Pulse Music Board Rules & Guidelines
Dec 27, 2013 2:20:34 GMT -5
Post by Kurt on Dec 27, 2013 2:20:34 GMT -5
The following are the latest policies and rules that will be enforced on Pulse Music Board. These are in accordance with not only ProBoards Terms of Service, but also our own standards. Any and all violations of the rules will result in a warning or, in the case of multiple or severe infractions, multiple warnings up to suspension or a permanent ban.
(Last updated: July 18, 2024)
Edit history:
1/5/14: Added detail on warning expiration
7/18/14: Elaborated on content of Games forum
2/25/15: Added "no $$$ soliciting" rule under Spam
3/5/15: Added Posting Rule #7 (no posting others' info) and avatar + status rule
4/10/15: Added display names to Housekeeping #4
3/22/18: Amendment regarding posting non-member content to Housekeeping #8 (details)
7/18/24: New policies and rules on the board (details)
Forum Policy
Updates to the forum policy are as follows:
Warnings
Members will now be permanently banned after 5 warnings. Previously, a permanent ban would be issued after 6. Current standings will be adjusted to reflect this change. Additionally, penalties for warnings have been adjusted such that suspensions will be issued on the second, third, and fourth warnings. Previously, suspensions were only issued on the second and fourth warnings. Members may appeal warnings at any time.
Members will now be suspended on their second (one week suspension), third (two weeks suspension), and fourth (four weeks suspension) warnings. A permanent ban will be issued following the fifth. This change was made to discourage members from abusing the grace period to avoid a permanent ban. Following this change, a member’s current warning level will effectively be treated as a flat -1: members will remain at the same standing relative to any pending suspension as before this change. Members who would be placed at 60% following this change will not face a two weeks suspension. Finally, members may appeal warnings at any time. To do so, PM the pmbstaff account and two other members of staff. The appeal will be reviewed by all staff members. In the event of a suspension or permanent ban, members may also email pmbstaff@gmail.com to appeal. Note that staff is discussing viable alternatives to make this process easier.
A more detailed review of the new warning system is as follows:
New Warning System:
Warning 1 (20%): No Action
Warning 2 (40%): 1 Week Suspension
Warning 3: (60%): 2 Weeks Suspension
Warning 4: (80%): 4 Weeks Suspension
Warning 5: (100%): Permanent Ban
Conversion of existing warning levels following this change:
Warning Level 17%: Warning Level 0% (No Warning)
Warning Level 33%: Warning Level 20%
Warning level 50%: Warning Level 40%
Warning Level: 67%: Warning Level 60%
Warning Level 83%: Warning Level 80%
Reports
More emphasis will be placed on context when reports are reviewed to ensure consistent and fair rulings.
When reviewing reports, the reported member’s recent behavior and posting history, among other factors (e.g., ongoing discussions in the thread, relation to other members in a discussion), will be considered. If a member is notified regarding any objectionable action or behavior, but no changes in conduct are observed, then staff will take this into account when reviewing reports. Additionally, a stronger emphasis is being placed on context so that reports are reviewed more fairly. "Borderline" posts, or reported posts that do not reach a clear consensus, may result only in a PM, but no warning will be issued.
Staff Accountability & Transparency
Staff remains committed to even and fair enforcement of the rules. As such, staff members can be reported, either by using the report feature or anonymously by contacting another member of staff. Any and all reports will be reviewed by all staff members, not only the staff member being reported.
Previously, it was not clearly stated that members can report staff members. We strongly encourage members to report any posts made by a staff member that they feel are in violation of the forum rules. Reports cannot be deleted and are reviewed by all members of staff. If a member wishes to file a complaint anonymously, then that member can PM any staff member of their choosing. The complaint will be communicated to all staff members and reviewed in the same manner as a formal report. The member filing the report will not have their identity disclosed. Staff also continues to encourage public discussion and feedback about staff performance. Additional feedback threads may be made in the future.
Discord & Other Extra-site Incidents
Under certain circumstances, staff may consider activity outside of the forum when discussing reports and, following particularly disruptive incidents, will take action when appropriate.
