The CBR Community STANDARDS & RULES

Welcome to the Comic Book Resources Forums, the internet’s largest independent set of comic book forums! If you haven’t read [URL="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=52513"]former site owner Jonah Weiland’s message on that subject[/URL] do yourself a favor and check it out. We hope you desire to share in his vision and join us in celebrating comics and related media, talking about the latest genre news, reading and sharing opinions, having an all-around pleasant online experience and raising the standard of discussion!

That said, with this new standard comes new responsibilities, for both our users and our staff. If everyone meets this challenge head-on we will become a better community as a whole. We will show [B]zero tolerance[/B] for intimidation and abuse for all members of the community, regardless of gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identification. CBR and all areas of its website and operations will be a safe space for all people, of all levels of involvement. This new community will be one that celebrates everything great about being a fan! What you read, what you like, who you are, where you’re from, your gender, your sexual orientation - none of that matters. We value a diverse range of ideas, interests, view points, and backgrounds - because we all love comic books and everything to do with them!

Gone are the days of multiple warnings and temporary bans, so be on your best behavior. Those that haven’t attracted moderator attention in the past have nothing to fear, but familiarize yourself with the new rules to ensure you’re not in violation. Those that have caused problems take this warning to heart; we expect the rules to be followed and those who do not will find their stay at CBR short. Behavior that does not meet with this new standard will not be tolerated, and will be dealt with swiftly and severely. To reiterate: gone are the days of multiple warnings and multiple temp bans.

The new community standard, in its simplest form, is this: [B]Would you act like this or say this if you were in someone else’s house?[/B] Keep that question in mind before you post, the answer should be pretty simple. Our mandate is to build a community that is safe for all - all races, all opinions, and all lifestyles. It will be inclusive, not exclusive. It will be a place where diversity is the norm, not the exception. It will be a place where new members can come in and feel welcomed!

Please take the time to read the CBR Community Standards & Rules posted below.

[U][B]CBR COMMUNITY BEHAVIOR RULES[/B][/U]

[I]NOTE: These rules are subject to change and enforced at Community Administrators discretion.[/I]

[B]BE CIVIL[/B]

Treat everyone with civility, keep the snark to a minimum, and do not insult other people. We cannot stress that last part enough: DO NOT INSULT OTHER PEOPLE. Engaging in insulting behavior is a bannable offense, and not the kind you come back from. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been here, whether you’re a newb or veteran, it will not be tolerated. Keep the example we mentioned in the Community Standards in mind; if you wouldn’t say it as a guest in someone else’s home, don’t say it here.

[B]TREAT COMIC BOOK PROFESSIONALS WITH RESPECT[/B]

The CBR Community is a safe space for creators or other industry professionals to stop by the site and interact with readers and fans. Whether they’re here in person or just a name on a page of a comic or article you’ve read, they’re all to be treated with respect. Having read or purchased a product someone has worked on does not mean you’re permitted to talk about them however you like. Insults, personal attacks and threats will not be tolerated. There are times when users lose sight of the line between the person and the work; criticism of the work is welcome, insults to the creator of the work are not. The same rules of civility apply and insulting behavior will not be tolerated.

[B]NO TROLLING[/B]

Deliberately engaging in behavior for the purposes of harassing, upsetting, or angering others will result in a swift ban from the site.

[B]NO HATE SPEECH[/B]

We welcome people from all walks of life at CBR, and we will not allow anyone to be attacked, ridiculed, shamed or intimidated because of who they are. Statements or any other content of a racist, misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic and sexist nature, or any other forms of prejudice are absolutely forbidden.

[B]NO THREATS OF VIOLENCE[/B]

No one should be made to feel vulnerable or afraid when visiting this site. Threats or expressions of violence will not be tolerated and are grounds for immediate ejection from CBR. This includes exaggerated threats intended to be humorous or otherwise. Threats will be reported to local and national authorities if deemed necessary.

