Posting Rules
1. Threads that are located in the inappropriate forum will either be closed or moved to the appropriate forum. Please read forum descriptions carefully before posting.
2. Please check to see that a thread on your topic has not already been posted before you post (use the search feature to help you). Multiple topics will be closed, merged or deleted. Please don't "hijack" other people's threads; feel free to start a new thread in the appropriate forum to continue your discussion.
3. Create threads with clear titles that describe the topic of the thread (that means no titles like 'Guess what!'). When posting, please keep to the topic of the thread as much as possible. Threads that stray too far from the topic will be closed. Posts must also contain actual content, not just smilies, gifs or a copy of the title text.
4. DiStOrTeD TeXt and text used in all CAPS (the online equivalent of shouting) should not be used. Also text and kewl talk are to be avoided - that includes text using numbers and letters (example: 4 u 2), and other intentionally misspelled words. Remember that we have many members from non-English speaking countries – when you use kewl talk it makes it difficult for them (and the rest of us) to understand what you’re saying. Also, please do not post in all lower case letters and try to use good grammar, punctuation and spelling in posts. This is not a chat room: please make an effort to post clearly.
Please be assured that we understand that not everyone is a grammar scholar or spelling bee champion - but we can tell the difference between someone who is trying and someone who is just being lazy. All we ask is that you put some effort into your posting. If you don't feel the need to put any time into your posting, others will not put any time into reading your post.
5. Offensive, obscene and profane language should not be used. Most points can be expressed without resorting to inappropriate language. While there are only a couple of words we actually censor, we will remove extraneous and unecessary cursing from posts to keep the board family friendly and enjoyable for all. If you can't post without cursing, then you have bigger problems than whether we edit your posts or not. In short, don't swear just to swear!
6. When posting any news articles, include a link to the site or otherwise quote the source that it was taken from. Copying portions of text from other websites without giving credit is in fact infringing copyright laws and could result in this site being closed down.
7. Please do not 'bump' threads (posting only to bring the topic back up to the top of the forum). Please refrain from double posting in threads within the 1 hour editing period: please use the edit button instead. (Double posting is making multiple posts one after another in a chain which are small enough on their own that they could have been condensed into one post.) Double posts will be merged. If it happens too often and requests to edit from the moderator team are ignored, you will lose posting privileges.
8. Board avatars and all other graphics are copyrighted and should not be used without the permission of the site team. Please also do not link to attachments, avatars or other graphics on the boards or on other websites, including in your signature, as that takes up our bandwith and costs us money. Plus, it's stealing and just plain wrong.
9. The discussion of distribution of illegally-obtained episodes of the shows is not allowed. Please do not post about downloading episodes / other items from the net, as it can result in our site being shut down. Such discussion will be deleted. This includes, but is not limited to unofficial YouTube sources as well as other download or P2P sites - please do not post links to full episodes of any show or movie on YouTube, or suggest to others that YouTube is a legal source of viewing. Just because it's on YouTube does not make it legal (unless the YouTube account is a verified legal source).
10. Karma/Post Comments/Reputation and the ability to "Like" posts on the board is meant to be a fun feature. If any disagreements or bullying erupt as a result of these features, or if there are any competitions to have the "highest" number of Likes, the feature(s) will be removed.
11. Threads celebrating number of posts reached are allowed at every 500 posts. ie, 500, 1000, 1500 etc. Threads celebrating other post counts will be deleted.
12. User names can be changed by pming a head mod ("Watcher's Council"). Members are only allowed one account. Any multiple accounts will be deleted. If you have multiple accounts, please let an admin know so they may merge them. Otherwise, the newest account will be deleted. Remember, having more than one account takes up server space unnecessarily. It also is a tool of those who would do harm to the board. Excessive creating of accounts may result in your banning from the boards.
13. Posts with the intention to disrupt the peace and harmony of the board are not allowed and will not be tolerated. This is not the same as posting a suggestion or constructive criticism. If you are a member of this site, you should want it to flourish. Sowing discord on the board ruins things for everyone. Please don't expect us to pay for you to use the board so that you can badmouth it.
