Guidelines and FAQ

So what's up with this site?

The first Snarkfest was started during the closing of the FameTracker forums to give people a new place to discuss television, movies, celebrities, literature, and whatever other pop culture topics may be of general interest. After the board was hacked, we decided to move to a new home.

I just registered, but I still can't post! What's going on?

Since we've had a series of spammers trying to register for our site, we've made it so that all registrations have to be approved by an administrator. While we are here a lot more than is probably healthy, we aren't here all the time. We know you're looking forward to posting on the site, but it can take up to 24 hours for us to get to it. In the mean time, take a look around our site so that you know more about our community before jumping in.

You rejected me? You don't even know me! I'm awesome!

If we rejected you, it usually means that something about your email address or proposed username tipped us the wrong way. We've had to deal with a lot of spammers in the past, so we tend to reject the sketchier domain names. If we deleted you incorrectly, either try registering again or getting in contact with one of the moderating team.

Note: We will always reject registrations from temporary email services. Your email address isn't shown anywhere on the site, and you can choose not to have an option to email you in your profile. The mods need to know we can get in contact with you through methods other than private messages on the board, which are sometimes overlooked.

We do not spam members, and if you are really worried about that then you can contact us.

Okay, now I can post, but it won't let me start my great new topic!

You can't start a new topic until you've posted at least ten times. This does not mean you should go post "I agree!" ten times to bump your posts up, and we will notice if you do that. We set the board up this way so that you'll have to participate and get to know our community before you jump in and start new threads.

So what's this "D-List" crap next to my name? I'm A-List all the way, baby!

It's a rank of how prolific a poster you are. The more you post, the higher you go on the list. If you're considered "D-List," it's more a reflection of your post count than your actual talent or popularity.

To wit:

1-10 posts gets you on the D-List

11-49 posts are on the C-List

50-149 posts are on the B-List

150 posts and over gets you on the A-List


What about these "Studio Exec" and "Director" types?

The Directors are moderators for the board. They generally deal with the day-to-day questions and concerns, as well as making sure that everything stays polite and on-topic. This means that they hand out both gentle advice and harsh discipline (Though they greatly prefer the former). If you see a Studio Exec, that's an administrator.

I was banned from another site for disagreeing with the administrator/moderator on whether or not Spike and Buffy should have been together. Now I'm just scared to post.

Hey, we understand. No worries. You're free to express whatever opinion you want here, within certain limitations.

Limitations?

Sure. Trolling is a major one. Don't personally attack the other posters. Don't be racist, sexist, or homophobic...though we understand that there can be a fine line between a snarky remark and an overtly offensive one, and will try to make allowances when it comes to that. Be cool to others, and we'll be cool to you.

And if you see someone else trolling, DON'T respond. Otherwise, we're just going to have to delete your post as well. Instead, report it to the directors and administrators, and we'll get right on it.

Avoid double-posting, as it tends to eat up bandwidth. If no one's responded to your topic, don't just post for the sake of bumping it to the top of the pile. We've all been to forums where the first page is filled with threads where the latest reply on every topic is *BUMP*. Annoying, isn't it? Best to go back and edit your previous post. If no one's posted in a week or so, though, and you have new information, then we'll let it slide.

Also, try to stay on topic. If your favorite actor is dating your least favorite singer, then try not to make the actor's thread about the singer, or vice-versa. Rule of thumb: If the past few posts haven't mentioned the actor at all, then you're off-topic

We can talk about politics right? There's an election coming up, and I bet we're mostly democrats here. I should be allowed to air my political views.

No, no you shouldn't. We're a board set up for entertainment topics and politics is not included in that. Politics is one of those topics that gets very angry, defensive, and messy very quickly. Most people are set in their views and will not change no matter how much discussion and argument goes around them, so it is typically not actually a discussion.

Also, we frankly don't want to deal with it. There are plenty of boards and blogs where you can discuss your politics, and this isn't it. This means discussion of politicians, quotes from politicians, and general comments about political opinions are out of bounds everywhere on this board.

