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MyXboxSpot Forums Rules

A. Registering to the Forum

When registering to the forum, your nick name must be G-rated (non-offensive), nor containing any vulgarity, or you will find yourself removed immediately. Use of multiple nick names is also prohibited.


i. Avatars (aka. "those pictures underneath your name") and Custom Titles

You must be registered at our forums for 10 days and have a minimum of 50 posts before you get an avatar or a custom title. To save bandwidth and loading times, an avatar cannot be larger than 20k. Offensive avatars or custom titles will be edited by moderators. Common sense applies here: if you could show your boss your avatar and custom title, it's okay.


ii. Signature Rules

Your signature cannot contain pictures and should be no longer than 4 lines. If your signature is longer than than this, one of our moderators will trim it for you. We want to read your posts, not your signature! Keep in mind people with slower modems: a long signature will increase the amount of time it will take for them to view a page. Furthermore, all signatures must be G-rated. We don't enforce a G-rating for any posts, but we feel that we should with signatures as they are appended to every single message posted to the forum. Also, please don’t turn your signature into an advertisement for your friend’s brother’s daddy’s website or something like that.



B. General Posting Rules

The rules of this forum are largely based on RFC1855, a widely accepted internet standard for netiquette. We own this forum, we pay for this forum out of our own pockets, and we are liable for its content so we get to make the rules. Generally, it's okay if it can pass "The Boss Rule": if you could show your boss your post without getting fired, it's okay. (see: Moderation)

You can bump if the thread is over 24 hours old, do not bump a thread if it is over a month old.

i. Post Legibly

In the digital age, you would have thought that legibility would no longer be a problem. As RFC 1588 states, use mixed case and proper punctuation. Doing otherwise will make you sound like a toddler. Posting in "l33t sp33k" (replacing letters with numbers and/or special symbols) or "LeEt CaPs" (alternating case excessively) will make you look like an twerp. Don't do it. Proper sentence usage is appreciated too.



ii. General topics to avoid posting about
"Reply here if you're sure you're going to get an Xbox", "Post your age, sex and location here", "post your picture here!" threads. We've all seen them a million times. If you feel the urge to post one of these threads, please do it in the Off-Topic Lounge.



iii. Illegal Subjects
Subjects include, but are not limited to: Warez/pirating (this includes mod chips and bypassing security), hacking, drugs, pornography, and provoking racism. If we see you posting threads promoting any of these topics you will be banned.


iv. Which forum?

Make sure you are posting in the right forum. All forums are self explanatory, so please use common sense. For example, GameCube posts do not belong in the Azurik forum. If we find you posting in the wrong forum, we are going to move your post to the correct one, within short warning. (see: Moderationà “The Mods Deleted My Post!”)



v. Respect

Respect every forum member as you would a moderator. All forum posters are to be treated equally with respect. Repeatedly using vulgar language and calling somebody an idiot is not a good way of getting on a moderator’s good side. Furthermore, moderators treat everybody as equals. A fan of the Xbox will not be treated differently from a GameCube or PS2 fan. This forum is open to anybody, regardless of console preference.



vi. First post!
"First post!" messages aren't funny, and are the mark of an imbecile.



vii. Search
MyXboxSpot hosts the largest Xbox-only forums on the internet and as a result, every last piece of gaming information/topic idea eventually hits them once, if not repeatedly. Please use the Search forum tool to determine if your idea for a thread has already been acted upon. Should you find a thread similar to your original idea, do not create a new thread. It is much better to post in an existing thread than to create a new one. Please respect that moderators will also merge many multiple threads regarding the same subject and may close or delete your thread without warning. Save all questions regarding closed or deleted threads for the Suggestions & Feedback forum.



viii. “Suggestion/Feedback” Forum

This is your portal to working constructively with the MyXboxSpot Staff. You can give us suggestions, or you can vent about any grievances you have here. All of your problems or concerns ranging from difficulties with moderators, forum members, site content, and miscellaneous pet peeves shall be addressed in this forum. Do not post complaints in any other forum. If you do, we will warn you once and move it to the correct feedback forum. After the first warning, any other offenses shall be strictly acted upon. We ask that you keep your complaints respectful and to the point. Any vulgar remarks or demoralization of character towards anyone/thing will not be noted or tolerated.



