Guidelines to success:
1) Think hard about what you are about to post. Do it twice. Once before you start, and again after you have written it out. But before you click "Submit." This will both help you decide whether your contribution will be helpful or not and will allow you to proofread what you are trying to say. If you are in doubt, open a word processor and paste what you wrote. Then spell check it.
2) Lose your 13375p34k(leetspeak). It has no place here. This includes substituting "U" for "you", "R" for "are", etc.
3) You are no better than any other person here. Even the mods. They are given the power to moderate things because they are trusted to uphold the rules of the boards. They are to be respected. And every other member deserves the same respect.
4) Number of posts/amount of portables created does not correlate in any way to your seniority. I have been a member of Ben's organization for well over 3 years now. But I am not a "Senior Member". I have no problem with this either. Your seniority is based on the quality of your posts.
5) Just because you cannot physically see a person does not mean that they do not have feelings. I have witnessed several occurances of heckling that may or may not have meant to be mean. But they did hurt someones feelings, and this angered me probably more than the person who was hurt.
6) Everyone makes mistakes. We are all apt to post something we don't mean now and again. In this case make an apology. If everyone else follows the other rules, you will be forgiven, and life on the boards will go on.
By following all of these guidelines everyone can be successful in keeping the boards clean and friendly to both new-comers, and old farts like me.
7) If you arent a mod, and you think a topic needs to be dealt with, DO NOT make a post saying "this is dumb, some mod please lock this" Making a post such as that, you are undermining authority. it wont get it locked any faster, and it just makes you look like a power hungry dink. You have no clout, quit acting like you do. This does not undermine rule #3 in any way. Modding is their job, not yours. They don't show up to your work and tell you what to do.
8 ) DO NOT make a new topic to address a current issue you have with a person's conduct, or a certain topic on the board. This will not make the issue solved any quicker and will in all likelihood cause a worse problem.
9) If you believe a rule has been breached, it is a matter for PM's. Take it up with a mod, admin, or the person you believe is ill informed of the guidelines.
10) Do not be a punctuation/smiley whore. It's sickening. Example:
11) Abuseing someone via AIM or any other messenger is a BIG no no.250!!!!!11121@!@!!!!!!!!!!!!???//?????/2
12) Failure to comply with these rules will result in a warning to the offender, followed by a temporary ban, followed by a permanent ban.
Newbie Advice
Written by bicostp
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This section will not tell you how to build a portable. It will tell you, rather, how to ask for information without being flamed.
1. Search, search, search. The SEARCH function should be your first stop for information. (It's up at the top, below the header)
2. Check the FAQ Sticky in the appropriate section of the forum. If, for example, you are building an Atari 2600 Portable, you would head over to the Atari 2600 section and read Spongebuell's FAQ sticky.
3. Double-check the first page to see if there's already a thread about what you want to say. If there's a thread about the PSone screen LED mod, then read it and post there, don't make a new thread about it. That wil just get you shunned.
4. DO NOT Post questions in Forum 42. Questions belong in the proper sections, not in the general discussion forum.
WHEN YOU POST
1. Be specific. We can't help you very well if you don't tell us exactly what it is you're after.
2. Don't flame. This is pretty self-explanitory. Don't get people angry at you, because they won't help you if they're upset with you.
3. Only post that thread once. If you have a general Nintendo question, don't post in the NES, SNES, and PS2/Xbox/Gamecube sections. Just post in the section that is most relevant.
The 10 Portablizing Commandments
Written by bicostp
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I. Thou shalt fry multiple Nintendo 64 motherboards
II. Thou shalt not post the same question 50 other people posted in individual threads
III. Thou shalt use the SEARCH function
IV. Thou shalt visit Doomportables and WikiPortable.
V. Thou shalt burn fingers and tablecloths with soldering irons
VI. Thou shalt not flame
VII. Thou shalt not use 13375p34k.
IIX. Thou shalt not accuse everyone of being n00bs
IX. Thou shalt ask questions AFTER searching for answers
X. Thou shalt re-read the above post until it is fully understood.
The Moderator’s Guidelines to Success:Written by Lucretius
1) You are still a member of this forum. Your powers are to be used only to aid the forum, and the rest of the time, you are an equal to the rest of the members. So don’t go get a big head or anything!
2) To solidify this idea, your powers are to be used to better this forum, to help people learn, and keep thing clear. Any abuse of your power will result in your removal from the position of moderator, and possible banning. So just don’t risk it!
3) On the other hand, prolonged and unexcused inactivity/absence will also result in the removal from the position of moderator. So stick around!
4) There are some new options you have. You can delete a thread, move it to another forum, lock it, or split it.
-If you delete a thread, well duh, it goes bu-bye! Any record of it is destroyed, and post counts change appropriately. You will be given a choice when you click the button so you can make sure you want to delete the thread. Deleting should be for obvious spamming (like when people post porn and such) or for double posts.
-If you move a thread to another forum, it will stay intact, no part of it will be deleted, but it will exist in another part of the forums.
-If you lock a thread, it will still be around, but no one will be able to post in it.
-If you split a thread, you will be creating a new thread with part of that thread in the new one. You can move specific posts, or an entire section of it. You will also need to specify the new name of the thread. This one doesn’t get used to often.
-You can also check a person’s IP address now, edit ANYONES post, and create polls.
-You can make a thread a "sticky" (it will always be at the top of the threads) or an "announcement" (a sticky that is meant to be noticed and read by all, especially new members). Only use these when you're sure you should. Use your discretion.
-You can also access the Moderator's Controll Panel from the bottom of any forum you mod. This lets you do mass amounts of moderation to the forum.
5) Personal favors are not advised. Just because you can do favors for others, like make polls, doesn't mean you have to. It's up to your discretion. Even when someone asks for their own thread to be closed, someone may have a similar question a day later, and would have to start a new thread.
6) Did I mention that you're here to have fun, be social, and talk about portables? Don't go overworking yourself. This is your forum, too!
