Yugioh Card Maker Forum

Hello everyone,
It's about time we posted up a set of official rules for all members to see. Each of the following rules must be followed by every member to the letter, irrespective of how long you've been a part of this forum, or your 'rank'. You may use these rules outside of this forum ONLY at the discretion of myself or Tkill93. Special thanks for helping me out with this thread goes to Tkill93, Azuh and everyone who posted here. You can read the full definition of each rule by in this thread, just search through the replies until you find the rule you are after. All rules are elaborated on unless otherwise stated (by saying 'not elaborated on'). Due to this set-up, this thread has been locked to keep it tidy incase of any future inclusions to the rules, so any questions, comments or suggestions can be PMed directly to me.
Cheers and thanks, Frunk.

This is a family friendly forum; we could potentially have members of young ages. Do not post links to sites that have content rated more "mature" than PG-13 (Some PG-13 content, swearing and partial nudity in particular, is prohibited from the boards.). Any material that is pornographic, sexually explicit, visually offensive, derogatory, or discriminates on the basis of gender, race, ethnicity, color, creed, religion, lifestyle, or, any other material (includes nudity and offensive pictures) that may be deemed as objectionable in a public community environment, is prohibited and breaching this is a bannable offense. Use of foul language, including swear words, real-world racial slurs, alternate spellings, and other language that is not consistent with the fantasy environment will be allowed but any complaints will be served, and the poster of the language will be banned. Just because the boards are PG-13, it does not allow you to violate these rules in any way. Offensively named accounts which may be deleted/renamed at any time without warning.

This includes linking to any sites that may violate the rules. If you have any doubts, whatsoever, about the appropriateness of the content you want to post, don't post it. This includes but is not limited to:
# Adult-oriented content
# Content that breaks any laws
# Copyright infringement (many MP3s, ROMs, etc.), warez, CD keys, cracks, passwords, serial numbers, etc.
# Gambling and drugs
# Hacking materials and information
# Terrorism (promotion/carrying it through)
# Trojans, viruses, worms, and other such harmful things
The ingnoring of this rule is an easily bannable offense.

Harassment is defined as specifically targeting another player or group of players to harm or inconvenience them. As harassment can take many forms, the moderators will make a determination as to whether or not a "reasonable person" would feel harassed and act accordingly. Actions which would be considered abuse include but are not limited to:

Sexual Abuse or Harassment - Untoward and/or unwelcome advances of a graphic and sexual nature - PMs: If someone tells you to stop PMing them and includes a reason, you stop. If you do not, it will be considered harassment.

Attempting to Defraud - Creating false information with the intent of harming another and/or receiving benefits as a result.

Impersonating a Moderator - Falsely representing yourself to another member as a staff member is prohibted. - Includes using anything restricted to moderators, implying that you can edit someone's posts, ban someone, etc.

Personal Abuse - Includes but is not limited to sending excessive private messages or e-mails to a moderator or staff member, making physical threats, or using abusive language against a moderator.

Obviously, all of the above also apply to your fellow users on the forums.

Any speech or inference, direct or indirect, that constitutes a personal attack against another individual or group is prohibited. Do not insult other users for their ideas/opinions no matter how ridiculous they may be. Snide remarks will not be tolerated. This also includes the flaming of new members, rather that flame, you need to tell them what to do differently or not type anything. Flaming, depending specifically on the message(s) posted, is a bannable offense.

Unsolicited promotion of other web sites, or products, is spam, and will be removed on sight without warning. Please keep our forums free of unsolicited advertisement or product promotion. Posting referral/recruitment/trick links is strictly prohibited. Do not create threads on a topic that is already being discussed. Make sure to read all forum and sub-forum descriptions and their rules before posting new threads to ensure that you follow the rules and post in the correct place.

As such the posting of material should remain at all times within a forum that is topically appropriate, if you are unsure, PM a moderator. Also, if you make a mistake, moderators can usually relocate threads for you (PM a moderator requesting a move). Please keep replies and posts topical to the forum on which they are posted or they will be removed. Remember to read each the description of each place, the guides, and any pinned (stickied) topics before posting. Do a search if you want to ask a question or start a new thread to make sure that it hasn't been posted before.

Don't change existing thread's topic

Relating to topicality, you should not be changing the topic of an existing thread when you reply. This just serves to confuse people who have been following a thread, and often leads to spam and extra threads. If you have a new topic, you should be creating a new thread on that topic and not "hijacking" an existing thread.

In other words, don't post pointless replies to every thread that someone writes; also considered spam. If you don't have any serious things to contribute to the conversation, stay out of it. Please try to keep your replies relevant to the topic you are replying to. Do not post anything intended to provoke someone. Be nice, and make the forums better for everyone.

Whining is defined as "an attack upon an idea, concept or problem, without offering a counter-idea, alternative concept, or a solution" or anything along the lines of "It's not fair". Any and all whining is prohibited. Ideas are welcome, however, attacking ideas without offering constructive criticism is counter productive.

Do not ask for someone else's account information. This includes via the forum, PM, and chat. Accounts created for begging will be banned. Do not ask to become a admin, mod, etc. or special treatment. Asking is the best way to not become one. This includes heavily hinting at it and joking about it. No "trades" of any kind are allowed.

Sig Advertising - Do not post telling people to look at anyone's sig. "Viral" Signatures (i.e. Signatures which ask or tell others to include them in their signature) are forbidden. Sigs that are found to be annoying/distracting, contain links to external websites, or are overly long or wide may be removed without warning, and continuing to return to the same signature after it has been removed is a bannable offense. Referral/recruitment/trick links are also prohibited (See Rule 5).

