Halls Law

The Halls is generally a friendly, open place where just about anything can happen and usually does, but there must be order to the chaos. That order is now the Warning System, which all moderators will now be using.

How will the warning system work?
1st Warning - Posting Ability Suspended for One Day
2nd Warning - Posting Ability Suspended for One Day
3rd Warning - Posting Ability Suspended for One Week - Probation Status
4th Warning - Posting Ability Suspended for One Week - Probation/Possible Posting Confinement Afterward
5th Warning - Posting Ability Suspended Indefinitely pending Permanent Banning

If you are warned, you will get a PM from the moderator who warned you detailing the reason for the increase in your warning level. More chatty moderators may even give you a tip for the future, or link you to these rules, but neither is required. There is no appeals process for warnings, and a warning level will only be lowered after six months of reasonable forum activity without further warnings. If you do recieve more warnings, the six months starts after the last one, and your warning level can only be lowered by two. So if you get four warnings in short order, then stay "clean" for six months, you'll only be out of probation.

What can I get warned for?
1. Being overly disrespectful or rude to fellow members or moderators.
2. Spamming the forums. In other words...don't go into a thread and post 10 straight times or start 10 straight threads for no good reason.
3. Bitching about how the website/members/moderators suck. No one's forcing you to stay here.
4. Over-use of cusswords. We allow all manner of curses except the f-word, but won't tolerate those words used in rapid succession.
5. Attacking the attacker. If you are offended by another poster and decide to fire back rather than report the post to a moderator, you'll be warned just the same.
6. Inability to spell or use something approaching decent grammar. This may seem like a pet peeve, but it is not. If your posts look like indecipherable gibberish, we can't understand you, and it will lead to misunderstandings.
7. Seriously threatening to kill or otherwise seriously harm members of this forum is an obvious no-no. There are certainly times when it may be appropriate to do so in jest, but it won't be tolerated otherwise.
8. Failure to use common sense. This rule is up to some interpretation, but basically it can be explained as: If you think something will piss someone off...don't do it.
9. Failure to obey a moderator's verbal warning.
10. Posting overly questionable material. This one is pretty open to interpetation too and will usually merit a verbal warning and a removal request rather than an actual warning.
11. Posting messages on behalf of suspended or banned members. A suspended or banned member has temporarily or permanently lost the privilege to speak at the Halls. If you question the reasoning behind why a certain member has been silenced in this manner, you are welcome to make your case in your OWN words.

The Philosophy of the Halls
Probably the most important thing to know is that The Halls of Hysteria forum is a community first and anything else second. Unlike other comics or gaming sites where the trolls and flamers roam around with little to no punishment, The Halls is a place where this kind of behavior won't be tolerated. We all probably have to deal with enough jerks in real life...there's no reason to do so on the internet too.

That said, most members are going to have a lot of leeway when it comes to language, teasing other members, or doing other crazy-ass stuff that'd probably get them banned elsewhere. But these privileges won't be handed to you as soon as you register an account here. You can't walk into a room full of strangers in the real world, scream "You're all a bunch of inbred sonsabitches!" and expect them to let you stay. Instead, you introduce yourself, maybe contribute to a couple of conversations, and come back enough times so that people remember who the hell you are. Then, after you've made some friends...that's when you can start calling them inbred sonsabitches.

Basically, the "rules" here boil down to common sense, don't-be-an-ass stuff that you'd think more people would be carrying in their brains...but it seems the anonymity of the internet makes people lose any sense of right and wrong. The moderators are responsible for deciding how far is "too far" and for dishing out warnings accordingly, but they are here to have fun, too. They're not here to babysit immature dumbasses, field endless complaints/suggestions, or constantly mediate disputes.

Overall, we'd really prefer that we never have to suspend or ban anyone...but if doing so is the quickest and easiest way to keep The Halls a fun place to come to...banned you will be. (Although we may decide to slap you around for awhile before we ban you...) However, the moderators will always try to be open and honest with the members, and will generally take into consideration any constructive criticism or suggestions anyone might pose as long as they aren't put forth in a "fix this now, or else!" way.

This is about all of the absolute-need-to-know stuff, but there is quite a bit of info that will help you understand the Halls about as much as anyone can understand it. For this info, I refer you to the Welcoming Committee Forum.

Also, if you should happen to find yourself in the Battleground, please realize that the format there is far more conducive to "flamewars" than just about any other forums at the Halls, so the rules are a bit tighter there to ensure that things are cooled off well before they get out of hand. Chaomancer Omega was kind enough to write these Battleground Guidelines, which have become a large part of how we moderate those forums. You'd be well-advised to read those as well.