TOPICS OF DISCUSSION Discussions should be placed in the most relevant category, e.g. discussing Fallout 3 companions should be place in the Fallout 3 category, roleplays in the roleplay category, etc. Any discussion of site rules, policies, public notices by staff, etc. should be placed in the rules/notices category. Off-topic discussions are allowed in the general topic category. Discussion is not limited to the Fallout series, and users should not demand a change in subject matter on a particular thread as this may constitute disruption. Where the number of off-topic discussions is limiting the ability of users to ask game-related questions and seek help, moderators at their discretion may ask for all "off topic" discussion to be limited to a specific "off topic" thread (or threads). GROUNDS FOR DELETION AND BLOCKING It may be necessary for Moderators to lock topics or remove replies within a particular topic when they fail to meet our guidelines. Moderators locking topics or removing replies should always leave a reply in the topic explaining their actions. Replies to a topic that are not related to the topic, when they become so prevalent that they detract from the original topic, ie "hijacking", may result in a moderator requesting users to stay on topic. Continued off-topic replies derailing the original poster's topic may result in the topic being locked. Posts which do not follow the following rules are likely to be deleted, and may result in you being warned on your talk page or blocked from posting: Users who are clearly disruptive to the chat or who fail to behave appropriately towards other contributors may be blocked. The possible reasons for blocking include (but are not limited to): 1. Personal attacks, harassment, sexual harassment insults, bullying, or abusive language towards another user 2. Racial bigotry, sexually degrading language. 3. Violation of personal privacy. This includes revealing personal information about users (e.g. real name, location, age, gender, etc) and violating confidentiality on particular issues (such as issues asked to be kept confidential by other users or administrators). This includes linking to external sources, such as websites (e.g. Facebook or MySpace) that violate personal privacy, unless prior consent from the user whose privacy might be violated is given. 4. Trolling or general irritation or disruption of other users. This often includes, but is not limited to; excessive usage of capital letters, punctuation marks, deliberate distortions of the English language (such as "1337" or "Dolan" speak), excessive usage of languages other than English and excessive pinging. Making arrangements to troll or otherwise disrupt another chat room or service is not permitted in our chatroom. This does not prevent you from joining another chatroom, linking another chatroom, or encouraging others to visit if the topic of conversation is likely to be of interest. 5. Being a dick. As a guideline, don't go out of your way to irritate others. (And especially do not try to test the admin's and/or chat moderator's patience and/or limits.) Vicious abuse is grounds for sanctions. 6. Whining. Users who ask for something from another user and are refused it should not stoop to complaining. It is acceptable to be persistent, but in a mature manner. 7. In addition to the normal local rules, discussion of topics commonly deemed as illegal (including piracy) or may be illegal to provide to a minor (ie Pornography) are also not permitted. These are covered for Discussions by Wikia's own terms of use. 8. Repeative posts and/or Spamming. Don't say the same thing six times because no one is responding to you. Don't keep yammering on about a subject nobody cares about. Advertising, hi/bye posts, recruitment posts, meaningless and/or random posts may also be considered spam. 9. When discussing real world events or politics remember that your fellow chatters may hold strong views in these areas that may differ from your own. 10. No wiki factions. Where a particular subject appears to be causing distress, offense, or is otherwise disrupting the ability for others to enjoy chat, a moderator at their discretion may direct that a conversation either be closed or moved into private chat, or may create a new room for the discussion of this topic. Any user can ask a moderator to consider applying this rule, but should not be used as a "shield" for a user who has picked a fight and wishes to escape the consequences. Moderators should avoid closing discussions outside of a publicly made request when they are involved in the discussion (unless they are the only active mod). In the event of mods disagreeing to end a discussion, the decision to end takes precedence unless there are more active mods who disagree with the decision than agree. Any questions relating to the rules can be asked by making a topic in the rules/notices section of the discussions board, via admin/moderator talk pages (or your own if you are blocked), emailing us at nukapedia@gmail.com or on Discord. Please note that we will not discuss bans on discord or discussions itself. Talk pages can be checked using the article search function. A guide can be found at http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:Sakaratte/Catmin_explainers_-_User_talk_pages_for_discussions_users MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS Multiple accounts are permitted, as they are on the general Fallout Wiki. If you have more than one account you do need to declare it (either in your bio, or on your main profile page). **Bans apply to the user not to the account**, therefore use of multiple accounts to evade a ban is not permitted. This will result in alternate accounts (sockpuppets) being banned for an indefinite period, and will result in a block of your IP address from the service. Any posts left by the alternate account during your ban period will be subject to removal. Multiple accounts should not be used to impersonate another user. CONSEQUENCES Bans on the discussion system use the main wiki ban system; this means a discussion ban will also ban you from editing the main wiki, and visiting the wiki chatroom. Ban lengths are purely at the discretion of the moderator placing the ban. This means they are free to ignore the following guidelines if they believe there is grounds to do so. This could relate to the content, ignoring a warning, obvious bad faith, etc. In general however, the recommended ban scale, should it be felt a ban is required is: First offence: 3 days Second offence: 7 days Third offence: 1 month Fourth, and subsequent offences: Lifetime ban (Note, there is the possibility to request a review after 12 months). Administrators are reminded that they have the freedom to deal with situations with a less firm hand if required... If someone intends a bit of good humor, realizes their mistake, and apologizes, there may be no need for a ban if the moderator feels the apology is genuine and the lesson has been learned. When you post a discussion or reply, you are expected to have prior knowledge of all these rules. Ignorance of these rules is not an excuse as they cover common courtesy to others. APPEALS If you feel a ban has been placed in error, or out of line with these rules, please contact one of the Wikis bureaucrats, who will be able to set up an inquiry into these rights. You can contact the Wiki's bureaucrats directly on their talk page from http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Fallout_Wiki:Administrators_and_moderators. You can contact the Wiki's admin team at nukapedia@gmail.com. Please be sure to leave your wiki user names and details when contacting us via email. Additionally, you can report an issue on the Ask-a-Mod thread: http://fallout.wikia.com/d/p/3343172654596276565 VOTING ON USER RIGHTS REQUESTS AND WIKI PROPOSALS To vote on a user rights request of a wiki proposal, you must vote in the forum on the wiki itself. Detailed instructions for discussions users can be found at: http://fallout.wikia.com/d/p/3062728919389046079 CONTACTING A MODERATOR If a topic or response breaks the rules of our wiki, report the post in question and do not engage on the subject, this only generates more work for the moderators. Admins, bureaucrats and discussions moderators can be contacted directly on their talk page via http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Fallout_Wiki:Administrators_and_moderators. Additonally they can often be found in Discord if one is needed immediately: https://discord.gg/WQYQbmA