If you require clarification on anything, please PM a Moderator or a Manager and they will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Your local Moderators for this Forum are:
Vault Forum Managers:
If you can not find a moderator and need EMERGENCY assistance, please use the Contact Moderator Thread at the top. If you have a Non-Emergency situation just PM the local moderators listed above, and they will be with you ASAP.
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--== Vault Network Board Rules ==--
These rules are also available here: VNBoard Rules
The Vault Network Message Boards (VN Boards) are a public forum and, while we encourage a free flow of information and ideas on the boards, we also ask that you follow a few basic rules. By using or participating on the VN Boards, you agree to the Rules of Conduct as stated below, as well as the IGN Entertainment User Agreement.
Should you have questions, suggestions or other comments regarding the VN Boards, the appropriate individual to contact is usually the editor of the site associated with the board in question. Please include the name you use on the VN Boards and your real name in any inquiry.
Here are some things you'll want to keep in mind while posting on the VN Boards:
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Copyrighted Material
Vault Network board users agree not to post any material that is protected by copyright, trademark or other proprietary right without the express permission of the owner(s) of said copyright, trademark or other proprietary right.
Trade Posts
You may not post EBay auctions or any other sort of real-life monetary transactions anywhere on our boards (forums, profiles, sigs all inclusive). This includes EBay links, EBay auction numbers, and anything else relating to EBay sales. You may not create posts regarding account transfers, since such transactions violate the DAoC Code of Conduct. This includes beta account information.
Please also note that some Forum Communities (AC Vault) do not allow cross server trades. In general, if a Cross Server Trade forum is provided, then use that. Please check with a Moderator or Manager if you need to.
Flaming, Bashing, and Trolling
Hate posts and personal attacks will not be tolerated on the VN Boards. Treat others on these message boards as you would expect them to treat you. Talking trash about another user is a quick way to earn a banning, as is posting topics specifically to provoke a negative response from someone (aka trolling). Any RL threats will constitute a reason for banning.
Any Flames, Threats, or any other infraction directed towards any Developer will NOT be tolerated and will result in a much stronger penalty.
Personal Information
You may not distribute private messages, instant message logs, e-mail, etc. unless both parties have provided consent. You may not post any form of real life information.
Profanity
Keep offensive language to a minimum. (that means no S word, no F word, no racial or sexual slurs, no slurs of any other kind, etc.). A simple rule to follow is: "when in doubt, leave it out." You don't have to use profanity to get your point across, and it's usually better to avoid it altogether. Also, please censor the images you display and chat logs you copy/paste. Any screenshots/images/chat logs with unsuitable words will be edited out of your post and you warned or punished. Please keep this in mind when you link to an image and/or display a chat log. It is your responsibility to nullify any violations.
Masked Profanity like F&#* is not allowed either.
Spam
Purposely spamming a message board with senseless, vacuous, or empty messages to gain more stars is highly frowned upon!
This includes such things as party posts, chain letters, two-word "I agree" or "me too" responses, continually posting the same topic on a particular board, and posting the same question across several boards. Doing this could result in LOSING post counts.
Piracy, ROMs, and Warez
IGN has a very strict policy against piracy, ROMs, warez, and the illegal use of copyrighted material. Linking or giving information about any site that distributes illegal software, ROMs, media, or emulators, seeking help to circumvent any copyright laws, admitting to possessing and/or distributing illegal copyrighted material, or encouraging software or media piracy is grounds for an immediate ban. This goes for all copyrighted material, including but not limited to games, movies, music, and videos. You may not participate in discussion pertaining to or encouraging exploitation of DAoC or any other game. Duping, hacking, and stealing are a few examples. Threads found doing so will be deleted, and the involved parties will be subject to bans.
Impersonating Other Users / Accessing Another User's Account
You may not impersonate another board member or create an account specifically for the purpose of provoking other users. Also, accessing or using someone else's account or attempting to access another poster's account is strictly prohibited.
