I n i t i a l   D   W o r l d   F o r u m   G u i d e l i n e s

The following are the Board Guidelines for this forums. Please read them carefully as violating any of them may earn yourself an actual warning. If you have any questions about these rules, do not hesitate to ask them in Feedback & Support. All the rules are subject to change without prior notification. Please always remember, it's a privilege to use these forums, NOT a right.


-   R U L E S   &   P O L I C I E S   -

• Please take the time to read the forums description before you start a topic. Starting new topic(s) in the wrong section may result in a verbal / actual warning.

• Use the Search function before you start a new topic. Posting a duplicated thread may earn yourself a verbal warning.

• Read the Pinned threads before starting a new topic. Posting thread(s) about question(s) already answered in Pinned threads will result in an actual warning.

• Stay on topic. If you must talk about a new topic, start your own thread or look for an existing thread that relates to what you have in mind.

• Avoid posting spoilers. If you can't avoid spoilers, please be considerate enough to put a warning sign or spoiler alert on your post so that others may have the choice if they want to go on reading or not.

• Post a viewer discretion warning if you are posting something that some people might find offensive. (i.e. - adult language, graphic situations ... etc.) This rule also applies to what appears on your user profile, including avatars, signatures.

• No Spamming. This activity wastes precious bandwidth and disk space. This includes, but not limited to, the following:

   - Posting with only one word / emoticon. (minimum characters limit: 20)
   - Posting nonsense posts.
   - Repetitive threads / posts of the same content.
   - Repeatedly advertising without actual participation in the forums.
   - Overusage of emoticons.
   - Quoting too many previous posts.
   - Bumping / reviving old topics without any valid reason(s).
   - Bypassing the minimum characters limit intentionally with useless content.


• Bumping topics is defined as posting twice in a row in the same thread after the last post was made after 72 hours. As previously stated, bumping threads are allowed unless you are bumping it with content that does not contribute to the topics. Clarification: You can only bump the same topic three (3) times. You are not allowed to bump the topic anymore after that. You will receive a Verbal Warning for violating that rule on first offense.

• Reviving topics is defined as replying to a thread where the last post was made more than 30 days ago. Like bumping threads, reviving threads are allowed as long as you have something to contribute to the topics.

• This board is Initial D anime / manga based. So please DO NOT post Arcade Stage related question in the General Discussion. All Arcade Stage questions go to the Initial D Arcade Stage forums.

• Do not double post. Use the EDIT button. Posting twice in a row in the same thread within 72 hours without any valid reasons is an warnable offense.

• DO NOT attach random images in your posts. This activity will waste our disk space. If you want a signature, please do so in My Controls.

• No discriminatory / hatred posts pertaining to anything that affects others' cultures. (i.e. - religion, race, values, beliefs ... etc.)

• Respect all board members including moderators and admins. Violation of this rule includes provocation of members into flame wars by means of direct insults and name-calling. Resolve your issues privately or communicate them properly if you must post them on the boards for the community to witness. New members who come to the boards for the sole purpose of antagonizing / harassing members, both privately and publicly, will be banned outright.

• You agree not to have more than one account at any given time. If found having more than one account, you'll be given the option to pick an account. The rest of the accounts you have in possession will be banned.

• Clarification: If you are banned and trying to come back in another account, you will be banned without any questions if we find out.




-   W A R N I N G   S Y S T E M   -



Here is how the system works:

There is a little warning bar under each user's post. If you violate the rules / policies, one of the moderators will give you a verbal warning on the first offense. If you continue to violate the rules / policies regardless of the verbal warning, you'll receive an actual warning. You are allowed to have a total of three (3) warnings. (although there are five (5) little blocks on the warning bar.) When you receive your third warning, you'll be permanently banned from the forums. (IP, Email and Name ban)


Warn Levels:

• Verbal Warning - You'll get this from one of the moderators if you repeatedly violate the rules / policies.

• First Warning (33%) - You'll receive the first warning if you ignored the verbal warning and continue to break the rules / policies. Your username is now on the blacklist.

• Second Warning (67%) - This is also known as the last warning. You only get the second warning if you are causing havoc and troubles to the other members.

• Third Warning (100%) - As stated above, you will be banned when you receive the third warning. At this point, you will not be able to access the forums.

Note: You can click on the percentage link for your warning logs. The log shows you when, why, and who warned you.


