Welcome to the GESC rules and regulations, 2013 edition. The 2012 edition may be found here. The 2013 update primarily reflects changes to the post reporting system; the rules themselves are unchanged.
We highly recommend reviewing both the Ars OpenForum Posting Guidelines and the Ars OpenForum Acceptable Use Agreement as starter material.
Now, the GESC rules:
0) Conduct ALL discussion of moderation via the post reporting system
We've got a new post reporting system, and we want you to use it. It's accessible in two ways: Either by clicking the little reporting icon on a specific post (
), or by visiting the Contact Moderators link in the upper right corner of every forum page.
GESC – and all of the openforum – is moderated by a team. In order to provide quality service, this team relies on the mutual oversight and support provided by the mods@ mailing list, fed by the post reporting system. We want to hear your questions, concerns, and comments, but we can't address them properly if they don't make it to us in the proper manner.
If you have an an issue with moderation, if you see something you think the mods should look at, if you want to clarify something regarding these rules, if you have a problem with another poster, if you want to run something by the mods... report the post, or use the contact form.
Do not discuss moderation in thread. Do not send a PM. Please use the post reporting system we have in place.
1) NO WAREZ. No links to warez, no requests for warez.
It may be a bit surprising that we still have to emphasize this so much, in this era of online activation, but it's still really freaking important.
This is pretty well black and white - posting links to or requests for warez can and will get you banned posthaste. When we say warez, here is what we mean:
Now, no-cd cracks. As long as you own the game in question, we have absolutely no problem with you asking for a no-cd crack. We are all acutely aware of the issues arising from obsolete copy protection schemes. However, this only applies if you are legally allowed to play the game in question.
Similarly, we allow discussion of modding consoles for whatever purpose you might have (increasing HDD size, allowing backups, etc).
Again... no warez.
2) Thread titles must be work safe, descriptive and on topic
The first part is straightforward - keep the language in thread titles clean. While we don't restrict language usage in posts (up to a point), thread titles are a different matter. Whatever luridly foul things you wish to say about Luigi, you can find a work safe (and, preferably, humorous) euphemism for the title. Also, letter substitution fools nobody, but strings of unpronounceable symbols are acceptable.
Now for the descriptive and on topic bit. It's very simple - use the thread title to sum up or describe what you are saying in your post. Do not use the title as a deceptive hook to lure people in. Do not post something useless like "How do I..." and have the question in the post.
Use a game's full name, rather than an abbreviation thereof. Starcraft instead of SC. Star Control 2 instead of SC2. Soul Caliber 3 instead of SC3. SimCity 4 instead of SC4. Abbreviations mean different things to different people, so be specific.
Avoid using the word "official" or "perpetual." Do not simply declare your thread official by fiat. Threads are only "official" or "perpetual" if the moderators say so.
In a decision between two threads on the same topic, the thread with the most clear thread title will take priority over the thread with a more obscure topic, even if the latter is posted first. Locking or merging may ensue, at moderator's discretion.
3) Avoid thread duplication
As a general rule, moderators in GESC allow a good latitude for threads on closely related subjects. However, at moderator's discretion, threads may be consolidated if they are not sufficiently distinct from other active threads. To help avoid having your thread locked or unexpectedly merged, always review the thread titles on (at least) the first page of GESC before posting. If you are going to post a subject that is similar to that of an ongoing discussion, take great care that your thread topic and your post body clearly show how your thread differs from the others out there.
Mind that, thanks to our current software underpinnings, we are better able to support lengthy threads. To decrease clutter in the forum listing, we encourage the organic formation of centralized, ongoing discussions for popular games, and we have no technical limitations on thread length. At moderator's discretion, smaller threads may be merged into (or broken out of) longstanding threads.
4) LAN parties (yes, they still happen)
All LAN party (or similar event) threads require explicit moderator's approval. Non-profit, charitable, and/or community-organized LAN parties are more likely to receive approval than commercial outfits. As always, if you have any questions on this subject, please contact the moderators.
5) Inlining of images and the use of spoiler tags
Try not to inline anything over about 800x600. As a courtesy to other readers, please think twice about inlining anything at all – a link is usually sufficient. If you want to show something larger, we strongly encourage use of spoiler tags.
6) Fair use of offsite content
NO LEECHING. For both text and images, respect the rights and wishes of content creators.
Do NOT inline images that you aren't hosting without permission - even official screenshots from an official game site. If you want to use someone's bandwidth, ask them. Otherwise, just link to the image or page, or host it yourself. Subscriptors get free image hosting.
Do NOT copy and paste whole articles. Fair use of copyrighted materials is not carte blanche - if you want to quote from an article or review, then quote an excerpt, and provide a link to the larger piece. Common sense prevails.
