Spider-Man Forum Rules and Regulations - Updated 01/17/2011

[Mister Mets]

I've been meaning to revise the rules of the forum for a while. Although these will often be exactly like the older set of rules.

1. BE POLITE.
This should be self explanatory, but just in case, on this board, we do not tolerate people acting like jerks for no reason. Treat everyone with civility, and by "everyone" we mean posters as well as creators, a category that includes anyone involved in the production of the comic books or related merchandise. If you want to complain about Alex Alonso, Dan Slott or whoever, go ahead, but do it civilly, or else one of us will delete. Flame-baiting will not be tolerated either, nor will posts that we deem as being extremely crass and beyond our standards of civility.

Figure out how to make your point without getting personal. Just in case you were curious, "You lack reading comprehension" is an insult.

This is the biggie. Break it and you get a warning. Break it again, your name goes in the book. Third time, you're banned from CBR for a duration of our choosing. There will be no warnings, no appeals. Personal attacks and insults of any form will not be tolerated on this board from here on in.

2. DON'T USE DISCUSSIONS AS AN EXCUSE TO ATTACK THE OTHER GUY!
Keep the discussions about the comics, not your fellow posters. Don't use debate as an excuse to critique one another. Tread very carefully when discussing the actions and opinions of other posters, and do so only when it is somehow relevant to their argument.

As per the first rule, insulting one another will not be tolerated.

3. PUT SOME THOUGHT INTO IT.
Starting up a thread with a one-or-two-sentence summation of a thought isn't good enough. You're not supposed to just give a topic and then say, "Discuss". If you want to talk about something, talk about it. Put some effort into it, make it a springboard for future conversation.

This also applies to "stake claiming" threads.

4. YOUR OPINION ABOUT SOMETHING IS NOT, IN AND OF ITSELF, WORTHY OF ITS OWN THREAD
Please search the forum. You may think your opinion is interesting, but we have many discussions and some might already exist that cover the topic you wish to write about. If so, post your thoughts there, because it's either going to end up being merged into the other thread, closed, or deleted.

Related to this, if you're starting a discussion, understand that the new thread isn't going to be about your opinion. Keep that in mind when coming up with the first post and the title.

5. DON'T POST SPOILERS WITHOUT WARNING
Some people won't be able to buy comics the day they come out. Others may wait for the trade. So don't post spoilers in thread titles, please. And if the thread has spoilers in it, put the word "spoilers" in the thread title. When bringing up a spoiler in another thread, use the spoil tags. Finish your spoiler with a [/SPOIL] and begin it with a [SPOIL]

It's sometimes questionable what exactly constitutes a spoiler. When in doubt, use the spoiler tags, so you don't inadvertently ruin someone else's surprise.

For people who get advance copies of comics, all discussion threads for issues have to be posted no earlier than 10 AM on the day the book is released in the United States, so it's at least possible for someone else to have legally obtained an issue.

Threads discussing preview pages from places like Comics Continuum are fine, but the threads are ONLY to discuss the pages in the preview.

6. PROFANITY
Keep language at a PG13 level. The odd shit, hell, damn, and what not is acceptable. Even an f bomb here or there. But not in the thread titles. And not excessively.

And don't refer to women (fictional or not) as "skanks" or "whores" or "hos." Not cause it's dirty, just because it makes you sound extremely sad and makes Shaggy and me ashamed of our gender. Similar misogynistic comments are not welcome.

[ShaggyB]

7. NO "WHAT'S THIS WORTH?" THREADS
(Thanks to ED for this one)
Since it's come up a few times recently . . . a comic book is only worth what you can get for it. Thus, eBay is probably your best resource for the price other people are actually getting for the same comic, assuming you don't have access to a local comic shop. This site is also good.

So if we close your "What's this worth?" thread with a mention of eBay, that's the reason.

8. DO NOT REFERENCE OFF-FORUM DISPUTES
Some of you guys know each other from other forums, and that's cool. There's no need to continue disputes from other forums here, or to reference encounters with specific individuals from outside these forums. Whether someone was banned, had a reputation as a troll or obviously lost every argument he had with you has no relevance to discussions here. It is something which shouldn't be brought up in this forum, especially given the difficulties in verifying this stuff, and the potential for abuse and harassment.
If you are concerned about a poster based on his or her behavior on another message board, send Mets, me or any of the other moderators a private message explaining why, but otherwise don't continue personal rivalries here.
This extends to starting discussions about people who post on other message boards, and don't post here. Don't drag us into your disputes elsewhere.

9. RESPECT THE LAW
This should be obvious, but please do not ask for or provide links to anything illegal (IE- comics downloading services, or places with unauthorized streaming video of the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon.) Do not say you'd like to kill a comic book creator/ poster, and do not provide the address to the guy who makes that boast.
And don't brag about doing anything illegal either.

10. NO EYEROLLS
The option for a :rolleyes: smiley has been removed for the entire Comic Book Resources forum. Do not try to replace those with imported smilies from other websites, or anything of the sort. This includes writing stuff like "I miss eyerolls."

11. PROVIDE LINKS AND SOURCES WHEN POSSIBLE
If you're going to cite something someone has said, please try to provide a link if it was posted online, or let us know where you got the information (if it was a book, magazine article, or something of the kind.)
Related to this, if you're going to quote something someone else said at the forum in another thread, try to provide a link to the thread and the post in question. Otherwise, we reserve the right to just delete your comments and consider the possibility that you may be flame-baiting, especially if it turns out you twisted what someone else had said.

12. DON'T POST FULL ARTICLES FROM OTHER SITES, JUST POST THE LINKS
We get into sketchy copyright issues when someone posts an article or column fully in a thread. Just post a link, and cite the parts of the article you want to emphasis.

