This document has been created to help members understand the basic rules, to outline etiquette for posting, and to familiarize members with the forums special features. Take your time when reading this document to ensure that you don't make any faux pas when posting to the forum. If you should have any difficulties understanding any thing, notice an error, or need help beyond that which is provided here feel free to contact the board administrator, or moderators.
Welcome to the Forum!
Join In!
This forum was created to allow free flow of ideas, information, support, and provide a general outlet for creativity and fun. Please don't be afraid to speak up and post about anything, after all the best way to get help is to ask for it! By the same token, don’t hesitate to provide someone with help, or your opinion. So you aren’t an expert on the subject at hand? Don’t worry over it, often just showing interest and trying to be a friend to someone is of great help. This is an open forum in which your help, insights, commentary, and inspirational messages are valued greatly.
Have Fun!
You can eek out your own little niche in the Grove, and in the hearts and minds of other members by jumping in with both feet to have loads of fun. If you think you are too shy, well then… grab a friend, and make them join too if you have to! This is meant to be a wonderful place to hang out and enjoy the company of others like yourself who enjoy games and all the fun that there is to be had when playing them. Try out new games! It makes for an ever changing and always interesting time, and isn’t that just what I’ve been talking about anyway?? =)
General Rules
1.) Always treat others with respect.
2.) No Obscenity, Harassment, Fraud, Spam, or General Obnoxiousness.
3.) No blinking, obscene, suggestive, nude, harassing, drugs, or contraband avatars.
4.) Do not post material that doesn’t belong to you. If you didn’t make something or were not part of the team that did, don’t post it!
5.) Do not purposefully circumvent the Language Filters. All content must follow a G/PG-13 rating.
Your Admin & Moderators
| Name |
Title |
Profile |
PM |
| TreeSprite |
Nymph (Administrator) |
 |
 |
| Corwyn |
Elf (Moderator) |
|
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| Brayen |
Elf (Administrator) | |
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| Anga |
Elf (Administrator) | |
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| RuneSage |
Elf (Moderator) |
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Posting Etiquette
Mind Your Manners
Personal attacks are not only hurtful to the people involved, but are also unfair to the other members of the group. Postings that include a personal attack or slight directed toward anyone will be immediately edited, or deleted.
Members who post such will be warned only twice before being banned from membership.
Remain Sane
This forum is intended to be a haven where you may take flight on the wings of your imagination. It is not a haven for the insane. You will therefore not be allowed to post in a seemingly insane manner unless you are role playing, have an approved Player Character account, and are doing so in the proper role playing forums.
Members who post inappropriately will be warned only twice before being banned from membership.
Stay on Topic
Try to keep threads on topic. If the topic strays from the topic posted in the thread title, please remember to post a new thread to the appropriate forum. You may post a link to the new thread in the original if you feel it's necessary to inform everyone that you are making a new topic. It's hard to remember sometimes, but it makes it so much easier for people who come along later to follow the discussion.
Members who post off topic will be warned only twice before posting priviledges are removed for a 24 hour period.
Post to the Proper Forum
Although all topics of discussion are welcome (so long as they follow a G/PG-13 rating), the forums are divided into subjects that are both welcome on the forum, and generally the most talked about. If you see a forum that fits your topic, post there. The forums are divided and set out as follows:
Grove of the Ancients
Stones of Knowledge - Announcements, and Rules
Greetings Garden - Introductions
The Glade
The Discussion Dogwood - General Chat
Oracle Oak - Current Events
The Otherworld Obelisk - Scrapbook
The Wellness Willow - Health
Peace Pine - Religion & Spirituality
The Verdant Meadow
Buckthorn - Comedy
Juniper - Fiction Stories
Rowan - Poetry
Spindletree - Art
The Far Meadow
Faerie Ring - Forum Games
Wildeflower's Knoll - Game Chat
The WildeWoods
An Poc Ar Buile - Character Introductions
Myth Caranthir - Role Play Info
The forums located in the Grove of the Ancients, The Glade, and the Verdant Meadow are Member Only Areas. The The Far Meadow, and the WildeWoods are available for role playing. You will not be allowed to post in the WildeWoods role playing forums until you have filled out the character introduction forms to the satisfaction of the GMs.
Topics posted outside the appropriate forum will be moved to the proper forum by the Moderators/Administrators, and any members who post outside the proper forums will be informed only twice before posting priviledges are removed for a 24 hour period.
