Before we dive into specific community rules and guidelines, we would like to provide some general guidelines for our members.
Mobile Nations communities should always be fun, friendly and helpful places to be. We want to provide answers to all member posts and questions as QUICKLY as possible. With that in mind, we ask that all members kindly follow these basic guidelines:
P.U.P.P.A.H
(Be Polite, Understanding, Patient, Professional, Attentive and Helpful)
Be polite. We ask that you keep your language clean and polite.
Be understanding and patient. You may be a power user or developer, but the person you’re talking to on the other end may be a complete newbie. Be patient, and provide all details possible if you’re posting about a problem (descriptive thread title always helps).
Be a pro. Don’t get into arguments over dumb things. If someone responds in a poor or rude fashion, ignore it. If you notice a pattern of rude or poor behavior from a particular member, report them to our moderators. If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. In a nutshell, ‘think before you post’.
Be attentive and helpful. Answer questions in a timely manner when you can, and provide thoughts and suggestions that might lead to the solution of a members’ problem.
Compliance with these basic guidelines should see you sailing in smooth waters for years to come at Mobile Nations. You’ll make friends, gain knowledge, and become wealthy beyond your wildest dreams (OK, maybe not that last point).
General Community Guidelines
Usernames - Must not contain email addresses, websites, or be promotional or offensive in nature. Usernames may contain characters a-z (upper and lower case) and numbers 0-9. Spaces, dashes - and underscores _ are also allowed. Mobile Nations reserves the right to modify, delete, or ban accounts that do not meet these requirements.
Multiple Usernames - You are only allowed to register one account.
Private Info - Do not post personal contact information of yourself or others. This includes email addresses, phone numbers and addresses. If you wish to contact another member, please send them a private message. This is for your protection.
Avatars - Our Passport system is designed to accept avatar images up to 500x500 pixels in size. When selecting an avatar, please remember that the forums are a community of both men and women alike. Images that are suggestive, graphic, obscene or otherwise offensive are not permitted and will be removed at the discretion of the moderators. Avatars used for the sole purpose of advertising a site or service is not permitted. All avatars are subject to review and modification by Mobile Nations at any time.
Forums Signatures:
Images are not allowed in your forums signature.
Links to external websites are NOT allowed in your forums signature. If you wish to include an external link, please contact a moderator.
Traffic leaching will not be tolerated.
Inclusion of images and links are at the sole discretion of our moderation teams.
Forums Signatures are subject to review and modification by Mobile Nations at any time.
Moderators - Do not post complaints about Moderators. Mobile Nations has the highest regard for individuals who volunteer their time to be a moderator. Every day, our moderators read through hundreds of threads and posts, and all moderator decisions are final. We trust that any action that a moderator takes will follow the above rules and guidelines. Please send a PM to a Moderator if you have questions about any moderator action.
Appeals/Complaints - If you feel that a mistake has been made or you are being treated unfairly, or have a question about an action, you may contact our Community Manager James Falconer: james AT mobilenations dot com.
Forum Etiquette
In addition to the guidelines above, we’d also like to make you aware of some basic etiquette guidelines. If you catch yourself doing any of the following... please stop yourself. If you find someone else that is in violation of these practices, please report to our moderation team right away.
Refrain from Backseat Modding - refers to ordinary users taking a moderator-like tone in criticizing other members. Do not do this. If you feel a post or thread requires moderation, please use the report post button.
Make Relevant & Meaningful Posts - Do your best at all times to make relevant, meaningful and helpful posts in our communities.
Cross Posting - Do not post duplicate questions or topics in multiple forums or threads.
Use Proper Grammar & Spelling - Tiping lyk thz iz n0t kewl. NEITHER IS THIS.
Bumping - Bumping a thread means to post an innocuous reply to a thread in order to "bump" it to the top of a forum. Excessive bumping is prohibited, and is limited to once per 24 hour period.
