Forum Rules & Regulations

[icedawg]

Introduction

These guidelines and rules have been introduced so that users know what is expected of them, and also what they can expect from the staff. Staff members have guidelines and responsibilities of their own to aid in ensuring this place remains enjoyable to all.

The staff at Dreamviews hope to promote a safe, friendly, enjoyable, and educational environment for people to gather, discuss and share ideas that relate to lucid dreaming. To that end the staff will do whatever is necessary to ensure an open environment, free from disruptive people and discussions.

General Rules

Starting a New Topic

• Please try to do some basic research before posting questions.
  The main site contains a great deal of information in regards to how to get started with lucid dreaming, as well as related topics. Also, many fundamental questions are covered in the Tutorials section of this site.
• Use the forum's search feature.
  If the tutorials and the site don't cover the material you're interested in, your next best bet is to use the Search function (also located in the top menu above the forum). Using the search can yield rich rewards as many questions have already been previously answered. This is extremely important because over time people grow tired of seeing the same questions asked again and again, so please use the search before posting a question!
• Post in the appropriate forum.
  When starting a new thread please make sure to place it in the most-appropriate forum. If you are uncertain about which forum to use, 'General Discussion' is usually a good failsafe; otherwise, use 'The Lounge' or 'Senseless Banter' if your topic is not related to dreaming. Please keep in mind that moderators may move threads that they feel would be better placed somewhere else.
• Try to choose a subject title that describes your topic.
  Please do not use topic subjects like 'Help me!!!' or 'Problems'; be descriptive and users will be more likely to read your topic.
• Do not post the same topic on several forums.
  Do not cross post; once is enough.
• Please try not to "bump" your topic.
  Replying to your own topic to get it to the top is annoying. Try to have some patience: this is a bulletin board; not IRC. It may take some time (e.g. one or two days) before someone can answer your query or question.

Replying to a Topic

• Stay on topic.
  When replying to threads please keep in mind the original topic of the thread. We all tend to digress from time to time so this rule doesn't always have to be strictly adhered to, however, when others are searching for information they will likely become annoyed if threads of interest to them completely veer off-topic. Often times it's a better idea to start a new thread (maybe even in a different forum such as 'The Lounge' if the topic is not really related to lucid dreaming) or to use the forum's chat feature instead. Please keep in mind that moderators may move posts that they feel would be better placed somewhere else.
• Avoid senseless and excessive posting.
  Please refrain from senseless or meaningless posts. These include posts like 'Yeah...me too,' or 'That's strange,' or 'Cool.' When responding to a person's topic please consider if what you're saying is really beneficial to others; often times we like to simply give feedback to users in regards to their posts, so if doing so, try to elaborate on your point instead of posting a couple of words. The basic reason for this rule is that all of us use this forum and many of us like to stay on top of the new posts as they come in. If there's a great influx of essentially empty posts it's very frustrating to sift through them to find the pertinent information; guests and outside users will also find this annoying because ultimately this place is supposed to be a useful repository for lucid dreaming information. Finally, keep in mind the existence of 'Senseless Banter' and that it's sole purpose is to fulfill anyone's desire to post inane topics and whatnot.
• Be respectful and tolerant of other users.
  Members should post in a way that is respectful of other users. Flaming or abusing users in any way will not be tolerated and will lead to a warning. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all! (thanks mom.) Obviously we'll use discretion in regards to policing this because joking around between friends is certainly permitted. If you have a legitimate complaint about another user, please contact a moderator or administrator.

General Posting

• Use an appropriate posting style.
  Members should generally try to post in a way which is consistent with 'normal writing.' That is, users should not post excessive numbers of emoticons, large, small or coloured text, etc. Similarly users should not SHOUT or use excessive punctuation (e.g. ! and ?) in topic titles or posts. Users consistently abusing this will be warned.
• Keep it clean.
  Members should remember this board is aimed at a general audience. Posting pornographic or generally offensive text, images, links, etc. will not be tolerated and will lead to an infraction.
• Copyright infringement/'warez'
  Members are asked to respect the copyright of other users, sites, media, etc. Users linking to or asking for information on warez, crackz, etc. or re-printing material without permission will receive a warning and their post will be removed.