Generally, it is staff’s position that activity outside of the forum is not considered when reports are reviewed. However, staff may consider a member's conduct on other community servers, forums, and social media sites when reviewing activity that is related to the forum and/or members of the forum. Particularly egregious offenses may warrant action from staff in accordance with the forum rules and the ProBoards TOS. Regarding Pulse Discord specifically, staff wants to be clear that any activity or warnings contained to the Pulse Discord server may not result in any action taken on the forum. However, if such activity is not contained to the Pulse Discord server or other sites (e.g., X) and affect the forum, then staff reserves the right to consider this when reviewing reports. We encourage members to be mindful when engaging other members outside of the forum. Examples of what would lead to staff intervention are as follows:
Rules
Updates to the rules are as follows:
Duplicate Accounts and Remaking Accounts
Having multiple accounts on the forum is prohibited. Existing members may register for a new account but must forfeit their existing account to do so.
Barring extenuating circumstances such as forum-wide events (e.g., the PMAs), members may not have multiple active accounts. However, members may register for a new account only if they forfeit or delete their existing account. Staff encourages any member who does so to notify staff so that the approval of the new account can be expedited. Additionally, when a member who has deleted their previous account registers for a new account, that member should include the username of the deleted account for staff’s records. If a member with outstanding warnings fails to notify staff of their previous account, an additional warning will be issued.
Stay on Topic
Posting with the intention of disrupting discussion is prohibited. Members should be mindful of the subforum and thread they are posting in and should stay on topic. Passing comments are permissable, but in instances where threads are derailed or a member repeatedly engages in inappropriate or off-topic discussions, a warning will be issued. Additionally, staff may relocate or rename threads when appropriate. Threads may also be deleted if they are deemed to be objectionable or violate the ProBoards TOS.
Note: This rule may not always apply to The Lounge.
No Personal Attacks
Personal attacks against other members are prohibited.
A personal attack is considered to be any post made with the intention of harming another member, directly or indirectly, by commenting on their appearance, character, intelligence, race, sexuality, or etc. To be considered an attack, the post in question must be interpreted as having explicitly malicious intent. Posts that are "catty" or "shady" will not be considered personal attacks under this rule. The nature of a given discussion, as well as a member’s posting history, will be considered per this distinction. Examples of personal attacks are as follows:
No Solicitation or Spam
Creating accounts or posting for the sole purpose of advertising, and all spam, are prohibited. Any advertising must be done in the avatar or signature of a member's profile unless it directly relates to the forum. Anyone found to be posting for the sole purpose of advertising or soliciting will be permanently banned. Additionally, consecutive posts may not be made in a given thread until an appropriate amount of time has passed, and only if those posts are relevant to the discussion. While double posting is not prohibited, triple or quadruple posting in a 24 hour period will be considered spam and a warning will be issued.
Note: This rule may not always apply to The Lounge.
No Arbitrary or Excessive Reports
Using the report system for purposes other than what is intended (e.g., reporting posts solely on the merit of disagreement) is prohibited. Members who report an excessive number of posts or report posts frivolously may be issued a warning. As staff reviews reported posts thoroughly and on an individual basis, reports should be made only if a post is in explicit violation of the forum rules or ProBoards TOS. This is to ensure that violations can be addressed promptly.
No Illegal or Obscene Content
Posting any illegal or obscene content as outlined by the ProBoards TOS is prohibited. The ProBoards TOS define content that would be considered inappropriate for the forum. Examples of illegal or obscene content are as follows:
No Baiting or Trolling
Posting messages with the explicit intention of inciting arguments is prohibited. Examples of baiting and/or trolling are as follows:
No Doxxing
Posting another member's personal information without their explicit permission is prohibited. What would be considered personal information includes locations, photographs, social media accounts, and etc. Any poster found to have shared this information will be issued a warning or permanently banned if appropriate. Additionally, members who are found to have obtained another member’s personal information without their consent will be issued a warning or permanently banned if appropriate.
Age of Use
Creating an account prior to turning 13 years of age is prohibited. Per ProBoards TOS, members must be at least 13 years of age to have an account on the forum. Any underage members will have their account permanently banned. These members may create a new account once they are of age.