14. Spamming will not be tolerated, and will be deleted. Spamming includes any post that is made solely to increase your post count – such as only posting smilies, one or two word posts, or posting a reply when one is not required (such as repeated "thank you" and "you're welcomes"). We want to hear what you think - spam posts add nothing to the discussion and make the real discussion difficult to follow.
15. Please don't mark threads "fan only" anywhere on the board - we will edit or delete threads that do so. The board is for discussion, and telling people which threads they can post in is really contrary to the community we have here. It also gets into the area of "what is a fan" which we don't want to do.
16. Please keep in mind the intent of a thread when posting and be respectful enough of the original posting to keep in line with it. If someone starts a thread to share favorite Willow moments, for example, it should be used to share favorite Willow moments. A person who dislikes Willow is perfectly okay posting that when Willow dressed up as an Eskimo is their favorite Willow moment. They cannot, however, post, "Any time we see Willow's back because that means she's leaving." We will delete or send to the cemetery nasty comments or posts meant to derail the intended topic of the thread. Remember, being nasty and disrespectful is not "just expressing your opinion". There are other threads in which to express your dislike of a character, etc. (or if not, you can start one).
17. Political debate is not allowed. While we appreciate the desire for a place to discuss this topic and support the right of all people to share their political beliefs in a safe place, Buffy-Boards is a community and political talk has been found to create division and a toxic environment. Our purpose is to (mostly) discuss the Whedonverse, not politics, and it is the belief of the staff that political talk is best left for other venues. Memes in the "What made you LOL" and videos in the "What are you Watching" type threads will be allowed but are subject to removal at staff discretion. Excessive posting in (overwhelming) these threads may also be curbed at staff discretion. Exceptions may be made by the staff for threads to discuss specific events which will be started by the staff; discussion in these threads will still be expected to remain civil.
18. Memes/GIFs: We ask that you refrain from replying to discussions with memes/gifs only. This is a discussion board, and we expect members to use their words; plus, threads of meme-only posts add very little to the discussion. Memes and other casual posts are allowed, but excessively low quality posts will be subject to deletion at staff discretion.
As a member of this site you are expected to follow these, and all, rules. If you are contacted by a moderator, please follow their instructions: repeated ignoring of the rules may result in temporary or permanent ban from the boards. Any member who occupies a majority of admin or moderator time unnecessarily may also be shown the door.
2. Please check to see that a thread on your topic has not already been posted before you post (use the search feature to help you). Multiple topics will be closed, merged or deleted. Please don't "hijack" other people's threads; feel free to start a new thread in the appropriate forum to continue your discussion.
3. Create threads with clear titles that describe the topic of the thread (that means no titles like 'Guess what!'). When posting, please keep to the topic of the thread as much as possible. Threads that stray too far from the topic will be closed. Posts must also contain actual content, not just smilies, gifs or a copy of the title text.
4. DiStOrTeD TeXt and text used in all CAPS (the online equivalent of shouting) should not be used. Also text and kewl talk are to be avoided - that includes text using numbers and letters (example: 4 u 2), and other intentionally misspelled words. Remember that we have many members from non-English speaking countries – when you use kewl talk it makes it difficult for them (and the rest of us) to understand what you’re saying. Also, please do not post in all lower case letters and try to use good grammar, punctuation and spelling in posts. This is not a chat room: please make an effort to post clearly.
Please be assured that we understand that not everyone is a grammar scholar or spelling bee champion - but we can tell the difference between someone who is trying and someone who is just being lazy. All we ask is that you put some effort into your posting. If you don't feel the need to put any time into your posting, others will not put any time into reading your post.
5. Offensive, obscene and profane language should not be used. Most points can be expressed without resorting to inappropriate language. While there are only a couple of words we actually censor, we will remove extraneous and unecessary cursing from posts to keep the board family friendly and enjoyable for all. If you can't post without cursing, then you have bigger problems than whether we edit your posts or not. In short, don't swear just to swear!
6. When posting any news articles, include a link to the site or otherwise quote the source that it was taken from. Copying portions of text from other websites without giving credit is in fact infringing copyright laws and could result in this site being closed down.
7. Please do not 'bump' threads (posting only to bring the topic back up to the top of the forum). Please refrain from double posting in threads within the 1 hour editing period: please use the edit button instead. (Double posting is making multiple posts one after another in a chain which are small enough on their own that they could have been condensed into one post.) Double posts will be merged. If it happens too often and requests to edit from the moderator team are ignored, you will lose posting privileges.
