Guidelines
WELCOME:
The TFL.org board is a place for visitors to the site to gather, chat, ask questions, get help - basically anything related to the TheFanlistings.org (TFL) experience. The TFL staff frequent these boards, so it is also a chance for you to get the latest on what is happening in your favourite categories. However, questions specifically related to your applications and fanlistings are best suited to using the appropriate category forum or contacting the category staffer directly using the contact form.
Please note that this message board is solely for the use of those people who are involved with the fanlistings community and network. If you have no interest in fanlistings and have no intention of ever building, joining, or paying any attention whatsoever to fanlistings, this board is not the place for you. If we suspect that a member has no interest in fanlistings, we can and will issue warnings or ban the member. On the same note any account with 0 posts after three months can be deleted without previous warning.
The guidelines and rules below are to clarify what we expect from you on the boards, what you should expect from us, and any other questions about posting, behaviour, and threads. These guidelines are fluid and may change from time to time. If you have any questions about what you read here, please contact the senior staff.
Unregistered Members:
There are no sections of the board where unregistered members may post. If you are not a board member but want to check on the status of your form, then alternate options are to send a form to the category staffer.
BEHAVIOUR EXPECTATIONS:
The Purpose of the Board
1) Fanlistings community
This board is for discussion relating to the fanlistings community. By using this board, you agree that you are familiar with the concept of fanlistings and that fanlistings and TFL will be the primary reasons behind your participation at the board.
2) Off-topic discussion
You must understand that off-topic discussion is for the benefit of the members of the fanlistings community. It is not the sole or primary purpose of this message board and should not be treated as such. This is not a general chat board or a chat room. If the senior staffers notice frequent posts from you in off-topic forums with no evidence of you actually being involved with the fanlistings community, they reserve the right to issue warnings or, ultimately, ban you from posting.
Forum Behaviour:
1) Behaviour to other members
While we realise that everyone will not get along with everyone else, we do expect board members to be polite and respect one another. This includes general attitude, and also not making hateful or discriminatory remarks. If you have a problem with a board member, please read the “Issues with Board Members/Staff” section of these guidelines.
2) No spamming
We do not allow spamming of the boards. Do not post two topics for what could go in one. No bumping your posts needlessly (posting in a topic only so it will get a higher place in the forums). Posting just to increase your post count is also not tolerated and will lead to a warning. If asked to refrain from contacting a board member, not following this request also counts as spamming.
3) Spelling and how to write
We expect members to try and spell properly, to use proper capitalization and punctuation, and to not use “netspeak” (e.g., “how r u?” ”wHaTSuP guYSS<3”) on the boards. Also, please refrain from using all capital letters or alternating caps. As we have many members from a variety of countries, proper use of English is appreciated for both our sanity and for being able to read your posts. ❤️
4) Fights
We do not want, or tolerate, board in-fighting. If you have a concern regarding a staffer or another board member, please contact the senior staff or read the ”Issues with Board Members/Staff” guidelines.
5) Multiple/Fake Accounts
Members are only allowed to have ONE account. If a member is found using multiple accounts, they will be emailed and ask to choose one of them. All their posts will be merged into that account. Accounts created for the sole purpose of spamming, trolling or deception will be deleted without warning. If a regular board member creates an account for the sole purpose of spamming, trolling or deceiving the community, in addition to the offending account being deleted, the member will be emailed and their normal board account will be warned. If this happens a second time, the poster will be banned.
6) Contacting Staffers via the board
Please do NOT send E-mails or Private Messages (PMs) via the board to staffers about Network-related issues. If you need to get in touch with a staffer about a Network or category-related issue, please contact them via the website contact form or post in their category forum.
E-mails via the board are sent to staffers’ personal e-mail addresses, not to their staffer accounts. Private Messages have been enabled for Donators as a board perk, but they are not meant to be used for contacting staffers about their TFL duties. Again, if you need to get in touch with a staffer, use the contact form or post in the appropriate category forum instead.
E-mails sent to staffers’ personal e-mail addresses (such as through the boards) or PMs sent on the board may be discarded by staffers. The only certain way to receive a response from a staffer is through the contact form. If you have concerns about whether a staffer has received your form, you can either resubmit the form or post an inquiry in that staffer’s category forum.
Language on the Boards:
Please be aware that our visitors range in age. Therefore, we do not tolerate obscene language. Keep use of swear words to a minimum. Obscene language may result in your posts being edited by senior staff and penalties being given (see “Board Problems/Warnings“ section).
YOUR CONTROL PANEL:
Avatars:
Avatars may be no larger than 100x100 pixels and must not exceed 40KB in file size. They should be suitable for viewing by people of all ages.
You may upload your avatar to the board or host one externally. Regardless of where you host your avatar, the 40KB rule applies to all images. Should your avatar be hosted externally and be larger than 40KB, the Senior Staff will request that you change the avatar to something smaller, or will replace or remove the avatar link from your settings.
