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Obsolete [OLD] Bulbagarden Forum Rules (Last Updated April 13th, 2022)

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Moderator Edit: Please refer to this thread for the new rules, as of August 19, 2023!

Unless stated otherwise, the rules apply to all facets of the forum - that includes usernames, profile information, profile posts, and private messages.

1. Do not abuse or harass others (Abuse and Harassment) [10 points, 12 months]
We do not tolerate abuse and harassment of any sort. This includes but is not limited to:
  • Making inappropriate advances towards other users
  • Making violent threats or emotionally manipulating others
  • Continuing to contact a user after being told to stop
  • Making discriminatory remarks based on race, orientation, disability, gender identity, or similar
  • Revealing information about a person without their explicit consent (such as their e-mail address, home address, phone number, pictures, etc)
  • Using derogatory terms such as slurs
2. Make sure your content is community-appropriate (Inappropriate Content) [10 points, 12 months]
Content should be kept safe for work and not draw attention to anything that may be considered inappropriate. This includes posting or linking to content that draws attention to:
  • Erotic imagery
  • Fetishes
  • Breasts/buttocks/crotches
  • Gore/brutal violence/heavy blood
  • Hate movements
  • You may also not link to websites notoriously known for hosting inappropriate content (e.g. 4Chan), even if the exact page being linked does not contain such content
Historical or non-sexualized art such as Michelangelo's David or Nirvana's Nevermind album cover are allowed. If you're not sure whether something is appropriate, feel free to ask a forum staff member or post here. For avatars and signatures, you should ask in the Avatar and Signature check thread.

3. Respect other users (Flaming/Baiting) [5 points, 6 months]
Be civil to others - no attacks or insults are allowed. When disagreeing with others, keep your responses respectful. Behavior that should be avoided includes but is not limited to:
  • Using language that demeans a person or group of people
  • Trivializing violence
  • Treating your opinions as fact
  • Being dismissive of others' viewpoints or nitpicking details
  • Abusing the reports system
  • Bringing issues from other sites to Bulbagarden
4. Do not plagiarize the works of others (Plagiarism) [5 points, 6 months]
Bulbagarden strives to make sure our community is a comfortable place for creators. Plagiarizing any type of work and claiming it as your own is not allowed. When using unofficial/fan artwork across the community, please cite the artist when possible.

5. Do not ask for or share illegal content (Copyright Violation) [4 points, 6 months]
Illegal content, such as but not limited to full episode links, ROMs, or fansubs should not be shared. Avoid discussing or naming sources that provide this content. Fan-made games may be discussed, but not linked to.

6. Avoid making disruptive or irrelevant posts (Disruptive Post) [3 points, 3 months]
Keep posts relevant to the thread or a post within it, and avoid making posts that disrupt the flow of conversation. This includes but is not limited to:
  • Continuing to discuss something after a moderator asked it be dropped
  • Repeatedly posting the same arguments within a thread(s)
  • Reposting content just to get it higher on the thread list
  • Posting spoilers for recent media not in spoiler tags
  • Advertising other websites in threads when it's not related to the topic
7. Make sure your signature matches our size restrictions (Excessive Signature) [2 points, 3 months]
Keep your full signature no more than 160 pixels in height and 500 kB in size, with an extra text line permitted to credit artists. Spoiler tags and scrollbars are not permitted. Staff are allowed slightly larger signatures.
8. Do not register extra accounts (Sockpuppeting) [10 points, 6 months]
You may only have one account per user. Ban evasion on secondary accounts is also not allowed.
  • If you have technical questions related to your account, reach out to a forum administrator or use the Contact us form at the bottom of the page.
General Information
When registering or changing your username, we ask you not use non-Latin characters as this will make it harder for users to type your name out when they need to ping you.

Moderators will generally post a public warning or reach out to users directly before issuing warnings with points, unless it's a repeat offense. Please remember these initial actions are just reminders and should not be seen as anything serious. You're welcome to use the Contact us form to discuss a warning you may have received if you disagree with it and our team will get back to you as soon as we can.

Remember to check individual forums as they have their own rules and clarifications as well!

Note that accumulating enough warning points will result in temporary and possibly even permanent bans. We would prefer to avoid issuing such actions but it's something the staff has to consider to keep the community a welcoming and comfortable place.

Note the warning point thresholds information below:
  • 10 active warning points: 2 days
  • 20 active warning points: 10 days
  • 30 active warning points: 1 month
  • 40 active warning points: 4 months
  • 50+ active warning points: Indefinite ban
If you receive a temporary ban, the time starts from the moment you receive the ban. Ergo, if you get a two-day ban at 5:00am on Friday the 27th, the ban will end at 5:00am on Sunday the 29th. Note that if you receive a ban you will be unable to access your Private Message inbox to check warning messages but will get an email sent to your registered email address explaining why the ban was issued.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
dragon_nataku said:
I has a question. So, the rules state twice that "one extra line is allowed to credit creators," but I can't find anything that states how many lines a signature is allowed to have in the first place.
Click to expand...
"1. Don't have a signature outside the allowed limits (Excessive Signature) [2 points, 1 month]
- The combined size of all regular images and text should not exceed 600 pixels wide, 160 tall, and 500 kB. Spoiler tags, scrollbars, etc. are not allowed."
That'd probably include any text not crediting a creator.
 