You are fully responsible for your own account and protection of your password. Statements such as "My friend/sister/brother/dog was using my account", are not acceptable as an explanation for the violation of any rule. If you share your account with someone and they break the rules, it will be treated the same as if you broke the rules yourself. It is also your responsibility to keep the account up to date, particularly the e-mail. If you use an e-mail that you rarely check, it is no one's fault but your own if you miss important notices from the staff. The same applies to using an invalid e-mail. Once again, your account and password are your responsibility and no one else's.

Mods of the YCM will never ask for your password.

Reporting a suspected hacker - PM the details to the Admin. Do NOT post it in the forums.

Multiple accounts are not allowed on these forums. There is no reason for you to have more than one, and the accounts will be banned. Super Moderators and Admins have access to your IP address and excessive multiple accounts will see to it that your IP be blocked so you can no longer access the site.

If staff or moderators post rules specific to a board, they must be obeyed. Staff give their own time to keep the boards running smoothly. Failure to comply with their requests is grounds for deletion. If asked by a member of Staff to stop or change a behavior or action, you will do so, without question. It is the job of Staff to keep the forums clean, so don't think that they're biased or "out to get you". Users will find their time on the board much more enjoyable when they follow the rules and address Staff politely (This does NOT include something that seems polite but is meant to provoke...).
The term “polite” is at the moderator’s discretion. An action or statement that you think seems acceptable or inoffensive may offend a moderator who has different views than you.

If you are confused with a Staff member’s decision, or there appears to be a conflict with another rule, bring up your question in a polite and respectable way.

This includes demanding that a user delete his/her post and/or getting the thread locked (e.g. "Delete your post!", "This thread should be locked."). Any action where the user attempts to take over for a mod (including any variation of "I'd rate this ___, if I could!") anywhere on a sub-forum without explicit permission may be considered mini-modding.

This is especially true when the user only posts to do so. If someone has posted in a forum where it might be hard to determine what topic belongs there, post with advice addressing the question and suggesting (Note: NOT demanding) that the user post in the appropriately named forum.

Posting in a particularly troublesome thread will likely get you into as much trouble as other users. The best way to take care of rule violations is to PM a mod. Only PM the mods once per violation. It is the responsibility of the mods and the sub-mod groups to enforce the rules. Please make sure to PM the correct person in the sub-mod groups, as they can only moderate in specific boards and are not global moderators. Please do not hinder them by posting in threads that need moderator action. It only serves to revive the thread and create even more of a hassle.

Additionally, if someone has already posted proper advice on where to post, do not post the same advice worded in a different way, or posting “Member X is right!” or other statements along those lines.

Part of the job of moderators is to keep the boards clean. Messages deemed inappropriate, old, or off topic may be deleted/locked by moderators at any time.

It is unacceptable to post another user’s private/personal/public information, including email address, location of residency, contact information, or other information without express permission from that user.

Private messages from the forum or external chat clients, emails, memos, note scribbled on napkins and all other forms of communication are classified as personal and are not to be publicly posted in any shape or form onto these forums, or PMed to other users of these forums by any member without express permission from all parties involved, or by the mod team when appropriate.

If a mod bans a member it is for a reason and of course members can protest but please keep the protesting to yourself because we do not want this kind of thing going on here. The moderator's of this forum do not have an easy job and it would be best that if you have a problem you bring it up with them in a calm manner. Flaming the moderator's for the decisions that make will most likely get you into trouble.

Nothing may be advertised anywhere on this site without prior permission from YCMaker. This inculdes, but is not limited to
- Real-life products or similar, non-internet related goods, services, or information.
- Other websites, forums, services, or online-shopping sites.
If you are unsure, do not post, or PM YCMaker directly. This rule includes the advertising of external information or any of the above in new threads, replies to threads, signatures, or elsewhere in your user profile. Advertising material will be removed from wherever you have placed it without warning, and depending on what has been advertised, and/or if you repeatedly offend, you can and likely will be banned, temporarily or permanently, to be determined by the moderator(s) who hands down the ban.

What is it?

The reputation system is a way to give other members reputation points. These will show up in the number under "Status", in the profile box on the left hand side of all posts. Depending on the number of reps you have, the number will vary. You can also give negative reps to members that are not behaving, or breaking any rules. IF you wish to argue a negative rep and get it removed, post in the Reputation Complaint Thread in the General section.

How does it work?

Click on a member's reputation number and click "Rate User". There you can give out either "positives" or "negatives" to that member, but you must provide a reason.

Rep Abuse

Reputation abuse is giving members absurd amounts of reputation points (Positive or Negative) for stupid reasons, as well as giving rediculous, insulting, harassing, inappropriate, and/or any other kind of reps that are not considered legitmate (When nessasary, moderator's will define this at their discretion), this also includes reps that include profanity, censorsed or not.

Rep Scamming

Asking for reputation points, begging for reputation points, paying for reputation points, making a double account and giving yourself reputation points, as well as any other way of obtain reps other than by the 100% discretion of the person "rating" you, is not allowed and you can and more often than not will be banned for it. Please be sure to keep the amount of reps you give at a time minimal and not try to over do it.

Reps as Payment or Prizes

In the contest section, it is possible to hold a contest and give both points and reps for prizes. When hosting a contest and giving out reputation points for prizes, the maximum amount of reps at 2 or 3 per person awarded. Illegitimate reps that breach this suggestion will be remobed upon the sight of a moderator.

Reps in the Graphic Design: Shop/Requests forum

As of 01-13-2008, you can no longer buy graphics or sell graphics in the Shops/Requests section using reputation points. This was due to the large amount of reputation points being unfairly earned for simple tasks. You may only use the points system for that function in that section now.

Conclusion

In conclusion, you should remember that the reputation system does not determine how good a member is. You shouldn't judge a person by their reputation count because it does not make them any better of a member.