theres alot to mention in this update so sit tight
First off the signature rules and signature warning system has gotten a complete makeover
here are the new rules and new warning system (which can also be found in the forum rules and guidelines thread):
_iv. Signature Rules
1)The total image space allowed in your signature must not exceed 60,000 pixels
This is an example of an image that takes up 60,000 pixels:
2) Only one animated or flashing image is allowed per signature (with the exception of small animated emoticons)
3) text size in signatures may not exceed size 3
4) text length should not exceed 300 characters if all text is smaller than size 3. Text length should not exceed 200 characters if more than a quarter of the text is size 3.
5) text length may not exceed 6 lines if text size is smaller than size 3. Text length may not exceed 2 lines if more than a quarter of the text is size 3. (an empty line still counts as one line)
6) the combined images in your signature may not exceed 300 pixels in height nor 700 pixels lengthwise
7) marquee, video, separation line, and spoiler tags are all banned from signatures
8) All general posting rules ALSO apply for the content in signatures AND avatars
_vi. The Signature Warning System
The warning system for those who have signatures that do not follow the rules is this:
1) If you have a signature that breaks any of the signature rules it will be fixed by an administrator and you will receive a PM telling you that it has been fixed and what was wrong with it
2) If your signature has been fixed once and you get a new signature that breaks a signature rule again you will receive one strike and be notified via PM. If you receive 3 strikes you will be banned from putting images or text sized over size 2 in your signature for 3 months. If you put images or size 3 or larger text in your signature when you have a restricted signature your warning level will be raised by 10% each time you do so and the restrictions on your signature will be extended by 3 months from the date it has to be fixed.
3) If you are informed that your avatar or signature has been changed because of "indecent content" your warning level will be raised automatically by an amount that depends on how indecent your sig or avatar was and you will be banned from having a signature or avatar for 1 month.
•If your signature or avatar has severely indecent content you could be put on account restriction right off.
•If you receive a PM from a moderator or sig helper telling you your sig broke any rules and you do not understand why reply to the PM asking for a better explanation. If you don't understand any of the steps of the signature warning system just listed PM a moderator about it.
an incomplete list of what is considered "indecent content" is as follows:
- pornography (some nudity that would be considered artistic instead of pornographic is allowed but please contact me or a moderator with a link to the image to get it passed before you put it in your signature)
-any kind of EXTREME sexual content (this excludes any casual mention of a...er...reproductive organ, a mention of who you'd like to "get it on with" or "make sweet music with" if you will, or anything that is just about as tame as that. again its a good thing to contact me or a moderator if you're unsure.)
-any negative remark about another forum member (unless they consent to it and find it amusing) OR any image or statement that supports any kind of hate club against another forum member
-any racial, sexual, sexual orientation, or gender orientated slurs
-an advertisment for any kind of product (unless its for an auction you have on Ebay, amazon, or a similar website) this one is a pretty complicated one.. if you want to put a picture of your favorite candy or a brand name of clothing you prefer that is fine. I'm talking more along the way of a link to an online store that sells, for instance, prescription drugs
-any gorey or extremely violent images
and heres how you check the total image space you've used in your signature:
on a pc: right click each image and click on "properties" on the properties screen it will display the height and length of the image in pixels it will be some number x some other number
multiply those numbers together and record it
do the same for the rest of images in your signature and then add all those numbers together to get your total image space in pixels
on a mac:
either click and hold on the images until a menue pops up and choose "open in a new window" or drag the image into a spare window the pixel dimensions should be displayed at the top of that page
if that doesn't work, save the image to your computer and check it out by selecting the file and going to "get info"
multiply the dimensions of each image and add the total pixels of each image together to get your total image space in pixels
many photo hosting sites like photobucket also display the dimensions of your photos in pixels as well
If you still need help contact me or another moderator and we'll walk you through it
If you find an image you want to put in your signature but it is too large and you do not know how to resize it, contact me or a moderator and we can resize it for you
photobucket has an option to shrink pictures, you can use that as well
I'm also looking for about 3 forum members to volunteer as "sig helpers"
so if you are good at checking image sizes and/or resizing photos let me know you want to help
Secondly!
a new rule has been added to the forum rules and guidlines thread
20) When you make a new topic or poll make sure to make some kind of reference to the subject of the topic in the title or subtitle. This is a pretty lax rule and the only members whos' warning level will actually go up for it are repeat offenders. If your topic title or subtitle does not make any kind of reference to the subject of the topic it will be edited by an administrator or moderator. If your topic doesn't really have a subject...well... you shouldn't be making it in the first place. Please do not make a topic title simply stating "I have a question", "What do you guys think?", or "I need some help" unless you make a reference to what you're asking or trying to discuss in the subtitle.
why are we making this rule?
1) it makes it more convenient for members who are skimming over the forum (especially those who are not very active) to know what each topic contains by the title
2) its makes it much easier to skim through the first few pages of a section to make sure a topic you're about to make hasn't already been made recently
3) it just personally annoys me when I have no idea what some topic is about and I end up wasting time clicking on it when its really something I'm not interested in in the least (and I'm sure I'm not the only person who feels this way)
on the topic of searching through sections to make sure you don't repeat a topic with a new one you're planning on creating...
you will no longer be warned if you make a repeated topic when the original topic is more than 3 pages back in that section, though your topic may still be merged with an older similar one
regardless please use the search option when you have an idea for a new topic, just so the mods and I have less work to do
Thirdly....
for those of you who do not frequent the forum business section (which I believe is the majority of the forum which is why new mod updates will be posted in the completely off topic section for several days before being moved to their rightful place in the forum business section) you may not have noticed that a number of new custom BB code tags have been added for your use
you can now put a background color on your text, use a marquee tag, post spoiler content behind a button, post (wait for it....) videos!, and put separation lines within your post which you can see in action in this very post
wow! ( ok I know the wow! was cheesey... but I felt like I had to do it)
anyways, to see examples of all these new tags in action and to see the codes so you can do them yourself visit the "The New Custom Tags" thread in the forum business section
we ask that you use the marquee tag sparingly, unless you're Kryst, then by all means knock yourself out
a few more smilies have also been added to our collection:
and
courtesy of miss allie9609Fourth...ly?
I just want to mention that drum tracks for the vines tribute album will be posted within the next few weeks so those of you who want to participate should start getting their parts down
Fifthish
some of you may been noticing that you've been receiving a whole lot of emails from the forum lately
thats because we've been trying something new
anytime a new news thread is posted or a new mod update is posted you will recieve a copy of it via email newsletter
if you do not want to recieve these simply go to your controls and uncheck the option that says "allow emails from the administrator"
if you do want to recieve them but don't make sure that option is checked
Bulletin #6 (because I think sixthly sounds rude)
The forum will undergo a massive cleanup over the next few months
just letting you guys know
so if you notice odd things happening like old threads dissappearing and resurfacing in Manchuria you know whats up
I'm not even going to number this one (but in case I did it would contain the number 7 in some form)
The International Vines Promotion Competition is still going on (until november to be precise)
AND heres a nice promotional opportunity for anyone willing:
anyone who speaks (or at least reads and types) fluent English and another language are invited to translate the first post of the competition thread and the prize descriptions into a non-english language
the translations will be posted in threads of their own and you will recieve 800 points in the competition
yes thats right
800
600 if you'd like to finish up the spanish translation
cause I already did a good amount of it, and I'm still willing to finish it up... but less work for me = goodness
well
thats all for now folks
hope that was enough
Should i fix it?