Hey, I just posted that [Starlet A] shouldn't be dating [Star B], and got ten responses saying otherwise! Isn't that trolling?

Not really, no. Unless they're directly attacking you rather than your opinion, in which case we would like for you to report it immediately.

Well how do I know the difference between being personally attacked and knowing when someone is just disagreeing?

This is admittedly a fine line and will be judged on a case by case basis. However, there are a couple things that will guarentee a warn:
- Calling out another poster directly: "How can YOU think that?" "What are YOU talking about?"
- Being unnecessarily rude or using vulgar language in your reply: "I can't believe anyone would fucking think this..." "Why the hell would anyone agree with *this*...
- Not taking it to PM after a couple posts: If you have to post more than two or three times to present your case and you're just saying the same thing over and over, take it to PM with whomever you are discussing it with.

This will go double if the posts in question are off topic from the thread. Keep in mind, people, there is a difference between posting your opinion for discussion and simply disagreeing in a thread to rile it up. We don't like seeing things get heated here on the forum.

I'm being attacked personally. Or, I've spotted someone trolling. What do I do?

Send a message to any moderator about it. We do each have sections that we watch, but a message to any mod about a problem will make it's way to the rest of us.

Finally, please don't refer to posters as "newbies" or "n00bs" when making the report. We were all new once. Try to be understanding.

Help! Help! I'm being repressed! What do I do?

The mods have no control over what people say in PMs to each other. However, if someone has attacked you or made you feel uncomfortable or harrassed, contact a mod immediately. We will contact the parties involved and figure out what happened and what the possible consequences should be.

We're not just here to boss you guys around, we're here to make sure you have a fun and safe environment to snark properly in.

Hey! You changed/closed my topic! If I ask why, will I be banned?

If you think we've closed your topic unfairly, or changed it in a way you don't like, you can PM us to appeal the decision. If we agree with you, we'll reopen or clarify the thread. If not, we won't. But we won't ban you for asking.

I found this fantastic picture of starlet A...

Wonderful! Feel free to directly link to the picture in the threads.

When posting pictures that are possibly not safe for work, please remember to put a clear warning. Many members surf at work, not to mention postings with "adult/obscene material" can potentially be a violation of Forumer TOS. This is a vague line, and we're not telling you not to post NSFW pictures - just to make sure they're labelled so we and other posters don't get into trouble.

Pictures that aren't clearly labelled will be edited by a mod and a possible warning could be given out - this will be judged on a case by case basis.

Spoilers! What about those, eh?

Excellent quesiton. Thanks for asking.

For television, we're going to go along with the common "Don't start talking about a show until it's finished airing on the East Coast in the United States" This should keep the threads from turning into "Did you see that?" "Yes, I did!" chats, and will allow us to remain blissfully unspoiled for a while. Sorry, West Coast users. If it's any comfort, it annoys the West Coast moderators, too. But it's the best compromise that we can figure. Now, this only applies to the thread of the show itself. For other threads, we ask that you refrain for three hours after the show ends, or when it stops airing on the West Coast.

As an example: Post about the American Idol results all you want in the show thread after it stops airing on the East Coast. But please don't mention the outcome in Celebrity Schadenfreude and other threads until our Western members have had a chance to see it for themselves.

As far as European shows go...honestly, chat all you want, just not while it's airing.

Spoilers for movies and television shows that have not yet aired are still being figured out, as we're having issues with our hosting company. For now, we ask that you either find a way to link to the information, or avoid it entirely. We hope to have actual spoiler tags set up at some point. Sorry about that.

Until then, the way to do spoilers is to type >>, choose spoiler from the COLOR dropdown menu, then close the color tag and type <<

*** Finally, please alert people to spoiled text with the arrows: >> and <<


Well, what's considered a spoiler here?

