Be polite to other members, especially in cases of debate. Everyone deserves to speak their minds.
Bashing characters or "'ships" (ew!) isn't a huge problem as long as the bashing never touches the actors or the 'shippers themselves. Critically evaluating an actor's performance is okay as well, as long as it doesn't involve an indiscriminate attack on him or her. This extends to discussion of the actors' personal lives. It's strictly forbidden.
When discussing an episode, please do not limit your comments on any specific character to remarks about his or her physical appearance, because that's just, well, stupid. (There. I said it.) You can get insight-free cracks about Cordy's hair anywhere else on the Web -- we don't have to bring it here.
Please do not post quotes, comments, or discussion summaries from other boards to Stranger Things. The quoted/summarized posters may not be members of our board and cannot defend their own comments. If you think community members would like to respond to something on another board, post a link. Please use good judgment in exercising this option; other "'shippers" (ew!) deserve their safe havens, too.
On the same token, do not post another member's Stranger Things comments or any other portion of any thread to another forum without express permission from the author or an administrator. Unauthorized crossposting is a violation of our rules and is subject to administrative action.
It should go without saying that private arguments belong in private fora. Lively, even strenuous disagreement is welcome and even encouraged on the boards, but don't make it personal, and don't take it personally. If you believe a thread is veering toward attacks on individuals, don't feed the fire -- refer that thread to a moderator. (A PM will get the quickest response.)
Posting private e-mail or messages is expressly forbidden without the explicit written consent of the sender. This is a violation of board rules as well as of common courtesy; doing so is grounds for administrative action. Be aware that if you post a PM or private e-mail after obtaining permission, you may be asked to produce written proof.
Make your thread title as clear and informative as possible without using any spoilery language. For example, "Can someone tell me how to place a new avatar?" is much more on point than "HELP!!!," just as "How would A/C have played out in Season 5?" is a lot less opaque than "So what do you think?" Not everyone reads every thread, and vague titles may hurt your chances of getting the answers or discussion you seek. Help us help you.
Post to the correct forum. This is covered in detail below.
Check the board thoroughly to make sure the topic you want to start hasn't already been started recently.
Please put serious thought into your discussion posts. That means a message that consists of more than just "I agree!" or "So true!" or "LOL!" These posts place an unnecessary burden on our bandwidth allotment, which means greater risk of the dreaded "server is too busy" message.
(This guideline is suspended for Fanfiction and Multimedia followup posts, where a simple message such as "I loved this!" or "Thanks for posting" is an acceptable norm.)
Don't double-post. This means posting one reply immediately after another. Use the Edit link to make additions and changes to your original post.
You're free to advertise your site, but please do this conservatively and not too often.
Keep your forum signature short. The general rule of Internet courtesy dictates that a .sig file should be no longer than five (5) lines. Some leeway is allowed here, but please use self-restraint.
In addition, limit yourself to two (2) linked graphics.
For those who still have trouble related to downloading super-long .sig files, don't forget that you can hide user signatures by resetting Thread View Options in the Edit Options section of your User Control Panel. |