Terms and rules

GBAtemp Forum Rules & Guidelines

To enhance the quality of discussion and topics at GBAtemp, we ask that all members participating in the GBAtemp Forums abide by the following rules and guidelines:

Appropriate actions will be taken on those that ignore or attempt to bypass these rules and guidelines. The action that will be taken will be determined by the GBAtemp Forum Staff and will depend on the severity of the violation.

All actions, moderation and administration of GBAtemp are decided by the staff only and are not open to debate.


- We are an English speaking community. Please post in legible English ONLY.


Note to IRC Users:

- Please keep all IRC problems on IRC. Don't start topics on the forum asking why you've been banned from a channel. If you have a problem, try messaging one of the OPs in IRC or if you have to, PM them on the forum.



"Warez" - ROMs, WADs, ISOs & CIAs

"Warez" is an internet term used to describe copyrighted software, game, film, music and data piracy.

• We DO NOT HOST or PROVIDE ROMs/WADs/ISOs/CIAs; or link to websites that do contain ROMs/WADs/ISOs/CIAs.
• We do not allow or condone sharing of title keys or any other form of copyrighted material or content.
• Members may NOT ASK and MAY NOT PROVIDE INFORMATION or LINKS for and to places that provide ROM, WAD, ISO and CIA files in absolutely any way on our forum including PM (private message).
• We do not condone piracy in any way.
• Please go elsewhere if you only wish to download or share illegal files. The GBAtemp Forums are for discussion ONLY.


 

These rules also apply to other "warez" too, not just ROM, WAD, ISO & CIA files; this includes (but is NOT limited to) - licensed and copyrighted software, code, movies, music, video games, magazines, comics, e-books, television shows, illegal torrents, etc. These rules also account for "keygens" and "cracks" including how to obtain, apply or install them.


Those are the most frequently broken rules, and are the most important. Failure to comply with these rules may result in an instant ban on your forum account. Ignorance of the rules is no excuse!


Flaming, Trolling & Harassment

Do not "flame", "bash", "troll" or harass others. Blatantly offensive comments or actions directed at others will not be tolerated. While we do allow members to debate and voice their own opinions, there will be a limit to how far a heated debate can go before it is closed by staff. If you harass someone you will be disciplined. Period.

Please show respect for all members at GBAtemp; new or old. Disparaging remarks towards others about race, gender, origin, handicap, age, sexual orientation, personal politics and religion will NOT be tolerated and will most likely be removed by staff. The poster will then be warned, suspended or banned (see the Warnings section below for more information on warnings).

Flaming, even in self-defence, is strictly prohibited. If you have something to say, say it respectfully or not at all. If someone is harassing you either use the report function or contact a staff member directly. Replying to a flame post will likely result in the removal of your post as well. Flambaiting, or attempting to draw other members into personally attacking you or each other is also not allowed.


General Forum Decency

This public forum is intended for users of all ages, please take this into consideration when posting. Please use common sense and don't post explicit profanity, we are not strict on the use of swearing but please show respect for the members of GBAtemp.

The following rules and guidelines on forum decency or "netiquette" are all mostly common sense, but we know some members lack any common sense so we've listed them here for you to review and hopefully abide by:

• All posts should be made in legible English. Do not make posts or topics in foreign languages, they are likely to be closed. We will be lenient on this rule from time to time as long as it doesn't become a habit amongst members.
• Before you start a topic, perform a search to see if the question or topic you wish to create has been made before. If it has, post in the topic that already exists. Duplicate topics will be closed.
• Please make the topic title you are creating descriptive, clearly reflecting the topic you are addressing. Do not make generic titles such as "Question", "I need help", or in full capitals, with an obscene amount of periods, exclamation marks, question marks, etc. These topics will probably go unnoticed, whereas a topic with a descriptive title will gain more interest.
• Stay on topic; posts that do not may be removed. If you wish to discuss a different subject take it to the proper thread.
• When replying to a topic, don't; unless you have something meaningful to say or something that will contribute to the discussion. Posts such as "Yes", "I agree", "LOL", "When will it be dumped?" or "When will it be translated?"; and nothing but images/emoticons or internet memes are useless and are wasteful on the servers. This is not GameFAQs or 4chan!
• If you have an issue with a member or moderation decision contact the member in question or a staff member via PM. DO NOT air your grievances publicly in the original topic or otherwise.
• Do not post someone's personal information without the proper consent. This includes personal photos, names, addresses, phone numbers, E-mail, instant messenger handles, conversation logs, etc. If the person requests that you remove the subject matter you must comply or else the staff members will intervene.
• Absolutely no posting of pornographic content of any kind, linked to or otherwise.
• Show some restraint on the amount of images you post. Posts or topics with many images are a strain on dial-up users, so please be courteous.
• Do not apply default styles to all of your posts (colors/size etc).
• If one of your posts is removed don't repost it without staff permission, this is considered disrespectful and may result in a warning increase.
• When posting please refrain from double/triple/etc posting and from creating multiple topics about the same subject.
• Don't make secondary accounts, duplicate accounts will be banned.
• Avoid bumping (reviving) old or new topics; they'll be replied to when they're replied to.
• Use the report function! If you see someone breaking a rule, report it. Don't reply to a post you've just reported and don't write an essay for the report reason but DO make it clear why it should be removed.