Don't Over-Quote
Assume that members have read earlier posts. Include only the specific information you're responding to, and cut out the rest. This includes extra returns and spaces that reside inside the quote tags.
Members who over-quote will be informed only twice before posting priviledges are removed for a 24 hour period.
Get Caught Up
If you are behind on your reading, there's a good chance that the comment you're about to make or the answer you're about to supply has already been posted by someone else. Please ensure that you have read all of the replies in a thread before posting.
Linking
Website links:
When referring to the works of others that may be of interest to other forum members please remember to post a link to the work. Do not post your link directly to a download from any website, but rather to the page where the download can be found. After all, you wouldn’t want everyone to just download from your website, and not see all the hard work you put into your layout now would you? Do not post annoyance links such as those that advertise a product or service, or that point to web pages/sites containing persistant pop-ups purposefully designed to frustrate, annoy, or lock-up the computer systems of other members.
Email links:
Please remember the safety and feelings of others when posting an email address. When members post a properly formatted email address, this forum will automatically convert the address into a link. Regrettably I don't have a way to shut that option off. There are members of the forum who are under the age of thirteen, as well as members who enjoy their privacy. Most members would likely not enjoy finding their email box suddenly bombarded with spam emails because their email address was placed on a spam list by a bot or webcrawler, so I respectfully request that you do not post a properly formatted email address. For example, rather than posting an email address in the conventional way like this: admin@treesprite.com, Please post all email addresses like so: admin(at)treesprite.com or admin.nospam@treesprite.com.
Members who break the Linking rules will be warned only twice before being banned from the forum.
Remember Private Messaging
Members have two options when posting. You may respond to a member via the forum, or personally. Please remember group etiquette either way.
Members who have a confirmed complaint against them for harrassment via Private Messaging will have their Private Messaging priviledges removed.
Posting Attachments
When posting attachments make sure that they are of interest to the rest of the members, are virus free, and that they are posted in the proper forum. Be sure you keep to the proper size, and types allowed. (See Attachments)
Members who post attachments improperly will be warned only twice before their attachment posting priviledges are removed.
Profile Setup
If you should wish to view, or to change key information in your user profile you may do so at any time, while logged in, by clicking the profile link at the top of any forum page. There are four sections in the profile that contain user editable information:
Registration Information
In this section members can change the password used when registering. (See E-mail Addresses, Passwords)
Public Information
Here members can post information that will be viewable to the public such as Instant Messenger contact information, website address, status, interests, occupation, and a personalized signature. (See Signatures, Status)
Preferences
Here members can set such options as email address display, online status display, reply & private message notification, default formatting & display features, the default language, and time & date settings. (See Time Zone, Language, Private Messages, Email Addresses)
Avatar Control Panel
Here members can set up their personal Avatar display. (See Avatars)
Posting Features
Email Addresses
Member email addresses are set at sign up time, and must be valid for certain forum functions to work properly. These email dependant functions include notification of private messages, notification of topic replies, password reset, and system information. The following apply to email addresses listed on the forum:
1.) If any member address is not found to be valid, the Administrator or Moderators will ask that it be changed to a valid address.
2.) Should any member refuse to post a valid email address they will be banned from using the forum.
3.) Members under 13, and those concerned about spam are encouraged to hide their email address from the general public. This option can be set in the preferences section of member profiles. Check to ensure that the option Always show my email address is marked as no. If no is selected, the registered email address will only appear to the member and board administrators.
Passwords
Forum passwords are encrypted before being stored in the SQL tables that hold the information that is required to run the forum. This means that even the administrator cannot see or use your password. This has been implemented for security reasons, and so that no one can impersonate any user without being given their password. If you should lose your password, don't panic! While your password cannot be retrieved, it can be reset. To do this go to the login page and click I've forgotten my password. Follow the instructions and you should be back online in no time.
Language
The default, and in fact only display language for the forum is English. I've not had any requests for any other language, and am therefore not inclined to add any more language support at this time.
Time Zone
The default time zone for the forum is Grenwich Mean Time minus six hours (GMT -6), or Central Standard Time (CMT). You can force the board to display the proper time zone for your location in the preferences section of your profile.
Status
The information that should be included in the Status section (formerly the location box) will have been properly set by the forum Administrators prior to your accounts' activation. Please do not change your status indicator. It is set to show other members the status of your account.