C. Post Content (includes Chat)

When posting in an online forum or chat, there are several things in which you have to pay attention to. One of the most important things is content. We have a very large member base so you must keep in mind that what you say can/will be offensive to other members. To prevent this from occurring unnecessarily, you must abide to our stricter set of rules regarding what you post. All moderators are instructed to ensure that these rules are maintained and will discipline any offenders. (see: Moderation)



i. Spamming

Spam n. 1. To post irrelevant or inappropriate messages to a forum.

Spamming will ultimately get you removed from our forum/chat. This includes continuously inviting people to your website, posting tons of threads within a very short time, or just plain out flooding. MyXboxSpot does not allow any spam or advertisement posts in our forums, and this includes advertising and recruiting for clans. We respect clans as an active member in the online gaming community, and your clan is more then welcome to come and join us on these forums. However, please keep all advertisement for your clan contained within the signature of your profile or a designated thread. Also, any type of "Free Stuff" threads will result in a warning and if multiple threads are posted within a certain time frame you will be banned.



ii. Swearing

We don't mind if you swear, just as long as you keep it to a minimum. Excessive swearing is a mark of lamerdom. In addition, there is to be no swearing in subject lines or signatures.



iii. Tolerance

Racist, sexist, homophobic insults are the quickest way to get yourself banned from the forum.



iv. Honesty

Hypothetical situation: A forum member posts an Xbox screenshot, and you say it rules. The same forum member posts a PS2 screenshot, and you claim it sucks. All is right, until the original poster reveals that the Xbox screenshot was actually from a PS2, and vice versa. How do you avoid this? Be honest. If you think an Xbox screenshot sucks, say so. If you think a PS2 screenshot looks great, say so. Otherwise, your words will end up swallowing your own words.



v. Things that break line wrapping.

Try not to post long strings of letters, as our forum software doesn't automatically add a line break, and users of the forum are forced to use their horizontal scrollbar. And we all know how annoying that is! The same thing goes with large pictures. You might want to scale them down before posting them.

vi. Images

No pornographic, overly offensive, or inappropriate images are allowed. I believe I speak for a large number of our members when I say that i'd like to be able to read the MyXboxSpot forums while at university or at work. “Babe Threads” are no longer permitted on the forums. Again, common sense applies: if you could show your boss this image, it's okay. Furthermore, if you are going to have quite a number of large screenshots in a thread, it's generally a good idea to put a warning in the subject line. "(Warning - big pictures!)" is fine.



vii. Flame wars

If you post a message containing a logical argument with a few scattered insults in it, we don't mind. However, if you post a message which solely contains insults directed at another forum member, your post will be deleted. People do not come to our forums to see people insult each other, they come to read arguments about consoles. Engaging in a flame war is a great way to get yourself banned.



viii. Private Messages

If anyone of our users sends threats or insults you via the Private Message(forum or chat), contact a moderator to deal with the situation.



ix. Subject Lines

Make your subject lines descriptive. Subject lines such as "Check this out!" or "This is so cool!" or "I can't believe this!" are not descriptive, and result in multiple postings on the same subject. Before posting, you might want to look through the current page of posts to see that someone has not already posted on the same subject.



x. What to talk about

In this forum, you can almost talk about anything, except for things that are a) Illegal (i.e. drugs, etc.) or b) Adults Only (sexual in nature, etc). This is a family forum. Remember, if you can talk about the subject to your boss without getting fired, it's probably fine.

xi. Account Management



Your account belongs to you. Please do not give out your account passwords to others. Any actions/posts they make may be attributed to you.

xii. Forum Tampering
Any attempt to manipulate the coding of the site, or perform any actions not of normal operations of the site, will result in an immediate IP ban.

xiii. Copyrighted Materials


Magazine Scans are NOT allowed on MyXboxSpot Scans newer then two months violate copyright laws. People buy magazines to read exclusive content; if these are posted on the web people would not buy the magazine. Anyone caught posting magazine scans will have their account suspended for two weeks.