Do NOT post scans of magazine articles, or links to them.
7) Substance. Substance Substance Substance Substance Substance!
Content is king. Threads lacking content can and will be locked. Some tips to keep you and your posts out of trouble:
8) Platform criticism.
Posts slamming a particular platform without basis - be it a specific console or mobile platform, Macs, Windows, or anything similar - will not be tolerated. GESC is here for gamers of all persuasions, so unless you're in a thread specifically geared towards platform comparison/discussion, keep your anti-platform comments out of the thread. Note that there is a difference between laying down gratuitous smack - one of our founding principles - and trolling.
9) What is GESC, and what isn't GESC.
This is one of the tougher rules to articulate: not everything that relates to gaming belongs in GESC. We have other fora that take precedence on various subjects. Believe it or not, the residents of our other fora do game (or in the case of the Achaia, think they do), and have valuable knowledge about using hardware for gaming purposes. Some examples:
A note about spam. This is really freaking simple, and isn't GESC specific, but let's include it here anyway: If you see a spam thread, or a spam post in another thread, DO NOT REPLY TO IT. Instead, use the post reporting mechanism (
), and our crack team of spam-fighting administrators will be notified. If you're a subscriptor, click the little hammer icon (
) on the spam post - once three people do so, the post in question will be hidden. That's not complicated, is it?
Again - please contact the moderators with any comments, criticisms, concerns, or questions.
We highly recommend reviewing both the Ars OpenForum Posting Guidelines and the Ars OpenForum Acceptable Use Agreement as starter material.
Now, the GESC rules:
0) Conduct ALL discussion of moderation via the post reporting system
We've got a new post reporting system, and we want you to use it. It's accessible in two ways: Either by clicking the little reporting icon on a specific post (
GESC – and all of the openforum – is moderated by a team. In order to provide quality service, this team relies on the mutual oversight and support provided by the mods@ mailing list, fed by the post reporting system. We want to hear your questions, concerns, and comments, but we can't address them properly if they don't make it to us in the proper manner.
If you have an an issue with moderation, if you see something you think the mods should look at, if you want to clarify something regarding these rules, if you have a problem with another poster, if you want to run something by the mods... report the post, or use the contact form.
Do not discuss moderation in thread. Do not send a PM. Please use the post reporting system we have in place.
1) NO WAREZ. No links to warez, no requests for warez.
It may be a bit surprising that we still have to emphasize this so much, in this era of online activation, but it's still really freaking important.
This is pretty well black and white - posting links to or requests for warez can and will get you banned posthaste. When we say warez, here is what we mean:
- Unlicensed copies of software
- ROMs of console games (not including wholly from scratch creations, subject to any licenses said creations may have)
- Leaked versions of not-yet-released software, even software that will be freely available in the future. Just because you've got your hot little digital hands on a copy of the Duke Nukem Forever: Not Sucky Edition open beta a few years early, doesn't mean that you can share it here.
- Instructions on how to obtain unlicensed software, including suggestions of using P2P, searching for a certain term, visiting certain sites, etc.
Now, no-cd cracks. As long as you own the game in question, we have absolutely no problem with you asking for a no-cd crack. We are all acutely aware of the issues arising from obsolete copy protection schemes. However, this only applies if you are legally allowed to play the game in question.
Similarly, we allow discussion of modding consoles for whatever purpose you might have (increasing HDD size, allowing backups, etc).
Again... no warez.
2) Thread titles must be work safe, descriptive and on topic
The first part is straightforward - keep the language in thread titles clean. While we don't restrict language usage in posts (up to a point), thread titles are a different matter. Whatever luridly foul things you wish to say about Luigi, you can find a work safe (and, preferably, humorous) euphemism for the title. Also, letter substitution fools nobody, but strings of unpronounceable symbols are acceptable.
Now for the descriptive and on topic bit. It's very simple - use the thread title to sum up or describe what you are saying in your post. Do not use the title as a deceptive hook to lure people in. Do not post something useless like "How do I..." and have the question in the post.
Use a game's full name, rather than an abbreviation thereof. Starcraft instead of SC. Star Control 2 instead of SC2. Soul Caliber 3 instead of SC3. SimCity 4 instead of SC4. Abbreviations mean different things to different people, so be specific.
Avoid using the word "official" or "perpetual." Do not simply declare your thread official by fiat. Threads are only "official" or "perpetual" if the moderators say so.
In a decision between two threads on the same topic, the thread with the most clear thread title will take priority over the thread with a more obscure topic, even if the latter is posted first. Locking or merging may ensue, at moderator's discretion.
