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[Cher Lloyd]

Right, okay - you all know that any place you go or visit, there is going to be rules, so let's set some things straight before we get some completely misunderstood or misinterpreted situations out there, on the board.

THE FORUM

It is obvious that the forum is going to have rules of some sort, as without them - it would be a riotous place where everybody would be running up and down, running the place down, and it would turn to scraps - so - let's set some ground rules to begin with:

NO swearing!
NO bullying!
NO text speech!
NO alternate account composition!

Those are four main things that will be focussed on as part of the rules. They are not tolerated, and will be dealt with seriously if breeched.

SWEARING

Swearing is one of the most obvious causes you are going to come across on the forum. If somebody says something aggravating to somebody else - then of course they are going to retaliate and the situation may become out of control, and may result in violent language (swearing) towards other members, and they may feel offended by this use.
To make things clear, there is to be NO swearing on the forum, and if this rule is breeched - for a first time, you will be given a warning. A second time, and you will be given a tracked and recorded warning (meaning that the Mods will log this) - and obviously, the third time will result in a ban, which could last from between 30 minutes - permanent.

BULLYING

Bullying is another main, and obvious cause of using rules. Bullying is not tolerated on any forum, especially this forum. If anyone feels bullied, or is threatened by a particular post, or feels that it contains off-topic (bad) information, then please use the report button, or contact a Moderator in private, and the situation will be dealt with, but we utterly encourage you to USE THE REPORT BUTTON!
To make things ultra-clear about bullying, there is to be NO bullying on this forum, and if this rule is breeched, then for the first time, you will be spoken to, this will be logged - and a written warning will be placed against your name - and for the second time, you will be banned (the ban will remain in place until Moderators/Admin decide you are trusty of coming back to join the forum again).

TEXT SPEECH

Text speech is not a main issue, but it is something that annoys a lot of people, so we do not want to see it on here. If someone says LOL, then that is acceptable, but if there is a message, e.g. LOL that wis totaly chizzin and a felt totul amazin and everyhin wis just pure banter and there wis flashin lyts ol over the joint! - then this will NOT be accepted, and it will be dealt with. If you see a post like this, or if you think it contains information which may be text speech, then please USE THE REPORT BUTTON.
To make things clear, there is to be NO text speech on this forum, and if this rule is breeched then, for the first time you will be spoken to about this - and conversations will be had between Moderators and yourself to ask why you resort to using this speech, and if it happens a second time, then your name will be logged as spamming and using text speech. If it then happens for a third time (intentionally) then this may result in a ban (depending how the Moderators want to handle the situation).

ALTERNATE-ACCOUNT COMPOSITION

Alternate accounts can not be tackled, but we can always try. There is an easy resolution which most people think is possible... Tracking IP addresses, but it's sometimes not always that easy. People can change their IP addresses. But, we are warning you, that if you are banned for any reason what-so-ever, then please do not create an alternate account, but come to terms with the fact that you have maybe done something wrong to deserve being banned, and be manly enough to admit that you might've been wrong. Let time pass, and maybe - in time - you might be allowed back here to stay on the forum, and live happy ever after!
If it is made absolutely clear to us that you are an alternate-account user, then we will automatically ban you, because this is utterly unacceptable. We hate doing this, but don't think that by creating an alternate account, it is going to allow you back onto the forum, because if we do realise that you are an alternate account user, then it will anger us even more. We would not out-of-spite add to your ban because you created an alternate account, but we do not expect that from you, loyal members - so please... Think on that!

Finally, as a last brush to this thread, please... making you aware: USE THE REPORT BUTTON! If you see any post which interrigates the rules, or goes against them in any way, then please USE IT! It's not just there for show, and if you think that your reputation is going to deteriorate if you are found out to have reported somebody, then don't think like that - because if the report filed is correctly filed, and is handled correctly, and the correct action is taken, then you will have reported successfully, and there is no need to worry. Worrying about that is mutual, because you think about the person you are reporting and think about them deep inside and say "Do I really want to do this?", but if they have done something to infringe the rights, then "Needs must."

So, please read these rules and follow them - and we do not wish to hear of anybody abusing the rules (not following them).