A spoiler is any information about a book, film, or television show that would conceivably spoil the enjoyment of someone experiencing it for the first time. "Laura Ingalls is part of a pioneer family" is not a spoiler. "Laura goes nuts and kills her family after the fire at the school for the blind" would be a spoiler. And unless upcoming additions to the cast of a television show have been heavily publicized (Like, say, the cover or TV Guide or Entertainment Weekly), you can consider them spoilers. Err on the side of caution, people.

In terms of reality shows, information on Vegas betting odds or information from monitoring websites that track how many calls a contestant recieved are considered spoilers and should be tagged as such.

I want to find that Jerry Mathers gossip that was in some thread or another. What's the best way to look for it?

Click "My Assistant" at the upper-right corner of the page. A new window will open with a lovely and reliable search function, as well as s few other cool options. Tryi it! Take your time, we'll be waiting right here.

I couldn't find it. Must have been on another forum. But I want to talk about it here! What are your rules for starting a thread?

Well, first off, make sure that no one else has started a thread on the individual. You can do that with the "search" function already in place. Second, make sure your topic is in the right place. Gossip about Stephen King's personal life should go in a "Stephen King" section in "Celebrities," while reviews and discussions of his work should go in a "Literary and Multimedia" thread entitled "The Works of Stephen King"

Also, be sure you search "From the beginning" rather than just in the past "30 days".

Try to avoid starting a thread that will result in nothing but lists. "Starts I Like" is good. "My Top Five Favorite Stars" will get closed. We're looking for topics that inspire conversation over recitation.

Cool! So there's this actor I know at the local dinner theater who's really good....

Hold it. We're sure that he is good. However, this is a forum to discuss celebrities. This would mean anyone who has a nationally released film, a nationally published book, a nationally televised show, or has otherwise ended up in the mass media through non-criminal or non-political means. In other words, a thread about Ed "Al Bundy" O'Neill is fine. A thread about Ted Bundy will probably be closed. And yes, this means that Paris Hilton gets a thread while your talented friend does not. Trust me, when he sees what they say about her, he'll be happy for the lack of attention.

Oh, and the authors of self-published books are not celebrities in any way, shape, or form.

How do I get to the most recent posts on a thread?

If there have been new posts since your last visit to a thread, then a little box will pop up next to the thread title. Clicking on it will bring you to the first post since your latest visit.

I just wrote a great fanfic that I think people would love, I can post that in the thread about that movie, right?

No, you can't. This board is primarily a discussion board, and posts advertising personal websites, fanfics, petitions, and things like that disrupt the conversation. We have set up a place for these posts in the Shameless Pimping Thread.

If we find self-pimping posts in inappropriate areas, we will move them to this thread.

I loooove smileys! Love them! How about you?

Yeah, that. They've been disabled.

Anything else I should avoid?

A few things: First, we've all grown used to basic standards of grammar and punctuation. Please try to follow the rules of same. This also means limiting your netspeak. No, we're not going to get on your case over minor typos or grammatical errors. If we did that, then half of the moderators here would have been cast into the digital wilderness by now. However, posts in the manner of "OMG i luv this star 4EVAH!!!111" are discouraged. This also means knowing when to capitalize words. You may be used to writing something like "i really like clay aiken and don't understand why his los angeles concert wasn't sold out" when IMing your buddies. That's fine, it's between friends. However, on this site, we would prefer that you drop a few capital letters in there to increase comprehensibility. Thanks.

Second, no post-signing. We can already tell who you are with a quick glance to the left.

Third, no copy/pasting large chunks of other people's material directly from other forums or websites. Copyright issues. Links are fine, along with perhaps a line or two of quoted text from the article. And be sure to credit the source.

Fourth, please do not directly copy images into your post. Provide a link instead. Several sites out there will host your pictures for free. And if there's adult content involved, please state that the image is not work safe. Nothing like the boss glancing into your cubicle just as that latest Paris Hilton shot pops up on your screen.

