Welcome to the Badlands... ...READ FIRST!

[JonathanC]

(LAST UPDATE - 6/16/07)

Ladies, Gentlemen, and Species of Indeterminate Gender,

Welcome to the Badlands!  Now, before you post ANYTHING, you should be aware that this area is not for the faint of heart, the easily offended, or those that have a penchant for being emotionally wounded.

In other words - bring a phaser with extra battery packs, bring your double-thick asbestos suit, and forget about the standard rules of engagement, 'cause in here, they DON'T APPLY.

The only rules that do apply are as follows:

1.) You do not talk about fight club... ...er... ...wrong movie.  But that concept holds true.  To respect your fellow board members and to maintain at least the semblance of honor amongst one's opponents, I will expect that you have the common courtesy to fight your own battles and not call in buddies from other forums simply for the purpose of a gang-up session.

2.) You obey the admin staff at all times.  We say cut it out?  You stop.  IMMEDIATELY.  This rule holds true for all participants, other admins included.  I'm not above tossing someone out on their ear just because they wear a staff badge.

3.) PG-13's the standard, and I WILL strictly enforce this.  If you think it might be over the line, ask.  If you're sure that you wouldn't be offended by it, but it's over the line, ASK.  If you want to post it and it's not PG-13 safe, put it behind a link, and give it a NSFW tag in a manner that's plainly obvious that the viewer should exercise caution before clicking.

4.) While the gloves may be off, I will not tolerate needless name calling.  You wanna sling around terms like "islamofascist" and "shrub"?  Fine by me.  But you take it to a personal level, and we're gonna have a sit-down chat.  And by "sit-down chat", I mean I'm going to bench you for at least 2 weeks to give you an opportunity to cool your jets and remember that you need to think before you post.

5.) If I call no joy on a topic, it's DEAD.  PERMANENTLY.  Without chance for it to be revived except by act of Senior Forum Administrator (that's me).  If you engage in the act of Badlands topic necromancy, you're goin' on a LONG vacation.  Minimum ban for an intentional necromancy after I've called the ball dead in play?  6 months.  Not kidding.

6.) Moderators and Admin Staff have opinions, and we have the right to express them.  This means that we might disagree with you.  But when we do, we do so knowing that have the capacity to seperate our professional duties from our personal opinions.  If at any time you feel as though this line has blurred, please contact me immediately via PM, and I shall work to resolve the issue as amicably as possible.  After all, this may be a free fire zone, but at the end of the day, we should be able to shake hands and respect that the other side doesn't share our opinion - right?

7.) We reserve the right to change or update these rules as we discover the need.  So please make sure that you check back here from time to time to make sure you're up to date.