Status can be set as the following:
1.) Administrator - Administrators are the people who have complete control over the forum.
2.) Moderator - Moderators are the people who are able to edit posts and change specific user settings to ensure that all members follow the rules.
3.) Member - The main membership name with which you joined the forum.
4.) Grove NPC - These are Role Play only characters that are controlled by the Game Masters.
5.) Player Character - These are Role Play only characters that are approved by the Game Masters for use in the Role Play forums and are controlled by the Main Members.
Those caught changing their Status indicators will be warned only twice before having their posting priviledges removed for a 24 hour period.
Signatures
Your signature can be set in the information section of your profile. Once created you can check the Add Signature box on the posting form to add your signature. You can also add your signature by default to all your posts by checking the appropriate radio box in the preferences section of your profile. Even if you set your preferences to always attach your signature, should you want to stop it from displaying you can do so on a post by post basis by un-checking the add signature box on the posting form. The following apply to Signatures posted on the forum:
1.) Signatures must follow the general posting guidlines.
2.) The signature may contain UBB code, or HTML code.
3.) Signature links must follow the linking guidelines.
4.) The signature should not be used to display an image.
5.) The signature font must be the normal size.
6.) The signature length may not exceed 255 characters & spaces.
Those who do not follow the signature posting rules will be warned only twice before having their Signature priviledges removed.
Avatars
This forum option displays a small graphic image below your details in posts. You have the option of creating your own original avatar, or using one of the avatars available in the forum avatar gallery. The following apply to avatars on the forum:
1.) Only one image can be displayed at a time.
2.) The image width can be no greater than 150 pixels.
3.) The image height can be no greater than 150 pixels.
4.) The file size can be no more than 117 KB.
5.) Your avatar must reside on the forums server. This will reduce the possibility of broken avatar image links due to the down time of outside servers. You have the option of uploading from your computer, or uploading from your webspace.
6.) Request has been made by a member of the forums that blinky avs not be allowed due to a member having a seizure disorder. Please be considerate of this fact when using an animated avatar.
Those who do not follow the Avatar posting rules will be warned only twice before having their avatar priviledges removed.
Ranks
In general ranks are used to indicate the number of posts you have made. They may also be used to identify certain users, ususally users who have "forgotten" the forum guidelines. Please do not abuse the board by posting unnecessarily just to increase your rank -- you will probably find the administrator or moderators will simply lower your post count.
| Rank |
Image |
Posts |
| Seed |
 |
0 Posts |
| Seedling |
 |
10 Posts |
| Sprout |
 |
25 Posts |
| Shoot |
 |
50 Posts |
| Twig |
 |
100 Posts |
| Sapling |
 |
250 Posts |
| Tree |
 |
500 Posts |
| Sage |
 |
1000 Posts |
| Treant |
 |
2500 Posts |
| Kindred |
 |
5000 Posts |
| Brownie |
 |
7500 Posts |
| Pixie |
 |
10000 Posts |
| Player Character |
|
Special |
| Official Grove NPC |
|
Special |
| Dragon Fae (Moderator) |
 |
Special |
| Elf (Moderator) |
|
Special |
| Elf (Administrator) |
 |
Special |
| The Nymph (Administrator) |
|
That's me! |
Smilies
Emoticons, otherwise known as smilies are small graphical images which can be used to add expressions of feeling, and are an extra cute way to add emotions to your postings. To use a smiley you should Click Post Reply Then look to the left side of the screen at the small portion of smilies shown, and click on the smiley you wish to use to add it to your post. To see the Complete Emoticon Gallery click View more Emoticons. The following applies to using smilies on the forum:
1.) Do not abuse the image tag and post extra smilies that are not in the emoticon gallery on the board. This is strictly not allowed.
2.) If there is a smiley that you'd like to see added to the emoticon gallery send a private message to the administrator, or the moderators so that we can vote on whether or not to add the smiley to the forum.
3.) Never abuse the smilies, and the forum by overposting smilies. Posting a great many smilies in a single thread causes the server to lag, and it may possibly crash the forum.
Those who do not follow the smilies posting rules will be warned only twice before having their posting priviledges removed for a 24 hour period.
