BZPower Forum Rules & Guidelines, New and Updated Options

[Bionicle Rex]

The previous set of BZP guidelines were written when the forum was part of BZ Community and was much smaller than it is now. Because of that fact, it has become necessary to write up new guidelines more appropriate to manage large populations such as we have here.

Every person is granted one BZP account. A person is not permitted have more than one account. Administrators have the ability to find out if a person does have an excess account, and if such is discovered, a penalty can be issued. If you become dissatisfied with your user name, you can PM an admin and it will be changed for you.

Registering an account is an acknowledgement that you intend to follow the rules and decorum of the BZP forum and are legally able to do so. What follows are rules created by the BZP Administration. The Administration reserves the right to alter, enforce, add, or waive any rules for any specific member at any time.

There is no flaming. Flaming makes for a negative atmosphere and it will not be tolerated. That means you should avoid yelling at and needlessly criticizing other members.

There is no trolling. Trying to force someone into an argument it not allowed.

No pornographic, sexually offensive, sexually explicit, or objectifying material. Simple rule. Administration judgment applies here. Sexually suggestive images will be heavily scrutinized. We'd like for our readers to be able to read the forum at work and at home without fear of retribution. If it's not something you'd see walking down the street or in the normal course of public life – don’t use it.

Post in the right forum! If it's about Kanohi Masks, post it in the Kanohi Masks forum. Even if it's only humor, an observation, or angst, if it's about something that we have a forum for, post it there. Resist the temptation to post something off topic because you think you'll get "better responses" in a particular forum. We know there are a lot a forums and it can be confusing to choose the right one to post in. If you are unsure, consult a Forum Leader or Forum Assistant.

Don’t use foul language on the BZP system. We want BZP to be kept clean, and that includes keeping a clean sounding forum. Most bad words are filtered out, but some have been overlooked. Just because a word is not filtered does not mean it is allowed. Use your judgment – we think you know what is right and wrong on a forum that 7 year-olds read.

Do not dig up old threads. If you want to continue a discussion from an old thread (older than 1 month), create a new thread and reference the old one in your opening post. There is a very high turnover rate in membership, and people may not always remember old conversations.

Do not double post. Posting two or more times in a row is not necessary. There is an edit button for all posts you make, and it should be used. Double posting is a waste of bandwidth, and the rule against it will be heavily enforced.

Do not post a topic with partial information. Don't post a topic with only part of the point you want to make and state that you will post the rest of your thought when X amount of people reply. That's a form of spamming and is not allowed.

Respect those in authority here. Being rude to an Administrator, Forum Leader or Forum Assistant is highly inappropriate and will be dealt with using the highest possible punishment.

Religious sigs, posts, and PMs are not allowed on BZPower. This includes quotes from the Bible, Koran, or other religious publication, as well as statements or sigs such as "Jesus Loves You" or "Proud to be a Christian".

Political sigs, posts, and PMs are not allowed on BZPower. This includes other topics related to politics such as abortion or gun control as well as any statement promoting or insulting certain political ideologies.

BZPower does not condone intolerance. If a member treats with disdain another member or content because of race, religious preference, gender, sexual orientation, or national origin, the member will face administrative action up to and including banning if severe enough.

Advertising is allowed, as long as those advertisements meet the requirements stated in the BZP Advertising policy.

Roles of officials:

Administrators: There are three Administrators/principal owners of this site. Kelly (Binkmeister), Bionicle Rex (Rich) and Jon (Dimensioneer). All three are equal partners in this endeavor known as BZPower, and both have an equal voice in its direction. If a member of the administration makes a decision, do not go running to another admin looking to have the decision reversed – it’s not going to happen. Once an admin issues a judgment, it is as good as written in stone should they want to stick to it.

Forum Administrators: The role of the Forum Admin is to run the forum.

Forum Leaders: Forum Leaders run the day-to-day operations of the forums. They are chiefly responsible for the enforcement of these guidelines you are reading right here. When a Forum Leader issues a reprimand or a judgment, it is to be followed. A Forum Leader’s decision will hardly every be reversed by a member of the Administration. Forum Leader decisions are not permitted to be reversed by another Forum Leader, so don’t bother pursuing that avenue. Should you have a problem with a decision a Forum Leader makes, discuss it with the Forum Leader, or the Forum Leader Chief -- Bionicle Rex.

Forum Assistants: The Forum Assistants exist to assist Forum Leaders in their role as policy enforcement officials.

Forum Mentors: Forum Mentors help new and old members alike in understanding and being made aware of BZPower's policies and also approve New Members' posts.

Methods of policy enforcement:

When a member violates these guidelines action can be taken. These are some of the methods of action:
1) Post count reduction. For many minor offences a post count deduction can be issued. This makes a member’s rank decrease.
2) Reprimand by a Forum Leader or Admin. This is just a simple talking-to. It is basically a warning not to repeat the offending action.
3) Proto Energy Drain. If a petty offence is committed, a member can loose some proto energy. When the proto energy runs out, a member is automatically suspended.
4) Suspension. A break from posting because of a rule violation. Suspension can last anywhere from a few days to indefinite suspension.
5) Banning. Banning means that you are no longer invited to participate in the BZP forum. Once a member has been banned it is permanent and cannot be reversed by anyone except the Administrator who preformed the banning.
6) Legal action. Legal action is not out of the question if property destruction occurs because of mischievous behavior such as hacking and virus sending. You can be traced in all the actions you perform, so think twice about doing anything serious. We have no problem with throwing a mischievous 14-year-old in jail should they cause damage.

BZP Etiquette Rules:

Use descriptive subject lines and research your post. This reduces the chances of double-posting, and it also makes it easier for people to see what they do/don't want to read. Also, scan the subjects of the last several days' posts to make sure you aren't duplicating posts. Also, consider what forum your topic should be posted in.

Be considerate of transfer speeds. HTML is currently disabled, but if it is enabled at a later date, the use of is, embedded objects, java and javascript are not welcome. Not everyone has broadband! DO NOT attempt to subvert, modify, or disrupt the normal flow or display of the Support Forum or its content.

Don't be snappy or a know it all. People don't appreciate such an attitude and it leads to a cold-feeling forum.

No "Am I Hot or Not", "show me your girlfriend." etc. threads. There are several places for that already. The occasional picture thread is OK (if we're talking about pictures of members), but this is not a dating forum.

No blatantly juvenile toilet humor. Simple rule. Forum Leader's judgment applies here. Talk about what you do to relieve yourself, although popular (for some odd reason) is not needed here. Please remember this rule especially when posting in the Comedies forum.

Finally, read the Reference Desk. There are other rules and guidelines located there that are not mentioned here that you are expected be aware of.

We, the administrators of BZPower, thank you for your cooperation in following these rules and guidelines. Your cooperation makes BZP a better place for everyone.

-Kelly (Binkmeister)
-Rich (Bionicle Rex)
-Jon (Dimensioneer)
-Andrew (Black Six)