Warnings, Suspensions & Bans

GBAtemp v2 introduced IPB 2.0; including a member Warning system. Every time a member violates a rule or disrupts the forum, a warning will be applied by a member of staff. Depending on the severity of the violation of rules, the member will be dealt with accordingly:

• Under normal circumstances the member will be issued a single warning and an explanation.
• Under heavier circumstances the member will be issued one or more warnings and may be suspended.
• Under extreme circumstances, being an extreme violation of rules or disruption, the member will be banned from GBAtemp.

All actions are decided by staff only and once made are not open to public debate.


Warning System Rundown:

• Warnings can be reviewed by clicking on the percentage of warnings under the members username within a topic or in their profile. Other members outside of the forum staff CANNOT see your warn level.
• When a member is warned by staff, staff have the option of disabling their ability to post for a few hours/days, suspending the member for a few hours/days or enforcing a staff preview of all their new posts for a few hours/day.
• When a member has been warned by staff, the member will also receive a personal message from that staff member explaining why they were warned. Members may reply to this PM to explain their actions, ask a question or if they think they were warned in error; they may say so.
• Warnings do not automatically decrease. Staff have the ability to decrease warning levels if a member makes a positive impression that they are trying to improve themselves. Otherwise, the warning will be in place for 6 months to a year.
• Once the number of active warnings reaches 10 (100%), the member is banned from the GBAtemp Forums.
• After being suspended or banned anyone caught sneaking back onto the forum under an alias or "suspension/ban evading" will be banned.

Advertising & Requests

Members are not allowed to create topics or posts intended only to promote or advertise their own or any website(s) without staff permission. If permission is given members are required to provide the name of the staff member who allowed the advert in their post.

As long as the advert is non-obtrusive and does not contain links to warez of any kind, members may link to their own website, forum, or venture in their signature and profile ONLY.

Begging in the forums for anything is not allowed. This includes, but is not limited to: asking users to visit a website for the member to gain points/etc, begging to become a staff member, torrent invite, translation, and dump requests, and especially pyramid schemes; where you are asking members to help you out by registering places, visiting certain websites, etc.


Forum Services

The GBAtemp blogging, chat, profile comment, and workspace services are subject to the same rules as the rest of the forum. This includes, but is not limited to: requesting/offering warez, flaming/trolling/harassment, advertising, posting large or obscene images, etc.

Blogs are to be used for anything and everything relating to your personal life, opinions, rants and raves, and anything else you can think of that doesn't fit into another forum section of GBAtemp. Freedom of speech is a key component so your opinions, no matter what they may be, will not be policed as long as you stay civil and within the general rules of the forum.

By writing a forum message or submitting any form of original content to the GBAtemp forums and any other service related to the GBAtemp Network, you are giving us (GBAtemp Network) the rights to reproduce, copy, promote, share, delete, modify this content without your prior consent. We at GBAtemp do not like wasting, so if you wish to unsubscribe from GBAtemp we reserve the right to keep the content that you submitted publicly visible and we conserve the rights mentioned previously. We will however remove your personal information and anything that allows to identify you or your account.


Images, Avatars & Signatures

Avatars and signatures are available for members to personalise their posts by adding their own custom images or text. Do not abuse this right, or it will be removed.

Your posted and linked images, avatars and signatures are constantly reviewed by the moderating staff. Images or content that the GBAtemp Staff find are too big or that are deemed inappropriate including obscene, pornographic, vulgar and any other distasteful or sexually explicit material will be censored, edited or removed with OR without notice; and may result in the member being warned, suspended or banned.

Users are prohibited from posting transparent/invisible images that stretch the page, and the flash-based "screamers" and 1x1 pixel flash videos. Dynamic and HTML-based images, as well as those with overly long animation sequences are also disallowed in your avatars and signatures.

The following image is an example to help you understand the maximum size of a signature. You may go under and but NOT over the 500x150 pixel guideline. No exceptions.



Your signature height, whether it contains images or not, should never exceed 150 pixels. If it does, it may be removed by our moderators. If you see scroll bars in a signature space, that signature is over the maximum dimension limit.

Unlike the resolution of the main signature graphic, there are no set file size limits per image.

• The maximum combined file size for all graphics in a member's avatar and signature is: 80KB
• Members may distribute this 80KB however they wish (Example: 30KB avatar/50KB sig, 50KB avatar/25KB sig, etc)

Have Fun!

Last but not least; have fun!
Enjoy your time spent at GBAtemp, contribute, discuss and make friends. That's what GBAtemp is here for.

Best regards,
GBAtemp Staff.