1. Please don't spam. (Capitals do not count as spam)
2. You must be 13 to join this forum.
3. No double posting.
4. No necrothreading old roleplays or bringing back drama from the dead.
5. No shameless self promotion of your game, or another game. Mentioning is fine. Linking is a no.
6. No posting HUGE image threads without considering how their size and format will affect us readers.
7. No giant signatures or tons of sig gifs.
8. No shitposting.
9. Forum is rated PG. Keep it that way.
10. Got drama? Take it to PM or elsewhere.
11. We understand you're a huge fanboy of (whatever). We don't care. Not everyone else has to be.
12. No malicious links or phishers or you will be gone forever.

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Forum Etiquette

This entire segment may be condensed into one simple admonition:
Proactively seek to give of yourself and to bring only benefit and benevolence to your peers and community.

Very Personal Topics/Rants

Rants and complaints are frowned on and may be closed as they are discovered. Posts of this type are much better suited for a blog or other personal web space and are unwanted on these forums. Public posts should be open, productive and inviting to all members. Discussions among a select group of users should take place in private message.


Ineffective Discussion ("bikeshed")

Threads stating the equivalent of "there's something i don't like about this, we need to discuss it" have been repeatedly proven ineffective and inflammatory and will usually be locked after a warning from the moderation team.
Furthermore, questioning or discussing the methods used by the game development team will be monitored closely and locked if deemed unhelpful and/or unproductive. Harsh, unproductive criticism is also uncalled for.
If you have a question regarding game development, planning, or anything else, please ensure that your topic poses a specific question and be open-minded to responses.


Be Responsible

If an interpersonal issue arises, please be open-minded to the possibility that your behavior may have contributed to the problem. Taking responsibility for our actions is often a good first step toward a peaceful reconciliation.


Respect Other Users

Simply put, treat others as you would be treated; respect them and their views, even if you disagree with them.


Respect Other Games

Maligning other online animal games/servers, or any other game or their players/creators is prohibited. The entire WM team is happy to volunteer their time and energy to provide you with the game and forum. Kindly show respect toward the staff, players and communities of other projects, games and servers as well. Views, experiences and opinions are always welcome, but unproductive slander is not.


Pasting Pictures and Code

Please use [ code ] tags when pasting any code snippets. Please use Pastebin when posting large amounts of code. Do not post full screen pictures; use thumbnails instead. Any image with dimensions greater than 250x250px or over 50Kb in size will be removed. Do not post screenshots of text output whether it be errors or script; post the actual text. It's more helpful, readable, and useable that way.


Spam/Advertising/Solicitation

Spamming is forbidden. Please report spam with the forum report function and a moderator will review it for removal. Offending spam accounts and associated IP addresses will be banned. Do not reply to spam posts as it increases the amount of work required to clean them up.
Publicity, if it is related to WM (as a game or community), will usually be allowed. Promoting web-invites, blog posts or commercial promotions are actively discouraged, or outright prohibited. Registering just to promote your issue/cause, game related or not, treats the community as a resource and is not acceptable; if unsure about the appropriateness of your content, contact the moderation team before posting. Also be aware that posting shortened/obscured links is a technique of spammers and deliberately inhibits the communities ability to judge the propriety of the link. Therefore, please only post links that include a clear destination.


Old Threads/"necro-bumping"

Do your part to keep the forums tidy. Posting in old threads, or "necrobumping" is generally discouraged in the technical issue subforums, since it can potentially create disjointed "zombie" information; outdated posts with data which is no longer relevant due to the nature of this community and the respective game, combined with more recent posts reflecting more current circumstance. Furthermore, technical support threads should remain succinct, and multiple pages are to be avoided if possible.

Rules of Thumb

• If you have a question, start a new thread and link to the old if relevant.
• If you have something to add and judge that your information is related, but more up-to-date, start a new thread and link to the old if desired, but avoid duplicating effort by posting information already contained in the forum, or wiki docs.
• If your post is content-agnostic to the corresponding thread or solution, necrobumping can be appropriate.