Signatures:
1) There is a 500 character limit on signatures. This includes any coding used.
2) Please keep the font size of signatures to a reasonable level (for instance, between 10-12pt font). Signatures should also be kept to a seven line limit (including blank lines).
3) No images are allowed in signatures.
4) The senior staffers have the right to edit any signatures that they deem to be inappropriate for whatever reason (e.g., offensive to other board members, font size too large, signature height over seven lines, etc.).
POSTING:
Posting Regulations:
1) Promotion of non-TFL networks is not allowed. TFL is happy to see that there are different networks out there, but we feel that using our server’s resources/bandwidth for advertising these networks on the boards is a burden. We will be happy to consider non-TFL networks for addition to the Links Centre.
2) Individual posts solely promoting non-TFL fanlistings are inappropriate and will be deleted (with possible warning of posters if it becomes a blatant disregard to the rule). If you are promoting all your fanlistings in one post which individually lists all your fanlistings, including non-TFL fanlistings, that is allowed.
3) Spam, posts about illegal software, etc. will be deleted by the senior staff. Please report any posts that you find.
4) The Technical Support forum is for network technical support ONLY. This means it is only for problems with the TFL site. If you have questions about fanlisting related scripts, please use the Fanlisting Script Help forum. Also, please note that this forum is for scripts related to fanlistings ONLY. Do not post support questions for other scripts in any of the other forums.
5) Spoilers: Please be aware that while you might want to discuss the latest movie/TV Show, we have fans from all around the world, and they may not have seen it. Labels any threads that contain spoilers with a warning in the subject (e.g., Lost [spoilers inside]).
6) Discussing and/or posting links regarding pirated software and/or media (music, films...) will NOT be tolerated. All posts will be deleted and the users involved will be warned.
7) If you have a question that you want to ask, but you don’t want to make it under your name, please feel free to use the Questions for the Senior Staff forum, where you can post anonymously.
😎 Attaching image is only allowed in the Fanlisting Design Help and the Fanlisting Script Help forums, and only as a way to explain/illustrate your problems or the explanations you need to give.
TFL Title & User Hierarchy:
Directly below your avatar is your user group. Regular users are allowed to edit their posts within the next 10 minutes after they post. Only Senior Staff and Category Staffers in their own category forums are allowed to delete posts and topics.
CHANGING YOUR BOARD USERNAME:
If you would like one of the senior staff to change your board name (to shorten it, to change it to your common internet name, to change it to your real name, etc.), please read these guidelines. You will keep all posts, all settings, etc., and any old posts will reflect your new username, as if it were never anything else. However, please note that we will only give you one board name change every 6 months. We will keep a record of who has requested a name change, and if you have requested a change in the last 6 months, we will deny your request.
Before requesting a board name change, please check that the name you want is not in use by one of our current members.
Policy on Existing Board Names:
If the board name you would like to have is already in use by another member, you may ask to take that username but only if the account in question has been inactive for some time. We will use the following guidelines when deciding whether or not to delete/change a current member’s account:
If the account has...
- 0 Posts Can be deleted after 3 months of inactivity (no posts have been made in the last 3 months).
- 1-10 posts Can be deleted after 6 months of inactivity (no posts have been made in the last 6 months) if the board name is requested by a regular and active member of the community.
- 10+ Posts After one year of inactivity (no posts have been made in the last 12 months (or in rare cases, when no posts have been made in the last 6 months)), the board name will be changed to something else if a regular and active member of the community wants that name. The original owner of that board name will be notified if their board name is changed.
No preference is given to usernames (for example, former staffers), as long as the guidelines above are met. If you have read and understand these guidelines and would still like to have your board username changed, please send an e-mail to kristina@thefanlistings.org with the subject “Board Username Change”;. Please state your current username and the username you would like it to be changed to in the e-mail. Please also note that this is the only way to request a username change. I repeat THE ONLY WAY. Any requests made elsewhere with not be taken into account. If you do not comply with the above guidelines, the request will be denied. The Senior Staff retain the right to refuse a board username change.
THE STAFFERS:
As mentioned above, the staffers of TFL.org frequent the TFL.org boards. Below is what you should expect from the staffers:
- That they will regularly visit their category forums.
- That they will answer any questions they can regarding the status of applications/forms, as well as TFL.org-related questions where able.
- That they will be polite and approachable on TFL.org-related matters.
- That what you ask/question on the board will not be used “against you” in the application/decision-making process.
What we expect from you, in your behaviour towards the staffers:
- That you will not contact them via their personal email addresses, through the emailing function at the board, or through Private Messages unless requested. If you wish to contact a staff member, please use the form.
- That you will be polite towards the staffers.
- We expect that visitors will understand that TFL staffers are volunteers and have lives outside of TFL. We understand that you are eager to hear back, but we appreciate your patience. Also, we run the Network as best we can. We aren’t perfect, but we do want what is best for everyone. Please respect our decisions. However, this does not mean that you have to agree with everything, and we will listen to suggestions and issues you may have - just post them nicely, as we have feelings too.
