As our forum grows daily, we need to set some ground rules to protect ourselves from any misunderstandings or conflicts. Please do read them carefully, and if you don't understand something, ask, that's what we are here for!
To new members: this community is very important to all of us here. Please respect the fact that to us, it's a home away from home, or a safe haven, if you'd like. We, the admins and mods, will do everything we can to keep it that way. We love getting new members and welcome everyone with open arms, but please remember, that being here isn't a right - it's a privilege, and as such, it can be revoked at any time if a member repeatedly breaks forum rules.
We use a "three strikes and you're out" rule here, 3 major offences will get a member banned - unfortunately we've had that happen to us a few times and it was quite distressing for most of us. Major offences include: excessive bad language, starting flame wars, abuse and name-calling of others, etc. Minor offences include: huge images used for avatars and signatures, hotlinking, repeated posting in wrong forums, etc. Minor offences can stack up, 5 minor offences will turn into 1 major.
We don't want to scare anyone enough to stop them from posting - most of the rules are just common sense, and the mods will let a member know if they are doing something wrong. Don't feel bad or stupid if you get a warning, that's not our intention, it's just to point out a rule that you might have missed. We all know how it is when you join a new community, you want to read everything and see every photo, and that's the main reason why we all are here, but do find 5 minutes to read the rules, it makes everyone's life a little bit easier.
Being ignorant of the rules is NOT a valid excuse. It's up to each member to read the rules and check periodically for new rules/changes added. Depending on the offence, a member might get a warning, a temporary ban, or even a permanent ban. I Etiquette1.
Excessive cursing and swearing is prohibited. We have some members who are quite young, so bad language is frowned upon. I, for one, while I don't mind a mild swear word here and there, would definitely object to a string of profanities! Such posts will be edited/deleted and the member will be given a warning. If not heeded, a "three strikes and you're out" rule will be applied and the user will be banned.
2. Above also applies to choice of your member name (ID, nick). No swear or other offensive words are allowed. I will give a member only one chance to change his/her name, if they choose to ignore it, I will delete their account.
3. We welcome discussions but
arguments and deliberate abuse of others will certainly not be tolerated. Please remember that written word seems much stronger than it would when spoken. Online, we lack vital clues like facial expressions and the tone of voice to tell us if something is meant as a joke, for example. It's easy to misread things and those can escalate into arguments, which is not something any of us would want. I know it seems that we have an emoticon for almost any occasion and expression, but they might not always be enough. Most arguments stem from misunderstandings, so let's take everything with a pinch of salt!
We come here to have fun and relax, so lets keep it that way!
4. Deliberate starting of "
flame wars" will not be tolerated, and a warning will be issued, however, the user could be banned immediately if the case is serious enough.
5. No name-calling, no bad mouthing others be it other member or admins or mods - it can potentially get a user banned immediately, depending on how bad the offence is. This applies to anything said in a post, a PM, or even email if it has anything to do with pinky-street.com
6. Please,
no text (sms) speak! There will come a time (and believe me, I'm dreading it! LOL) when we will get a member who will write everything in text speak. Shortening of a few words in your post is perfectly acceptable, but not every single word. It's particularly discourteous to those for whom English is not a native language. We are not here to solve riddles and puzzles either! Not sure what text speak is? Example:
"sum ov me mates do dat yea i rite in txt language but its 2 save time n all da topics on it r annoyin now" 
This also applies to excessive
net speak, it's difficult to understand to many of us, so, please, refrain from using it too much or you might find that no one answers your post because no one knew what you were asking...
7. Please do not bump topics, especially if the topic still appears on the 1st page. This is very annoying and is not needed. Bumping is only acceptable if the topic disappeared off the first page or is important, like a sales thread. For full explanation of what "bumping" is please see
here8. Please don't dig out very old topics, especially if all you're going to say is the photos are missing. Often, the original poster isn't around anymore so the thread is not relevant anymore.
II Selling, Buying, TradingIf you plan on buying or selling in our market forum, please read the guidelines
here. They are a part of the forum rules and need to be taken seriously. We go on an honour system here, and we would like to keep it that way. To access the Market forum, you need to have been a member for a month and have 30+ posts.
III Avatars and SignaturesHaving a large avatar and/or signature makes browsing difficult for those on slower connections and with smaller screen resolutions (ie. laptops). Please keep in mind that a wide signature or avatar may push content sideways, making it difficult to read the posts. Also, large images take longer to load.
These sizes are approximate and to be used as a guide but please try to stay as close as possible to the sample images. A few more pixels won't make much difference, but double the size and you're in trouble! (just kidding!
But you might be asked to resize down the image(s).
If your signature is all text or mixed text & images, please try to keep them within the same size, just use the image above for visual cue.
IV Posting Images1.
Images sizes. Including images in posts is a part of why we are here, to
share our photos. We love large images but we should keep in mind users with slower connections. Please make the largest side of your image (width or height) no more than 800 pixels.
2.
Images we find. In a lot of cases, posting someone else's images is ok, as long as you include their name (if you know it) and definitely, without exceptions,
include the link where you found it. It�s only fair to give credit when it�s due. However, a lot of Japanese Pinky fans are very protective of their photos, so please
always make sure that they allow others to post their photos elsewhere. We don't want to get a bad reputation for stealing photos, do we? If you aren't sure, play it safe and, instead of posting the photo, post a link the website.
3.
Hotlinking. It means linking in a post here, to a photo which is stored on someone else's site, without that person knowing about it. This can be viewed as bandwith theft and is generally frowned upon. Under no circumstances this is allowed, and the mods will be editing such posts. Please note, that this not apply to sites that exist for such purposes as image hosting, ie. photobucket.com
V AdvertisingPlease keep links and banners to your own sites/blogs/LJ/etc in the signature, or post them in the Off Topic section. We also have a "Links Page" on the main site, if you'd like to add your website, please PM the Admin.
Advertising of items for sale or trade should go in the Market Forum. The same goes for advertising online shops, etc.
VI Sharing MediaWhile we understand your desire to share your favorite songs and videos with your friends this activity is considered
illegal in most of the world so we ask that you please
refrain from posting downloads or links to downloads of copyrighted media (music, videos, etc) in the forums, unless this media has been designated for free download by the copyright holder.
Have fun. We won't tolerate breaking of this rule!
If you have anything to add, or any comments, ideas, etc, please let us know! Pinky-Street.Com Admins & Moderators
Author
I shall keep that in mind and stay away from that kind of typing from now on!! :pbookmark:
Thanks.
umm.. Inga, is my avatar okay? I hope it is not too big. I think it is a good thing to have some rules too, but if I accidentally break any of the rules, please remind me. 
