Welcome to Gaia! :: Site Feedback - Rules and Guidelines

Here is a list of the basic rules and etiquitte which we expect all (newbies, oldbies, and regulars alike), of our users to abide by. Please keep these in mind when posting.

REMEMBER: You still have to follow all general rules of Gaia that are stipulated by the Terms of Service, Rules & Guidelines, etc.

• Excessive bumping is unneccessary. Site Feedback is a slower moving forum than some others and topics usually stay on the first page for quite a while. We encourage you to not bump if your topic is still on the first page.
  
  Bumping a excessive number of threads to the front page of Site Feedback will be considered spamming. This includes your own threads or other people's threads.
  
  
• No idea is without some merit. Responding to somene's idea with, "That's stupid, get lost!" generally only starts an argument. Explain your point of view, and explain it civilly. Remember that flaming and trolling are violations of the Terms of Service and stating your opinion does not give you an excuse to do so without facing the consequences. If someone is out of line, report the thread or post and leave it to a moderator.
  
  
• No criticism is without some merit. Just because someone does not agree with you doesn't mean you have the right to flame them. Listen to what they have to say. If you don't like it, fine. You don't have to. However, you must abide by the terms of service. Remember that flaming and trolling are violations of the Terms of Service and someone disagreeing with your idea does not give you an excuse to do so without facing the consequences. If someone is out of line, report the thread or post and leave it to a moderator.
  
  
• Site Feedback is for discussion. When you post an idea in Site Feedback, be aware that you are opening the idea to constructive discussion about the pros and cons of the suggestion as well as how the idea could be improved. If you take actions to block some or all discussion or refuse certain input, your thread can be locked or moved. For example, it would not be acceptable to include in your post something like this: "If you don't like my idea, then you are not allowed to reply." In accordance to the two prior rules, discussion should remain constructive and civil.
  
  
• Check the first page before you post! New ideas are wonderful and they are most welcome here. However, please make certain that you're not repeating a suggestion that is already clearly in current discussion.
  
  
• If it's misplaced or needs to be recycled, please report it to a Moderator or forum Helper, then leave. Please read the What Does not Belong section a couple posts down for information about which threads should go in other forums. People do make threads in the wrong forum. Please be polite about it. If you must, explain politely. If someone else has already done that, then please refrain from posting. Otherwise, simply make a report and it will get moved.

DI's: The Decided Issues thread contains some suggestions and ideas that come up frequently and are either already being planned, or are impractical for Gaia. Please take a look here before you post. If you post a topic that deals with one of these subjects, your thread will probably be recycled.

"I need Help!/How do I?" If you have questions about the site, or need help with something, please use: Questions and Assistance. This forum is dedicated to the giving answers to users unfamiliar with the site, reporting site errors, and finding ways to help with them.

Technical problems and difficulties: For reporting bugs or discovering if workarounds to them have been found, check out Bug Reports & Technical Support. If you think you've found a layering issue or glitch with equipping items onto your avatar, try Avatar System 2.0 Q&F.

NPC and Character developments, Comments about 'the users' in a particular forum, etc.: For this type of discussion, the Gaia Community Discussion forum is where you want to go. This forum is dedicated to discussing the Gaia world, NPCs, storylines, avatars, and the community.

Petitions: Petitions belong in the Petitions subforum. Please don't create petitions in the main Site Feedback forum.

FAQ's and Tutorials about Gaia: These belong in the Gaia Guides and Resources subforum.

Sometimes problems come up that require moderator involvement. They can be simple, like a misplaced thread, or a bit more involved, like a user abusing or harassing another user.


Report this Post

Use this button to report a specific post that is in violation of the ToS. Clicking it will take you to the report form which you then fill out and submit. Since this button is located right next to the QUOTE button, you must be careful not to confuse the two. Abuse of the report button will lead to your account getting a temporary ban. Do not use this button to report misplaced or inappropriate threads (ie. use the Thread Report talked about next).

Report this Thread
Located at the bottom of the page, you can find it right next to the Subscribe button. Please use this button to report threads that are inappropriate or misplaced. Again, abuse of the report system can lead to a ban of your account.

Report a Hacking
You can find this link at the bottom of the main forums page. Use this form if you or someone you know has been hacked. Please provide all information you have that will help the investigation along. This includes usernames, emails, links and screencaps. Please be patient when submitting a hacking report. It can take anywhere from a few days to weeks or more for a mod to begin work on your case.

Report a Scam
You can find this link at the bottom of the main forums page. Use this form if a user has scammed you or is attempting to scam others. Please provide all information you have available including usernames, links and screencaps. Please be patient when submitting a scamming report. It can take anywhere from a few days to weeks or more for a mod to begin work on your case.

Report Abuse/Harassment
You can find this link at the bottom of the main forums page. Use this form if a user is abusing or harrassing you outside of the forums, such as through PMs. If the abuse is occuring in a thread, please use the "Report this Post" button. Please provide all information you have available including usernames, links and screencaps of PMs. Please be patient when submitting a harrassment report. It can take anywhere from a few days to weeks or more for a mod to begin work on your case.

Feedback Form
There are some issues that are not suitable for the reporting system. The feedback form is there for you when you need to report something to the admins. Inquiries about monthly collectables, reporting an inventory glitch, contesting a ban or any other matter that a moderator would be unable to assist in are all valid reasons for filling out the feedback form. Please be patient when using the feedback form. As you can imagine, the admins receive MANY of these a day and as such it can take some time before they get back to you.

If you are uncertain, PM an online Moderator (Site Moderator preferably) first and they will be able to help you with where to go.



When and How to Contact a Mod Directly!

Ideally, users should use the reporting system to report violations. But sometimes there are situations where immediate mod intervention is needed. Such instances usually involve when a user is continuously breaking some kind of rule. In these cases it's perfectly acceptable to PM an online mod to deal with the matter. Examples of these cases are:

• People continuously posting offensive images
  
• People continuously posting PG-13 violating images
  
• People continuously spamming off-site advertisement
  
• Serial trolls
  
• Any sort of bot account
  
• People continuously scam spamming
  
• Anyone continuously violating major rules

If you see any of these, then find an online moderator. You can do this by clicking the "View forum moderators" link at the top of the forum. If you do not see any online moderators assigned to that forum, you can switch to a different forum and view that forums moderators to find online moderators.

In the past few weeks, we have noticed a trend where an individual moderator or staff member for the Gaia team is called out by name and ridiculed in public. Due to concerns, we have decided to alter the rules as follows:

From this point forward, users are asked not to make threads criticizing any moderator, admin, or developer specifically. This does not mean that negative feedback about general features or the moderation system is no longer welcome, only that complaints of abuse and the like directed towards a specific member of the team will not be allowed.

Thus, a thread specifically attacking a single moderator, for example myself, will be considered illegal. However, any thread calling for reforms on the mod team or calling into question mod actions as a whole but not singling out any specific moderator will be considered appropriate.

Likewise, a thread criticizing a specific developer, asking for their firing or anything similar will be considered illegal. Comments on the events in general or the developer team as a group will be considered legal.

Any further attempts to single out a specific moderator, admin or developer will be treated as harassment and formal warnings will be issued. This rule will not be applied retro-actively.

Any issues with a moderator should be pm'ed directly to one of the following admins: Dri or Siskataya.

In addition, any issues with a developer individually, if abuse occurs should be sent to the same people.

Thank you for your time and attention.