FOS Rules

Greetings Members!

We want to continue to grow FOS into an active community for web users worldwide. While using this forum, you must display a good standard of knowledge and common sense to achieve your goals, and posting purpose. Please adhere to all rules stated below, or warnings may be given. These warnings and our system will be displayed, and explained later in this text. This text acts as the law of this forum.

1) Be Respectful
Treat other members as you would have them treat you. This means no flaming, insulting, or belittling other members.

2) Stay on Topic
Posts in a thread should not deviate from the original topic. For a new discussion, make a separate post.

3.) Posting Etiquette

• Strictly No Txting Langauge
• Strictly No All Caps (Ex. FOSGROUP)
• Strictly No Alternate Caps (Ex. FoSgRoUp)
• Strickly No Special Character in yourThread Title (Ex. +===fosgroup===+)

• Read all sticky topics, they usually have important information in them.
• All topics must contain a full description.
• When posting, make sure it is in the correct forum, and has appropriate detail, and content. Please read the forum descriptions before posting.
• When replying, think of an appropriate response, do not respond because you can, respond when you have something worth saying. Make sure everything is readable, and makes sense before clicking the reply button.
• When posting, be polite, a polite post will get more results, especially when you are requesting something.

Excluded forums: Off Topics (Please Follow Specific Forum Rules)


4) No inappropriate language or images
Avoid vulgar, racist, and sexist comments, as well as swearing. We have a Zero Profanity policy. There is an automatic censor, but that does not mean anything it misses is necessarily acceptable. The censor should never have to be used, as appropriate language should be used initially. Do not post pornographic, violent, gory, or otherwise offensive graphics or links. Images should be scaled down as necessary to maintain a consistent and readable forum layout.

Excluded forums: Adult Section (Please Follow Specific Forum Rules)

5) No Spamming
Spamming is a broad term. Spamming includes unauthorized advertising, unproductive and useless posting, post-padding, empty posts, referral and associate links, pyramid schemes, etc.

6) Avatars & Signature:

• All rules apply to Avatars & Signature
• The combined size of all images in a signature image is a maximum of 500x100. Please keep the file sizes small for loading times.
• The combined size of avatar image is a maximum of 125x125. Please keep the file sizes small for loading times.

7) Questions or Concerns If you have a question, comment or concern contact the Super Moderator or Moderator of the area you have the issue with. If they can not resolve the issue they will refer it to the next person in line.

9) Enjoy yourself!
Have a great time posting and we look forward to your feedback.

When the rules are breached, the moderators and administrators may issue infractions, remove privileges, or choose to ban a user immediately, depending on the severity. Ignored warnings and continued offense usually result in banning.

The administrators and moderators reserve the right at all times to edit or remove any posts, images, signatures, avatars, and custom titles.



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The Infraction System is a way to give points to members that break the rules. Here's the point system:

1. Posting Etiquette Violation is 5 pointsand expires after 7 days
2. Signature Rule Violation is 5 points and expires after 10 days
3. Inappropriate Language is 10 points and expires after 15 days.
4. Flaming/Insulted Other Member(s) is 15 points and expires after 1 Month & can be extend.
5. Small Infraction is 2 points and expires after 7 days
6. Spam Advertising is minimum of 30 points never expires, equivalent to a 7 day ban & can be extend or permanently ban.
7. PM Spam Advertising is minimum of 30 points never expires, equivalent to a 7 day ban & can be extend or permanently ban
8. Permanent Ban is 1000 points and never expires.
9. Custom Infraction is whatever points that an Admin wants to give and will expire whenever they want.

The points will accumulate until they expire. If a user accumulates a certain amount of points, there are automatic bans. The accumulated points are:

1. 30 points is a 7 day ban.
2. 75 points is a 1 month ban.
3. 1000 points is a permanent ban.

The Infraction System is a disciplinary system to get members to conform to the rules. That's why this system has a set amount of points and a set amount of time for expiration of those points. The auto ban is also a great way to show that abiding by the rules is imperative. Note: Some of the infractions are extended. That means a user will receive extended expiration times if given a second infraction that matches an existing active infraction. For example, a user is given a small infraction that expires in 14 days. An hour later this user is given the same infraction for another post. Since the user already had an active small infraction, this new infraction's expiration time is added to the end time of the previous infraction. Effectively, this new infraction will now end 27 days and 23 hours later instead of the default of 14 days. If the user was given a third infraction, it would be added to the end of the second infraction as well, which in this case would put them in the temp ban. Explanation of Infractions (this list is not all inclusive):

1. Posting Etiquette Violation when you violate any rules in our posting etiquette
2. Signature Rule Violation is self-explanatory.
3. Inappropriate Language is for bypassing the profanity filter, and may be for insinuations and inuendos.
4. Flaming/Insulted Other Member(s) is self-explanatory.
5. Small Infraction is for small offenses that might not be covered in the other categories.
6. Spam Advertising is when a member does a link drop, not for the join and only spam people.
7. PM Spam Advertising is when a member is reported for sending spam via PMs.
8. Permanent Ban is 1000 points and no one will ever accumulatively achieve this. This amount of points is given to one time spammers and those that will never be allowed back.

If you receive an infraction, only you and the Forum Leaders will know. It is not a public record that everyone can see. I hope this helps with understanding the system.