Creation of Forum Rules

[Freya]

Most board rules are common sense, but they're also things people take advantage of if you don't write them. It doesn't matter to me if people skim the common sense rules, like, "no godmoding, no Sues, kay, I know this," but I would like people to pay attention to the more specific board rules, like what size graphics are allowed to be or what kinds of charas are allowed. I recently had to put in an image-sizing code on one board I co-admin 'cause several people kept disregarding the size rules. I usually don't hide codes in the rules unless other staff wants to do it, 'cause usually I can tell just by the chara profiles people submit whether they've read the rules or not. If I see a chara with disallowed traits, someone using "color" tags to set off dialogue, etc. I prompt them to go back and read the rules. Also, I go through periodically and revise the rules to add or take out things where needed, because the needs of the board change over time.

[horsecrav202]

I agree, I also do not like forums where they have just the very few little rules. Like 10 lines or something, I mean why not take the time then and there and prevent problems by giving a complete set of rules.
I also find that a FAQ section is helpful. For new RPers and Forum users they could have a lot of misunderstandings or get lost.
Great Thread!

[KHAØS]

Get to the point.

That is he number one key for rules. Let the most important rules be declared first so the reader knows what this site is all about.

As for rules and instructions on 'how' to role-play should be categorized. For ex. (I only play animal RPG's so this is an example for that) Fighting, Pack Ranks, Mating, would all be in their own paragraphs making it easy for the reader to view.

That's what i look for when reading rules.

[infestor1]

Well, I think rules should be there, so there are no spammers running around talkking leik diz. But I don't think the forum should be like a prison.

Rules like this:

1) Your topic title must be double-spaced
2) No cursing allowed under any circumstances
3) leet speakers will be permanently banned.
4) Admin applications must be sent through the mail

Okay, those are random. But that is waaaay too harsh. But rules like this:

• have fun

Are really bad. Because you have a random crap forum with a bunch of random spammers.

see wat i mean? ;D

[djdanger]

I usually don't make too many rules, because in my opinion, people go to forums to have fun & talk to nice people about things they like. They don't want to be "sternly spoken to" for every other message the post, or banned, or what not. At the most, I make about 5 rules, & even then the last is to have fun, so .. 4 rules, lol. So I don't know if that makes me a pushover or whatever, but at least people aren't opressed at my forums ^_^

[mydogwillie]

Hello all
I agree to having rules, I didn't have any when I first started my forum
But soon found out the hard way that some people will walk all over you and others giving no respect to anyone. So I put up three simple rules to guide folks through.

#1) Please be respectful to others while a member of this forum
#2) No cussing, we have kids to that read and get on here
#3) Please No arguing among your selves, take it to a pm if you have a problem with anyone or email the party .

That lasted a little while but not really much .
I had to increase and send out reminders by Pm's to some hard heads
and Finally had enough so I put up a small list of grounds for termination
of account and or restriction of the forum for a while depending on the degree of the offense .

I also explained that this forum is and was like a team
if we followed and acted as a team , everyone is a winner
But when anyone don't go by the rules they set the bench or are booted off the team and we all loose.

Still we had a few that must have missed their daily dose of Ritalin
or something LOL .

All in all most members are self policed, But as in everything else
a few are the other way. and don't get it until they are given some vacation time or worse banned.

[:~:Sarapha:~:]

Hi Arty

On my board, I faced the same difficulty you described in the first post, organization.

When I started the site, I didn't have too many rules, just the basics and whatnot. They expanded like a marshmallow in a microwave though, and I had a solid block of writing that even I didn't want to read.

So I split them up into categories, like 'General Board Rules', 'RPing Rules', and so on and so forth. I made the category title size 3 or 4, bold, and centered the whole thread, and I put the rules into bullets. I shortened the explanations of each rule a lot too.

I've come across many sites that repeat the same thing over and over. Like they'll have "Be nice to others" in their 'general site rules', 'posting rules', 'chatbox rules' and 'ooc rules'. All in the same thread. This takes up so much space, it's not funny.

[imnotperfect21]

My rules I have in three easy sections.. Each section is about a paragraph long.. which is not too bad but I find breaking them up like that it makes it easier to read.

The Main rules..

which say things like... No spamming, no double posting or single word posting.. things like that.

The second set is pertaining to the Character and Posting..

Which is things like.. Word count, No posting a advertisement any other place but on the advertise thread.. and NO GOD MODDING..

