Rules

In tabletop RPGs, "Rule 0" is a concept that means rules are meant to be an aid, but cannot possibly cover all situations. To this end, there may be cases where an inappropriate action does not necessarily go against a written rule, or where a behavior has crossed a line in an inadvertent or harmless manner. Because of this, we trust our moderation team to act as they feel is needed for the situation. As always, a ticket may be submitted to appeal a decision if desired.

Last Revised December 7th, 2021

Famiboards wants to promote a fun and constructive atmosphere here to discuss video games and whatever else may be on your mind. We trust that most members are capable of using their own judgement on what constitutes acceptable behavior, but it is still necessary to clarify our policies that will be enforced by moderation and our general expectations for how best to engage with the community.

The below items are not acceptable in any form on Famiboards, and will be subject to immediate moderation if posted:

• Posting obviously not safe for work material, including pornography, violent imagery, or other disturbing material.
• Usage of derogatory language, including slurs and other forms of hate speech, and other forms of blatant bigotry.
• Linking to any illegal material, including ROM websites or other forms of piracy.
• Revealing identifying private information on anyone, i.e., doxxing.

In addition, the following behaviors are strongly discouraged, and will be actioned if deemed necessary by the moderation team:

• Hostility or aggression towards other members.
• Exhibiting malicious or prejudiced behavior towards any group of people, e.g., Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, Homophobia, Xenophobia, etc.
• Posting with the intention to provoke or upset other members, i.e., trolling.
• Posting a low effort, provocative message without the intention to engage further in the discussion, i.e., drive-by posting.
• Spamming or otherwise repeatedly posting low effort content.
• Encouraging harassment of anyone, including individuals or other internet communities.
• Being inconsiderate towards the concerns of marginalized groups, including the LGBTQ community and those with disabilities.
• Posting with the intent to antagonize or demean a specific group of platform users, i.e., Console Warring.

Famiboards is not intended to be a promotional tool. However, we do recognize that there are content creators in the community who may wish to share their work with others. We will not allow threads to be posted with the intention to fundraise for a private project, and will not tolerate accounts created solely to promote private work. However, if you have a project you would like to share with the community, please contact a moderator or administration for approval and we will consider it on a case by case basis.

It is no secret that Famiboards was created due to a disagreement with the leadership and community of another internet forum. However, please refrain from linking to posts and quoting from members of other internet communities for the purposes of mocking or harassing members of those communities.

We believe that creators should be supported wherever possible, and to that end, we will not allow encouragement of or admission to piracy towards any game currently available for sale. Linking to any pirated material will also not be tolerated.

Only one account is permitted per user. Any attempt to circumvent this will lead to the closure of both accounts. If your account is also determined to be created for a purpose other than participation in the community per our mission statement and guidelines, it will also be terminated.

Added January 10, 2023

Through the use of HIDE tags, members of the community can limit the viewing of the content they post to fellow Famiboards members. Not all hidden content needs to be hidden, and good judgement is expected to be used when determining which content goes behind HIDE tags. Hidden content is generally expected to remain hidden, and members are subject to moderation if found to have shared hidden content by other members outside of Famiboards. These scenarios are to be evaluated by moderators on a case-by-case basis, with the bottom line being that the sharing of sensitive hidden content outside the site is discouraged.

Added October 10, 2024

For any unambiguously¹ bigoted post that results in a permanent ban², anyone who gave that post a "Yeah!" will be permanently banned as well³.

1. It will be up to staff judgment what constitutes unambiguous. If a post is ten paragraphs long, for example, and the part which resulted in a permanent ban is just a single sentence of it and therefore easily missed, we would most likely not invoke this policy. If a post is two sentences, one of which is a super valuable contribution but the other is clear-cut bigotry, then we most likely will. Stuff in between could be a gray area, but as always, if members disagree with our judgment in a specific case, they can take it to the mod feedback thread.
2. If a post does not result in a permanent ban, then that means that there may be room for doubt. If a poster said something bad unintentionally, out of ignorance for example, then it stands to reason that anyone reacting to that post may be unaware as well. Unless a post results in a permanent ban, anyone who reacted to it will not be actioned.
3. If someone reacts to a problematic post but is otherwise a known, healthy contributor, we may afford benefit of the doubt and reach out via DM for clarification instead. And if you get banned for a reaction you handed out by accident, you can explain the mistake via the forum's ticket system, and we may repeal on a case by case basis. Of course, benefit of the doubt will only be afforded proportional to said user's good standing in the community, and will go right out the window if we see this becoming a pattern.

This rule is on a trial period and will be reviewed in January, 2025.