[B]REPORT OR IGNORE, DON’T ENGAGE[/B]

If someone is exhibiting some of the behavior that’s been mentioned so far, whether you are the intended target or not, that does not excuse responding with more of the same or behaving in an insulting manner. Report the incident to the forum’s moderators (either through Private Messaging or with the Report Post function) or ignore the other person (by choice, or by adding the user to your account’s Ignore List). If the incident breaks any of our rules it will be dealt with and the offender likely banned from the site. If you participated in the exchange and struck back with similarly outlawed behavior, you may be joining them.

[B]PROFANITY[/B]

Consider CBR a PG-13 site. We allow some swearing, but don’t overdo it. This applies when self-censoring as well, we appreciate the f**king effort but take it easy when using that s**t. Profanity is FORBIDDEN in thread titles, censored or not.

[U][B]RULES CONCERNING STARTING NEW DISCUSSIONS[/B][/U]

[B]LOOK AT THE FORUM BEFORE STARTING A THREAD[/B]

Is the topic you’re about to introduce already covered in another thread? If so, post your thoughts there. If you suspect the subject of the thread you want start may already exist (for example, starting a thread about a superhero film that’s been in theaters for a month or longer), odds are it does. Your own opinion or review of something is not, in and of itself, necessarily worthy of its own thread. Many ongoing and lapsed discussions exist on our forums, so please use the Search feature. Threads created that ignore these cautions may be merged, closed, or deleted at the moderator’s discretion.

[B]PUT SOME THOUGHT AND EFFORT INTO IT[/B]

Opening posts of any thread should set the tone by introducing the topic and be a springboard for further conversation. Do not succinctly give a topic and then simply say "Discuss" or something similar, expecting other people to run with it. Do not only provide a link to somewhere else or copy/paste an entire article from elsewhere without adding your own thoughts. It’s no one’s job to start threads to make up for whatever particular topics they feel are missing from the forums or need to be split from other conversations, so do not start threads with the empty notion of filling a void without putting the effort into presenting the topic as something worth discussing. If you want to say something, then say it. If you can’t muster up enough effort to start a thread properly, wait for someone else to do it.

(This does not apply to genuine questions posed to the forum the thread starter has no answer to or presenting clips/trailers/previews of material that may be of interest to the forum.)

[B]NO STAKE CLAIMING[/B]

Starting up a thread with little to no content just because you know people will eventually be talking about the topic is stake claiming. Whether you're eager to see people talking about it or want the first post or credit for having started what you think will soon be a busy or popular thread, please avoid doing this.

[B]NO “OFFICIAL”, “DISCUSSION”, OR “THREAD” IN THREAD TITLES[/B]

Users do not make threads official, it's obvious we're all here to discuss things, and we all know what threads are. Let’s keep redundancies and information we already know out of thread titles.

[B]NO PROFANITY IN THREAD TITLES[/B]

Profanity is forbidden in thread titles, even when censored.

[B]NO SPOILERS IN THREAD TITLES[/B]

No matter the form of entertainment (TV, Film, Books, Comics, etc.), do not put information that spoils important or climactic content of the work in the title of threads.
[B]
NO REVIEW/SPOILER THREADS OF NEW COMIC RELEASES BEFORE 9AM EST[/B]

Threads to discuss newly-released comics may be created at 9:00 AM Eastern on the day the issues are officially released in the United States (typically Wednesday).

[U][B]GENERAL ACCOUNT AND POSTING RULES[/B][/U]

[B]MODERATOR DECISIONS ARE FINAL[/B]

When a moderator makes a decision or tells users to stop what they’re doing, it is not an invitation for debate and is not to be discussed on the forums. If you have an issue with a decision a moderator has made and feel you need to be heard, contact them privately, but understand they are under no obligation to defend or explain themselves to you. Questioning or ignoring a moderator’s decree on the forums may result in a ban from the site, as will ignoring any warnings issued privately.

[B]STAY ON TOPIC[/B]

Posts or comments that are deemed off-topic to a thread's subject will be deleted at the moderator’s discretion. Repeated instances of off topic behavior, with or without a warning from the forum’s moderator, may result in punitive action.

[B]NO MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS[/B]

CBR does not permit users to have more than one account. All multiple accounts discovered will be banned, and those caught attempting to circumvent this rule may face expulsion from the site. This is especially true for accounts that have been temporarily banned from the site; any attempts made to circumvent one's temporary ban will result in either an immediate ban length increase or a permanent ban.