The third section is Activity..

Which says things like why join a site if you dont plan on staying and posting ( I have a bad time with that.) and it has a activity requirement of one post every 2 weeks. Which is not bad at all.

After the two weeks are up then I put their Application in the 'denied' thread and they have to PM a Member of the staff to get it out once they start posting again.

All sections are on one post.

[RIMY ♥]

Rules are totally important, but some people just don't read them and it's really annoying at times. I think the main rule for me would be .. no mary/gary sues. I don't know why but it becomes really annoying when you are checking an application of a total mary/gary sue.

The 2nd most important rule that I use all the time is respect, some people really don't have respect. Some admins work really hard to make a forum running well and I don't think it's a good idea to just say bad things about it, like how the plot sucks. Or they just stop paying respect when their character (as I mostly roleplay) are not accepted and they start to go over the rules and break them one by one.

Those would be the most important to me... then comes the word count, activity, adversitising, etc.

I am also not fond of small little rules, I can't think up any examples but it's those small, not needed, stupid rules that are made to suck the fun of everyone. >>;

[niyx]

I don't do this, but I've seen some rules with a hidden message in the context that is required to be placed in a character draft. However, I don't know how efficient this method is.

My site was basically abandoned by its owner, but I had been made an administrator... So I recently redid everything on the site. When I made the rules I looked at the rules of other forums. From what I saw, the most basic rules were:

• No god-modding
  
• Respect
  
• Language restriction / content of posts (like movie ratings, PG, PG-13, R, etc...)
  
• Banning guidlines
  
• Length of posts
  
• Grammar
  
• Creating Characters
  

As for the length of the rules... If members are too lazy to read ALL of the rules then they shouldn't be joining.

[Reisuke]

My forum rules are usually long, but crucial to the member because those who don't read them don't know how to operate around the forum which usually leads to them: messing up, doing something wrong, become noobs/nubs, asking he same question, etc. So i do it for a reason. Those who don't read them will obviously not have a great time at my site, but eh you can't cry over spilled milk...just get some more (referring to members who decide to quit because they can't have it there way).

[grieves and squick]

My site has all the rules on one page. Further rules such as things that further explain what can disqualify an application for a character are posted up in the application room with a flashy title; most of this is just elaboration on the rules because we get a LOT of beginners who have never roleplayed before and need all of it spelt out for them. We're very careful not to add a rule unless it is actually needed. Over time we've actually been able to delete some rules due to finding better ways to regulate things. Such as rare character types becoming too common--originally we banned these characters when they got too numberous, but then instead we installed a money system and put a price on each one. Players can now purchase them when they earn enough money.

No matter what your rules are, make sure they are simple. I actually once belonged to a site where the staff themselves did not fully understand how all the rules worked. No lie. Players would ask "So what does that mean?" And we were like, I don't know actually. Ask the owner." She would explain and no one would be any the wiser. Over time, just about every time some issue came up more rules were added to correct it. This is a big danger to a forum as time goes by, because most one time incidents do not need to be prevented in the future by adding more rules. You deal with these arbitrarily. You CAN'T prevent all issues from arising just by canvassing every possibility with a new rule. You'll wind up with so many rules that nobody can enjoy the place.

[Gateway Hogwarts]

Most of my rules focus on the attitude of the members. I have between 10-15 rules and I think only three actually deal with length. The main point is that rules keep people in line, but an Admin that is too literal with the rules just needs to focus on being a member instead of an Admin as banning someone over a first time offense would be way too harsh. Rules are good to have, but over-enforcing alienates members.

[Ginger]

I have a role play forum, and 5 rules for the General and Role play rules. With a detailed describtion about them, especially for the "Don't ask if you can become a staff member" rule. Further I have describtions for some of the things that happen on the site, otherwise it would be almost impossible to understand what is going on. I have everything in size 1, so that it doesn't look big but is still readable.

[HoudiniDerek]

My rules are mainly about maintaining a happy and open community. The rules have some basic premise as to how to move around the site and some frequently asked questions that cropped up under the old regime. However, most deal with what makes the community function. Granted, there are a few rules in other sections that have specific needs, but the rules are still easy to understand. If there are questions or concerns, I have a board for it and I always accept PMs on the matter. I have even edited a few rules based on ideas and concerns of the members. It helps them feel more invested in the forum and can help keep it successful and peaceful.