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Profile Discussion Forum Rules and Guidelines


Welcome to the Profile Discussion forum! Profile Discussion is intended for discussing the various aspects of Gaia Profiles, and to ask and provide help with how to customize a Gaia profile.

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 Profile Discussion
  4. Reporting violations in a Profile
  5. How to Report
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:

  • Bumping a thread that does not need to be bumped.
    In general, this is a fairly slow forum. As such, please make sure your thread has fallen off the first page before you bump it. If it has not fallen off the first page, and you bump it, you may receive a warning for spamming.

  • Asking for rates on themes you did not create
    Please do not use this forum to request ratings on profile themes you did not create, or were not created for you specifically. Rating threads are allowed in this forum because they allow users to discuss what they did on a profile and how they could make it better. Asking for a rate on a theme you found on Tektek does not help you better your profile in any way, as you did not create it. Also, themes created using a generator fall under this category as well.

  • Discussing the PD community, and not the profiles themselves
    While the Profile Discussion forum is a discussion forum, it is for discussion about Gaia Profiles, and not the Gaia Profile Discussion Community. Threads made to discuss the community and not profiles will be moved to the Gaia Community Discussion forum accordingly.

  • Posting spam or abusive content
    Please do not post spam or abusive content. If a thread is misplaced, simply report it and move on. If a user has posted a "rate my theme!" thread for a theme they found on Tektek, report the thread and move on. Posting spam or abusive content in any thread, even if the thread is misplaced, is not allowed and may result in a warning.

  • Hangout threads
    Hangout threads are not allowed in this forum.. A minimal amount of chatter is allowed in threads in this forum, as long as the main focus remains profile-related, but when the bulk of a thread's posts become off-topic, the thread becomes a "Hangout Thread" and is no longer suitable for the Profile Discussion forum. All Hangout Threads will be moved to the Friends Chat accordingly.

  • Paying for profiles/profile help
    The Profile Discussion forum is geared towards discussing profiles, and is not a suitable place to buy or sell profiles or profile help. Buying or selling profiles should be done in the Personalized Graphics forum, while buying or selling profile help should be done in the Services Forum.

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

If you come across Terms of Service violations, or threads that may need to be moved to a more suitable forum, please use the appropriate reporting system. 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.
Rules & Guidelines for Posting in Profile Discussion

General Posting Guidelines
  • Ratings threads are allowed in this forum. However, abusive comments are not. Even if you think the user has stolen a profile, or has done nothing to really customize their profile, this is no reason to make abusive comments towards them. If they've done something wrong, report them. Please try to keep all conversation and ratings friendly and helpful!

  • Please be sure to check out the FAQs & Resources sticky as well as other threads on the first page before creating a new thread for any questions that you might have. There is a good chance that someone else has asked your question, or had the same problem as you. If you create a thread asking a question that has already been answered in the FAQ sticky, or that has been asked recently, your thread may be considered a repeat thread and moved to the Recycle Bin.

  • When you create question threads, please give as much information as possible about your problem. The more we know, the easier it will be for us to help you figure out your problem. Segments of code, a link to the profile if it's a mule, what you've tried, what browser you are using are all helpful pieces of information when troubleshooting a problem.

  • If you have nothing to say other than "I do not know how to help you" then it is best to simply not post in a user's question thread.
Reporting violations in a Profile
    This section explains how and when to report violations you may see on other member's profile page.

Reasons to report a profile
  • Inappropriate images: Some users don't seem to realize that the Gaia Terms of Service applies to Gaia profiles, as well as forum posts, and so they may try to post inappropriate images as part of their theme, or in their about section. Naturally, these need to be reported, just like you report someone's signature or post.

  • Inappropriate content: Many users try to use their Gaia profile to engage in other inappropriate site violations, such as requesting cybersex or linking people to fake login pages and/or other scams. These violations should be reported immediately to any online moderator.

  • Flashing/harmful images:
    Rules and Guidelines
    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, and, should your post or signature contain such an image, Gaia may remove the post or signature or take other action that Gaia deems appropriate.

    This also holds true of Gaia profiles. Background images that flash or certain optical illusion type images may cause this sort of reaction, and if they are used in a Gaia profile, either in their theme or their about section, then their profile should be reported.

  • Art Theft: If a user is using another artist's images without that artist's permission, they can be reported for theft. Note that profile code is not covered by this. If a user steals an entire profile, images and all, the person may be reported for art theft, but if they use the code and change the images, it cannot be reported.

  • Unacceptable alteration of the navigation bar: The navigation bar is in place at the top of the profile so that users who visit your profile know they are still on Gaia, and can navigate away from your page easily without having to try to figure out how. You may change the background color, and the color of the links for the navigation bar. However, you 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. You 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.

  • Abusive or harassing content: Members should not be using their profile to abuse or harass other members. Any user using their profile to abuse or harass another member, or encouraging others to do so should be reported.

  • Inappropriate comments: If a user makes an inappropriate comment on a profile, they can be reported, and their comment will be handled by a moderator.

How to report a profile
    For Art Theft violations or navigation bar violations, you can simply contact one of the Profile Discussion Moderators. Be sure to contact a moderator and not a moderator assistant. If possible, contact an online moderator. If no moderators are online, please contact only one moderator. Contacting multiple moderators about one situation is considered spamming.

    In the case of inappropriate images/content, harmful images, or phishing/scamming content, please contact an online moderator (not moderator assistant) from any forum immediately. Again, please only contact one moderator about the situation.

    In the case of abusive or harassing content or comments, please add the user to your ignorelist and contact an online moderator with a link to the content. If a user returns on a different account to continue their inappropriate behavior, even after they've been ignorelisted, please use the Abuse/Harassment Report Form.
How to Report

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

Report a Post

Use the User Image 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.

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