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This page contains the guidelines for Nukapedia's Discussions forum. They are mirrored at the guidelines linked directly from the forums.
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:
1. Personal attacks, harassment, sexual harassment, insults or bullying.
2. Racial bigotry, sexually degrading language, or other hate speech.
3. Extreme use of profanity/cursing or directing it towards another user is not permitted.
4. 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).
5. Linking to external sources, such as websites, which violate the aforementioned rules. Notably, publicly linking to websites such as Facebook or Twitter that violate personal privacy, is not permitted without prior consent from the user whose privacy might be violated.
6. 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), and excessive usage of languages other than English. Making arrangements to troll or otherwise disrupt another chat room, website or service. This does not prevent you from encouraging others to visit if the topic of conversation on that site is likely to be of interest to other users.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. Discussion of real world issues and events is generally permitted. However, before raising any of these points or joining a discussion on these you should remember that your fellow members may hold strong views in these areas. Where a particular subject appears to be causing distress, offense, or is otherwise disrupting the ability for others to enjoy the discussion service, a moderator at their discretion may direct that a conversation either be closed or taken to a private form. This may be done either by request to a mod, or by the mod's own initiative, when those factors are present. In the event of mods disagreeing to end a discussion, the decision to ends takes precedence unless there are more active mods who disagree with the decision than agree. 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).
10. Spamming. The meaning should be obvious. 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. Meaningless and/or random posts, including but not limited to hello/goodbye topics, can also be considered spam, alongside disruptive internet memes and posts designed purely to solicit upvotes without any actual subject matter.
Any questions relating to the rules can be asked at our Ask a Moderator/Admin thread, individual threads should not be made. http://fallout.wikia.com/d/p/3100000000000047385
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.
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/Jn5svaA