First and foremost, Figure Realm is a family-oriented website. This means we enforce basic rules of conduct on the entire website, including the forums. The following is what we expect from you, the honored guest:
No slander. Be respectful.
If you don't like or agree with something, whether it be someone's opinion or someone's custom, provide constructive criticism or valid counter-points. If you don't like someone's custom work, toss in some tips and suggestions to "improve" it. Unnecessary roughness will not be tolerated because it's...unnecessary! This is enforced mainly because we have young customizers submitting their work, and if everyone starts harassing them about how "terrible" it is, they'll most likely quit customizing altogether. We don't want that. May those kids' broken souls be on your head. Also, if you really want to debate something, take it to the Off-Topic forum, don't raid someone else's topic.
No profanity. No pornography.
If you just rolled your eyes at that, I suggest you just keep on rolling to the next nearest super-awesome action-figure website with a community as friendly and helpful as ours. You'll be hard-pressed to find one. Just don't post those kinds of things. At the very least, if you don't think what you want to post is too terrible, place a warning at the start of the post clearly stating something along the lines of "the following post contains material which may not be suitable for minors".
We all know the word filters can be tricked by replacing letters with special characters. It's not C@@L, and you didn't just discover it. Just don't do it.
Do not type in all caps / 1337 / non-English languages.
We'll have no idea what the heck you're talking about if you do, leaving us no choice but to consider it spam and remove it.
No auction links, retailer links or links to competitor sites!
Figure Realm has a nifty Figure Shop where you can buy your next indulgence, gift for a friend, or custom fodder, so we'd appreciate it if you didn't post links to competitors' websites on the forums or anywhere else on the site (like in the custom descriptions). If you see someone asking for where to buy a figure that is currently out-of-stock, then go ahead and suggest a store to the person through a private message. There is nothing wrong with helping each other.
No Selling
Figure Realm is not intended to be a marketplace for you to sell your action figures, customs or any other goods. However, we don't mind members trading figures, or even selling occasional items if you have extras. There is a Trading Post in the forums for this purpose. Selling items from another website, posts saying come check out what's for sale at my website, or anything of the such, is prohibited. This is considered spam and will immediately be removed. Anyone whose sole intention is to sell items for profit, whether it's picking up extra figures to make money or selling customs, will immediately be asked to stop.
No Spamming
If you have to ask, then you're most likely going to be spamming. :]
Examples:
* Multiple one-word responses
* Multiple non-sensical posts (occasionally going off-topic is fine, posting stupid stuff isn't)
* Multiple similar responses (like posting only "cool" in a MILLION custom topics)
* Multiple double-posting (maybe we need to make the EDIT button bigger?)
* Posting with multiple accounts
Notice the word multiple.
Posting links isn't spamming, posting the same link (or word or whatever) over and over all over the place is. Porn isn't spam, we just don't want it here.
No Bumping Posts
Bumping is NOT allowed. What is bumping? Bumping is posting comments on a topic with the intentions of moving the topic to the top of the list to make it more popular or visible. There are different forms of bumping. The most obvious is posting a one word comment, such as *bump*. Another form would be repeatedly posting comments that don't add any value to the conversation, such as "thanks" or "cool". If the urge is felt to reply to every comment in a topic, wait until there are at least two or three replies, and reply to them all at once. Any form of bumping on this website is considered rude, and could result in a warning or banishment at the Regulator's discretion.
Post information where it belongs.
Post information where it belongs, especially in the forums. The boards have descriptions under the title to help you figure-out where to make your post, but we understand they aren't fool-proof. Don't worry, we'll move the topics to the appropriate board for you. Also, round pegs don't fit in square holes, so please don't keep trying to post something on the wrong forum after we've moved/deleted the topic. You may accidentally break something (like your legs, hint hint). Topics and posts are edited for a reason, if you have an issue, feel free to ask a moderator what happened.
Steal and be smoten.
You know how irritated you get when you tell a good joke, then later your friend tells it and takes credit for it? Remember how annoying that is and how it makes you want "accidentally" shove him into a vat of skin-bleaching chemicals? Batman knows the feeling, so he doesn't go around taking credit for other people's work, neither should you. Submit only your own customs to the Custom Showcase. There shouldn't be a need for this warning, but unfortunately there is. Anyone submitting another person's work, without their expressed permission, will be banned/suspended from the site entirely. No exceptions. If you want to tell everyone what a great job another customizer did, then feel free to do so in the General Action Figure Chatter Board. We have no problem with praising another's work, it's what we're here for!, just don't take credit for work (art) you didn't create. You will regret it.
Trade at your own risk.
Figure Realm is in no way responsible for any trades made on its boards, good or otherwise. By using the Trading Post, or any other function of this site, to make a deal with another site member, you are doing so at your own risk. Figure Realm and the Regulators have no way of protecting you against any losses resulting from bad trades, so please, don't send us emails like "Johnny didn't send me my stuff! Ban him!" These kinds of emails will not warrant a response as there is nothing we can do about the situation. We do not encourage trading with other users, but we realize some of you are going to do it anyway. We do have a makeshift feedback-system on the Trading Post board to help potential traders see who is and isn't an honest trader, be sure to take a look at that topic to see the names of members who have traded successfully with each other. Keep in mind that Figure Realm does have a safe and secure Figure Shop with an enormous selection of action figures to assist in your figure needs.
Problems with other site members.
All complaints regarding a disruptive site member's behavior are read and considered carefully before being acted upon. If we see anyone being disruptive, we will take action, but please understand we can't do much if we don't personally see the person's offensive messages (such as getting unwanted Private Messages or being harassed off-site - we have no way of monitoring that). If you can, take a screenshot of the offensive messages and then send us an email, otherwise it comes down to your word against theirs and that puts us in an arbitrarily unfair position. We are sorry that situations occur that create a need to even type up this paragraph, but please understand that Figure Realm cannot referee every dispute. Please try to work out any misunderstandings yourselves and use us only as a last resort.
Regarding Well-Known Site Members.
As you've probably noticed by now, browsing through the Custom Showcase and Forums, popular customizers like Jake, Jin, and Dr. Nightmare bounce by the site to comment on others' customs and post their own creations. Please don't take this as an open invitation to swamp them with hundreds of Private Messages and emails; remember, they are only people, too, and can't respond to everyone. It's not their fault everyone wants to ask them about things, so don't harbor resentment towards them if they don't respond to you - try using a bigger font, hah.
If you need any more clarification on any of these points, feel free to ask a Moderator on the forum, or rifle through the FAQS located at the top of some of the boards. Specifically the "stickies" located at the top of the Custom Showcase and Figure Realm News and Comments boards).
Users who choose not to abide by the rules may be banned from the forums and or the website altogether.
