Welcome to Smash Boards, also known as Smash World Forums/SWF! Below are our Global Rules, rules that apply throughout the entire site. It is very important that all users read and are familiar with these rules.
The rules are enforced by an infraction system. If you break a rule, a moderator may give you an infraction or a warning. An infraction is a notification that you broke a rule, and is accompanied by infraction points. In most cases, these infractions will expire after a certain amount of time, depending on the nature and severity of the rule that was broken. A warning is similar to an infraction but does not add any infraction points to your profile.
If you receive 6 active infraction points, you will be banned from the forums. Your ban will be lifted once your active infraction point total falls below 6 again. When you are banned from infractions, you will be able to browse the forums and post in Forum Support, but you will not be able to post normally.
If however you earn 12 infraction points in a 6 month period, you will earn a Permanent Penalty, which is a single infraction point that will never expire. These are only given out to repeat offenders by Super Moderators or Admins.
If you receive an infraction and believe it was unfair or unwarranted, you should first discuss the matter with the moderator who issued the infraction. If that fails to clear up the issue, you may post a thread in the Forum Support room. This room is open to all users who would like to discuss an issue concerning other users, policies, or staff, or other issues that require the attention of an administrator. Only administrators will be able to read your thread, and all threads will be kept confidential. For more information about Forum Support, see this announcement.
Additionally, users who repeatedly violate these rules or are particularly disruptive may be temporarily or permanently banned from the site, at the discretion of a super moderator or administrator.
If you notice another user breaking the rules, the best way to help is to use the Report Post function (), available in each post. This will alert the appropriate moderators to the issue so they can respond.
Below are the Global Rules, including the infractions (number of points and duration) associated with each violation:
1. No Spam
Posts that are irrelevant to or inappropriate for the topic of discussion are considered spam, including off-topic posts/threads, posts with no substantive content, posts that simply restate things that have already been said, and posts that include questions that have already been answered. Do not attempt to bypass the minimum characters per post restriction (also known as "10char").
Examples of specific content that is disallowed and considered "spam" include:
"I'm new!" posts/threads (except in Smashboards Information Center) and "I'm leaving!" threads
Thread titles with excessive characters/punctuation, including multiple exclamation points
Threads that duplicate other, recent threads (within 6 months). Before posting a new thread, use the search function to see if a similar thread already exists.
Threads about individual members
Threads about members' ages or genders
Re-posting a post or thread that has recently been closed or deleted, or asking why a post or thread was closed or deleted. These questions should be directed to the room moderators via private message.
Posts such as "this thread is going to get closed" or "this thread is in the wrong room"
Multiple posts in a row. If you wish to add/modify content you have already posted, use the "edit" function.
Posts that are meant to "bump" threads to the top of the thread listing, especially particularly old or particularly new threads.
Do not reply to spam. Instead, bring it to a moderator's attention by using the Report Post function.
Spam, minor - 1 point, 5 days
Spam, major - 3 point, 14 days
Spam, excessive - Permanent ban
Multi-posting - 2 points, 7 days
2. No Flaming/Trolling
Respect other users. Flaming (insulting, heated arguing with) other members is not allowed. Demeaning or derogatory comments based on race, religion, sexual orientation, culture, ethnicity, handicap, nationality, or gender will not be tolerated. Physical threats against and repeated harassment of other members is strictly prohibited. If another user is flaming or harassing you, you should not retaliate--instead, report it to a moderator.
Trolling (intentionally instigating trouble or provoking others through outrageous statements) is not permitted.
Flaming, minor - 1 point, 5 days
Flaming - 2 points, 10 days
Trolling - 2 points, 14 days
Harassment - Permanent ban, subject to administrator's discretion
3. No Explicit Profanity or Inappropriate Material
Smash Boards strives to maintain a family-friendly site. Content that may be considered offensive is not allowed, at the discretion of the staff. Smash Boards employs an automatic censor to remove some vulgar language; do not attempt to bypass the censor. Do not post content that is excessively vulgar, profane, graphic, or violent in nature. Pornography and other sexually explicit material is strictly prohibited. Additionally, discussion about engaging in drug and/or alcohol use is not allowed, regardless of a user's age or laws in his/her jurisdiction.
If in doubt about whether some content is permissible under this rule, ask a moderator before posting it.
Censor dodging - 1 point, 5 days
Inappropriate content, mild - 1 point, 5 days
Inappropriate content, major - 3 points, 14 days
Pornography/explicit images - Permanent ban, subject to administrator's discretion
4. No Blatant Advertising
Advertising web sites, goods, or services via Smash World Forums (including through posts, threads, private messages, signatures, social groups, and other methods) is prohibited. Accounts that are created solely for the purpose of advertising will be permanently banned.
Exceptions to this rule include links that are clearly and materially related to the topic at hand; for example, posting a link to a pre-registration page for a tournament is acceptable, as is linking to a personal site featuring one's artwork in a relevant thread. Nothing may be sold through Smash World Forums without explicit permission from MLG_JV. If in doubt about whether some content is permissible under this rule, contact MLG_JV.
Advertising violation, minor - 2 points, 5 days
Advertising violation, major - Permanent ban, subject to administrator's discretion
5. Signature Rules
Signatures are automatically clipped off if they are larger than 125 pixels in height. Signature images should not be excessively large in file size or stretch the page horizontally. Do not post your signature if it exceeds the size of your post itself; your signature may be automatically disabled if you try to enable it on a particularly short post. Violators of these rules may have their profiles locked at an administrator's discretion.
Signature Violation - 1 point, 3 days
6. Respect Copyright
Posts that violate or incite others to violate the law are not allowed. This includes (but is not limited to) requesting, providing, or instructing how to find, create, or use illegal copies of copyrighted software and related applications (including ROMs).
Be respectful of copyright law in your posts. Reproducing substantive portions of copyrighted material without permission from the copyright owner is prohibited.
Copyright Violation - 3 points, 14 days
)
