[GUIDELINES] Site-Wide Rules

It was a hard decision for the administrators - having to purge the original forum and ban most of it's old members. It's going to be even harder to start over. These rules are not flexible. We allowed a margin of flexibility last time and our users took advantage of it. So read the rules and stick to them, because there won't be any second chances this time.

Don't have any misconceptions: the mods/admins will ban you if you continue to break the rules stated below. Once is okay - some people just don't know where to go when they start out somewhere. But any more than that will be considered a purposeful offense.

For our returning users who wish to keep Ideologically Sound from falling apart again; if you see anyone going in the wrong direction, you can help out the mods by simple directing them to this page via a link. Enough said.


General Site Rules

• While debating and discussion is fine, we will not tolerate rudeness, insulting posts, personal attacks or purposeless inflammatory posts. Our decision is final in these matters. This type of behavior is part of what brought I.U. to it's knees last September.
  
  
• Respect the moderators and administrators. In any situation, a administrator's word is final. Do not ridicule or insult a admin. Do not challenge our authority. If you do so, you will be indefinitely banned and we will request a IP ban.
  
  
• Multiple or repeated posting in order to increase your post count is not allowed.
  
  
• Advertising, spamming and trolling is not allowed. This includes using the forum, email, visitor messages, blog comments, picture comments and private message systems to spam other members.
  
  
• We also do not allow posts or links to sites that are sexual in nature or violate our standards. The administrators and moderators shall be the sole arbitrator of what does and what does not violate community standards.
  
  
• We reserve the right to delete/move/screen offensive posts without notice.
  
  
• If you are going to post non-English on the forums, please also post an English Translation of your post IN THE ORIGINAL MESSAGE. Not in a link to another page and not in a separate comment.
  
  
• Posts arguing about our rules are not allowed. You can write to a administrator if you have a problem with our rules. The forums are not a place to be questioning our authority. If you don't like our rules and won't bring your objections to a administrator, then you don't have to post here. Plain and simple.
  
  
• Also while these rules cover most common situations, we cannot anticipate everything that may come our way. Consequently, the mods/admins reserve the right to take any actions we deem appropriate to ensure these forums are not disrupted or abused in any way again.
  
  
• You cannot post advertisements, contest notices, ads for other forums, ect. One strike with this - your post is locked and you are warned. Another and you are banned.
  
  
• We also reserve the right to ban anyone who willfully violates the forum rules, as access to our forums are a privilege and not a right. A banned user is still entitled to support as long as they write to a administrator.

Conduct and Posting Rules

• Low Content Posts: Please do not make posts containing no content (ie, "first post," "hello, I'm new here," etc.). These just litter up the forums, and we need to eliminate these as much as possible. If you do not like a thread, then just ignore it and move on; replies consisting solely of trolling fall into this category. As a general rule, write as if you were speaking in real life to another human being. Do not use any catchphrases, memes, internet slang.
  
  
• Worthless Posts: We do not care if you are drunk or high; please do not inform us of either. Please do not register gimmick accounts and make posts as a gimmick, as they are not funny. Please do not post asking us to vote for you on some website, give you referrals for free iPods / flatscreens / spare tires, or any other semi-spam things.
  
  
• Forum Sabotage: Don't mess with the forums or any user on the forums. If you post a malicious link (any URL with spyware or code designed to annoy people) you will be banned. Do not spam a thread with your friends because you don't like the person who posted it. Do not make plans to annoy / destroy other forums.
  
  
• Contained Conflict: Keep all flamewars and other arguments in the appropriate place. If somebody is harassing you on the forums then discuss it with them over PM or email before contacting a mod about it. Please do not post others' personal information (phone number, addresses, emails, etc.). Try to stay out of other peoples' personal lives as well. Keep in mind there's a good distinction between the Internet and real life.
  
  
• Accountability: Only one person may use a forum account. Account sharing is a bannable offense, so please keep your password secure. It doesn't matter if someone else was on your account and posted it. You are accountable for anything written under your name.
  
  
• Hate Speech: Offensive terms such as "faggot" or "nigger" may or may not be bannable based on context of the sentence. If they were meant as humor with absolutely no offensive slurs meant, the user may not be banned or probated. This rule is completely, 100% subjective and is based on the mod reading the post at the time. Use at your own peril.

Image / File Rules

• Keep all images work-safe. If you feel the need to post anything inappropriate (with the exclusion of pornographic images, ect), make sure that there is a NSFW tag in the title. Please do not post any illegal (child porn, bestiality) images or else you will be banned. Do not post naked pictures of yourself. As a general rule, ask yourself "would my mother and boss be comfortable viewing this image?" when posting in I.U.
  
  
• Image size and linking. Keep all images smaller than 800 pixels horizontal and 600 pixels vertical. Make sure all images are hosted on your own webspace. We do not approve of bandwidth leeching and forcing other people to pay for your images.
  
  
• Your signature and you. Keep in mind that everybody on the forums has to see your sig over and over every time you post. Please make your sig under 30k in size with less than three lines of text. Do not use images larger than 600 pixels wide and 125 pixels high.

This Stuff Annoys the Moderators and Administrators

• Beginning a thread with "so," such as "So I flushed my phone down the toilet today."
  
  
• 56k warnings. Hardly anyone still uses 56k modems, so we do not need "[56k NO!]" warnings in thread titles. Same with dial up. If you must post a warning, just put a (LOAD) tag in the title.
  
  
• Catchphrases in general. Just because somebody else wrote something humorous does not necessarily mean if you do the same thing then you will be humorous. Don't reuse - make your own.
  
  
• Backseat modding. We have more than enough mods/admins here. Please do not act like an armchair admin. You'll probably enjoy I.U. more if you let us handle the serious stuff.
  
  
• Internet lingo or slang of any sort. Please do not act as if you are posting through AIM. Respect the forum.

If you have a question or concern about your experience here on the forums, please feel free to contact the appropriate mod or admin. Please discuss your issue with the appropriate person through email or private message. Refrain from posting your disagreement on the forums, as they are usually private discussions which can only be answered by a single mod or admin.