Clarification:

If your warning level is not above 0% then you have NOT been warned. You may only see your own warning levels, but you are not the only one who have it. If you think you are warned unjustly, please contact the moderator who gave you the warning via PM or Email. If you and the moderator can not come to a settlement, contact one of the admins as soon as possible. The admin will make or change any and/or all final decisions. If you think you are unjustly banned, please contact an admin as soon as possible and provide reason(s) why you should be unbanned.


Warning Level Restart:

It is possible to restart or decrease your warning level. Depending on the situation, sometimes you'll have to wait 30 - 60 days to have your warning level decreased, that is assuming you can maintain your behavior during that period of time.


Ban Lift

If a banned member desires to re-enter the boards and re-join the community, he / she could ask an member to submit a privately messaged request to the Administrators. The detailed appeal procedures are stated in this thread. Please refer to the thread Judiciary Committee for more information.




-   A V A T A R S   &   S I G N A T U R E S   -

Please comply with the following restrictions for your avatar and signature:

• Max. size limit for avatar is 100KB (102,400 bytes)

• Max. size limit for signature is 150KB (153,600 bytes)

• Do not post anything obscene in your avatar and/or signature. On a case-by-case basis, if a significant amount of members find your signature offensive, the Moderating Team is obligated to remove the signature completely. Attempting to bring back the said signature will earn yourself an actual warning.

• Max. dimension for signature is 600pixel (width) x 200pixel (height). You'll NOT be informed if your signature exceed the max. dimension mentioned above. Your signature will be completely removed regardless of the situation.

• Each line of text (including blank lines) count as 15 pixels. In other words, max. limit for signature is 13 lines if you have nothing but text in your signature. However if you use some large size font, the maximum limit will varied and will be judged by our moderators. If a moderator think your signature is too big, your signature will be completely removed without notice regardless of the situation.

• Clarification: Everything has to be inside the 600x200 space in your signature (with the exception of text.) If your avatar / signature exceeds the max. limit, it will be removed completely without any notice. And as a result, you will receive an actual warning. Please take this seriously.

• There are no limit on the number of graphics you can have in your signature, but they must be equal or less than the max. dimension and the max. size limit.

• You are allowed to advertise your site and/or forums in your avatar / signature. However, excessive advertising will not be tolerated, please keep it short to the point.

• As previously mentioned, please DO NOT attach random images or posting the same images repeatedly in your post. Violators will be given an actual warning.




-   M O D E R A T I N G   T E A M   -

The moderating team consist of moderators with different level of authorities. Here is the hierarchy:

• Admin - The highest authorities on the forums. They are moderators who govern the entire forums.
  
  
• PRI Moderator - The second highest authorities on these forums.
  They also administrate the entire forums with the exception that they can not access the Administration Control Panel.
  
  
• SEC Moderator - These are the moderators who moderate all forums that are more popular.
  They are able to give you verbal / actual warning if you violate any rules / policies.
  
  
• Interview Committee - These members are part of the interview committtee.
  They hold mod powers in the Interview section, and they are also the only members who can start threads in that section.
  

-   M E M B E R   G R O U P S   -

There are different member titles as your post count change:

• Group: Members

   10 Posts - IDW Member
   30 Posts - IDW Full Member
   50 Posts - IDW Jr. Member
   70 Posts - IDW Senior Member
   100 Posts - IDW Expert Member
   150 Posts - IDW God Member
   200 Posts - IDW Special Member
   250 Posts - IDW Super Member
   300 Posts - Custom Title (You can request your own custom title by Private Messaging any of the moderators or admins when you reach 300 posts.)


As a member, you have the privilege to upload a 150KB file as an attachment to your posts. You have a total of 50 storable messages. (Private Messages) You can also start new topics / polls; vote in polls; and add events to the calendar.


• Group: Advanced Members

   500 Posts - IDW Prime Member (default title if you do not wish to have a custom title.)


As an advanced member, you have all the privileges a normal member has. The advantage of becoming an advanced member is you can upload a 250KB file as an attachment to your posts; You have a total of 100 storable messages; (Private Messages) You can edit your own topic title and description.

When you reach 800 posts, you can change the custom title yourself by going to My Controls -> Edit Profile info. You can change as much as you want. There is no limit to how frequently you change your custom title. However, the content in your custom title must comply with the rules / polices stated above.