Watchtower Official Forum Rules and Guidelines

[Shatashi{Admin}]

Mirran Watchtower Official Forum Rules and Guidelines

Welcome to The Mirran Watchtower, your home for MtG games and all styles of Online RPGs. Before posting, please take some time to familiarize yourself with our Forum Rules and Guidelines, as well as the specific rules for any subforums you plan to visit.

The standards for posting in Watchtower may differ from what you are accustomed to on other sites. When posting in Watchtower, it is important to treat others with the same respect you would wish to receive in real life. If you are considering saying something that would not be appropriate if you were sitting in a public cafeteria, it probably is not appropriate for Watchtower

Warnings (Reminders) and Infractions

Watchtower moderators commonly issue two types of administrative actions. Warnings (a simple reminder of the forum rules), and infractions. If you accumulate three simultaneous active infractions, you will be suspended from the forums. Generally, infractions remain active for a period of 40 days.

Normal Offenses
The list below is not intended to be all-inclusive of the offenses that may cause warnings or infractions; the Watchtower staff reserves the right to issue warnings and infractions for offenses not listed.
Spam
A spam post is any post that does not contribute an original thought, advance the discussion, or add on-topic content to a thread. Examples of spam posts include, but are not limited to: bumping a thread (other than a haves/wants trading list), discussing a topic that is not relevant to the thread it's posted in, and posting excessively short messages such as "thanks", "k", "QFT", "Oh god no", etc.
Flaming and Trolling
Flaming is a hostile verbal attack directed at another person or group of people. Trolling is the act of deliberately provoking a hostile reaction from other users. These actions will not be tolerated.
Inappropriate Language
Racist and sexist comments, as well as the use of slurs, are not permitted. Colloquial use of words such as 'gay', 'retarded' and 'raped' is similarly disallowed, as insensitive and offensive.
Mod Text
red text and the [mod] tag are reserved for moderator use. Use of red text that a person could reasonably mistake for moderator action is not permitted. (If you quote mod text in a signature, please change the formatting such that it will not be confused with a mod edit.)
Editing a Moderated Post
Do not delete, edit, or obscure either the red text a moderator has edited into a warned or infracted post or the offending portion of that post without permission from a moderator.
Repeated Bad Spelling and/or Grammar
Continuous bad grammar, "text speak" or bad spelling in posts will not be tolerated. If English is not your first language and you use some words or grammar out of place, or you occasionally make mistakes don't worry. Only members who consistently make no effort to communicate clearly will get an Infraction.
Signature and Avatar Offenses
Signatures may include only one non-animated 600x100 or 450x150 block of image, not including smilies. Any secondary banners, even if they are in spoiler tags, will be removed. Signature text should be kept to a reasonable length. Excessive amounts of text, links, quotes, empty space, etc., should either be put inside spoiler tags. Avatars cannot be larger than 100x100 pixels or 40 kb and if animated must not flash or play at excessive speeds.