(Last updated: July 18, 2024)
Edit history:
1/5/14: Added detail on warning expiration
7/18/14: Elaborated on content of Games forum
2/25/15: Added "no $$$ soliciting" rule under Spam
3/5/15: Added Posting Rule #7 (no posting others' info) and avatar + status rule
4/10/15: Added display names to Housekeeping #4
3/22/18: Amendment regarding posting non-member content to Housekeeping #8 (details)
7/18/24: New policies and rules on the board (details)
Forum Policy
Updates to the forum policy are as follows:
Warnings
Members will now be permanently banned after 5 warnings. Previously, a permanent ban would be issued after 6. Current standings will be adjusted to reflect this change. Additionally, penalties for warnings have been adjusted such that suspensions will be issued on the second, third, and fourth warnings. Previously, suspensions were only issued on the second and fourth warnings. Members may appeal warnings at any time.
Members will now be suspended on their second (one week suspension), third (two weeks suspension), and fourth (four weeks suspension) warnings. A permanent ban will be issued following the fifth. This change was made to discourage members from abusing the grace period to avoid a permanent ban. Following this change, a member’s current warning level will effectively be treated as a flat -1: members will remain at the same standing relative to any pending suspension as before this change. Members who would be placed at 60% following this change will not face a two weeks suspension. Finally, members may appeal warnings at any time. To do so, PM the pmbstaff account and two other members of staff. The appeal will be reviewed by all staff members. In the event of a suspension or permanent ban, members may also email pmbstaff@gmail.com to appeal. Note that staff is discussing viable alternatives to make this process easier.
A more detailed review of the new warning system is as follows:
New Warning System:
Warning 1 (20%): No Action
Warning 2 (40%): 1 Week Suspension
Warning 3: (60%): 2 Weeks Suspension
Warning 4: (80%): 4 Weeks Suspension
Warning 5: (100%): Permanent Ban
Conversion of existing warning levels following this change:
Warning Level 17%: Warning Level 0% (No Warning)
Warning Level 33%: Warning Level 20%
Warning level 50%: Warning Level 40%
Warning Level: 67%: Warning Level 60%
Warning Level 83%: Warning Level 80%
Reports
More emphasis will be placed on context when reports are reviewed to ensure consistent and fair rulings.
When reviewing reports, the reported member’s recent behavior and posting history, among other factors (e.g., ongoing discussions in the thread, relation to other members in a discussion), will be considered. If a member is notified regarding any objectionable action or behavior, but no changes in conduct are observed, then staff will take this into account when reviewing reports. Additionally, a stronger emphasis is being placed on context so that reports are reviewed more fairly. "Borderline" posts, or reported posts that do not reach a clear consensus, may result only in a PM, but no warning will be issued.
Staff Accountability & Transparency
Staff remains committed to even and fair enforcement of the rules. As such, staff members can be reported, either by using the report feature or anonymously by contacting another member of staff. Any and all reports will be reviewed by all staff members, not only the staff member being reported.
Previously, it was not clearly stated that members can report staff members. We strongly encourage members to report any posts made by a staff member that they feel are in violation of the forum rules. Reports cannot be deleted and are reviewed by all members of staff. If a member wishes to file a complaint anonymously, then that member can PM any staff member of their choosing. The complaint will be communicated to all staff members and reviewed in the same manner as a formal report. The member filing the report will not have their identity disclosed. Staff also continues to encourage public discussion and feedback about staff performance. Additional feedback threads may be made in the future.
Discord & Other Extra-site Incidents
Under certain circumstances, staff may consider activity outside of the forum when discussing reports and, following particularly disruptive incidents, will take action when appropriate.