Off-Topic Posts
In general, Server Forums are more relaxed for Off Topic Posting, however, dedicated forums (class, trade, etc) are usually strictly ON topic. Excessive "bandwagon" posts (takeoffs on existing posts) may be deleted and some or all OT may be removed in the event that it becomes a large part of the board content. Follow up posts like "Why was my Cabbage for Breakfast post deleted", will most likely be deleted as well.
Please check with your local moderator or Forum Manager for local rules regarding On/Off Topic Posts.
Signatures
Please be aware that Signatures are under the same rules as regular posts. Attacking people in a Signature is also against our rules. If you are asked to change a signature by a moderator and refuse, you may be banned until you do.
Spoilers
Just because you know that Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's daddy doesn't mean that everybody does (whoops, hope you all knew that). Be considerate of the other users who may not have seen a movie or played a game that you're talking about. Simply type something eye-catching like **BEGIN SPOILER** before any text that may give away any significant information about the plot and **END SPOILER** after the text in a post. You should also avoid posting spoilers in a subject line altogether.
Posting Huge Images / Fake Signature Pics
Out of respect for your 56k brethren, please let them know if your thread contains a number of large images. A simple **56kers Beware!** in the subject line will go a long way in helping those who are broadband-challenged know not to open a thread that might bring their web browsing to a crawl. Also if you must use fake signature pictures, please limit it to one 15k or less image since huge pictures slow down the boards.
Circumventing a Ban (aka Evading)
If you log onto the VN Boards and receive a message that you have been banned, please submit an unban request and wait for a Vault Network Message Board moderator to get in touch with you. It is not acceptable to return to the boards under another username. If you do, your ban time most likely will be extended.
You may not publicly complain about or demand a reason for another user's ban. Banned users have the responsibility of answering for themselves on their own. If you have an issue with a Ban, please PM a Moderator or a Manager.
Moderation
You may not re-edit a post that has already been edited by a moderator (a mod's decision is final). You may not bait, insult, flame, or otherwise abuse a moderator; mods are here to make the boards a better place for everyone. If you have a problem with the moderation, please contact that mod or one of the following managers with your concerns (we take them seriously):
Questionable Content
Since we can't have a rule to cover everything, this is the rule to, well, cover everything. These are public boards, so act like you would if you were in a public place. These issues are left to the discretion of the individual moderators, but may include any material that is knowingly false and/or defamatory, misleading, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, that otherwise violates any law, or that encourages conduct constituting a criminal offense.
NOTE: Posting links to graphic sites - either sexual, violent or containing illegal or invasive (i.e. massive window spamming) material will get you instabanned and it maybe permanent
With regards to the use of homosexual slang : Forum rule clarification.
Given that blatantly throwing around the term Gay/Ghey/Fag etc is extremely prejudicial, and insensitive, this will no longer be acceptable terms on these boards. Would you use racial slurs when describing someone of another race or origin? I doubt it, and even if you would, it is not acceptable here. This is just as disrespectful towards those people out there who just might be homosexual.
Note that if you try to pull the 2-bit lawyer garb and claim you were just rejoicing for happiness, it will be ignored. Context is what is important, and if the mods here deem that you are intentionally baiting, then you'll have to deal with those consequences. Posting on these forums is a privilege, not a right, and the use of derogatory sexual slang will not be allowed.
This is inclusive of this thread as well, so think about what you are about to post before hitting the post button. If you post on this thread, then you have likely read the warning here.
Note: This decision is not up for public discussion. It has been made, and it will be enforced in the future with regard to posting on this forum. Nor is it up for discussion whether sexual orientation is by choice or a genetic/environmental disposition.
For reference: here's a link to the Global User Guidelines , which every user is responsible for reading and following before posting on these forums.
Another Note: This is nothing new. This is merely a statement that we'll be enforcing the long standing rule more stringently in the future, and it's a clarification to make people aware that we will be enforcing it.
That doesn't mean that we're going to be catching every ToS violation, though. When we do see one, we will address it, as always. If you see one that we haven't addressed in a timely manner, feel free to PM any Moderator from any forum and it will be taken care of.