Forum Member Accounts

Please limit your forum membership to one account only. Having multiple accounts is an unnecessary use of resources. Further, it may be interpreted as trolling behavior.


No Trolling

A "troll" is a person who intentionally attempts to disrupt, cause controversy, incite an argument, and/or receive negative attention by deliberately posting provocative content. The term may also refer to the act of posting such content, or the content itself.
Trolls are generally deceitful and often use ambivalence as a method of covertly insulting, intimidating, or inciting a person or persons for their own sadistic pleasure. They often pick their words very carefully and are therefore able to defend their masked attempts at creating unrest, frequently redirecting the blame onto the community and its supposed failure to understand them properly. Trolling is strictly prohibited.


Avoid Controversy/Controversial Topics

There is no explicit list of topics considered to be "trollish", controversial or provocative, but in the past, threads with posts pertaining to Religion, Sports, Race, Nationalism and Politics have invariably been closed. Therefore, specifically avoid these and all divisive topics on the WM forums! The forum staff certainly realize that such issues are deeply ingrained human realities. However, this is a game forum and is not intended nor able to effectively facilitate such commentary nor the resulting unrest.


No Shitposting/Empty Posts

Shitposting is best described as posting empty and worthless messages. It is not tolerated. People may have two reasons to do this: to increase their post count meaninglessly, or to lend support to an idea as if it were a vote. Examples of shitposting include, but are not limited to, replying with "+1", "lol", "me too", "I agree", or "".
When posting or replying to messages, make sure you have something to say. These empty posts clutter up threads and discussion, invalidate the 'Show New Posts' function, and waste bandwidth and server space.
Threads that degenerate into a series of "+1/-1" or "me too/I agree/I disagree" will be locked. Individual shitposts may also be deleted.


Life is a Two-Way Street

A simple, yet profound and undeniable truth. Ensure your thread includes details and information that others will find useful if you have a problem with something. Share your full resolutions with the community. Posting the equivalent of "Nevermind, I fixed it." in your thread or deleting your own posts for similar reasons is not only selfish and useless to the community, but a complete waste of resources and everyone's time. Also, demanding help or showing an obvious impatience toward getting it is unwanted here. Wild Midnight is provided by a group of volunteers. Players are strongly encouraged to do research, make an effort, report back in the thread, help others, get involved, and contribute to the community.
Please do not be a "help vampire".


Bumping

Posting a single word or useless message (bumping) to attract attention to your thread is not allowed. Do your own research, continue to troubleshoot, post the results, and be patient with the community. If people are reading your thread without answering or offering help, you may try supplying more details, or ask to be pointed in the right direction. Often, the reason for posts remaining unanswered is due in large part to the sparse details in the original post itself, or, the obvious availability of solutions in the wiki, on the forum or on the web, and the community's unwillingness to point out the obvious.


Cross-Posting

Cross-posting is posting the same question multiple times in different subforums (for example, posting in both Game Help and Game Discussion). This is a waste of resources and is not permitted. Any cross-posted topic will be immediately locked or deleted.


Misplaced Posts

Try to place your posts in the correct forum for the topic. Our forums have been carefully categorized so that most topics fit in one logical location. Any post that is deemed by the staff to be in the wrong forum will be moved to the correct location without warning. Most users can find these on their own but if you lose your thread, it is acceptable to contact one of the forum advisers asking where it has been moved.


Thread Hijacking

Thread hijacking is the process of replying to an existing thread with a different topic. This is generally discouraged. It is better to start a new thread if you have a problem/question/comment/etc that is related to an existing posted subject but clearly different. Posts that hijack a serious thread with off-topic discussion are also discouraged.


Do Not Flame

Flaming, in the most common sense definition, is directing negative, disrespectful, and/or insulting comments toward someone. An equally or more negative response, resulting in a cycling exchange of insults is often the consequence. Flaming fellow members (including the devs) will not be tolerated. Never resort to personal insults and please avoid sarcastic and patronizing language. Discussions can be productive, but quarreling is always destructive.


