ENGLISH - Forum Rules - www.nightwishforum.com

1) When choosing your username and avatar, please make sure that they are not violent, pornographic, or vulgar in any way.

2) The forum language is English, only. Content of posts in other languages will be removed and the member will be notified via PM.
There is a list of partner forums in other languages at: www.nightwish.com

3) No cursing/swearing under any circumstances on the forum with the exception of 'Speaker's Corner', please read the announcement topic for further details.

4) When posting, please consider how your post sounds to other people. What may clearly be a joke to you and a friend may seem rude to an outsider. If your post is not obviously a joke, you may receive a PM to add a short note regarding the post’s intentions.

5) Do not post any material which is knowingly false and / or defamatory, abusive, vulgar, hateful, racist, insulting, harassing, obscene, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise a violation of any law. This also applies to your signature and e-mail sent through the forum's e-mail feature.
Any of the above content may result in any of the following, depending on the severity of the post:
- Automatic deletion of offending content, followed by a warning to the member
This will happen only in severe cases. Jokes will not be deleted (see rule # 4)
- A PM asking the member to edit the post’s content
- A verbal warning
- A posting ban for a given period of time

6) When opening a new topic:
i) Use the forum’s search option to make sure that a similar thread does not already exist.
ii) Use meaningful topic titles. Topics such as “omg this is so cool” will be closed without further warning.

7) Concerning illegal content:
i) You agree not to post links to websites containing illegal content. Such sites include places where you can download movies, music, etc illegally or websites that are considered illegal by law (sites promoting racism, hate, etc).
ii) Keeping in mind that this is an official site, you agree not to post links to leaked content, be it Nightwish or any other band.
Note: We allow Youtube links as long as the content has been released officially.

8) When posting:
i) Stick to the automatic color & font. Please use the bold and underline options as an alternate, changing of font size is only allowed in moderation as an emphasis. Please note we won't allow huge font or posts all in non automatic size, this also includes full bold etc.
ii) The moderation team is the only one to use colors to make their posts stand out.
If a post contains different colors/fonts/sizes, the member will be asked via PM to edit their post. Failure to do so in 24 hours will result in edit by moderation team and a verbal warning.
iii) DON'T SHOUT. All-caps messages are impolite and you will be asked to edit them. (The same editing policy as for font/colors will be used concerning CAPS). A reasonable use of CAPS in a post is acceptable.
iv)General forums double posting rule: If the last post is older then 2 weeks, it's ok to start a new post right after the last one. This will not count as double post. Only exception: The Creation area is without the 2 weeks rule limit. Double posts are accepted.
v) Try to keep the discussions "on-topic". If you find the discussion wandering off in a direction completely unrelated to the original topic then start a new thread. Off-topic posts are subject to being moved to new and/or other existing topics by the moderation team. Otherwise, a reminder will be posted to get back on topic.

9) When interacting with other members:
i) Don't flame (that's using insulting or offensive language against fellow forum visitors).
ii) Personal attacks against individual members of the forum (including moderators) are not allowed and are liable for deletion (see rule #5)
iii) Everyone has his or her own opinion. Different does not mean wrong. If you cannot tolerate others’ views/opinions or respect cultural differences, then the forum is not for you.
iv) Be nice to the new members. If you are a regular member, you represent the forum with your posts.
v) Be generally nice to each other and try to avoid pointless arguments.

10) This forum is for ALL ages. We will not restrict Nightwish fans based on age. Even if a member under the age of 13 obtains parental consent, that does not mean you should not watch what you say. Read what you post and think: “Would I want my child/younger relative to read this?”

11) This is a discussion board and not ebay: no selling things on the forum. Topics of the like will be automatically closed.

12) We love llamas. They’re adorable. Drama llamas however are not. Keep the level of senseless drama for the sake of drama down.

13) Use the “Contact the Mods” thread if you feel that something on the forum needs to be dealt with or have suggestions.

14) We can’t anticipate every situation. If you feel that the rules are missing certain points or are unclear, please don’t hesitate to tell us.

15) Moderator decisions are not up to debate inside any thread of the forum. You have the feeling something needs to be discussed or you have the feeling you've been treated unfair, please use the Contact the Mods thread to let us know.


And just so that there are no things left unmentioned:

The Moderation Policy

The moderation team is not here to censor you or to suck the fun out of everything. When it comes to moderating topics, we stick to the following:
1. We will not delete posts as a whole. The only way a post is deleted is if a member asks for their post(s) to be deleted.
2. Unlike posts, the content of a given post is subject to deletion without warning only when it comes to the cases described in the rules. Concerning all other content: a member will be first asked to edit the content, and if it does not happen within 24 hours, only then will a moderator edit.
Content that is liable for deletion without warning (not mentioned in the rules):
• Clear cases of spam - eg. Viagra, Cialis, 419 fraud, pyramid schemes, etc..

The Banning and Posting Ban Policy

Bans and Posting Bans are not the same thing. Notorious spammers, bots, trolls will all receive a ban, meaning that they will no longer be able to access or view the forum. Posting bans will only be enforced when it comes to the following rules: Rule #3, #5, #7.
NOTE: If the need arises, a posting ban may be enforced outside of these rules. This will, however, happen rarely and only if it is the only possible course of action. For example, constant ignoring of Mods’ PM’s to edit content.


Nightwish discussion area

We will not interfere in debates concerning band members, albums, songs, etc. The only interference from us will be if the debates get too heated and insults start flying (see rule #10)
We will not totally forbid fangirling. However, don’t cross the line. We will intervene if it becomes violent or takes any other form of over the top fangirling. No fanfiction stories on any forum.
Note: Fangirling is not limited to being obsessive over a Nightwish band member. It also includes negative behavior towards other forum members for not sharing your opinion on a specific song/cd/single/etc.

**We do not allow TOR, Proxy or fake/1 day email address registrations. All new users IP's are checked. If any of these are discovered we ban on the grounds of spammer**