***Welcome to C&SA - Please read here first!***

[HDL]

In order to make it easier for some people to understand what exactly goes here, a list had been made to point out every country/territory that pertains to the regions this room covers (please let me know if I missed any):


Greater Antilles (includes Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico)
Lesser Antilles (includes St. Croix, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, Montserrat, Barbados, etc.)
Mexico
Guatemala
Belize
El Salvador
Honduras
Nicaragua
Costa Rica
Panamá
Colombia
Venezuela
Ecuador
Perú
Guyana
Suriname
Brazil
Bolivia
Paraguay
Uruguay
Chile
Argentina


I’d like to ask everyone to search for any possible existing “main threads” before making new threads on your own. For example, there are more than one thread of Costa Rica, but the main one is “La selección de Costa Rica.” For convenience, I’ve linked some of them to what would be the current main threads. Now for some rules:

• 
  Do NOT create threads for countries you are not from just so you can be the person who made the thread. You must be part of their community.

• Do not post “finder” threads if the country you are posting for already has a thread. If a finder thread becomes big enough where a community has developed and regularly posts there, the name may be changed and that thread will become the country’s main thread (provided one does not already exist, which it shouldn’t if you made a finder thread).

• Do not post threads of areas that do not pertain to these regions, even if the language is the same (that means no Spain threads, Spain is in Europe).

• Once again, please search for threads for your region. Do not create new ones unless no thread exists yet.

• Do not make threads asking if there will be a tournament in your area or when the next tournament will be. Tournament threads may only be made when there is one being planned. The title must have the location, date, and name (if there is one). Example: Puerto Rico -- 9/29/07 -- I Want To Be Your Girlfriend

• Smashfest threads should only be posted if it’s for 15 people or less. If you post about a smashfest and it is canceled, the thread will remain open until the original date you chose. After that it will be closed, unless you postpone it for a later date.

• One ranking thread per country! Exceptions may apply for big regions, such as Brazil. Please read this announcement regarding ranking rules.

Many of you have been distraught lately over the recent decision to not allow Regional or State Power Rankings. In response to this, the issue has been largely discussed in the Smash Back Room, and it has been concluded that Power Ranking threads will be reallowed. Provided that they follow certain regulations, which will be listed in this thread.

Power Ranking Regulatory Rules

1. Each power ranking thread must have a mission statement.
Mission statements simply state what the panel is attempting to do, and should list the criteria that will be looked at when deciding placement. Mission statements do not need to be unique from others.

2. Ranking threads cannot be below the size of state rankings.
This is to keep "Crew X Power Rankings" or "Small Town Y Rankings" threads from coming up. Anything below that size will be considered as spam and dealt with as such. However, in states with a high density of smashers spread out over a wide enough region, splitting a state up can be considered. As of right now, NorCal and SoCal rankings fit this description. To have a region put up for consideration of this exception, contact me with several valid reasons.

3. There will be only one ranking thread for any given state.
This is to keep rival threads from popping up and to keep the opinions focused. The only exception to this is when a state is split up into regions, as described above.

4. Threads may only be started by well-respected tournament operators within a region.
It is up to these individuals to appoint the rest of a council, as well as decide if they wish to participate in the panel or not. If they do not, they will act as a regional "sponsor", and will be responsible for thread updates and have some say in administrative choices, such as dropping/adding panelists and keeping general control.

5. A panel must consist of at least 3 members.
That would be the bare minimum. Depending on the overall population or competitiveness of a region, 3 may also be too small, and a larger panel will be pushed for. For example, having 3 people to decide the rankings for Maryland would be much too small, given the large population and density. Also, panels made up entirely of members of one crew will not be accepted. Finally, all panelists must be listed somewhere in the first post.

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As for other notes, it is the responsibility of the sponsor and/or panelists to ensure that a thread is run smoothly. It is up to them and other readers to report spammers and flamers as they see them (via the "Report Post" button next to posts), so that they moderating staff can take proper action. If a thread gets too far out of hand, it may have to be shut down. So, it is encouraged to report problems as soon as possible so that they can be dealt with.

Finally, if you were one of the sponsors that had their thread closed before this, contact me via AIM or PM and I will reopen the thread. And for all users planning to start new threads, contact me in a similar manner once you have made a thread so that I can verify that it complies with the above regulations. Unverified threads will be treated as spam.

And of course, please abide by the Global Rules of SWF at all times. All of these rules may be updated at any time and you are responsible to follow them upon your registration to the forums even if you haven’t read them. These are all very simple rules to follow, much easier than they are to type out. Welcome and good luck finding people in your area!