Search Before Posting - Often times questions and/or topics have already been discussed in an existing thread. Before posting a new thread, please try the search feature to research your question.
Telling someone to "Search" - Do not reply to a question by telling someone to do a search. Kindly suggest a search link, answer their question, or feel free not to respond.
Tech Support - If you have any technical questions or concerns about any of our communities, please visit the Mobile Nations Forums for support.
Link to Mobile Nations Stories Only - Please link all related stories to the appropriate Mobile Nations blog. For example, if you are talking about a new Android device that just came out... Link to the story on the Android Central blog, instead of some other site. Chances are we wrote it first, better, and deserve a little love. In addition, do not copy and paste stories in their entirety. Writers (from all sites) work hard, and deserve proper credit. We reserve the right to remove links to posts or close threads linking to articles similar to those published.
Post In The Right Forum - All forum indexes are down by categories. There are specific forums for applications, devices, device hacks, accessories, carriers, general chat, etc. Unique forums exist for a reason. Before you create a new thread, please ensure it is being posted in the most applicable forum. For example, threads discussing a BlackBerry 10 application are generally not device specific, and should be posted in the BlackBerry 10 Apps forum.
Keep it Legal - Moderators and admins reserve the right to close threads and ban members that post copyrighted and/or illegal materials. These kinds of activities can get us into trouble, and nobody wants that... so just don't do it. If you have questions on this, ask a moderator.
Warnings, Infractions and Bans
Our moderation teams do all they can to enforce our community rules and guidelines with a fair and even hand. Whenever possible, a ‘warning’ will be issued as alert to a member that they are doing something wrong. If multiple warnings are necessary, or a user has shown a pattern of poor behaviour, infractions may be issued. Infractions are more serious, and carry ‘points’ along with them (you can read more about this in the next section). Ultimately, if warnings and infractions do not resolve the issues at hand, a ban may be applied at our discretion. Our preferred ‘schedule’ for banning can be found in the ‘Important Notes on Banning’ section below.
Our Infractions System
Our infractions system is based on points, and was built to communicate with and track members that have violated our forum rules. The system allows Mobile Nations to apply rules in a fair and uniform method across our entire network. It also ensures repeat offenders are not given unlimited opportunities to correct their behaviour.
If you receive an infraction you will receive a private message detailing the rule that you have violated. As you can see in the chart below, each infraction type is assigned a predetermined point value depending on severity. If you exceed our 100 point threshold, your account will be banned (See ‘Important Notes on Banning’ below for more details on this).
Infractions can also be sent in the form or a zero point warning. Warnings serve as a polite way to encourage first time offenders, and those with minor violations, to follow the rules.
| Points | Expiration | Warnings |
|---|
| Inappropriate Language | 25 | 6 Months | YES |
| Signature Rule Violation | 25 | 6 Months | YES |
| Taking Threads Off Topic | 25 | 6 Months | YES |
| Developer Rules Violation | 25 | 6 Months | YES |
| Marketplace Rules Violation | 25 | 6 Months | YES |
| Abuse of Reporting System | 25 | 6 Months | YES |
| Copy/Paste of Articles | 25 | 6 Months | YES |
| Outside Linkage | 25 | 6 Months | YES |
| Post Count Padding | 25 | 6 Months | YES |
| Trolling | 35 | 9 Months | YES |
| Personal Attacks or Insults | 35 | 9 Months | YES |
| Posting/Linking to Copyright Material | 50 | 9 Months | YES |
| Disruptive Posting | 50 | 9 Months | YES |
| Abuse of a Moderator | 50 | 9 Months | YES |
| Spamming | Permanent Ban | Never | NO |
| Multiple Usernames | Permanent Ban | Never | NO |
| Pornographic Material | Permanent Ban | Never | NO |
| Discrimination or Harassment | Permanent Ban | Never | NO |
| Cookie Stuffing | Permanent Ban | Never | NO |
| Illegal Activities | Permanent Ban | Never | NO |
| Self Promotion or Advertising | Permanent Ban | Never | NO |
| Shared Login | Permanent Ban | Never | NO |
Important Notes:
Many infractions have an expiration date. If you incur an infraction and return to best behaviour (or were simply misguided and have no intentions of breaking the rules again!), we will remove these infraction points on the expiry date.