D. Chat Specific Rules

When visiting a chat room, things are somewhat similar to posting to an online forum, but more broad rules must be set.



i. Op Begging

Begging for ops will get you nowhere but outside the chat room. (see: "I wanna be a mod!")



ii. Channel Inviting

Inviting everyone to your channel will reward yourself a kick, repetitious inviting will result in a ban.



iii. DCC Send

These are allowed, but only at consent of the receiving user. Excerpt from mirc32.hlp:

Although most files are safe, there are always a few out there that may be infected with a virus, or may be malicious programs that try to damage your computer. Since it's impossible to know in advance whether a file that is being sent to you might cause a problem, following a few common sense rules usually helps to avoid problems:

1. Only accept files from people that you know and trust. You should never accept files from people you don't know, and never accept files without knowing what their purpose is.

2. Files ending in .BAT, .COM, .EXE, .DLL have the most potential to cause problems. You should not accept such files from people you don't know, or download them from web/ftp sites which don't appear trustworthy.

3. Aliases, Popups, or Scripts that can be loaded or typed into your IRC client can also cause problems. mIRC, and most other IRC clients, allow you to create scripts that perform useful functions, but these can also cause problems if misused. You should make sure that you know and trust the source of these files before using them.

4. Certain types of Document files can contain macros which are run by your Word Processor when you open the document to view it, so these are also potentially harmful. You should make sure that you have macro-warnings turned on in your Word Processer. It is also safer to view any documents that you receive in a plain-text editor first if possible.

5. If you have an anti-virus program, you should use it to scan all files that you download before you use them. However, IRC is a highly interactive medium where information spreads very quickly, so using an anti-virus program does not guarantee that a file will be safe since it takes time for anti-virus programs to be updated.



iv. CTCP/DCC Flooding

This is absolutely not acceptable in any shape or form. Users who break this rule will get a permanent IP/server ban. If anyone CTCP or DCC floods, ignore the person in question (using /ignore nickname) and contact a moderator immediately.



E. Moderation
The following is our basic moderator guidelines and standards. These rules apply to moderators too. Any moderator who breaches these guidelines will lose their moderator privileges. There are no double-standards in our forum.

i. Warnings (and successive courses of action)

Warnings are given by mods to those who break the rules. All warnings are logged in our database. We are aware of those who have a “record”. The most common method of action towards offenders is this:

1. When you break a rule for the first time, a moderator will contact you via Private Message or email to warn you. Whether you respond to the warning or not, we will assume that you are aware of the situation.

2. If you continue to break a rule for the second time, a moderator may warn you again for the last time. Depending on the severity of the offense, you may be banned for the second offense without warning.

3. After three offenses, you will be banned and your account deleted.

If you post anything we regard as illegal you will be banned upon the first offense. (see: General Posting Rulesà Illegal Subjects)

If you have been banned, it was not without warning or reason. Do not send in emails requesting to be un-banned. At this point, your requests are falling upon idle ears.




ii. Ban Requests, Post Deletion Requests.

If you find a post which you find overly offensive, please Private Message a moderator or e-mail us and we'll determine any further course of action.

iii. Temporary Bans

Temporary Bans maybe issued. If your account is temporary disabled, do NOT create another account. Bypassing a temporary ban may result in a more permanent action. If you have any questions about your temporary ban contact an Admin or Moderator by PM.



iv. "The Mods Deleted My Post!”

Chances are, we probably moved it to the off-topic forum. Failing that, your post most likely broke one of the above guidelines. If you're still not certain why one of your posts got deleted, send a Private Message to a moderator or email us and we'll discuss why.



v. Chat Moderation

If your chatting is breaking the rules (see: Post Content), it can result in temporary removal (kick/time limited ban) or complete removal (permanent IP or server ban. If you have done so much to get a reward such as a permanent IP ban, you won't get another chance.

vi. "I wanna be a mod!"

Asking to become a moderator is the fastest way of eliminating your chance of ever becoming a moderator. In nearly all situations, the only way of ever achieving this position is if we come to you.

vii. "Complaints Against Mods”

If you have a grudge against a particular mod, we suggest that you try to work out your situation via Private Message or email with him/her. If you continue to have trouble you may post your grievance in the “Suggestions/Feedback” forum. Do not post your problems in any other forums. If you do, we will warn you once and move it to the correct feedback forum. After the first warning, any other offenses shall be strictly acted upon.

vii. Harrassment



Harassment of staff members via e-mail, instant messages, telephone calls, or other means of contact is a punishable offense, and could result in legal charges should the action be serious enough.