Generally, it is staff’s position that activity outside of the forum is not considered when reports are reviewed. However, staff may consider a member's conduct on other community servers, forums, and social media sites when reviewing activity that is related to the forum and/or members of the forum. Particularly egregious offenses may warrant action from staff in accordance with the forum rules and the ProBoards TOS. Regarding Pulse Discord specifically, staff wants to be clear that any activity or warnings contained to the Pulse Discord server may not result in any action taken on the forum. However, if such activity is not contained to the Pulse Discord server or other sites (e.g., X) and affect the forum, then staff reserves the right to consider this when reviewing reports. We encourage members to be mindful when engaging other members outside of the forum. Examples of what would lead to staff intervention are as follows:
Ex. 1: Member A reports Member B, citing a personal attack. Under normal circumstances, the reported post would not result in a warning. However, it is known that Member B has a history of attacking Member A on the Pulse Discord and the reported post makes reference to an exchange or exchanges on the server. That context would be considered when reviewing Member A's report and Member B may be warned for harassment, personal attacks, or both if appropriate.
Ex 2: Member A sends several explicit and targeted messages on the Pulse Discord, both directed at the forum’s members and/or the forum generally. These messages include derogatory language, slurs, and/or other objectionable content. Following this, discussion regarding the incident carries over to the forum. Staff would review this incident and take appropriate action as Member A’s conduct on the Pulse Discord led to disruptive discussions on the forum.
Ex 2: Member A sends several explicit and targeted messages on the Pulse Discord, both directed at the forum’s members and/or the forum generally. These messages include derogatory language, slurs, and/or other objectionable content. Following this, discussion regarding the incident carries over to the forum. Staff would review this incident and take appropriate action as Member A’s conduct on the Pulse Discord led to disruptive discussions on the forum.
Rules
Updates to the rules are as follows:
Duplicate Accounts and Remaking Accounts
Having multiple accounts on the forum is prohibited. Existing members may register for a new account but must forfeit their existing account to do so.
Barring extenuating circumstances such as forum-wide events (e.g., the PMAs), members may not have multiple active accounts. However, members may register for a new account only if they forfeit or delete their existing account. Staff encourages any member who does so to notify staff so that the approval of the new account can be expedited. Additionally, when a member who has deleted their previous account registers for a new account, that member should include the username of the deleted account for staff’s records. If a member with outstanding warnings fails to notify staff of their previous account, an additional warning will be issued.
Stay on Topic
Posting with the intention of disrupting discussion is prohibited. Members should be mindful of the subforum and thread they are posting in and should stay on topic. Passing comments are permissable, but in instances where threads are derailed or a member repeatedly engages in inappropriate or off-topic discussions, a warning will be issued. Additionally, staff may relocate or rename threads when appropriate. Threads may also be deleted if they are deemed to be objectionable or violate the ProBoards TOS.
Note: This rule may not always apply to The Lounge.
No Personal Attacks
Personal attacks against other members are prohibited.
A personal attack is considered to be any post made with the intention of harming another member, directly or indirectly, by commenting on their appearance, character, intelligence, race, sexuality, or etc. To be considered an attack, the post in question must be interpreted as having explicitly malicious intent. Posts that are "catty" or "shady" will not be considered personal attacks under this rule. The nature of a given discussion, as well as a member’s posting history, will be considered per this distinction. Examples of personal attacks are as follows:
- "Have you considered the health benefits of drinking bleach?"
- "My condolences to your parents for living in a time when abortion wasn't legal."
- "Mad at the TRUTH big bell pepper nose?"
- "My condolences to your parents for living in a time when abortion wasn't legal."
- "Mad at the TRUTH big bell pepper nose?"
No Solicitation or Spam
Creating accounts or posting for the sole purpose of advertising, and all spam, are prohibited. Any advertising must be done in the avatar or signature of a member's profile unless it directly relates to the forum. Anyone found to be posting for the sole purpose of advertising or soliciting will be permanently banned. Additionally, consecutive posts may not be made in a given thread until an appropriate amount of time has passed, and only if those posts are relevant to the discussion. While double posting is not prohibited, triple or quadruple posting in a 24 hour period will be considered spam and a warning will be issued.
Note: This rule may not always apply to The Lounge.
No Arbitrary or Excessive Reports
Using the report system for purposes other than what is intended (e.g., reporting posts solely on the merit of disagreement) is prohibited. Members who report an excessive number of posts or report posts frivolously may be issued a warning. As staff reviews reported posts thoroughly and on an individual basis, reports should be made only if a post is in explicit violation of the forum rules or ProBoards TOS. This is to ensure that violations can be addressed promptly.
