Online communities are often difficult to get involved in. The veterans of a forum have built up a virtual wall of in-jokes and references that can turn a newcomer away just as easily as they came. The Halls is no different, and it may even be more difficult than some forums. We're aware of this, and have started building a few resources - like this one - to help our newbies acclimate quickly and start getting involved in the fun.

The Mission of the Halls

The overriding concept behind the Halls of Hysteria is that discussions can be entertaining and amusing without resorting to personal insults and flames. Moderators take this very seriously and will be quick to clamp down on abusive or inflammatory behavior. To this end, we do not generally allow discussions about religion or politics, considering those topics can rarely be discussed civilly in real life.

In short, the Halls is designed as an escape from the outside world.

Everyone Plays a Role

Despite having only a handful of members compared to more popular members, the Halls comes with a rich "backstory." This is because we tend to engage in loose role-playing. Many of the regular members or "Hallsians" have taken on superhero-like abilities and use them for either general day-to-day lunacy, or to battle some of the Halls' many villains. Moderators are allowed to create alternate accounts and role-play as these villains, or as other characters.

That said, the role-playing is never mandatory, and rarely impacts the strictly-discussion forums. It is entirely possible for a person to post in the comics, movies, or video games forums without ever having to do battle with the evil George Lucas or the zombies of the Undead Poets Society.

By contrast, the forums most heavily influenced by roleplay are the Halls themselves (which also doubles as general discussion, and the forums contained in Elektra Park.

History and Rules

The Halls has, in its three-year history as an independent forum, amassed quite a backstory through roleplaying. Knowing it isn't necessary at all for someone only interested in comics or movies discussion, and is only a little moreso for those that are interested in playing along with our large-scale wackiness. But if you're the sort that likes to have all the information, we now have a great resource for all the made-up insanity that's happened here: HallsWiki.

And if you have finally determined that the Halls is a place you'd like to hang out and post, you'd best familiarize yourself with our rules: Halls Law.

So if you're registered, or getting ready to do so, please introduce yourself in The Welcoming Committee. It also contains some good forum-related guides to help you get started.

We look forward to seeing you at the Halls of Hysteria!