If you have any questions or concerns about these Guidelines or the category staff, please contact the senior staff.
PERSONAL CONCERNS:
Issues with board members/staff:
1) If you are having problems with a board member, please approach one of the senior staff through the contact form at the TFL.org website. Explain what is going on, and include any e-mails or links to board posts that you find problematic. The staff will treat the issue as confidential.
2) If you have a problem or an issue with an individual staff member, this message board is NOT the place to air those differences. If you have a problem with a staff member, you will need to either send a contact form to the staffer themselves or to the senior staff. The problem will then be discussed and dealt with confidentially and seriously.
3) The board is not the place to air personal differences between you and a staff member/board member. Follow the above instructions.
BOARD PROBLEMS/WARNINGS
When you post, you will notice under your country flag and gender icon a group of boxes called “Warn.” This is the TFL.org board warning feature. Unless you make a serious mistake, you will first be contacted and asked to fix it and not do it again, but in situations of repeated behaviour or if you make a serious mistake, you will be “warned”. If you reach 100 warning points, you may be banned from the TFL.org boards for a period of time or permanently. Please note that you can be banned temporarily or permanently even before reaching 100 if the offense is serious enough (e.g., you create an account solely for the purposes of spamming or trolling).
1) What can I be warned for?
Includes but it's not limited to: spamming, inapropriate language, signature violation, abusive behaviour (harassing another member or being repeatedly rude to a board member, trolling...), topic bumping and discussing or linking pirated software.
2) Who can make a complaint?
Anyone may report a person for their actions, but only a senior staff member can make the warning on your account.
3) Will I be informed?
A senior staff member will notify you by e-mail that you have received a warning.
4) Can I protest my warning?
Yes, you may e-mail the senior staff back to discuss the warning; however, the senior staff may choose not to revoke the warning.
5) What happens when I reach 100 points?
You will be informed via e-mail that you have been banned from the boards, and you will be told if this is for a certain period of time or permanently.
6) Is banning/warning common?
No. While we do give out warnings for offenses, it's not usual that we have to ban someone.
7) Can everyone see my warnings?
No. Warning levels and comments are ONLY visible to members of the senior staff, and the user.
If you have any further questions regarding this or your warning status, please contact the senior staff.
BOARD ADOPTIONS:
There comes a time when you can’t handle a fanlisting anymore, and you want to give it up. That’s what the Adoption Centre forum is for: it gives you a chance to pass your fanlisting onto someone new, or find a currently-owned fanlisting to apply for. However, be aware:
1) TFL rules state that you may not put up a fanlisting that is still on upcoming for adoption. No staffer will change the ownership details of any upcoming fanlisting. If you don’t want a fanlisting that’s currently on the upcoming list, then you MUST send in a closed form. Everyone who wants the fanlisting can then apply for it.
2) Once a fanlisting has been adopted, the ORIGINAL OWNER of the fanlisting must submit the moved form.
3) Please do not use this forum for the adoption of fanlistings not approved by TFL.org. If you want to adopt out a fanlisting approved by The Anime Fanlistings Network, please use their forum.
4) The adoptions forum only allows replies to the original poster. If you have started an adoption thread and you want to add/edit any information, you can reply to your own post. If you have applied to adopt a fanlisting and have any concerns about the adoption, please contact the owner of the fanlisting.
Please visit our For Fanlisting Owners section for information and guidelines on the adoption process.
PRUNING SCHEDULE
The following forums are pruned on the following schedule:
- Downtime and Host Trouble - topics with no replies for over 30 days will be deleted.
- Hosting for Fanlistings - topics for hosting requests will be deleted once the person has found hosting; topics with hosting offers can stay permanently.
- Adoption Centre - topics will be deleted after 30 days.
- Hot Topics - threads will be closed when they reach around 200 posts. A new thread will be opened and the old thread will be moved to the Fanlisting Chat forum.
- Off-topic chat - threads will be closed when they reach 200 posts and moved to the Off-topic archive. Members are allowed to open a new thread of the same subject if they want.
- As a general rule threads with no replies in two years will be archived. If a member of the board wishes to re-open any of the archived threads, they can contact a member of the Senior Staff.
Any forum not specifically mentioned above is not pruned on a regular basis, but the moderators will go through and clean up those forums when needed.
FAQ AND PLACES TO GO
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q) What are those boxes under my name?
Those relate to Warnings - please see the “Board Problems/Warnings” section of this Guidelines post
Q) Why can’t I post here?
Check to see if there are any regulations on the area you are posting in or on the number of posts you have.
Q) What can I be warned for?
See the “Board Problems/Warnings” section.
Q) What do the different colours mean?
Regular members have a turquoise colour; trouble checkers appear in green; TFL developers are in purple; staffers appear in blue; and senior staff are listed in red.
Q) Who are the Board Mods?
The Senior Staff are: Buruma, Christine, Kristina, Mandy, Melissa, Mikh and Tiffany.