This forum

[JeffM]

This fourm is for players to introduce themselves. And talk about player related activities

This is NOT a forum to bash, put down, trash talk, or lambast other players.

Do no make posts saying someone is cheating, or TKing, or anything like that. If you feel someone is doing wrong for the server you are on, then TAKE IT UP WITH THAT SERVER'S ADMIN STAFF, as it is an issue between them and the offender. If you don't know who the admins for a particular server are, politely ask for their names in the Servers forum.

Posts that violate this will be removed.

[JeffM]

This is not a survey site, Please don't post threads like "what do you do?", "how often do you..", and the like. This is not the place for them.

[The Vet]

I must protest your banning of surveys from this forum. I feel they are an integral part of the BZ community discussion and a legitimate way for players to get to know each other.
Rather than pose an outright ban, could you suggest a forum where we could post surveys?

P.S. I would understand not having surveys if there is a server space limitation. However, please make the facts known to us before you pose a ban.

[Winny]

It was banned because it was being abused by many newer players.

We kept getting "You do dis" or "how much food do you eat?" polls.

If you can't use it, then you loose it.

[Catoblepas]

Would it not be wiser to punish individual players instead of not allowing any of us to ask a question or two as a topic.

[Constitution]

Would it not be wiser to punish individual players instead of not allowing any of us to ask a question or two as a topic.

The problem is that it's typically newly-regisered people (or otherwise inexperienced), so there's really no way to "punish them" in advance. Hence the announcement topic.

[DTRemenak]

BZFlag-related polls are fine. Just keep it on topic.

[The Vet]

BZFlag-related polls are fine. Just keep it on topic.

Okay, that's all fair and well....

Please don't post threads like "what do you do?", "how often do you..", and the like.

But I think this wording is too vague. The rules for this restriction need to be clearly defined. Is there a place where the forum rules are made clear and public for all members new and old? This place could really use a publication of the rules to ensure that everyone understands the limits of the place.

And thanks for all your responses.

[DTRemenak]

The board rules apply to all forums. So does the FAQ. This particular forum had a large number of off-topic posts at one time, so this announcement was posted.

If you need additional clarification:

These are the official BZFlag bulletin boards. Anything not related to BZFlag does not belong here. This is NOT a chat forum (we used to have one, and deleted it because it was too hard to manage).

This is the players board. Anything not directed at your fellow players as peers does not belong here, nor does anything which belongs in any other forum.

Things which might belong here:
"Do you prefer mouse or keyboard to play bzflag?"
"Hi, I'm new, got any tips?" (also acceptable in Help: Tactics and Strategy)
"Hi, I'm a social guy and I'd like to introduce myself to all y'all fine players."
"How long have you been playing bzflag?"
"What kind of scores do you guys usually get?"
"Is it normal for a newbie to have consistently negative scores?"
"What servers do y'all like?" (also acceptable in Servers: General Discussion)
"What flags do y'all like?"
"Got any suggestions for a good voice chat program that works in the background behind BZFlag?" (probably belongs in General Discussion)
etc, etc.
Note that they are all related to BZFlag, and all directed at your fellow players. These are all examples from existing posts in this forum, please don't feel that just because I wrote them here you have to go start a thread on it.

Things which probably don't belong here:
"Do you like PBJ or BLT better?"
"Do you like McDonald's?"
"What do you think of WalMart?"
"What do you do for a day job?"
"What IM clients do you use?"
"What operating system do you use?"
"Did you go watch Pirates of the Carribean III on opening night?"

Sometimes it's a bit arbitrary, so use your best judgment.