13. DO NOT OPEN THREADS TO SELL ANYTHING TO OTHER POSTERS
This is a bit redundant as it is included in the general rules for the CBR community but selling items or linking to auctions with the intent of profit (including but not exclusive to eBay) are not permitted. There is a trading thread on the Community Board if you wish to swap items but monetary exchanges are not allowed.

Breaking this is considered spamming, and that can get you banned very quickly.

[Mister Mets]

No one's under a moral obligation to reply to a post, so bumping threads explicitly to get someone's attention is frowned upon. And it often looks pathetic.

Harassing and/ or insulting someone VIA private message is an offense for which you can be banned without warning.

If someone's obviously breaking the first rule, and you voice your approval (unless you parse your words very carefully) you're breaking the first rule as well, and can be treated the same way as the other guy.

We really dislike the “You aren't as real a fan as I am, because you disagree with me" argument. Challenging whether or not someone else is a fan breaks the first rule, even in general statements. Don’t claim that readers who disagree with you regarding the significance of continuity, the direction of the Spider-Man books, whether it’s worth boycotting the books or any other subject are not true Spider-Man fans, or real Spider-Man fans, or any derivative of that. It’s not our place to say whether someone else cares about a character, or make blanket statements to that effect. The sole exception to this decree is a thread meant to discuss this topic.

If someone says something clever (or moronic or whatever) in response to someone you disagree with and you want to express your approval, do so in a civil manner. Posting some picture you found to ridicule the guy you disagree with does not accomplish this. Neither does a one word response (like "Burned" "Fail!", and "Win!" (or a sentence variation like "You got PWND.") If you feel compelled to leave a response, you can and should take the time to write thoughtful responses, even if you think the guy you're responding to (and especially if it's the guy someone else was responding to) is an idiot.

Related to this: if someone makes a post that you believe breaks the other rules, don't comment on what I or another moderator could do to them. Report the post, or send me a private message about the specific post.

[Mister Mets]

Announcing that someone is on your ignore list is flame-baiting. Don't do it.

Please don't announce that you're reporting a post. It brings the discussion to a halt, you may look ineffective if nothing is ever done with the original post, and it may upset the other guy, escalating the situation. Just quietly report and wait for results. You're still be free to send a private message to the poster if you wish to not be anonymous regarding the reported post.

If you have any questions about the rules, there is a thread to discuss the subject. Otherwise, feel free to send a PM to either Shaggy or me.

[ShaggyB]

Further notes on rule #9..

9. RESPECT THE LAW
This should be obvious, but please do not ask for or provide links to anything illegal (IE- comics downloading services, or places with unauthorized streaming video of the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon.) Do not say you'd like to kill a comic book creator/ poster, and do not provide the address to the guy who makes that boast.
And don't brag about doing anything illegal either.

This includes any and all threats. It should go without saying that a threat is not something that will be tolerated here at CBR. The internet makes it hard for those who are reading your post to determine your intentions. Therefore one can never be sure if you are joking or if you are serious. If it is not your intention to threaten anyone, then do not use language that can be perceived as a threat. If you are that mad at a poster, use the ignore feature and separate yourself from the problem. Report the post in question or PM myself or Mister Mets about the other poster. Don't take matters into your own hands and threaten anyone.

A discussion about how others, especially industry professionals who often make public appearances at conventions and store signings, can change their behavior to reduce the risk of physical assault, constitutes a threat.

Once again, threats to other posters or to comic book creators (whether or not they post here) will never be tolerated. If you feel someone has threatened you or if you see a threat on this board against anyone else, do not hesitate to contact myself or Mister Mets via a PM. Your help in this matter is appreciated.

[ShaggyB]

It has come to my attention that we may need to be a bit clearer on Rule #11

11. PROVIDE LINKS AND SOURCES WHEN POSSIBLE
If you're going to cite something someone has said, please try to provide a link if it was posted online, or let us know where you got the information (if it was a book, magazine article, or something of the kind.)
Related to this, if you're going to quote something someone else said at the forum in another thread, try to provide a link to the thread and the post in question. Otherwise, we reserve the right to just delete your comments and consider the possibility that you may be flame-baiting, especially if it turns out you twisted what someone else had said.

This applies to all information, not just quotes. If someone asks you to produce a link so they can verify what you have said is true, then you should produce the link whenever possible.

Sometimes articles about what a writer said at a convention panel or other relevant information may no longer be available for us to link to. That is fine, but you should indicate that this is the case. Because the context of a quote is often important, if you can't provide it in its entirety, do not be surprised if someone dismisses it as possibly incomplete.

If you do not have the ability to post a link, just say so. I realize this may diminish your position on a certain topic, and some poster may categorize the info supplied as anecdotal or made up, but this is the risk you take when arguing anything without the ability to back it up completely. It's totally acceptable to use information gleamed off-line, in interviews and books, and in that case it's completely appropriate to supply information such as the author and the book's title.

Once again, and this is the big one:

If you are asked for a link to the information you are giving and you refuse to provide this (IE- dancing around the subject of giving a link or backing up a statement), we might decide that you are trolling / flame-baiting. In that case, you will be dealt with accordingly (this ranges from post deletion to restrictions placed on your ability to post.)

We understand some information can't be linked to and in those cases we ask you to state that you can't produce the link.

[ShaggyB]

A note on reporting a post.

We appreciate your help in reporting post that break rules. It makes the job a bit easier and allows for Mets and I to focus into a discussion that needs to be moderated.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am going to share something with you guys. When you report a post, sometimes its the first time Mets and I have seen it. Please keep in mind, when we arent online... we arent allowing a rule breaking post to stand. We simply havent been on to see it yet. Likewise, if you are going to report a post, dont respond to it. When you do you are just furthering the inappropriate discussion. Add to that, now we have to remove your post or edit it.

Thanks for the help.