Entertainment Discussion: Rules and Guidelines

[admin]

Entertainment Discussion Forum Rules & Guidelines

Forum Description:
Welcome to Entertainment Discussion forum! This is the forum for discussing all things entertainment. All things movies and television belong in the main forum, while we have subforums for many other things such as books and videos! If you’re looking for other users interested in entertainment this is the place that you want to post in!

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

Rules & Guidelines Navigation:

1. Forum Introduction
   
2. General Forum Posting Guidelines
   
3. Rules & Guidelines for Entertainment Discussion Forum
   
4. Using the Report System

[admin]

General Forum Posting Guidelines

Terms of Service Reminder:
Remember to follow the Terms of Service, the Rules and Guidelines, and all applicable extensions of those documents, when posting in this forum and any activity that you engage in across all of Gaia Online.

Common Site Violations:
Here are some common violations in our rules that you should avoid committing while using Gaia Online.

• Abusive Behavior: Abusive behavior is defined as behavior that is either flaming, trolling, or harassing.
  
  
  • Flaming: Posts that are directed at another member which are hateful, abusive, or intentionally inflammatory are considered flaming.
    
    
  • Trolling: Posts that are intentionally inflammatory or provocative that incite negative responses from other members is considered trolling.
    
    
  • Harassment: Consistent, continued abusive behavior to another user or stalking is considered harassment.
  
  
• Spam: Posts that are gibberish, off-topic, contain advertisements 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.
  
  
• Inappropriate Content: Posting, requesting, distributing, or offering inappropriate content is not permitted anywhere on Gaia. Inappropriate content includes, but is not limited to, explicit photographs, text, artwork, video, gory/graphic text or images, or cybersex conversations.

Consequences for Violating the Terms of Service:
Violating the Terms of Service violations may result in a warning or a ban on your account. Some violations will result in more serve punishments than others, such as receiving a permanent ban on the first offense. We encourage all our users to do their best in following the Terms of Service in order to keep their accounts protected.

Reporting:
If you find Terms of Service violations, or threads that may need moved to a different forum, please use an appropriate report. Do not post in these threads as it only keeps the thread active and moves it to the top of the forum. The procedure for reporting can be a found a little later in this rules thread.

Contacting a Moderator:
If you need to directly contact a moderator, then you can find online moderators by following the "View Forum Moderators" link at the top of the forum.

Password Phishing Reminder:
Gaia Staff will NEVER ask for your password! If anyone asks you for your password, report it. You can find more information on identifying password phishing in our thread, Recognizing & Reporting Password Phishing.

[Celes Xe]

Entertainment Discussion Forum Rules & Guidelines

1. All threads must be on topic! Any thread that becomes a hangout will be moved to the appropriate forum.

2. All threads must have discussion value! Please read the discussion guidelines for tips about adding discussion to your thread.

3. The Sponsorship threads are not made for spam, please do not spam in them. Use them to discuss the topic at hand.

4. Entertainment Discussion has 3 subforums for specialized discussions. If your thread is posted in the main forum but it belongs in one of the subforums, it will be moved to the appropriate place. Please check out all the subforums to see if your thread fits there before making it in the main forum:

- Books
- Pokémon
- Videos & Streams

5. If you make a VS thread it has to have discussion content. This means that you have to give reasons as to why you choose a certain side, or why you came up with the pairing in the first place.

6. Word games are not permitted here - there is a separate forum for them Word Games here. Even if they are entertainment related, they will be moved to the Word Games subforum.

Misplaced Threads

Misplaced threads are threads that are posted here, but belong in a better place. Please check out all the forums to see where your thread might belong. Listed below are some common forums related to Entertainment. Please utilize the report system rather than posting in misplaced threads. Do not post in them. It only serves to start flame wars and keeps the threads at the top of the page. Just report and ignore them.

Anima/Manga/Cartoons - All discussion of anime, manga and all cartoons belong in this forum and its subforums
Gaming Discussion - All video game discussion belongs here.
Music - Music discussions go here, and in the various subforums.
Sports - All things Sports discussion goes here.

Discussion Guidelines

All threads posted in the Entertainment Discussion forum must have valid discussion, or they will be moved to the Chatterbox. Here are some tips for adding discussion content to your thread.

1. Threads should have some content. This means that one sentence threads aren't going to generate discussion. Add a reason to why you like a certain movie, or ask questions of others.

2. Make a descriptive title! Put the title of whatever it is you are discussing in the title and also in the first post.

3. Give users information, especially if it's something uncommon. Tell us a little about the plot (but be careful not to give spoilers) or some of the characters to generate interest.

All misplaced threads will be moved to the appropriate forum, including the Chatterbox and Recycle Bin.

[Celes Xe]

Using the Report System

Report System Abuse Warning:
Abuse of the report system will result in a warning or ban of your account. Report system abuse is defined as the act of maliciously reporting a user. It is acceptable to report something you may not be sure is a violation or get moderator attention on. It is not acceptable to randomly report a user for no reason.

Report a Post:
Within each post there will be numerous options that allow you to work with that post. You can use the “Report Post” link to report any post within the thread. The “Report Post” link is highlighted in the image below:

Reasons to Report a Post:


• The post violates the Terms of Service, Rules and Guidelines, or the rules of the forum.
  
  
• The content of the post is off-topic.

Report a Thread:
At the top and bottom of every thread there will be numerous options that allow you to work with that thread. You can use the “Report This Topic” link to report any thread. The “Report This Topic” link is highlighted in the image below:

Reasons to Report a Topic:


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

Report a Private Message:
Within a private message there will be numerous options that allow you to work with that private message. You can use the “Report This PM” button to report any private message you have received. The “Report This PM” button is highlighted in the image below:

Reasons to Report a Private Message:


• The private message violates the Terms of Service or Rules and Guidelines.

Report a Profile:
Every user's profile includes a, "Report this Profile" link that allows you to report any violating content found on a user's profile. You can use this link to report the profile and specify which section of their profile is a violation. The "Report this Profile" link is highlighted in the image below:

Reasons to Report a Profile:


• The user's signature is over-sized.
  
  
• Content on the profile violates Terms of Service, Rules and Guidelines.
  
  
• Unacceptable alternation to the navigation bar: The navigation bar is in place at the top of the profile so that users who visit a profile know they are still on Gaia, and can navigate away from the profile easily without having to try to figure out how. Users may change the background color, and the color of the links for the navigation bar. However, users may not alter the Gaia logo, reposition the navigation bar, or remove the navigation bar all together, or change the color/transparency of the navigation bar & links so that it appears to be gone. Altering the Gaia logo includes removing it all together, as well as making it semi-transparent to the point that it is hard to see or nearly invisible. Users may alter the Gaia logo image to remove the black background, or change the black background to a different color, but the logo itself must remain as is.
  
  
• Flashing/Harmful Images: Certain types of graphic images may contribute to or otherwise cause viewers to experience an adverse physical reaction, such as migraine headaches or seizures. Images that may cause such reactions are not permitted on Gaia.

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. Failure to fill out these fields means the report will not be submitted and, instead, the report page will refresh. A successfully filed report will provide you a report ID.

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/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.

Importance of Evidence:
Before filing any report, it is important to have any and all evidence prepared beforehand. With regards to a thread or post, ensure that the offending content is still there before filing the report. Our report system will take a snapshot of whatever you report at the time of it being filed. For instances of Abuse/Harassment reports, please include any evidence of the continued abusive behavior and report any threads, posts, or private messages that will help justify the report. Finally, for scamming reports, include evidence that supports the scamming behavior.