No Illegal or Obscene Content
Posting any illegal or obscene content as outlined by the ProBoards TOS is prohibited. The ProBoards TOS define content that would be considered inappropriate for the forum. Examples of illegal or obscene content are as follows:
- illegally sharing or requesting the illegal sharing of copyrighted media files, including music, on the public forum unless authorized by the artist or label (e.g., snippets shared to X).
- posting Soundscan data unless provided with a direct link from a reputable source or press release
- nudity (“artistic nude” content is permitted, but will be thoroughly reviewed)
- harassment, threats, or any other content that could lead to the harm of another member
- posting Soundscan data unless provided with a direct link from a reputable source or press release
- nudity (“artistic nude” content is permitted, but will be thoroughly reviewed)
- harassment, threats, or any other content that could lead to the harm of another member
No Baiting or Trolling
Posting messages with the explicit intention of inciting arguments is prohibited. Examples of baiting and/or trolling are as follows:
- repeatedly insulting artists in a thread, or in multiple threads, without contributing to discussion
- referencing artists or songs in another artist’s or song’s thread in a manner that does not contribute to discussion (e.g., repeatedly explaining why "Gimme More" is better than "Not Myself Tonight")
- harassing or targeting a specific member to instigate or prolong an argument (refer to "No Personal Attacks”)
- referencing artists or songs in another artist’s or song’s thread in a manner that does not contribute to discussion (e.g., repeatedly explaining why "Gimme More" is better than "Not Myself Tonight")
- harassing or targeting a specific member to instigate or prolong an argument (refer to "No Personal Attacks”)
No Doxxing
Posting another member's personal information without their explicit permission is prohibited. What would be considered personal information includes locations, photographs, social media accounts, and etc. Any poster found to have shared this information will be issued a warning or permanently banned if appropriate. Additionally, members who are found to have obtained another member’s personal information without their consent will be issued a warning or permanently banned if appropriate.
Age of Use
Creating an account prior to turning 13 years of age is prohibited. Per ProBoards TOS, members must be at least 13 years of age to have an account on the forum. Any underage members will have their account permanently banned. These members may create a new account once they are of age.
Housekeeping
1. Only one account per person. -- Only one account at any time per person. Anyone with more than one active account will have the new one suspended. One warning will be issued for the duplicate account, as well as additional warnings for any posts made under the duplicate account that violate other rules. Suspended and permanently banned posters are not allowed to create new accounts to re-enter the board. Suspended posters caught creating a duplicate account during their suspension will see any and all duplicate accounts permanently banned and extra suspension time added to the original account.
2. Keep topics in their appropriate forums. -- We have a lot of ground to cover but there is a space to put pretty much any topic. Since this is primarily a board for music and music charts discussions, there's more focus on that type of discussion. Below is a list of the individual forums and what goes where:
Moderators and Administrators reserve the right to move topics to a more appropriate forum and lock topics that have already been created or are deemed inappropriate.
3. No spam. -- No spamming permitted at all. Any advertising must be done in the avatar or signature of the member's own profile. Anyone found to be posting for the sole purpose of advertising will be considered a spammer and blocked at the discretion of the administrators. Solicitation of monetary contributions for members' own purposes is also prohibited.
4. Signatures, statuses, and whatnot. -- Display names, signatures, status messages, avatars cannot violate any of the Pulse Rules and Guidelines. Signature images also cannot exceed 100x500px in size nor can they be more than 300kb.
5. File Uploads. -- Files attached to a post must be relevant to the discussion. If not, the post may be removed.
6. Report posts that violate board rules rather than responding to them on the board. -- If you see a questionable post that violates any of the above rules or guidelines, you can report posts it by using the Report Post function located at the bottom right of each post. Don't respond to those posts on the board as it'll take discussion further off-topic. Do not abuse this function by reporting posts that simply contain opinions which differ from your own.
