GameFAQs Message Board Etiquette

When posting on our boards, you should aim to be as polite as possible. This makes others feel welcome and conversation can take place without users being rude to one another. As our Terms of Use states, we can delete a post at any time for any reason. If a user goes out of their way to upset others by not adhering to the following etiquette guidelines, their posts can be moderated.

Enforcement of the below etiquette guidelines is decided by two groups of people: other users who report the message for review and the team of volunteer moderators who decide if that reported message is a violation of these guidelines. Both groups have a lot of leeway on deciding if a post needs to be deleted.

1. Offensive Material

You should not post anything that would be considered inappropriate in a business or school environment (in other words, "Not Safe For Work").

• Links to images or videos containing pornography, nudity, or sexualized minors (i.e. "jailbait").
• Links to real-life blood and gore. Gore in a video game is fine, but real-life graphic material isn't.
• Hate speech, such as using race, religion, sexual orientation, culture, ethnicity, disability, nationality, or gender as a means of insult.
Sexually explicit posts. If you must discuss sexual matters, keep it vague. The less detail, the less likely someone will find it offensive.
• Don't use "gay" or "retarded" in place of "stupid", or "rape" in place of "destroyed".
2. Vulgar Language and the Censor

We have a censor in place that prevents you from posting "bad" language that generally isn't allowed on family-friendly television. If you feel the need to post a word that's in the censor, block out all but the first letter, like "e****" for "ensue".

3. Flaming

Don't insult other users, either individually ("You're an idiot") or as a group ("Everybody who posts on this board is an idiot"). Once an argument degenerates into name-calling, it's time to either step back or clear out.

4. Trolling

Trolling is not someone posting an opinion that differs from yours, but someone posting a message designed to get others mad enough to violate one of the other rules. Going on a board and posting "This game sucks and everybody who enjoys it is stupid" is trolling, and nothing good will come of it. Going on a board and posting "I hated this game, the controls were awful," isn't trolling, although it may not be popular opinion. Even if you disagree, you can either debate the user on their points or just ignore it.

5. Illegal Activities

"Illegal" is a bit of a misnomer, as laws vary by region. Here's what we actually disallow on these boards:

• Don't discuss pirated software, music, movies, TV shows, or any other media - where to get them, or that you've been playing or watching them. Don't ask for help with how to play a pirated game, especially before it's actually released.
• Don't discuss how to cheat in competitive online games. You can talk about someone who is cheating or provide examples, but don't talk about how to actually do it, as that makes the problem worse.
• Don't discuss your illegal or recreational drug use. Talking about the topic in general is okay, but not your own usage, methods, creation, or trade in them.
6. Advertising

No spam, no advertising. This means no For-Sale/For-Trade/For-Auction/Wanted posts, no "Make Money Fast", any link with a referrer ID, or any link that you will profit from (either virtually or physically).

7. Off-Topic Posting

New topics on most gaming and special interest boards must be at least tangentially related to the game or topic at hand. If you want to discuss something completely different, you should take it to another board. If you have a personal message for just one other user, send them a Private Message.

8. Disruptive Behavior

Don't post messages designed solely to disrupt the normal flow of posts on a board. A few obvious examples are ALL CAPS, AlTeRnAtInG cApS, posts that force browsers to scroll horizontally or vertically, links to browser traps or glitches, and random ASCII art.

In addition, be wary of joining in a "flood" of another board (either on GameFAQs or elsewhere) where one group of users suddenly decides to go post on another board. If you participate in any kind of organized invasion of any other service, you will likely be suspended for it.

9. Spoilers

Don't post any plot spoilers without some kind of warning. This means any critical plot details that don't get revealed until you're well into a game, or the results of a time-delayed show or event. You should never post plot spoilers in the topic title, and don't post them within any topic where a normally unaware user might bump into them without some kind of advance notice. Posting spoilers intentionally with the sole purpose of ruining the game for others is the worst kind of trolling, and will generally get you banned.

10. Personal Information and Harassment

No private personal information of any kind should be posted online - real name, location, address, workplace, ID numbers, phone, or private e-mail, neither yours (we don't know if it's yours or not) nor anybody else's. While some of this kind of information is easily obtainable online, you should not have a part in spreading it further.

Online harassment is also something that is taken seriously. If you continually bother, intimidate, mock, or bully another user in public or private on this site after they've made it clear that they do not want any contact from you, then you may be subject to a suspension or ban.