Immediate Suspension Offenses:
Some offenses may result in a direct suspension regardless of the number of Infractions you have received.
Soliciting
Promoting or linking to content on other websites is permissible for purposes of discussion, but not for the purpose of soliciting for financial gain. Accounts whose only purpose is starting threads meant for advertising will be banned on sight. If you wish to buy, sell, or trade cards or other items, you should confine those activities to the Market Street section of the site, or contact an administrator.
Aiding & Abetting Evasion of Limited Site Privileges
Do not post content for or from banned/suspended members, and do not assist banned/suspended members in either communicating with or partaking in the forums. Violations will be penalized as determined appropriate by the staff.
Inappropriate Material
Content in Watchtower is expected to be "work safe", which is a little more restrictive than a "PG-13" guideline. This includes but is not limited to excessive adult language and sexually explicit content. Posts with content that breaks this guideline will be edited, Infracted and can lead to auto-Suspension. This rule counts for writing, images (both attached and linked), links to sites with inappropriate material, avatars, signatures, custom titles, etc. It is not possible to determine an exhaustive list of what falls under this guideline, so as a general rule do not post content that would not be viewable at work or school. Additionally, if images are found to be of an illegal nature (child pornography, etc.) your account will be automatically banned and you will be reported to the proper authorities.
Plagiarism and Artwork
Do not copy/paste other peoples' work without crediting them (a link is fine). If you share or modify artwork, include the original artists' full name and a link to the source.
Illegal Activity
Promotion of illegal activity, requesting advice about participation in an illegal activity, or assisting in any illegal activity, including but not limited to unlawful drug use, theft, copyright infringement (this includes downloading, reproducing, soliciting copyrighted material being distributed without permission of the copyright holder [such as premium articles (copy/pasting of any non-decklist part of the article), and printed Magic: the Gathering proxies (playable cards or tokens) which use any of Wizards of the Coast's graphics or illustrations]) is strictly prohibited.
Disregarding a Moderator Request
If a Moderator makes a reasonable request that you do or not do something, please follow his or her instructions. If you feel a request from a moderator is unreasonable, contact that person via PM or at his or her Helpdesk. You may also contact a forum administrator to intervene. Do not simply ignore the moderator's request.
Abuse of the Report System
Any use of the report system other than to bring problematic posts to the attention of staff will result in an automatic suspension.

Immediate Banning Offenses:
Breaking any of these rules may result in your account being instantly banned:
Proxies (ie Counterfeiting)
Anyone attempting to buy/sell/trade proxies and or reproductions will be automatically banned from Watchtower and will be reported to Wizards of the Coast and any appropriate US or foreign law enforcement agencies. There are no exceptions.
Malicious Links
No tubgirl, goatse, lemonparty, etc. Also, do not link people to spyware or to a page with malicious code.
Snuff or Child Pornography
As expected, this material will get you banned and reported to the proper authorities.
Evading a Limitation of Site Privileges
If your account is limited in some manner you are required to abide by those restrictions. This prevents use of an alternate account, having a friend post for you, or circumventing these restrictions in any other manner. If you are suspended from the site, the only acceptable use of the PM system is to complete trades already in progress at the time of your suspension, or to discuss your suspension with staff. Any other use of the PM system is a violation of this rule.
Threats
Making any sort of physical or legal threat towards another user, moderator, or the site itself will result in an immediate ban.

Suspensions
Suspended users may only post on the Suspension Appeal forums, and may not use the PM system for any reason other than speaking to staff regarding the suspension or completing confirmed trades already in progress.

Certain serious offenses, or accumulation of three active infractions, result in a suspension. The duration of the suspension will accord with the following schedule:
First Suspension: One week
Second Suspension: Two weeks
Third Suspension: Three weeks
Fourth Suspension: One month
Any Suspension after that: One month with a staff review for discretionary ban

Bannings

Serious or repeated breaches of the WT Forum Rules will result in the banning of your account. If your account is banned from the site, you are not welcome to return unless you successfully appeal your banning, and any gimmick accounts you possess or subsequent accounts that you register will also be tracked and banned. The Watchtower staff holds the right to ban any member for a reasonable purpose at any time, regardless of infractions accumulated.

Filing appeals
If you disagree with an action taken by a moderator, do not argue with the moderator in that thread. Contact the moderator via PM and discuss the issue in a civil manner.

If the moderator refuses to reverse a decision and you wish to continue an appeal of an infraction you may approach an Administrator, again either via PM.

[If you wish to appeal a suspension or ban, PM the admin the banned you.

Small Print
The staff of Watchtower holds the right to suspend or ban any member for a reasonable purpose at any time, regardless of infractions accumulated.
All site rules also apply to blogs and photo albums.
Interpretation of the Forum Rules is always at the discretion of the Watchtower staff.
Any warnings/infractions accumulated on one account will count against any other "gimmick" accounts you may have.
-Thank you MtGS for help in the creations of WT forum rules.