7. Warning/Suspension System. Warnings and suspensions will be determined by collective staff discussion and discussion (except in rare cases where immediate action is required due to a ProBoards Terms of Service violation). All staff discussion will include consideration of poster history (including the poster's track record of past warnings), the context of reported posts (including any relationship the poster may or may not have with fellow posters quoted or addressed in reported posts), and the intent of the poster. The warning system works as follows:
Particularly egregious offenses may result in double-warnings or accelerations to suspensions if the staff agrees that is warranted.
Warnings expire for active members by one level every six months after the most recent warning.
8. Appeals of Administrators and Moderators' decisions must take place via PM or e-mail -- Admins/Mods reserve the right to lock topics, move topics, remove posts, warn and suspend members that repeatedly violate the rules in order to ensure order and proper running of the message board. If any member has an issue with a moderator or administrator's decision either on the board or with a warning/suspension, they must message TWO mods/admins with their situation, including pmbstaff , OR contact the staff via e-mail at pmbstaff@gmail.com.
Notice of warnings will be sent out via Private Message directly to the member by a moderator or administrator. Notice of suspensions will be emailed to the address listed in the member's profile. These notices are done off the public forums. Just because they aren't visible doesn't mean they're not being taken care of. The moderators/administrators keep a tally of all warnings and suspensions given out along with the date and the member who issued the warning.
Suspended members cannot use other members to converse with the board's administration either on the board or off. Any issues must be dealt with directly. Additionally, members may not post on behalf of a suspended or banned member; doing so will result in a warning.
Any posters unsure of their warning history are welcome to PM a staff member to find out.
Posting Rules
1. Stay on topic. -- try to keep all conversation relevant to the original topic at hand. If it's a topic about a specific single, keep the discussion related to that song. Same with topics about specific albums, artists, movies, etc. Some progression of the discussion away from the original intent is okay if the discussion is a quality one that grew naturally out of the conversation, but ideally discussion will come back to the original topic within a reasonable time.
Some examples of unnecessarily going off topic include:
2. No obscene/illegal content. -- The ProBoards Community Guidelines define the kind of content considered inappropriate for this and all ProBoards websites. This includes but is not limited to
3. No Personal Attacks. -- Personal attacks towards other board members anywhere on the message board will not be tolerated and will result in a warning/possible suspension.
These include, but are not limited to:
In evaluating possible personal attacks, staff will consider the intent of the poster and the poster's relationship with those addressed in questionable posts. Posters are also encouraged to work out possible issues in a respectful manner with each other via PM. Staff may initiate such group PM discussions.
4. No Trolling. -- Posting messages with the intention of starting arguments/upsetting other members will not be tolerated and will result in the topic being locked and warnings/suspensions given. Posts seen as bordering on trolling will be considered as such and given the same treatment as obvious trolling posts.
This includes but is not limited to:
In evaluating possible trolling, staff will consider the intent of the poster and whether the poster was joking rather than deliberately derailing the thread.
5. No double-posting. -- Double posting is defined as posting consecutively in the same thread, and it is not allowed. Use the "edit" button if you have something more to add to a thread. Moderators reserve the right to combine consecutive posts. Persistent violations of this may result in a warning.
6. No nonsense posts. -- Please post only if you have something to contribute. If a post contains nothing relevant to the discussion, consists only of a previously-quoted message or strays the discussion off-topic, it may be removed to ensure continuity for the topic's discussion. Persistent violations of this may result in a warning.
Please note that there is a "+1" or thumbs up option now for every post so if you want to agree with a post or like it, you can click that instead.
7. No personal information. -- Do not post personal information regarding others without their consent. This includes the use of other posters' pictures, as well as pictures of non-members (excluding celebrities). Furthermore, do not post any pictures of minors under 13 years of age, in accordance with the ProBoards Terms of Service/Privacy Policy.
If you require any clarification on the above, please refer to this topic, located in The Lounge.
1. Only one account per person. -- Only one account at any time per person. Anyone with more than one active account will have the new one suspended. One warning will be issued for the duplicate account, as well as additional warnings for any posts made under the duplicate account that violate other rules. Suspended and permanently banned posters are not allowed to create new accounts to re-enter the board. Suspended posters caught creating a duplicate account during their suspension will see any and all duplicate accounts permanently banned and extra suspension time added to the original account.
