0. Read the Topics with "READ BEFORE POSTING QUESTIONS" on the subject.
These topics Answer many of the questions that are posted on the forum Repeatedly, IF you post without looking at these topics, your new topic will be locked and a link to the specific forum topic will be posted. If you Repeatedly post this way without looking at the support topic you will be suspended for an amount of time decided by the Admiralty.

1. If an Officer or Admiral tells you something, then do it. (These are people with gold forum ranks.)

If you disagree with their decision, then send them a private message or make a thread in forum issues stating the reasons why.

2. No spam.
That means no threads inciting flames or mindless chatter. Profanity is to be kept to a minimum. Swearing is tolerated in context. Excessive swearing will get you banned on the spot. Personal attacks are strictly prohibited. This also means not recruiting on our boards. It is alright to post a link to other BSG mods, but actively recruiting from our staff is tacky. We do not recruit on other mods forums, and we expect our forums not to be used for the recruitment of other mods.

2.2 No Double Posting.
Use the edit function. Reading 3 posts in a row by the same author is extremely annoying. Got something to add to your original post after you've hit reply? Use modify.

3. No bumping old threads with inane replies like "lol" or "i agree".
Only add to an old thread if your comments are relevant and would be seen as a viable addition to a thread. Continuing on a conversation dropped months ago is not a viable reason.

4. No warez, no porn.
At All. Mentioning it at all gets you thrown out the nearest airlock, never to return. It has no place here. ( That goes for pr0n too ).

Theft of intellectual property is a serious concern to those it most affects... the creators. BSG: Fleet Commander contains many great modders. In support of them and their work we have taken a firm stand against the promotion of software piracy (also known as warez) and the theft of digital media and other intellectual property (IP).

As such any forum member that advocates the theft of IP, or provides access through any means to warez, will be banned permanently and on the spot.

4.1 Abandonware is also considered warez.
The phenomenon known as Abandonware is also legally considered to be warez, and promoting, linking to or admitting to using abandonware will also result in a ban.

4.2 Don't promote illegally downloading software even if you legally own it If you, or another member, has damaged, broken or otherwise lost a CD but believe there is a legitimate case for getting a new copy, refer to THQ tech support. All other responses put you on dangerous ground.

Bans associated with the violation of these rules are considered permanent. Such bans may be lifted at the sole discretion of the administrators of this forum and only after it is clear there has been a change in the banned member?s attitude. If posting privileges are restored the first post to the community will be an apology.

Consider it fair warning not to test the boundaries, or intent, of these rules... even in jest.

5. No nudity.
The hard and fast rule of thumb for acceptable amounts of flesh being posted are that no nipples or genitalia are to be exposed, and no pictures that suggest or imply sexual readiness / provocative poses are allowed. This is dealt by on a case by case basis though. So if you are worried about a post not meeting the guidelines post about it in Forum Issues or Private Message a moderator or administrator for a clarification. We are not prudes here, but we have a lot of minors on our boards, and we are not in the business of irritating parents.

6. Do not drag threads off-topic.
Threads may be locked if you drag them off-topic. You may be banned from the thread, and have your posts deleted. The moderators are not here to clean up threads though so do not expect off-topic posts to just be deleted, and the thread left open. You are responsible for your posts, so if you get thread locked due to off-topic posts, it is your fault and no one else's. Off-topic posts that derail a thread ( provide fodder for others to post off-topic ), will most likely be locked straight away.

7. Do not post a thread and have the only content of the first post a link to a website with no qualifying text.
Members need to know where they are going, and a either a brief summary by the thread starter or commentary is required.

8. All posts are to be made in English.
If you post something in a different language then a translation is required. Most of the staff only read English text, therefore we cannot moderate posts that are not written in English.

This also includes posting legibly and not overusing "txt msg shorthand". We're not an English class here, and for a lot of our members English is not the primary language, and occasional typos happen. We do however ask that you put some effort into your posts - if you are prone to bad spelling, use the built in spell checker. This also refers to excessive use of text message/AOL/leetspeak. You are not pressed for time to answer, and you have a great big keyboard in front of you, so nothing is gained by using "u" instead of "you" other than making it harder for others to read your posts. If you dont speak English you can use http://babelfish.altavista.com/ to translate.

9. Do not post the same thread in more than one forum.
Choose the most appropriate forum for your topic and post it once only. In addition, creating a thread in one forum for the sole purpose of advertising a thread in another forum is not permitted.

10. King of Chaos Links/Threads and its like are banned.
Any link that rewards you for getting others to click on it (be they affiliate links, web games in which you recruit other players, etc.) is forbidden. This applies to signatures as well as posts.

11. Do not abuse the quote function.
Using the quote function to take someone else's words out of context or misrepresent them is considered flaming and will not be tolerated. Use of the quote function should be kept to a minimum, as over-use breaks up the flow of a thread and impedes readability. As a rule of thumb, more than two or three quotes in a single post is overdoing it.

12. All signatures should be under 150 pixels high.

- Criticizing others' work -

1) Be civil and courteous, do not curse or go out of your way to directly insult the works' creator(s).

2) Practice constructive criticism. This means giving suggestions for fixing a problem, rather than pointing out a problem and then complaining about it or inflating the issue.

3) All claims/assertions should be supported by solid, undeniable evidence. If there are drastic texturing problems, post a screenshot. If there are balance issues, name the ships and weapons that are causing problems and propose a solution, don't just say "the game is unbalanced."

4) If you have nothing useful to say, don't say anything at all.

5) Do not argue over an issue after an author explicitly states that they do not consider it to be an issue and they will not pursue a solution. This is more applicable in situations where the "issue" is balancing or gameplay mechanics. Bugs should be mentioned frequently enough to keep the author aware of the problems, but not frequently enough to make them angry.

6) Do not, however, be afraid of criticizing others. As long as you adhere to the first 5 rules, your criticism will be received with open arms and minds.

What is warez?

Warez basically means pirated software in any form. This includes anything related to illegally downloading music, movies, or any form of software. No-CD cracks, serial numbers and other things that are directly related to pirating software are banned as well.

Take note that file sharing of bootleg music or pirated software through peer to peer programs like Kazaa or eDonkey is a form of warezing. Warez also refers to theft of IP. This is a broader term and would include, but is not limited to, the use of someone else's work, in part or in whole, and presenting it as your own. If you do use small part of someone's work product in a post ensure that it is properly referenced (link if available) and credit given.

What is abandonware?

The phenomenon known as abandonware is a belief that if a game is old and outdated copyright restrictions no longer apply. This is not true. Any game that the publisher has not formally released into the public domain is still protected by the full weight of copyright law unless it has been 95 years since the release of the game. Since no computer game has existed that long the argument of abandonware advocates is moot and will be treated as Warez.

Here is what a prominent abandonware site has to say about itself: [QUOTE]Despite the illegal status of abandonware, we believe that we are offering a valuable service to the gaming community.[/QUOTE]

Abandonware sites themselves admit that they are illegal, and this forum will treat these sites and abandonware in general as such.

All members get a clean slate so past problems with these rules do not count to you getting banned.

..Mod Staff..