It is important to note that no individual member should consider themselves ‘above the law’. If you make a habit of trolling, using profane language or posting inappropriate materials, our moderators will hold you accountable. We reserve the right to give arbitrary infractions at our discretion.
Please think before you post.
Explanation of Infractions
As detailed in the chart above, many violations will result in an immediate ban of your account, while other violations carry a lesser infraction point value. Below are explanations of each violation.
Violations that will result in a warning, infraction or ban of your account (depending on length of membership, severity of violation and previous violations):
Inappropriate Language - Mobile Nations is a network used by people of all ages, so please keep posts, usernames, and links family appropriate. We use software filters to block variations of profanity and will not tolerate attempts (i.e. use of special characters) to circumvent these filters.
Signature Rule Violation - Per our general community guidelines, we ask that you keep your forum signature within certain limits. If these limits are broken or exceeded, you are in violation of this rule and may be penalized or warned.
Taking Threads Off Topic - While the interplay of a conversation in the forums will naturally wander; members must not intentionally derail a thread from its original topic.
Developer Rules Violation - We ask that all members adhere to our developer policy as stated below. Failure to follow these policies will result in a warning or violation.
Marketplace Rules Violation - We ask that all members adhere to our Marketplace Rules & Guidelines. Failure to follow these policies will result in a warning or violation.
Abuse of Reporting System - Repeated and malicious false reporting of posts is not tolerated. Anyone found to be in violation of this will receive an infraction.
Copy/Paste of Articles - Blatant copy/paste of articles from outside sources with no additional commentary is strictly prohibited. Failure to include your own original thoughts or relevant feedback is discouraged. Blatant copy/paste offenders will receive a warning or infraction.
Outside Linkage - Linking to content outside of the Mobile Nations network is discouraged, especially if the story/article/video was already published somewhere on Mobile Nations. Always look for (and link to) content from the Mobile Nations network at all times. If no relevant content is available, alert our community manager immediately, he will notify the editorial team(s).
Post Count Padding - Posting a series of meaningless posts with the sole purpose of increasing post count.
Trolling - Do not post inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages to provoke users into responding in a negative way. Calling another member a troll is also a form of trolling.
Personal Attacks or Insults to Members - Constructive discussions, debates and free speech are encouraged in the forums. However, it is not constructive to either criticize or insult another member because their opinion differs from yours. Consider the tone of your posts before pressing the submit button. If your are irritated by a post, thread, question, or topic; you are in no way obligated to respond and are encouraged to move along to another thread.
Posting or Linking to Copyrighted Material - Creators of original documents, apps and products work very hard to produce what they do. If a member is found linking to copyrighted materials without the written consent of the copyright holder, we will enforce a violation immediately.
Disruptive Posting - Taunting or harassing towards an individual or group, use of provocative language, pictures or videos meant to disrupt or de-rail a thread conversation, or to flame or entice flaming.
Abuse of a Moderator - Our moderators volunteer their own time and resources to make our communities awesome places to be. Abuse of moderators will not be tolerated. If you have a complaint or issue with a moderator, please bring it up privately via private message, or email our Community Manager, James Falconer at james AT mobilenations dot com. No discussions on warnings, infractions or bans between a Mod and user is to be made public. No exceptions!
Violations that will result in an immediate ban of your account:
Spamming - Do not use the forums to promote external websites, blogs, promotions, contests, services, affiliate ID's, or other products, without prior authorization.
Multiple Usernames - One account per person please. If we discover multiple user accounts from one location without our prior written consent, we will ban these accounts immediately.
Pornographic Material - Do not post pornographic images or links to sites containing such material.
