Starcraft 2 Forum Guidelines

1. Brief
   
2. Introduction
   
3. Code of Conduct
   
4. Official Threads
   
5. Acceptable Threads
   
6. Unacceptable Threads
   
7. In Closing
   

Brief

• Read the TL.net 10 Commandments
  
• Maintain respect and civility
  
• Ignore pointless bumps
  
• Stay on topic
  
• Do not spam
  
• Do not quote pointlessly
  
• Educate yourself
  
• Be smart
  
• Be reasonable
  
• Make posts for the benefit of the thread, not for yourself
  
• Threads will be tagged appropriately
  
• Official threads will be made for recurring and overarching topics
  
• Acceptable and unacceptable thread topics have been defined
  

Introduction

Code of Conduct

• Respect - It’s a fundamental requirement in society. As it is in the physical world, we expect you to maintain civility towards your peers. This is our house. Only after you have given back what it has given you, will it become your house as well. Respect the forum veterans: they are the architects and engineers of our humble abode. The ban-hammers will be coming down faster and harder than ever.
  
  
• If there is a pointless bump, ignore it. By flaming the offender, you yourself are making a useless bump. Let the mods take care of the poster, and the thread will get bumped down on its own.
  
  
• Do not go off-topic; do not keep a thread off-topic. If someone attempts to steer the thread off-course, ignore him and contact a mod. The post will be deleted, and he will be warned or banned. This is similar in nature to the bump situation above; refraining from flaming someone for their idiocy demands mental fortitude, but this is what we expect from our posters. There are of course exceptions, such as when the original topic has led into discussion of a related subject, use common sense and don't derail threads with petty off-topic fighting.
  
  
• Do not spam. It should be obvious that “first”, “lol”, “rofl”, emoticons, and the like are unacceptable. Less obvious is that posts that do not add anything to the discussion should be and will be regarded as spam. To borrow the words of TKWL, “Nobody gives a rat's ass about misspelling or your gamei score 200 years ago.”
  
  I would add that “what you think”, or “what you feel” about something is spam unless you provide your reasoning as to why you are posting your thoughts, why you feel it is important, and why you believe your claim to be correct. There are far too many posts that simply state one’s feelings without any substantial evidence for why we should lend your voice any credibility. If you do this, you are spamming.
  
  
• Do not quote without adding your own voice. By this, I am referring to the cases where a post is made solely by quoting someone else, with an optional "qft", "lol", "agreed", etc. Again, this is, and will be, treated as spam.
  Quoting something you wish to see answered is acceptable (assuming the topic has moved on or fallen out of view).
  
  
• Educate yourself. If you don't know something, find out. Search, read our articles, or find out otherwise. Read the official Blizzard website and announcements. Questions that could have been answered through your own research and time input will be met with a cold shoulder, at best. Many of our members are knowledgeable, and if they make a point you don't understand, admit your lack of said knowledge and fix it.
  
  
• Be smart. Think about your own post: does it add to the discussion, has it has been said before. Redundant content is worse than old fashioned spam, in that it demands more from the moderation staff.
  
  When replying to someone else's post - make sure you know what his/her post is about, that you understand it, and that your disagreement, agreement or addition is properly worded and shows your opinion clearly. Similarly, make sure that the wording of your post clearly conveys the exact message you want to put out. All too often, the poster will come back 5 posts later and claim “oh that’s not what I meant. You’ve all misinterpreted what I said.”Misunderstandings happen, try to be as clear as possible about what you mean, and when they do happen anyway, don't derail the thread because of it.
  
  
• Be reasonable. Criticism should be allowed in any discussion, but it should be done in a respectful and genial manner, and you are expected to back up your claims.
  
  You are allowed to tell other posters that they are wrong. However, having an argument but absolutely refusing to listen to or give into the other side’s take accomplishes nothing in terms of advancing the discussion. Furthermore, it is often the cause of temper flares, unnecessarily inflammatory remarks, and other forms of abrasive behavior.
  
  Try to understand the viewpoint and perspective of the other side, qualify its strengths and validity, and build upon that to back up your points. Do not blindly repeat “You are wrong, I am right,” no matter how pretty you decorate it.
  
  We have observed posters simply repeating “That assertion is wrong” without giving ample or satisfactory explanation as to why for pages upon pages, ruining what could have been productive discussions. In fact, even if legitimate reasons are provided, downright hardheadedness is a detriment to the discussion, the thread, and the forum itself as a whole. We understand that you could get passionate about defending your stance, but take it overboard and you’re going overboard with it.
  
  
• Make replies based not on your own benefit and agenda, but for the good of the entire thread’s purpose. If your posting becomes a detriment to the integrity and development of the thread, you can expect appropriate repercussions.
  

Official Threads

• [D] Confirmed Terran Units
  
• [D] Confirmed Protoss Units
  
• [D] Confirmed Zerg Units
  
• [D] MBS Discussion
  
• [T] New Unit, gameplay and UI ideas
  

Acceptable Threads

• [D] – Discussion threads will be preceded by [D]. These threads will be generic in nature so that they do not become irrelevant as the development situation of the game changes. For example, threads focusing on individual units will not exist. Threads such as “[D] Confirmed Terran Units” will be created instead, maintaining their relevance throughout the development cycle.
  
  
• [T] – Theorycrafting threads will be preceded by [T]. Starting threads like this without a good reason will lead to swift closure, and a warning. The original post needs to be of high quality, and with a clear goal/point.
  
  
• [O]– Official reports threads will be preceded by [O]. Official updates, statements or articles regarding SC2 will be posted under this tag.This also applies to 3rd party articles that are of high quality.
  
  
• [Int] - Interview threads will be preceded by [Int]. Simple enough. If you come across an interview with SC2 as its subject, post it under this tag.
  
  When posting these articles it is expected that you give some background or opinion on the report itself. Providing a link and an one line comment is unacceptable. The thread will be closed for someone else with higher standards to present the material to us.
  
  
• [M] - Miscellaneous threads will be preceded by [M]. Threads that do not fall under either the acceptable or unacceptable categories will be permitted but monitored. In the event that it becomes useless or derailed, the thread will be closed with or without warning, and the guidelines may be modified to take the case into account.
  

Unacceptable Threads

• Polls, wherever they may be found, are detrimental to discussion in the SC2 forum. Poll results are essentially a conglomeration of opinions and feelings that the poster need not back up with argument and evidence. Multiple votes can be easily cast, rendering even the numbers useless.
  
  
• Opinion threads regarding specific units, UI and game mechanics are unnecessary. Unless you have had direct contact with a build of the game, are a tester, or are directly involved with development, your ideas and impressions will quickly become irrelevant due to the constantly changing nature of the development of the game. If you have thoughts you simply must express, you can make them be heard in the official discussion threads. This does not pertain to Starcraft2.com site updates - when a new unit or update is added to the site, feel free to create a thread about it, assuming one hasn't been created already.
  
  
• Idea threads dedicated to new units, game styles, UI, etc. are superfluous and unnecessary. Instead, official threads will be started by staff where your new ideas on various aspects of the game can be submitted, read, and discussed by all. This is consistent with the nonexistence of threads dedicated to specific units.
  

In Closing