Avatar Talk Rules and Guidelines

[The Admin]

Avatar Talk Forum Rules and Guidelines

Welcome to the Avatar Talk forum! Avatar Talk is intended for discussion and topics about Gaia avatars and items. Rate each others outfits, talk about items, share your personal style and favorite themes, and compete against other avatars in user run contests!


As a member, it is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with the forum's rules before posting. Posting in this forum implies that you read and understand the rules and guidelines and that you accept responsibility for the appropriateness of your thread or post.


Navigation:

1. Introduction
   
2. General Posting Guidelines
   
3. Rules & Guidelines for Posting in Avatar Talk
   
4. How to Report

[The Admin]

General Posting Guidelines

Please be sure to follow the Terms of Service and Rules and Guidelines here, as in all forums.

Common violations to avoid:

• Spam. Posts that are gibberish, off-topic, contain advertisements, solicitations or begging, or have low or no content are considered spam. Please ensure that your posts are on topic and contain an appropriate amount of discussable content.
  
  
• Flaming & trolling. Posts directed at another member which are hateful, abusive, or intentionally inflammatory are considered flaming. Making intentionally inflammatory or provocative posts to incite responses from other members is considered trolling. Please be considerate when rating avatars. It is okay to give a negative opinion or low rate, but inflammatory remarks and personal attacks will not be tolerated.
  
  
• Scamming. Taking or attempting to take another member's gold, items or efforts, through false promises, deception, tricks or get-rich-quick schemes is considered scamming and is not tolerated on Gaia. To avoid scamming in contests, see the Guidelines for Hosting a contest, located in Avatar Talk Posting Rules and Guidelines below.
  

Terms of Service violations may result in a warning or a ban on your account.

If you find Terms of Service violations, or threads that may need moved to a different forum, please use an appropriate report. The procedures for doing so can be found here.

You can find online moderators by following the "View Forum Moderators" link at the top of the forum.


Gaia Staff will NEVER ask for your password! If anyone asks you for your password, report it.

[The Admin]

Rules & Guidelines for Posting in Avatar Talk


Threads that Belong in This Forum

• Discussions about rating, avatars, outfits or items
  
• Rating Threads
  
• Avatar Theme threads (pirates, cosplays, etc..)
  
• Avatar Contests
  
• Avatar Contest Voting
  

Commonly misplaced threads:

• "____ the avatar above you threads" - These include rate the avatar above you threads. There is an official Rate the Avatar Above You thread. All other threads of this sort belong in the Word Games Forum.
  
  
• Dress-me/you threads,Tek-tek and avatar simulation threads and contests - these threads now have their very own subforum, check out The Dressing Room.
  
  
• Threads offering to buy or sell items, art, services, etc. - With the exception of contests, all transactions including the exchange of gold and items do not belong here and will be moved to the Minishops and Exchange forums.
  

Other Threads not to make:

• Vote Soliciations - Advertising your Avatar Arena Entry, linking to it, or asking for votes is spam. Any posts or threads that ask for votes or comments will be deleted or moved to the Chatterbox. This includes links or requests that are within a post embellishment.
  
  
• "Tag-Ons" - The main body of your threads should be Avatar Talk relevant. Simply tagging on a "rate me" at the end of your threads does not make it AT kosher. If we feel the main purpose of your thread is not Avatar related, it will be moved.
  
  
• Regular Centric Posts - These are threads that users, who consider themselves regulars, make about them selves or their groups. These tend to be exclusive and strengthen the existing tension between new and older ATers. Making Rate me threads on your birthday is acceptable, but making a thread about your birthday with Rate me stamped on the bottom is not.
  
  
• Off topic threads and HOTs - Hang Out Threads are threads which are created in AT to serve as places for friends to meet and chat about nothing AT related. You can make a thread with friends, but it needs to be AT relevant. Larger threads may be off topic from time to time but the main purpose of the thread should serve the Avatar Forum and promote avatar-based discussion. Your thread may be moved if the majority of the discussion which takes place is off-topic.

Guidelines for Holding a Contest

• Whether or not a prize is given, be sure to specify a reasonable deadline for the contest. This deadline must remain consistent during the duration of the contest.
  
  
• The winner or winners of the contest must be chosen by the specified deadline, from the available contestants. No exceptions will be made in the case of shortage of entrants, or the judges' lack of preference for the entries.
  
  
• Any prizes or awards must be issued by the deadline of the contest to the winner. The prize amount should be specified at the beginning of the contest and should not change during the duration of the contest without appropriate notification to the entrants, who may chose to withdraw from the contest with a refund of their entry fee.
  
  
• Entry fees to contests are allowed. Users may also request that entrants label trades containing entries. However refusing the person entry and instead taking the trade as a donation because it is not labeled a particular way is not allowed. Example:
  
  

  Quote:

  If the trade does not say banana in it, I am taking it as a donation, no whining.

  
  

[The Admin]

How to Report

Abuse of the report system will result in a warning or ban of your account.

Report a Post

Use the button when an individual post in a topic contains inappropriate content.

Reasons to Report a Post:


• The content of the post violates the Terms of Service or forum rules.
  
  
• The content of the post is off-topic.
  
  
• The member who made the post has a signature which violates the rules.

Report a Topic

Use the Report this Topic button at the bottom of the page when a topic is not appropriate for the forum.

Reasons to Report a Topic:


• The topic violates the Terms of Service or forum rules.
  
  
• The topic is in the wrong forum and should be moved to a more appropriate forum.

If you need to contact a moderator via Private Message, please use the "View Forum Moderator" link at the top of this forum to find a moderator.



Report Hacking, Scamming or Abuse & Harassment?

The Hacking, Scamming and Abuse or Harassment report forms can be found at the bottom of the forum index. When submitting a report, ensure that you fill out all fields and include as much relevant information as possible.

Report A Hacking
Use this form to report a Hacking. Hacking, on Gaia Online, refers to the unauthorized access of an account by someone other than the account owner. In most typical hacking cases, an unauthorized person enters an account which does not belong to him or her and takes items or gold from the account, often changing the account information so that the original owner can no longer access his or her account.

Report A Scamming
Use this form to report a Scamming. Scamming is when another member of Gaia takes your gold or items, or tries to take your gold or items, by making false promises of giving you rare items, get-rich-quick schemes, or by any other deceptive means. Scamming generally involves a situation in which two members of Gaia make an arrangement to trade gold, items, or a Gaia approved service (e.g. avatar art commission) with each other and then one of the parties involved in the arrangement fails to live up to his or her promise of an exchange.

Report Abuse or Harassment
Use this form to report ongoing Abuse or Harassment. If you are reporting harassment or abuse that is occurring directly in a thread, please use the "Report This Post" button instead.