And a final reminder: this is a common sense situation, and it's nothing new. Context is the important factor, and whether the words in question are being intentionally used in a derogatory manner in order to insult an individual or a group
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There are tens of thousands of posts each day on the VN Boards, so we can't always promise you'll receive a warning every time action has to be taken. By registering at the VN Boards, users agree that any post deemed inappropriate may be removed at the sole discretion of the VN moderators. Vault Network also has the right, at its sole discretion, to revoke board privileges at any time without notice or reason. Think of these rules as a forewarning and, if you break them, you're taking your account status into your own hands.
Also note that the Board Rules extend to all areas of the Vault Network Message Boards system, including but not limited to Private Messages, Signatures, and Unban Requests.
IGN Entertainment is not responsible for messages posted on the Vault Network Boards or the content therein. Unless expressly stated otherwise, this includes messages posted by Vault Network or IGN Entertainment personnel, agents, representatives et al. IGN Entertainment reserves the right to reveal the identity of or whatever information we know about any user in the event of a complaint or legal action arising from any message posted by said user.
Vault Network has the right but not the obligation to monitor and/or moderate the VN Boards. Vault Network reserves the right to change any or all other parts of this User Agreement at its sole discretion and without notice, including but not limited to implementing Rules of Conduct, Terms of Service and/or other measures.
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Clarification on Spamming/Farming/Flaming
Bumping seriously old threads just for the purpose of flaming/spamming/farming will get you a no warning 24 hour ban.
Offering Prizes for the most bumps is also against board rules. Requesting that other users bump the thread is ok. Offering in-game items as a starfarm incentive for the best *bumper* is not, as starfarming is not allowed on any thread other than the rules thread.
If a user is banned for excessive Spamming/Farming and is a repeat offender ( ie they've been warned about it or banned for it in the past ) then they risk having their post total reset.
This will show actual posts by the user, and
all previously deleted spam will no longer show on the total.
What this means is that any posts older than 6 months, or that were deleted in the past 6 months, will no longer be counted towards your total posts after the reset. This is a last resort situation, but it will be used where the mods feel that it is needed in order to curb the worst offenders.
Clarification on OT Posts
We have people who post here from all over the world. We come in all Races, Religions, Nationalities, Genders, Sexual Preferences and Orientations, Political Persuasions and more. The one thing that we have in common is that we play games that are designed to be an escape from the Realities of our daily lives, whatever our circumstances may be. Everyone, from anywhere, should be able to come here and post on a Game Board about a Game without feeling attacked, be-littled, or confronted with Real Life Issues that are totally irrelevant to the Games we share.
The Vault does provide places for us to discuss Real Life. Camelot Outpost and the other Game Community Forums (free), as well as Insider Boards including the VN Community Board, and the new Politics Board are available for anyone to use should they feel the need to start a debate. Also, over on the other side of the house, the IGN Boards have many more boards with special topics like Sex and Dating that we can visit. Remember though, even on those boards, OT is not the same as spam 
We would like to stress that this does not mean that Off Topic posting is forbidden. Moderate and appropriate community based discussion on Server Forums is something we love. Just be aware that if it becomes too heavy, or goes to pharming or spamming, the mods will prune it down to a reasonable level. OT is by nature ephemeral, and subject to locking or deletion if it begins to overwhelm the Forum on all but the pure OT boards.
But, though we do allow Off Topic posting on places like the Camelot Outpost, fairness to all our community members requires that we not go into certain areas there.
Because of this we are asking everyone to keep these topics to the appropriate forums, and leave them off the World Forums and other Game Specific areas.
Examples would include Politics, and Hot-Button Social Topics, including Race, Religion, Abortion, Gun Control, Sexual Preference/Orientation, and similar topics that we all know elicit strong feelings in many people.
Thank You for your consideration.
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Please look at the IGN Entertainment User Agreement to review your rights as a poster
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That which does not kill us makes us stranger.
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