The administrators and moderators reserve the right to edit or remove any post at any time. The determination of what is construed as indecent, vulgar, spam, etc. as noted in these points is up to Team Members and not users.

Miscellaneous

• Do not create duplicate user names.
  Refrain from creating duplicate user names, as this will earn you a temporary ban. If you have forgotten your password or would like your name changed, please contact an administrator.
• Do not create spoof account names.
  Do not create spoof account names of pre-existing members here. For example, if there's a member named "Jason_biggs435". Creating an account named "Jason_biggs425" is what we call a spoof account. If you have any knowledge of someone that's created a spoof account, please contact a staff member immediately and we will take care of it. Spoofing an account will result in an immediate permanent ban.
• Do not attempt to circumvent a temporary ban.
  If you have gotten yourself temporarily banned accept it and wait for your ban period to expire; users who attempt to regain access (via alternate IPs or accounts) will be permanently banned.
• Do not attempt to hack into accounts
  Anyone caught hacking another user's account--even testing out a password--will be permanently banned.

Advertising

You must contact the administrators and get permission before you attempt to post solicitations or advertising. Anything that appears to be advertising or solicitation will be removed immediately. This does not apply to LEGITIMATE news, user guides, or lucid dreaming resources.

Post/Thread Ownership

Once posts (and threads) are posted to Dreamviews, they become the sole property of Dreamviews. The author of the post relinquishes all ownership rights of the post(s) once they themselves post it to the site. There are merely two exceptions to this clause: 1. In accordance with the Dreamviews Tutorial License, tutorials placed on Dreamviews are the property of the author and the author retains all copyrights to the tutorials. As of June 10th 2010, Dreamviews reserves the right to keep one copy of each tutorial published indefinitely. The copyright itself exclusively remains with the author. 2. The content of Dream Journals placed on Dreamviews is copyrighted by their respective authors. They reserve full ownership including the right to have their Dream Journals removed upon request.

Signatures and avatars

- The maximum image size within a signature is 600 by 150 pixels or 195.3 KB (whichever is smaller).
- Maximum avatar size is limited to 130 by 130 pixels or 732.4 KB (whichever is smaller).

Disclaimer

All opinions, techniques, and methods posted at this forum are the sole responsibility of the author of said posts. Although we try to read the majority of the material posted here, we cannot verify all postings for correctness, efficacy, and safety. Please use your own judgment when following any suggestions that are posted here, and bring anything seemingly dubious to our attention.

Finally, all disputes that arise from conflicts or vagueness in these rules and guidelines are to be decided solely by the administrators and moderators. If you believe you have witnessed inconsistencies in the implementation of our polices, or you have ideas on how things can be improved, please contact an administrator.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN POSTING:

• An attack on your ideas is not necessarily an attack on you. I know it's not easy, but please keep this in mind because this is how fights break out unintentionally.
• When uncertain about being attacked, give the benefit of the doubt. Keep in mind how difficult it is to convey emotion over the Internet; unless it's glaringly evident that a poster means you harm, it's quite possible none was intended. (Not all of us like decorating our posts with smilies in order to take any possibly-perceived edge off.) Ask for clarification if necessary.
• When replying to someone in order to express your differing opinion, show respect and tolerance for that user; if you disagree with him or her, state why. Do not simply denounce the poster and ridicule his or her ideas. Keep in mind he or she likely believes with the same passion as you.
• Do not jump right in the middle of threads when you have absolutely nothing to contribute. Simply denouncing one's idea and adding nothing more accomplishes nothing.
• Do yourself a favour and STAY OUT of threads where you know you will not be able to control yourself: for example, if you believe very strongly in God, then for crying out loud stay out of a thread that says "Atheists only." Also, creators of threads should be able to limit a discussion to a particular audience (which should be stated in the title); respect that.
• When starting your own threads containing your own ideas, be prepared for dissent and WELCOME it; if you are unable to entertain the notion that maybe, just maybe, you're not absolutely right, then there is no room for discussion so don't even bother bringing it up.
• If you feel you are being attacked and need help, contact a moderator or the administration.