2. Keep topics in their appropriate forums. -- We have a lot of ground to cover but there is a space to put pretty much any topic. Since this is primarily a board for music and music charts discussions, there's more focus on that type of discussion. Below is a list of the individual forums and what goes where:
- Chart Forums: To discuss individual songs as it relates to the individual formats. Also appropriate are general topics that relate to the specific format and its chart. One topic per song, current songs only and only songs confirmed as being singles allowed. Any topic not conforming to those restrictions will be locked and/or moved to an appropriate forum.
- Radio Industry Forums: For discussion of general programming issues and format changes.
- General Music News: To discuss general music news, industry news, sales charts, Billboard charts, concert industry and other non-artist specific news.
- General Artist News: To discuss news related directly to individual artists. Typically separated with one topic for album. There are two sub-forums, A-J and K-Z. Location of topics are based on the first letter of the artist's first name or first name of the band as it would appear in a CD library (i.e. remove "the").
- Personal Charts: For the personal charts of board members and subsequent discussion.
- Your Opinion Please: To discuss anything music-related that is purely opinion-based rather than news artists. Ask questions, post reviews, discuss trends, etc.
- The Polling Booth: For polls and other multiple-choice questions. Only a couple of active polls can be dedicated to an artist at any given time to avoid a flood of similar-polls
- Games: Member-created interactive music-based games, as well as ongoing games such as Mafia.
- Non-Singles/Album Tracks: Any song that doesn't fit into any of the other songs-based forums can be discussed here. Primarily focuses on relatively current album-tracks, b-sides and unreleased songs.
- Nostalgia: For discussion of older music. A recommended guideline would be songs that are more than two years old.
- News & Entertainment: To discuss non-music news. World events, politics, movies, etc.
- The Lounge: Anything that hasn't already been covered in any of the other topics. Forum rules are relaxed here, though the ProBoards Terms of Service continue to apply.
- Announcements/Board Concerns For discussion of board issues, questions or suggestions.
Moderators and Administrators reserve the right to move topics to a more appropriate forum and lock topics that have already been created or are deemed inappropriate.
3. No spam. -- No spamming permitted at all. Any advertising must be done in the avatar or signature of the member's own profile. Anyone found to be posting for the sole purpose of advertising will be considered a spammer and blocked at the discretion of the administrators. Solicitation of monetary contributions for members' own purposes is also prohibited.
4. Signatures, statuses, and whatnot. -- Display names, signatures, status messages, avatars cannot violate any of the Pulse Rules and Guidelines. Signature images also cannot exceed 100x500px in size nor can they be more than 300kb.
5. File Uploads. -- Files attached to a post must be relevant to the discussion. If not, the post may be removed.
6. Report posts that violate board rules rather than responding to them on the board. -- If you see a questionable post that violates any of the above rules or guidelines, you can report posts it by using the Report Post function located at the bottom right of each post. Don't respond to those posts on the board as it'll take discussion further off-topic. Do not abuse this function by reporting posts that simply contain opinions which differ from your own.
7. Warning/Suspension System. Warnings and suspensions will be determined by collective staff discussion and discussion (except in rare cases where immediate action is required due to a ProBoards Terms of Service violation). All staff discussion will include consideration of poster history (including the poster's track record of past warnings), the context of reported posts (including any relationship the poster may or may not have with fellow posters quoted or addressed in reported posts), and the intent of the poster. The warning system works as follows:
- 1st warning: No suspension
- 2nd warning: No suspension
- 3rd warning: 7-day suspension
- 4th warning: No suspension
- 5th warning: 14-day suspension
- 6th warning: Permanent loss of posting privileges
Particularly egregious offenses may result in double-warnings or accelerations to suspensions if the staff agrees that is warranted.
Warnings expire for active members by one level every six months after the most recent warning.
8. Appeals of Administrators and Moderators' decisions must take place via PM or e-mail -- Admins/Mods reserve the right to lock topics, move topics, remove posts, warn and suspend members that repeatedly violate the rules in order to ensure order and proper running of the message board. If any member has an issue with a moderator or administrator's decision either on the board or with a warning/suspension, they must message TWO mods/admins with their situation, including pmbstaff , OR contact the staff via e-mail at pmbstaff@gmail.com.