Proposal post

Do not create new threads based on information from anonymous social media accounts. These posts can be discussed in more general speculation threads where appropriate

Please keep the following in mind when posting:

• Always be mindful of the rules as laid out above, but also employ your common sense in what is appropriate for this community and what is not.
• Do not post with the intent to provoke other members in a confrontational manner.
• If you feel other posts are offensive in some way or are getting heated, consider disengaging and using the site's report function to ask for moderation review. Escalating heated arguments almost never yield a positive outcome.
• In your posts, strive to use gender-neutral, inclusive and respectful language. This is a diverse community, and we all have to contribute to making everyone feel welcome here.

Additionally, keep the follwing in mind when creating new threads:

• When posting news or rumors, be sure to properly credit the original source of this information by linking to it in the thread.
• While you can quote excerpts from the thread in your OP for context, do not post the entirety of the text from your source in the thread.
• Please be sure to put effort into the threads you post. The stronger your OP and premise, the healthier and more engaging discussion it will promote. Posting low effort threads may be subject to moderation.
• Do not post threads with the intent to provoke other members in a confrontational manner. Posting topics that are controversial or on difficult subjects is perfectly acceptable, but be prepared to fairly present the topic and give it the attention it deserves.
• Review and pre-release threads do not need to be reserved, but it is expected that they are kept updated and current.
• Consult with staff before posting a thread which might be part of an official Famiboards campaign, e.g. GOTY threads.
• Do not copy paste threads from elsewhere. An exception may be made if the original thread was yours on a different forum, but please ask staff first.
• If a discussion is already ongoing as part of another thread, please do not make a new thread but post in the relevant thread.

Appropriate use of thread prefixes:

• StarTopic: Official site threads. Reserved in the ST | ST in the Treehouse forum.
• News: News stories and current events.
• Previews: For previews on unreleased games.
• Pre-Release: General discussion for unreleased games.
• Reviews: Review scores for upcoming or recently released games.
• Rumour: For specific unconfirmed information and/or stories.
• Deals: For sales and available deals that other community members can utilise.
• Official Tweet: For official tweets from verified industry accounts.
• Spoiler: For threads with open spoilers.
• Garbage Galaxy: Off-topic, shitposting and joke threads.
• LTTP: "Late to the party" for discussing first playthroughs of old games.
• RTTP: "Return to the party" for discussing revisits of old games.
• PlayStation: For threads focused on Sony platforms and their games.
• Xbox: For threads focused on Microsoft platforms and their games.
• Steam: For threads focused on Steam games.
• Hardware: For discussion on gaming hardware.
• Sales Data: For information and discussion on console and video game sales numbers.

• Please keep in mind that not everyone will hold the same opinion (positive or negative) that you do, when it comes to a particular game or franchise. Naturally, a broad range of impressions will form as a result of each player and reviewer's own, subjective taste. Even reviews that land on the more extreme end of either half of the spectrum are expected to be engaged with productively, as opposed to being dismissed out of hand.
• Attacking reviewers for their opinions is strictly prohibited. Though constructive criticism is always welcome, personal shots toward reviewers will be moderated against firmly. Members are expected to place their focus on the content of the review in question, and engage with the points brought forth (using specific quotes, if necessary), rather than fixating on the outlet or individual.
• Drawing comparisons between review scores given to games within the same franchise is generally fair, while comparisons between unrelated games covered by a given outlet or reviewer is broadly discouraged. Reviews consist of a highly subjective evaluation of a game's merits and faults, and how these are weighed differs based on individual preference. Outlets employ a variety of staff members tasked with covering material on a game-by-game basis, and a myriad of factors come into play that all contribute to why game A may have gotten one score, while game B was given another. Due to these factors, a score from years ago is often of limited relevance to the review at hand.
• Excessive fixation on outlier review scores generally stifles the discussion. Members are encouraged to observe the bigger picture, engaging with the content of reviews, versus going in circles around a single review, allowing it to dominate the discourse.
• Aggregated scores (Metacritic, OpenCritic) are often the focal point of review threads, and while they represent the average score for any given game, the numerical value itself is less productively engaged with than evaluation of specific reviews, and the concrete points they make. Low effort commentary along the lines of "Wow, sub-70? Another bomb!" or "LOL, 89 curse strikes again" are subject to moderation.
• Staff will now lock review threads approximately one week after a game's release. Potential exceptions, such as shadow drops and stagnated reviews, are to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Additionally, if the discussion proves unproductive, we may choose to lock the thread before a full week has elapsed. Going forward, review threads will be more closely monitored.

Though we aren't making a push to increase the prevalence of site bans, we will be quicker to give out threadbans, as opposed to feedback alone. Our ultimate goal is to ensure review threads stay measured and productive, with the hopes that these guidelines will bring about a better atmosphere within, and develop a more well-rounded understanding of conduct expectations. Reminders to adhere to the above will be posted within review threads themselves. As with any new site policy implementation, we openly welcome feedback from the community within the original thread here.