The aforementioned applies to ALL users, regardless of tenure here.

[icedawg]

DV Chat Rules

Dream Views Chat asks all users to abide by the rules and policies. This is not to restrict your rights to free speech but to create a pleasant chatting environment for everyone. The rules have been developed by the forum’s staff members over time and do not reflect any one person’s arbitrary sense of morality.

The rules are enforced by moderators called Chat Moderators who may kick users for offensive or unacceptable behavior. Members who are being abused or harassed can PM the Chat Moderators and report abuse so that the problem can be dealt with.


The Rules

1. Be civil, polite and follow common net etiquette.
2. Do not post pornographic or otherwise offensive links.
3. No racial, religious, or sexually inflammatory language.
4. Do not spam or advertise.
5. Use English. Move non-English conversations to private messages or create a private room.
6. Please do not flood/spam the window with characters, caps, links, or smilies.
7. Do not create an inappropriate number of new chat rooms, public or private.
8. Do not harass other members.
9. All members are expected to follow the instruction of the Chat Moderator, or any other staff member in chat. If a member feels that a moderator is wrong, or has been unfair in some way, it is not to be discussed in chat. The member can take it up with the administration via private messaging. Arguing publicly in chat will result in a kick and possible formal warning.
10. Do not attempt to circumvent a kick from chat; doing so will necessarily result in a permanent ban.
11. No hacking of any kind is allowed. Doing so will result in a permanent ban from Dream Views.
12. Do not create profane rooms or rooms that are sexual in nature. Failure to abide by this will warrant in immediate dismantling of the room and an infraction or temporary ban from Dream Views.

If a member breaks one (or more) of the above rules, please contact one of the staff members HERE, along with the chat log of the users misconduct (if applicable).


Typical* Abusive Members will be handled as follows:

1. First chat offense: a warning.
2. Second chat offense: a kick from chat.
3. Third offense: a formal warning from a moderator to stop the behaviour at the risk of banishment.
4. Fourth offense: temporary ban of no less than 1 week.
5. Fifth offense: permanent ban.


*Note that these are only guidelines for how abusive members will be handled. Depending on the individual circumstances, a ban may be issued immediately w/o warning.

[Jeff777]

Infractions

Infractions log your history of offenses on DreamViews and can translate into a temporary/permanent ban if and when enough points accrue. Infractions may result in restricted access until they expire. Serious infractions will never expire. You are expected to understand and follow the rules currently in place. Failure to abide by them will result in an infraction and/or ban.


The following is a list of what will earn a user infraction points should they choose to break the rules.
Note: Infraction point values are dependent upon the severity of the offense.

• Posting of Inappropriate Image(s)
  This includes pornographic, drug glorifying, snuff, overtly large, and shock images.

• Lewd Behavior
  Includes all text/verbal sexually explicit content. Does not apply to dream journals.

• Inappropriate Language
  Excessive swearing. What is considered excessive will be left to the discretion of the moderators and administrators.

• Insults/Harassment
  This includes all personal attacks/insults and anything that can be construed as the harassment of an individual or group of people.

• Minor Chat Violation
  Spamming, inappropriate channel names.

• Advertising
  Applies to unauthorized advertisements posted on our forums. Spamming of advertisements will earn the user a permanent ban.

• Drug Policy Violation
  Discussion of drugs are permitted with the following exceptions: directly endorsing or recommending drugs of questionable legal status, or legally questionable uses of drugs; posting realistic photographs of illegal/questionable drugs or tools used to take/make these drugs; and instruction on how to take/make these drugs.

• Trolling
  Trolling is defined as any deliberate attempt to disrupt a thread.

• Creating Alternate Account(s)
  The creation of "alt" accounts is against forum policy. Violation of this rule is accompanied by at least a temporary ban.
  If there are multiple members of the family registered on DV that use the same computer/network (IP address) then you may be asked to verify the existence of each member that any additional user-names were created for.