Notice of warnings will be sent out via Private Message directly to the member by a moderator or administrator. Notice of suspensions will be emailed to the address listed in the member's profile. These notices are done off the public forums. Just because they aren't visible doesn't mean they're not being taken care of. The moderators/administrators keep a tally of all warnings and suspensions given out along with the date and the member who issued the warning.
Suspended members cannot use other members to converse with the board's administration either on the board or off. Any issues must be dealt with directly. Additionally, members may not post on behalf of a suspended or banned member; doing so will result in a warning.
Any posters unsure of their warning history are welcome to PM a staff member to find out.
Posting Rules
1. Stay on topic. -- try to keep all conversation relevant to the original topic at hand. If it's a topic about a specific single, keep the discussion related to that song. Same with topics about specific albums, artists, movies, etc. Some progression of the discussion away from the original intent is okay if the discussion is a quality one that grew naturally out of the conversation, but ideally discussion will come back to the original topic within a reasonable time.
Some examples of unnecessarily going off topic include:
- Ranking songs in the middle of singles topics is not allowed and must be relocated to specific Rank the Songs topics. Failure to do so may result in the topic being locked.
- Bringing other artists into a discussion, especially for the purposes of bashing or baiting. This will result in a warning.
2. No obscene/illegal content. -- The ProBoards Community Guidelines define the kind of content considered inappropriate for this and all ProBoards websites. This includes but is not limited to
- posting MP3s, links to MP3s or discussion on ways to attain illegal MP3s.
- requesting MP3s from other members, requesting links to MP3s or requesting ways to illegally attain MP3s.
- Posting or collecting Soundscan data to use on the board unless provided with a direct link from a reputable source/press release.
- nude photographs or overtly sexual images, gifs or links to videos, and language that graphically describes lewd activity
- threatening content
3. No Personal Attacks. -- Personal attacks towards other board members anywhere on the message board will not be tolerated and will result in a warning/possible suspension.
These include, but are not limited to:
- direct insults
- underhanded comments (i.e.: "Well you must have heard a different version of that song", "Well you need to get your ears cleaned out")
- racial/homophobic comments & any slurs against those with developmental disabilities (these will not be tolerated and will result in a suspension/permaban)
In evaluating possible personal attacks, staff will consider the intent of the poster and the poster's relationship with those addressed in questionable posts. Posters are also encouraged to work out possible issues in a respectful manner with each other via PM. Staff may initiate such group PM discussions.
4. No Trolling. -- Posting messages with the intention of starting arguments/upsetting other members will not be tolerated and will result in the topic being locked and warnings/suspensions given. Posts seen as bordering on trolling will be considered as such and given the same treatment as obvious trolling posts.
This includes but is not limited to:
- repeatedly trashing specific artists in the same topics
- retaliating against other members by insulting artists you assume to be someone they like. (i.e.: "I didn't like Christina's last album." "It's not like Britney has done anything good lately!!")
- replying to a troll in a trollish matter. It brings you down with them and may result in warnings for both people.
In evaluating possible trolling, staff will consider the intent of the poster and whether the poster was joking rather than deliberately derailing the thread.
5. No double-posting. -- Double posting is defined as posting consecutively in the same thread, and it is not allowed. Use the "edit" button if you have something more to add to a thread. Moderators reserve the right to combine consecutive posts. Persistent violations of this may result in a warning.
6. No nonsense posts. -- Please post only if you have something to contribute. If a post contains nothing relevant to the discussion, consists only of a previously-quoted message or strays the discussion off-topic, it may be removed to ensure continuity for the topic's discussion. Persistent violations of this may result in a warning.
Please note that there is a "+1" or thumbs up option now for every post so if you want to agree with a post or like it, you can click that instead.
7. No personal information. -- Do not post personal information regarding others without their consent. This includes the use of other posters' pictures, as well as pictures of non-members (excluding celebrities). Furthermore, do not post any pictures of minors under 13 years of age, in accordance with the ProBoards Terms of Service/Privacy Policy.
If you require any clarification on the above, please refer to this topic, located in The Lounge.