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[Chikara Nadir]

If you're here in the Member Notices forum, chances are you've been suspended! Not much to do now on the forums, is there? Perfect time for you to get some reading in- and lookie, the perfect reading material is right below.

Wondering why I'd suggest you read the Rules of LA? Because A) They're required to be followed and B) If you're in here, chances are you did NOT listen to the Rules, and may have either completely forgotten portions of them or never read 'em to begin with!

Well here they are! Can't say "I didn't know there were Rules", "I never had the time to read them", "I forgot that was part of the Rules", or "I couldn't find where they were listed on LA" now, can ya?

Go for it. Please.

I'd also like to add that for anyone who has read the Rules and still wonders why they're stuck here, suspended and only able to see the thread explaining their punishment- any questions you have about your breaking the Rules can be discussed in your own suspension thread- it's there for you to explain yourself and for others to understand why you're punished. Take advantage of your chance to try explaining your actions if you'd like. Don't assume we're being unfair, but feel free to try to stand up for yourself. We at least appreciate apologies.


1) Be nice! This is a friendly forum and we expect you to fit in. Do not directly or indirectly insult other members, this extends to new members as well as old. Respect must be shown for all ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, and creeds. Likewise, political stereotypes will not be tolerated. This includes the use of any slurs, whether meant as slang or not (i.e. use of the word 'gay' as an insult, any use of the n-word, etc).
Also, any form of threats or harassment towards any member of the forum, be it on or away from the board will result in swift and decisive action.
Similarly, do not bring offline arguments onto the forum.

2) The material you post at these forums must be suitable for a PG-13 audience since we have people of all age groups. This means nudity, suggestive posts and images, and linking to or discussing pornography is forbidden.
Excessive or severe swearing is not permitted. You're allowed to curse but in a limited fashion. Don't do so to the point where every other word is a curse word for no reason.

3) Posts must be written in proper English with good punctuation, spelling, grammar and syntax. This is not an instant messaging program so please do not resort to "AIM language" such as "lol" and "lmao" to a great extent - make your posts readable. Leet (l33t) is not to be used at all, unless for comedic purposes. But be aware the comedy may be lost on most people.

4) Spamming any section of the boards, including The Commons and the Dorms, will result in the deletion of spam threads/posts, and further action depending on the severity.
Spamming is defined as, but is not limited to:

a. Non-sequiturs and other off-topic posts
b. One-word posts or posts containing nothing but emoticons.
c. Sending meaningless discussion through Personal Messages.
d. Any post in which the meaning is not readily apparent.
e. Posts made with the purpose of increasing one's post count.
f. Posting new threads outside of the appropriate forum.*

Never, ever respond to a topic that you may consider spam and declare that "This is spam". If you really feel strongly about it, report the post. Also, do not post in a thread asking it be closed because of inactivity or because the topic has been resolved. Again, if it has content that deserves a closure, report it to a forum leader.

* Posting a topic in the wrong place is a common mistake, and will result in your topic simply being moved to the correct location. However, if you continue to post in the wrong sections and it becomes a problem, you'll receive a warning and then it will go from there.

Try not to make threads about something already posted - check the first page or two of the section you're in for a thread about your specific topic, and if one exists, reply to it. This keeps the clutter down and prevents us from having too many similar threads.

5) Elitism will not be tolerated. Just because you have been at the boards a long time, you have a high post count, you know a moderator/supermod/administrator: it does not grant you any more prestige than anyone else. Similarly, do not act like a mod or admin when you are not one. Members should not enforce rules themselves, rather they should inform somebody equipped to deal with the situation.

6) Do not ask to be a moderator, supermoderator or administrator. Positions are chosen by admins when needed and are based on trust, respect, intelligence, history and any other merits we see fit. Continual requests to be given one of these positions will be dealt with in the same manner as spam or harassment.

7) As a general rule, do not bring up old inactive threads, especially in forums with a high turn over of new topics such as The Commons. This is usually less enforced in less active forums, however, if you are unsure, don't hesitate to ask the moderators of the forum.
As with spamming, please do not respond to a topic which has been wrongfully revived declaring that it is old. Instead, report the post to the forum moderator.

8) Advertising a personal website, forum, or business should be kept to your signature. Making a post with the only intention being to recruit members of this forum, or gain hits for your site/business is not acceptable and for new members will result in an instant permanent ban.
This rule is less strict for members who have remained at this forum for a long period of time, e.g. six months. However, it is advisible that such members seek permission from an admin or supermod before making such a post.

9) Signatures are limited to 600 x 200 pixels, including both images and text, and the total file size of all images should not exceed 80 KB. Text will of course roll over the 600 pixel width limit, but that does not mean your images may do the same. Animations must be kept to an absolute minimum.
Violation of this rule will result in a friendly reminder to fix your signature. Ignoring this reminder or continual breaking of this rule will cause your signature to be removed with the ability to create another denied.

10) Do not discuss where to find illegal material such as ROMs, mp3s, and emulators. They may be discussed academically (as in whether or not it is ‘ethical’ to download such things), but nothing else. Linking to emulators or ROMs will result in banning. However, if you are positive that the media is being legally distributed online by the licenseholders themselves, we will allow the material to be posted - although, we reserve the right to delete the post if the material is still suspected of being unsuitable or illegally obtained.

Do not discuss hacking/cracking/phreaking or other forms of internet-based vandalism.
Religious and political topics may only be discussed in the designated Controversial forum. Any such conversation outside of this forum shall be considered spam or offensive and will be punished as such.

11) Some forums have their own rules, such as the Controversial forum and RPG sections. These rules are normally within an announcement at the top of the forum, but also pay due attention to "stuck" topics. Be familiar with such forums before you start posting. If you fail to follow forum-specific rules you may be banned from that particular forum, either temporarily or permanently depending on the severity.

12) Plagiarism, the act of copying someone else's material or ideas and crediting it as your own, is forbidden and will result in an immediate permanent ban.

13) You are allowed only one member account at this board. Schizophrenics are not exempt from this rule - one body, one account. Creation of another account is not permitted unless it is an emergency such as password retrieval for your primary account. Do not attempt to access an account other than your own or attempt to enter password protected areas.

14) You must have 100 posts to be registered with one of the three hidden forums, called Dorms. The Temple Gates provides all information relating to dorms, and placements are handled by Chikara Nadir and Jaina.

15) Administrative decisions are final. Punishments attributed to the breaking of any of the rules are at the discretion of the respective administrators.

16) If you feel you have been treated unfairly, then privately contact an admin not involved in your situation. While a large message board, LA is considered by many to be a close-knit, fun community, and the administrators and moderators are members just like the rest of the users and are subject to the same rules. Don't be intimidated by the fact that they have power, but please - respect them.

17) The admins are:
Khuffie
lord-of-shadow
Chikara Nadir
DarkJuno
davogones

Forum leaders and supermoderators are listed here?.

Don't hesitate to contact any of the moderating or administration team via email, PM or IM. We're all members of the community too and we'd love to chat! However, please note that some of us (especially Khuffie) keep our IM software open all the time, and may appear online 24/7, or are simply too busy to respond to everyone, so don't feel like we're ignoring you.

18) We reserve the right to modify these rules at any time.

19) Natalie Portman must be obtained by, or for, our leader Khuffie. Unspeakable things may occur if this goal is not accomplished. If necessary, Keira Knightly would be an acceptable substitute.

20) All animals are equal. But some are more equal than others.