[B]NO DISPOSABLE E-MAIL ADDRESSES[/B]

In order to reach you should the need arise, a legitimate e-mail address is required when you register at CBR. Any addresses discovered to be from a disposable e-mail service will result in your account being temporarily banned (until you give us a real address to update your account with) or deleted (if we catch it when the account is newly registered).

[B]USERNAME CHANGES[/B]

Users cannot change their own account’s usernames. You may make a request to the administrators in the Name Change Request thread on the Q&A forum, but understand that they are under no obligation to fulfill your request as they have more important site issues that occupy their time. Requests made within a year of a previous request will be ignored. Creating a multiple account (see above) to circumvent this system may result in a ban from the site.

[B]NO SELLING/SPAMMING[/B]

We do not allow users to sell anything on the forums. Selling items, linking to online stores or auctions (including but not exclusive to eBay) with the intent of profit are not permitted. There is a trading thread on the Collected Editions & Classic Comics forum if you wish to swap items but monetary exchanges are not permitted. Spammers are banned immediately.

[B]REPORT SPAM, DON'T REPLY TO IT[/B]

We have a report post function on the forums, help us out and use it when you see spam. Whatever zinger you have to say in reply to spam isn't as hilarious as you think it is, trust us. By replying to spam instead of reporting it to us you may also be helping that spammer promote their message, and that may result in consequences for [B]your[/B] account. People caught replying to/quoting/or responding to spam may receive temporary bans from the site. Be a part of the solution, don't add to the problem.

[B]NO FLAMEBAITING[/B]

Do not inform someone when you are reporting their post, or that they’re going on (or are on) your ignore list. Simply do it or don’t, the audience doesn’t need to know. Do not create threads to deliberately target, ridicule, or mock other users, they will be deleted and action will be taken.

[B]SIGNATURES[/B]

Signatures may consist of text but not images. Please make your signatures relatively small and unobtrusive. The Community Rules extend to signatures; insulting or offensive material will result in ban from CBR. Inappropriate or unsuitable signatures may be modified or deleted without notice. Posting images at the end of your posts to circumvent not being able to add one to your signature may result in a ban from the site.

[B]COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL[/B]

Users must keep copyright issues in mind during their time at the CBR Forums. No more than three pages of any given comic should be posted at any one time (which should be plenty for review purposes).

[B]NO PROMOTION OF ILLEGAL MATERIAL[/B]

Links to illegal download/viewing/streaming sites or material are not allowed. It should also go without saying that discussions/suggestions of obtaining copyrighted material by those means are not allowed either. Public domain material, as well as previews, trailers, and clips are fine.

[B]NO PLAGIARISM[/B]

If you want to quote from another site, news article, or whatever else, put a small quote in there and then a link back to the original source if need be. Do not outright lift words from somewhere else and claim them as your own to fill out your entire posts.

[B]DO NOT REPRODUCE PRIVATE MESSAGES IN PUBLIC[/B]

Private messages are private for a reason. Unless you have permission from the author, reproducing private messages on the forums is forbidden. If you have an issue with a private message you’ve received or feel you’re being harassed, use the Report Private Message function.
[B]
SELF-PROMOTION[/B]

Posting for the sole purpose of drawing traffic to your own blog, website, forum, video, etc. is generally not allowed and such posts or threads may be deleted. Excessive self-promotion on multiple forums and/or in multiple threads will be treated as spam and the users responsible may be banned from the site. The only forums appropriate for personal/independent comic self-promotion are Artist & Writer Showcase, Independents, or CBR Community (please choose [b]one[/b], not all three).

[B]DO NOT BUMP THREADS[/B]

Posting just for the sake of bringing a thread to the top of the forum’s first page is not permitted. This causes threads with actual ongoing conversation to slip down the forum and is unfair to their participants. Bumping posts will be deleted, may result in the thread being closed or deleted, and users responsible may face punitive action regardless of whether their bumping resulted in resurrecting discussion or not. Resurrecting old threads with genuine posting content is permitted.

[I]NOTE: These rules are subject to change and enforced at Community Administrators discretion.[/I]