IncineROAR said:
I'm not trying to start an argument, but I think its advisable to formalize rules around "abuse of the report system"

Thats my only comment/feedback.
Click to expand...

In the past we've had problems of users not reporting things that are rulebreaking and instead taking them into their own hands, so we would rather encourage people to report if they feel that there is a legitimate problem.

That being said, just so everyone knows, abusing the report system refers to repeatedly reporting things that are either non-issues (such as posts that are not actually rule-breaking), issues that have already been addressed, or sending joke reports. These clutter our reports section and just makes things harder on us, so we will let you know if it is becoming a problem. The reason we are not implementing it into the actual rules is so we don't make people afraid that sending reports is somehow a bad thing or inconvenient to us.

So as a note of clarification to everyone, just be reasonable about your reports. We don't act on every report, but we always appreciate your involvement. If something strikes you as wrong, rude, or questionable, report it. If a user is just disagreeing with you, then take a step back and consider if they are personally attacking you or someone else. If not, it's probably not worth reporting and you should instead follow the steps outlined in this thread.

If anyone has any more questions about reports or any of our rules, please let us know! :)
 
We have made a slight change to our Unreadable Post rule. it now stands as follows:

4. Don't use unreadable text (Unreadable Text) [3 points, 1 month]
- Post in English (except Japanese news or with moderator permission), do not use online translation.
- Use reasonable formatting: avoid paragraph-less long texts and all-caps posts, and use appropriate fonts.
- Don't use non-latin characters in usernames, signature text or profile fields.


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We have chosen to do this so as to encourage people not to use usernames that are in effect unsearchable and unmentionable, by virtue of most users needing to copy and paste a username that may difficult to type, such as usernames in Sanskrit, or Kanji to name a few. Users with usernames that contain such non-latin characters will not be asked to change their username if they've had it previous to this announcement.

From this point on, everyone must only use Latin characters in their username so as to not limit other users searching or mentioning of you.

Characters we allow:
lowercase a-z
uppercase A-Z
numbers
hyphens, underscores,
accented letters, such as é
punctuation such as !

Basically, if the character is on a QWERTY keyboard, it's fine.
 
Is my usertitle breaking the rules? It's basically a common Latin phrase, meaning "What you are, I was; what I am, you will be." Since it is a non-English language text, am I breaking the rules?
 
Murasaki said:
Is my usertitle breaking the rules? It's basically a common Latin phrase, meaning "What you are, I was; what I am, you will be." Since it is a non-English language text, am I breaking the rules?
Click to expand...
Your usertitle is fine.
 
What's the policy of bumping a thread? A good number of forums are fine with it as long as you have more to say that a mere sentence or singular word, while I have found some on occasion that are against it altogether?
 
Antiyonder said:
What's the policy of bumping a thread? A good number of forums are fine with it as long as you have more to say that a mere sentence or singular word, while I have found some on occasion that are against it altogether?
Click to expand...
That's perfectly fine, as you said, as long as the post doesn't violate our other rules such as Irrelevant Posting. We don't have any time limits on threads, so if you're adding something new to the discussion it doesn't matter how long it's been. But if it's just a bump for the sake of getting your thread on the first page then you're probably better off finding a different thread to post in.
 
Hello, everyone. We're making a few changes to the rules effective immediately, which are pointed out below in bold italics:

0. Fundamentals
- When enforcing the rules, the spirit of the rules, not the technical wording, is what matters.
- The rules apply to all aspects of Bulbagarden Forums, including your profile, signature and any form of message or post you send, unless a rule states otherwise.
- Rules violation on other Bulbagarden projects (Bulbapedia, etc.) may result in warnings and bans on Bulbagarden Forums.
- Liking a rule-breaking post may be treated as breaking that same rule.
- In cases of repeated or severe rule-breaking, the staff may chose to use an aggravated warning, which will immediately result in a ban.

9. When debating with other users, be respectful of their views (Bad Sportsmanship) [5 points, 3 months]
- Address other people's points. Don't nitpick details, assume bad faith, or unreasonably misrepresent their views.
- Don't treat your opinions as an established fact, or claim to speak for other people or a group (including "the majority").
- Don't gloat when you feel you've proven a point or someone else has conceded a point. Being right does not give you bragging rights.
- Don't be dismissive of other's posts. This includes making posts to say "that's just your opinion" or similar.
- Don't abuse the report system. Please continue to report rule-breaking content, but do not target other users or try to get them in trouble by reporting posts you don't agree with.

12. Don't post offensive or oversexualized images (Inappropriate Content) [10 points, 4 months]
- Don't use pictures that focus on or draw attention to breasts, buttocks and/or crotches (even clothed) as avatars or in your signature.
- Don't use images of partially nude people (in lingerie, in underwear, etc.) as your avatar or signature.
- Don't use imagery associated with hate movements, ideologies or groups (Confederate States, Alt-Right, etc.) as avatars or in your signature.
- Outside of avatars and signatures, excessive or disrespectful use of such images may be considered Inappropriate Content or Abuse and Harassment.
- Don't link to websites that notoriously contain inappropriate content (e.g. 4Chan). Appropriate screenshots from these sites may be used instead.

As always, if anyone has any questions about the rules please feel free to ask in this thread.
 
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