What the new forum has to offer

[Mageg]

So as many of you know, with our new forum comes many new features,
some of which are just for fun, some for accessibility and others to make the forum a generally better place!

1> Posting changes
As you will have noticed, when posting there is a much cleaner interface
that runs a lot smoother than the old version as well as making
your time posting easier!

If you copy and paste into your post you won't be sent to the bottom
of the page anymore either so you can't complain about that!

Embedding is also much easier thanks you the html tags MyBB uses,
before you'd have you use the little button at the top that would
bring up an ugly and sometimes laggy window for you to paste your link
and for you to then pray that it works, in the new reply you simply
click the image button and paste away:

Alternative method:
Just type "[img]" then paste your link, then type [/img].
This also makes life a lot easier for embedding youtube videos too!

We've not taken spoilers away! Start your hidden text with "[ Spoiler ]"
then and with "[/ spoiler ]" (No spaces!)

Want to bold something? Just highlight it and click the bold button!
Same goes for changing the font, colour, size and other attributes.

2> Reputation

What is the rep system?

The reputation system is a way of showing your appreciation for other members.
Did someone make you an awesome sig? Did someone make you laugh? Did someone
spent 8 hours on documenting the damage and maths behind every shot?
Well this is your chance to pay them back with the new system.

We want to give members the chance to (as a community) help each other and be more
conscious of what people say. Normal members can give rep as either +1 or 0.
Green = Great job! I like you/something you did!
Grey = I'm not too fond of that
Red = I dislike you

How do I give negative reputation?

Coming soon - Stay tuned

How do I give out reputation?
When you see a post by someone you will see these buttons below it:

The third one along is what you will be giving your reputation with!
You may also do this by going to a user's reputation log by clicking their
reputation:

Then clicking rate user:

I have a lot of bad reputation, can you get rid of it?
No. Reputation will not be removed unless it is under extreme circumstances,
what you do and how to chose to act is down to you!

What happens if I get Egg'd?
If you are Egg'd by a moderator/admin then all your positive reputation is removed, your negative and neutral reputation
will remain, this is ONLY done when a user is proven to be abusing rep, suspicion is not enough grounds for
this and I want to emphasise that this will only be done if the proof is indisputable.

What is reputation abuse?
There are a few instances that we consider reputation abuse, one for instance is asking for it or hinting towards it,
whether this is via PM, post or even outside the forum it is not allowed. (We will only be able to verify posts, PMs and outside
contact is not verifiable by us so therefore will not result in being Egg'd, however if you feel as if outside contact has
been made to get rep from you, we advise you just neg/neut them to discourage them from trying it in the future.
Update:
A few people have been sending the staff their concerns for receiving negative rep.
I'd like to emphasise that we will not remove reputation unless it's very serious e.g account was compromised.
"I don't like you" or "Bad player" are not reasons we will remove rep. Rep is a way of expressing your feelings towards users
and we aren't going to silence those who have a negative view (We'd much prefer you to have a positive one though!).
Continued requests to remove reputation will result in a 10% warning.
If you have an issue with your negative reputation, try sending them a message to work it out - otherwise you'll just
have to work extra hard to get back up!

P.s If you give someone negative reputation, chances are they will
give the same to you, treat others how you want to be treated!

What is revenge reputation?
This is where you give a user negative / neutral rep and in retaliation, punish you with the same.
This is not considered reputation abuse so we advise you don't blindly storm around with your rep and use it wisely!

Can I ask someone to remove their reputation on me?
Of course, however if they say no then you may not harass them.

3> Warning System

What is the warning system?

The warning system is the answer to the question as to why there wasn't
a whole lot of bans on the old forum. Bans were VERY rare and in the nearly
two years the site has been running, less than 10 bans have been given out.
We don't like banning, it's something we try to avoid at all
costs. Warning after warning some users continue but not to the severity of deserving a ban.
We now have a 'point' system in place that works off percentages.
All users start with a 0% warning level and as they break rules (Found here) it starts to fill up. The higher your level gets the more trouble you are in!
While hitting certain caps you will endure penalties such as:
- Removed posting rights
- Moderated posts (Your posts must be approved before they are public)
- Permanent ban from the forum

I have a warning level, am I doomed?!

Now, let's say you make a bit of a mistake by accidently swearing or you get angry and
abuse another member and get yourself a few points, they won't last forever, they do expire!
So stay responsible but don't take the fact that these points expire as a free card to break rules,
they will still be taken seriously and some cases may result in more points than others!


That's all for now, I'll update this thread as more features are added,
have fun!