8. Board avatars and all other graphics are copyrighted and should not be used without the permission of the site team. Please also do not link to attachments, avatars or other graphics on the boards or on other websites, including in your signature, as that takes up our bandwith and costs us money. Plus, it's stealing and just plain wrong.
9. The discussion of distribution of illegally-obtained episodes of the shows is not allowed. Please do not post about downloading episodes / other items from the net, as it can result in our site being shut down. Such discussion will be deleted. This includes, but is not limited to unofficial YouTube sources as well as other download or P2P sites - please do not post links to full episodes of any show or movie on YouTube, or suggest to others that YouTube is a legal source of viewing. Just because it's on YouTube does not make it legal (unless the YouTube account is a verified legal source).
10. Karma/Post Comments/Reputation and the ability to "Like" posts on the board is meant to be a fun feature. If any disagreements or bullying erupt as a result of these features, or if there are any competitions to have the "highest" number of Likes, the feature(s) will be removed.
11. Threads celebrating number of posts reached are allowed at every 500 posts. ie, 500, 1000, 1500 etc. Threads celebrating other post counts will be deleted.
12. User names can be changed by pming a head mod ("Watcher's Council"). Members are only allowed one account. Any multiple accounts will be deleted. If you have multiple accounts, please let an admin know so they may merge them. Otherwise, the newest account will be deleted. Remember, having more than one account takes up server space unnecessarily. It also is a tool of those who would do harm to the board. Excessive creating of accounts may result in your banning from the boards.
13. Posts with the intention to disrupt the peace and harmony of the board are not allowed and will not be tolerated. This is not the same as posting a suggestion or constructive criticism. If you are a member of this site, you should want it to flourish. Sowing discord on the board ruins things for everyone. Please don't expect us to pay for you to use the board so that you can badmouth it.
14. Spamming will not be tolerated, and will be deleted. Spamming includes any post that is made solely to increase your post count – such as only posting smilies, one or two word posts, or posting a reply when one is not required (such as repeated "thank you" and "you're welcomes"). We want to hear what you think - spam posts add nothing to the discussion and make the real discussion difficult to follow.
15. Please don't mark threads "fan only" anywhere on the board - we will edit or delete threads that do so. The board is for discussion, and telling people which threads they can post in is really contrary to the community we have here. It also gets into the area of "what is a fan" which we don't want to do.
16. Please keep in mind the intent of a thread when posting and be respectful enough of the original posting to keep in line with it. If someone starts a thread to share favorite Willow moments, for example, it should be used to share favorite Willow moments. A person who dislikes Willow is perfectly okay posting that when Willow dressed up as an Eskimo is their favorite Willow moment. They cannot, however, post, "Any time we see Willow's back because that means she's leaving." We will delete or send to the cemetery nasty comments or posts meant to derail the intended topic of the thread. Remember, being nasty and disrespectful is not "just expressing your opinion". There are other threads in which to express your dislike of a character, etc. (or if not, you can start one).
17. Political debate is not allowed. While we appreciate the desire for a place to discuss this topic and support the right of all people to share their political beliefs in a safe place, Buffy-Boards is a community and political talk has been found to create division and a toxic environment. Our purpose is to (mostly) discuss the Whedonverse, not politics, and it is the belief of the staff that political talk is best left for other venues. Memes in the "What made you LOL" and videos in the "What are you Watching" type threads will be allowed but are subject to removal at staff discretion. Excessive posting in (overwhelming) these threads may also be curbed at staff discretion. Exceptions may be made by the staff for threads to discuss specific events which will be started by the staff; discussion in these threads will still be expected to remain civil.
18. Memes/GIFs: We ask that you refrain from replying to discussions with memes/gifs only. This is a discussion board, and we expect members to use their words; plus, threads of meme-only posts add very little to the discussion. Memes and other casual posts are allowed, but excessively low quality posts will be subject to deletion at staff discretion.
As a member of this site you are expected to follow these, and all, rules. If you are contacted by a moderator, please follow their instructions: repeated ignoring of the rules may result in temporary or permanent ban from the boards. Any member who occupies a majority of admin or moderator time unnecessarily may also be shown the door.