Discrimination or Harassment - Be courteous to other forum members regardless of their race, age, nationality, country of residence, ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, political views or religious beliefs. Prejudice or discrimination of any form is not tolerated.
Cookie Stuffing - This is the act of placing a link to an image in a signature or post. The image will not display and will be replaced with a typical broken image icon. The browser will still follow the link regardless in an attempt to find the image. What happens then is the browser downloads a cookie to your local machine containing affiliate information. From that point on, any purchases made on the site embedded in the cookie appear as if they were the result of a referral. This is extremely shady. Any users found to be practicing ‘cookie stuffing’ will be banned immediately.
Illegal Activities - Do not post, sell, link, discuss, or request warez, serials, ROMs, UDID's or illegal copies of intellectual property of others. Discussion on how to defeat the insurance protection with it on or off devices will not be tolerated on the forums: Remember accidental damage is not done on purpose. Claiming damage be accidental for the purposes of an insurance claim is misrepresentation and, fraud. Discussions regarding hardware or software modifications designed to steal service, such as ESN cloning & phone programming modifications are also forbidden in the forums. Discussion regarding stolen devices is not permitted.*
* Stolen devices should be reported to your local police and mobile service provider.
Self Promotion or Advertising - Mobile Nations maintains a no advertising policy in the forums. Any member found to be advertising, promoting or leaching traffic (including via paid link forwarders) for profit or personal gain will receive a warning PM, and have offending post(s) reviewed by the local moderation team. The local moderation team and Community Manager will work with the member to either a) resolve the issue, or b) issue an appropriate ban. Private Messages or Emails to members soliciting your service will also not be tolerated and accounts found to be doing so will be subject to a ban.
Shared Login - The use of shared login services is strictly prohibited. Any accounts discovered using shared logins will be banned immediately.
If you’d like to promote or advertise your products or services, please contact Kevin Michaluk via email at kevin at mobilenations dot com
Important Notes on Banning
While our infractions system makes it CLEAR that some infractions can accrue to result in a ban, and other infractions can result in an instant ban... We realize that (from time to time) certain members may simply need a ‘cooling off’ period. To deal with this, we have a policy on banning for members that may simply ‘go off the rails’ once and awhile, in hopes of rehabilitating negative behaviour.
At our moderators’ discretion we will follow the schedule below:
First Ban - Triggered by 100 Infraction Points - 3 Day Ban
Second Ban - Triggered by another 75 Infraction Points - 1 Week Ban (7 days)
Third Ban - Triggered by another 50 Infraction Points - 1 Month Ban (30 days)
Fourth Ban - Triggered by ANY Infraction - Permanent Ban
Offering members with a pattern of poor behaviour THREE CHANCES to rehabilitate themselves is more than generous. This schedule is to be executed at our moderators’ discretion only and is a suggested course of action for those we feel can be rehabilitated into a productive member of our communities.
In the case of flagrant spam, illegal activities, or other ‘instaban’ type violations, our moderators reserve the right to ban the offending member(s) permanently without notice.
Blog Comments
Our site Editor-in-Chief’s (EIC’s) and editors work extremely hard every day to bring the best in mobile news to you. They do their absolute best in a professional manner to keep you informed and up-to-date on everything mobile.
To that end, while we encourage to leave your own comments within our blogs, we also ask that you be courteous and tasteful. As a general rule of thumb, following the P.U.P.P.A.H guidelines above should land you in good standing with our community.
The Mobile Nations team reserves the right to ban or warn users regarding blog comments at any time.
Accounts
All accounts and content found within any Mobile Nations Community is property of Mobile Nations.
If you wish to disable your account for any reason at any time, please contact accounts at mobilenations dot com.
Conclusion
This document acts as guidelines for both our users and moderators. We cannot imagine every circumstance and reserve the right to change these rules, move/remove/edit/close threads and posts, and warn/penalize/ban members at our discretion with or without reason at any time.
Please conduct yourself like a pro and we will do the same.