Respect ALL Staff Positions

Members of the Forum Team have been chosen for their ability to exercise consistently good judgment and shall have the final say. Note that this forum is not run as a democracy. The forum staff shall always attempt to implement universally peaceful solutions, but in the end, are charged with the responsibility of maintaining peaceful, civil order for the forum majority. Therefore, they cannot always please everyone with the decisions made. Please do your part to contribute to a healthy community and environment.
If you feel that an egregious oversight has been made, do NOT post complaints in forum threads - they will be quickly closed. Alternatively, use the forum report function, email a member of the moderator group, or email BlueMartenDev@gmail.com to contact the forum admins.


Warnings, User Locking, Banning

If the Moderation Team feels that a member's behavior is unacceptable and warrants intervention, a warning will typically be issued unless the occurrence is judged to be especially flagrant, in which case a ban may become imminent. Warnings will not be discussed on the forums by the Moderation Team. If the warning goes unheeded, further action will be taken. This may range from locking the offending user account, to deletion or banning of the user, out of consideration for a peaceful forum and community. Action is generally on a case-by-case basis.
If a user is apologetic, interested in a peaceful solution and wishes to have their account reinstated, a general consensus will be formed by the moderation team for, or against, such a request.


How to Post

• Choose clear, informative subjects. This is more likely to elicit response from experienced users who have knowledge about that particular topic. It also makes the topic easy to reference and find in forum searches by future users with similar problems. Further, avoid extraneous phrases such as [HELP!], [URGENT], etc.
• A sincere effort to use modest and proper language and grammar is a sign of respect toward the community that will certainly be appreciated and is quite likely to elicit positive responses. Please refrain from using so-called "textspeak", "netspeak", "leetspeak" and all other forms of internet slang.
• When asking questions, provide as much information as possible, including error messages, logs, what you have previously tried, what documentation and searches you have attempted, and related personal configuration files.
• Choose one topic per thread. Long threads are typically discouraged in the technical issue subforums.
• Post your question in only one subforum; pick the most relevant, and post there.
• When responding to an existing thread, always read the original post and attempt to focus on the original topic.
• Finally, when a solution is found, mark your thread as solved by editing the first post and prepending the tag [SOLVED] to the title in the "Subject" field.

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Further reading: How To Ask Questions The Smart Way


Dustbin Policy (marked for deletion)

Threads that are locked/closed because they are either already documented on the boards or Wiki or are inconsistent with the forum guidelines will be moved to Dust/troll-bin. After a period of five days, the thread will be deleted. The Moderator responsible will clearly mark the thread as "Binned" or "For deletion."


Legality

Criminal solicitation is strictly forbidden on this website. In this context, "criminal solicitation" shall mean, "To actively or passively inform about, facilitate, incite, move, or persuade others to some act of lawlessness or illegal activity."
Therefore, do not post discussions about or link to criminal solicitation in any form. This includes, but is not limited to information or links to facilitate illegal drug use, theft, network intrusion, creation of code for malicious purposes, prohibited software copying, prohibited use of copyrighted/patented material, so-called "warez", or sites which provide torrents or links to such content. Illegal content will be removed swiftly and dealt with in full accordance with known applicable law.


Freedom

The free and open exchange of assistance, speech, ideas and opinions is highly regarded and encouraged on the forums, but it must be noted that the freedom granted to forum members is relative freedom. It exists within the boundaries of the above guidelines and principles. Complaints of censorship are therefore baseless and unfounded, since this necessary framework must simultaneously provide reasonable limitations. To illustrate, we are aware of the physical laws which govern energy and matter, yet we do not complain of their oppression. Instead, we recognize that such laws are essential for our welfare. Likewise, this community's high standards reflected in these guidelines regulate community freedom for the common good and protection of all. The key, then, to true freedom on the forums is to cultivate benevolence toward others and harmonize our attitude with these guidelines by bringing only good and benefit to our peers. In addition, this allows members to satisfy all contributive impulses without aggravating themselves or encroaching on the freedom of others. Embracing the above principles and obeying the forum guidelines therefore benefits the entire community by providing freedom from the harmful and negative consequences of a more chaotic approach.

_{Article edited and taken from the Archlinux Forum etiquette.}