HTML
A few html tags have been allowed for use on the forum. You can disable html on a per post basis via the posting form. Here is a listing of the html tags that will actually work on the forums:
1.) pre
2.) strike
3.) table
4.) tr
5.) td
6.) center
7.) br
You must use closing tags for each tag you use, otherwise the forum will not properly render your html code.
BBCode
BBCode is a special implementation of HTML. You can disable BBCode on a per post basis via the posting form. BBCode itself is similar in style to HTML: tags are enclosed in square braces [ and ] rather than < and > and it offers greater control over what and how something is displayed. You may find adding BBCode to your posts is made much easier through a clickable interface above the message area on the posting form. Even with this you may find the Polls
Members of this forum may create a poll at any time they choose in the forums in which polling options are enabled. To create a poll simply fill in the information in the Add a Poll section at the bottom of the posting form. The following applies to polls:
1.) Polls must follow general posting guidelines.
2.) Polls must contain at least two options to be valid.
3.) Polls can contain no more than 20 options.
Attachments
File attachment posting features have been added to select forums. You may attach files to those forums at any time, however you should be aware that it's your responsiblity that your attachments comply with the boards ratings guidelines. Any files that don't comply with board guidelines will be deleted, most probably without warning. Please note that the administrator or moderators can not and will not take responsibility for any loss of data. This means that if you post a file you should keep your copy of the file unless you don't want it anymore.
More on attachments coming soon!
Special Role Playing and Role Playing Account Rules
1.) In order to be granted access to post and participate in the official role play you must fill out a character sheet to the satisfaction of the Game Master, and the Game Moderators.
2.) Your Game Master is "The Narrator". Your Game Moderators are the Companions of the Light; namely TreeSprite, Brayen, Anga, RuneSage, and Corwyn.
3.) After your character sheet is approved you will receive notification of approval, and you will be sent a Role Play Character invitation via your email address. When you sign up your character account it will be activated and will remain activated only if;
 a.) You use the same valid email with which you signed up to the forum
b.) The username specified within the invitation email.
c.) You do not, and do not at a later time, fill out any information other than the timezone, and posting preferences. *This means that no signatures, or web addresses, or any other information shall be allowed for role play characters, though the Companions of the Light may see fit to allow other information at a later time.
d.) When your Role Play Character account is activated your status with that account will be set as Player Character designating that this is a Role Play only account. Any postings for Player Characters that are found outside of The WildeWoods, or Chistamaria's Treehouse, will be deleted, and you will be punished as set out in the forum rules.
4.) In most cases you will be allowed to post as your Membership name after you have filled out a character sheet. However, those who are allowed to do so will be expected to remember that all postings in The WildeWoods are to be considered as in character unless they are ensconced within double parenthesis like so: ((This is OOC, or Out of Character chat.))
5.) Postings that may seem offensive in The WildeWoods are to be taken as in character and ignored as in character, unless they are ensconced in the double parenthesis that designates them as out of character chat; in which case the offensive person will be punished as set out in the forum rules.
6.) All role play participants should remember that postings to The Grove of the Ancients, The Glade, and The Verdant Meadow are strictly considered as out of character. Therefore, you should be aware of that fact, and think before posting a possibly offensive comment.
7.) Out of character chat will be restricted to clearly designated locations outside the actual role play thread/topic. In other words, No out of character chat will be allowed inside the actual roleplay thread/topic.
8.) Out of character chat and discussions may be taken to Private Messaging as well as to the designated chat topics.
9.) Character creation may be done publicly via the Character Introductions topic, and your character specifications posted there so that everyone knows which character(s) you are playing.
10.) If you wish your identity for any specific role play character to remain private from the other members here is what you need to know:
a.) Post a completed Character Sheet via Private Message to "The Narrator".
b.) Include with your posting the valid yet seemingly anonymous email address at which you want your invitation email to be sent.
c.) After your character creation is finished and duly approved, "The Narrator" will send out your invitation email, and publish your character sheet so that you may role play your character and the general membership will be oblivious as to your identity.
d.) Your new Role Play Account despite having a new email address associated with it, will have it's status set as Role Play Character, and you will not be allowed to post with it outside of The WildeWoods, or Christamaria's Treehouse.
11.) Any pets belonging to a specific character that have the gift of speech are allowed only if;
a.) A separate character sheet has been filled out for them.
b.) They have their own Player Character account.
c.) Their account has the same valid email address as their owner.
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