3) Avoid thread duplication
As a general rule, moderators in GESC allow a good latitude for threads on closely related subjects. However, at moderator's discretion, threads may be consolidated if they are not sufficiently distinct from other active threads. To help avoid having your thread locked or unexpectedly merged, always review the thread titles on (at least) the first page of GESC before posting. If you are going to post a subject that is similar to that of an ongoing discussion, take great care that your thread topic and your post body clearly show how your thread differs from the others out there.
Mind that, thanks to our current software underpinnings, we are better able to support lengthy threads. To decrease clutter in the forum listing, we encourage the organic formation of centralized, ongoing discussions for popular games, and we have no technical limitations on thread length. At moderator's discretion, smaller threads may be merged into (or broken out of) longstanding threads.
4) LAN parties (yes, they still happen)
All LAN party (or similar event) threads require explicit moderator's approval. Non-profit, charitable, and/or community-organized LAN parties are more likely to receive approval than commercial outfits. As always, if you have any questions on this subject, please contact the moderators.
5) Inlining of images and the use of spoiler tags
Try not to inline anything over about 800x600. As a courtesy to other readers, please think twice about inlining anything at all – a link is usually sufficient. If you want to show something larger, we strongly encourage use of spoiler tags.
6) Fair use of offsite content
NO LEECHING. For both text and images, respect the rights and wishes of content creators.
Do NOT inline images that you aren't hosting without permission - even official screenshots from an official game site. If you want to use someone's bandwidth, ask them. Otherwise, just link to the image or page, or host it yourself. Subscriptors get free image hosting.
Do NOT copy and paste whole articles. Fair use of copyrighted materials is not carte blanche - if you want to quote from an article or review, then quote an excerpt, and provide a link to the larger piece. Common sense prevails.
Do NOT post scans of magazine articles, or links to them.
7) Substance. Substance Substance Substance Substance Substance!
Content is king. Threads lacking content can and will be locked. Some tips to keep you and your posts out of trouble:
- Do NOT post just a link. Links have context - expound upon that context. For example, Mario piano videos. Post a link, but also give some background on what the link is to, or better yet, comment on how Mario has influenced pop culture. Remember: the reader's interest is not only in the link, its in what you have to say about it, how you make sense of what would otherwise be a blind link (and a subsequent poor thread).
- Do not post only that Item A sucks, or that Item B is better than Item C. Give reasons why, post links to documented problems, of screenshots, or whatever you can. Similarly, do not simply reply to other posters with "you're wrong." Explain why you disagree, and perhaps point to the correct answer.
- No "In Before The Lock" (IBTL) posts. Repeat offenders will be warned, and disciplinary action will be taken if those warnings are not heeded.
- No posts specifically to say that a poster or the thread sucks, either with words or pictures.
- When introducing a new game to the community, give context. What is the game about? Is it part of a franchise? Does it share similarities with other games? What does it do in a new or different way?
- No spoilers in threads which are not clearly marked for them. We have scientifically established that one calendar year is the cutoff under which a 'spoiler' becomes 'general information', which can be discussed in any thread at any time. With care, spoiler tags can mitigate this restriction.
8) Platform criticism.
Posts slamming a particular platform without basis - be it a specific console or mobile platform, Macs, Windows, or anything similar - will not be tolerated. GESC is here for gamers of all persuasions, so unless you're in a thread specifically geared towards platform comparison/discussion, keep your anti-platform comments out of the thread. Note that there is a difference between laying down gratuitous smack - one of our founding principles - and trolling.
9) What is GESC, and what isn't GESC.
This is one of the tougher rules to articulate: not everything that relates to gaming belongs in GESC. We have other fora that take precedence on various subjects. Believe it or not, the residents of our other fora do game (or in the case of the Achaia, think they do), and have valuable knowledge about using hardware for gaming purposes. Some examples:
- Video and sound card discussion belong in the A/V Club. Same for headphones and headsets.
- Mouse and keyboard discussion belongs in Other Hardware.
- Whole system builds have found a home in Other Hardware, as well.
- Poker, for some reason, goes in the Lounge.
- Fantasy Football goes in the Lounge, too.
- Distributed Computing application discussion belongs in the Distributed Computing Arcana.
- Joysticks and other dedicated gaming hardware - wheels, pedals, shifters, rudders, dance mats, etc.
- Console hardware and console peripherals. If you broke your console and want to fix it, ask in GESC.
A note about spam. This is really freaking simple, and isn't GESC specific, but let's include it here anyway: If you see a spam thread, or a spam post in another thread, DO NOT REPLY TO IT. Instead, use the post reporting mechanism (
Again - please contact the moderators with any comments, criticisms, concerns, or questions.