vs Msn/Chat
This is a forum. That means that people you are talking to may not be online when you read their messages, and may not, in fact, come back onto the forum for several days. So don’t post one minute, and follow it up with a “WHY AREN’T YOU ANSWERING?!!?!?!?!” post, because you shouldn’t expect a reply straight away on a forum. I will also point out that there is an edit button on every post you write. If you forgot to add something, edit your post and include it. Posting many times in a row in a topic is generally frowned upon.

Content.
On this forum, we have a wide variety of topics. There’s general chat and there’s heated discussions on science and books and RPGs. However, no matter what sort of topic you’re posting in, we don’t want to see “lol” or “hey”. There’s really no point in posting if that’s all you have to say on a subject. We want to hear your views, thoughts and about your interests and things you’re passionate about- so tell us! Why bother posting at all, if not to give a point of view or interesting thought? Put some content into your posts, and we’ll enjoy reading them.

Safety.
This is a public forum. We can’t guarantee that everyone is who they say they are. So, don’t give out your real name, school, phone number/email address, town/address to anyone unless you know them IN REAL LIFE. The internet is a dangerous place, and believe me when I say that if someone knows your name and what school you go to; that’s still far, far too much information about you. Consider: is there only one or two people with your name at your school? Don’t be scared about it, just be sensible. And if you see anything suspicious, please remember to let me or one of the other mods/admins know as soon as possible. We can’t do anything about a threat if we don’t know about it.

Trolling/Flaming.
Trolling and flaming are when you try to provoke an argument with another member. This will not be tolerated, as we’re a friendly forum- we want everyone to get along. We’re all here for the same reason, because we love Darren’s books, so let’s try and play nice? Posting all in capitals (LIKE THIS) is also very much against the rules. Neither of these things will be tolerated and any posts that are argumentative will be deleted, and the members involved will be disciplined.

I hope you’ll all take the time to read over this and with a little effort we can make this place a lot nicer for everyone.

Leah

As a little addition to this thread, I’ve been having to delete or edit a lot of threads recently that are discussing topics which are generally unsuitable for this sort of family-friendly board.

Please think about what you’re typing- Would you want your mother/grandmother/younger sibling/child reading what you’re writing? If not, don’t write it! Anything you say can be read by almost anyone- the internet is a big place, and we try to keep it as clean and enjoyable as we can.

Thanks.

Leah

Hi Guys, as an addition, about the advertising, Spammers that we’ve had an influx of recently.

If you see a post which has links or is breaking forum rules by advertising…

REPORT IT.

There’s a ‘report’ button on every single post, all you have to do is click it and it lets the moderators know something’s wrong. We get an email about it, and instantly, we can delete it for you.

If you REPLY to any advertising posts, then it makes our job so much harder because when I delete the advertising post, I then either have to delete your comments too, as it’s derailing the trhread off topic, or leave your posts, which make no sense anymore because the spam is gone!

So… REPORT IT, DON’T REPLY TO IT.

Thanks everyone.

Leah