Fifth, Forumer has a strict "No adult content" policy. While we personally have no issues with nude pics or steamy discussion in principle, we don't want to upset our lovely hosts. Try to keep the dialogue and links PG or PG-13. We understand the occasional bout of cursing, though, and probably won't get on your case if it's a sometimes sort of thing.

Finally, don't link to any images that could be considered illegal, like child pornography. Because that's just wrong, and is one of the few things that will result in an instant ban with no warning.

But I know better than other people! Why can't they just accept what I state as fact?

This is a discussion board, and acting like the ultimate authority on anything does not encourage conversation. Everyone knows that the internet is the place for opinions, but if in expressing your opinion you are not allowing other people to disagree with you or you’re writing huge posts on a single topic that take up an entire page, you are not really promoting discussion by the group as whole. Not to mention it’s a really annoying thing to do, so don’t do that.

I AM SOOOO DRNUK RITE NAO! LOLZ ARENT I FUNNY?1? POSTING IS FUUUUUUN.

Due to popular poster demand, we have opened an Official Drunk Post Thread. However, this is the only place on the board that drunk posts are allowed. Posts in other thread with implied drunkenness, whether real or faked, will be deleted or edited to remove the content. The first offense will receive a PMed warning, and any subsequent violations will result in a raised warn level.

Hey, what's this pm that I got asking me to edit a post, or that my post was edited?

Ah, yes. You probably ended up breaking one of the rules listed above. That's fine, we all make mistakes. If we sent you a message, it means that whatever you did can be resolved with a simple edit (like removing an image). Of course, if you don't edit, you get a warning.

We will never edit anything from a post that does not constitute a violation of the rules.

You said I have to stop doing something, but it isn't listed in here. That means that it isn't really a rule and that I can keep on doing it, right?

The FAQ is our basic list of rules, but it isn't every rule for the board. If a moderator posts in thread or sends a PM telling you to stop doing something or to start doing something, you should consider that a rule even if it isn't listed in the FAQ. Typically, we won't raise a warn level for breaking rule not listed in here, but once you've been warned about it once we might do so. A lot of times we will add it to the FAQ if it is a common issue, but if it isn't then we often won't.

Yeah. I got one of those warning things....

No worries. Just means that we need to pay extra attention. Of course, if you've gone beyond a 33%, then you need to pay extra extra attention. Otherwise you run the risk of a banning. That isn't something that we ever want to do. But we will if the situation calls for it.

Basically, in order to warrant a banning, one must have either committed an especially egregious offense, or have a track record of ignoring warnings already given.

And remember: No one can see the warning but you and us. This isn't a scarlet letter for the other posters to mock.

But my warning was unfair!

Okay. Under our "We won't ban you for asking" policy, you can appeal the warning to the person who gave it to you. He or she will discuss the situation with you. If the situation is not resolved to your satisfaction, then you have the right to take the issue to the administrator for the board. However, the administrator's word is final.

I replied to a message from a moderator, and another moderator wrote back. Netiquette dictates you must ask before sharing an email with others! For shame!

Because the issue came up recently, we wanted to point out that if you ever get a message or warn from a moderator, you should consider it as being from all the moderators. This means that if you have a problem with it, you can discuss it with any of us. It also means that any response you give to an "official" PM from a mod (telling you to change something - behavior or a post - or notifying you about your warn being raised) will be shared with the other moderators so that we can work better as a team and keep the board a better place. This is only with "official" messages. If you send a personal message to a moderator or one sends one to you, it won't be shared with the rest of us.


I have a question that isn't covered here. What do I do?

Check the "Questions" section first, as someone may have already asked. If not, then post your query there, or pm one of the moderators if you would prefer to keep it private. We're here to help you in whatever way possible.

Since you're being so open, I also have some feedback I'd like to give...

Excellent! This site is a constant work in progress, so send it along. While we can't promise that your suggestion will be implemented, we will at least give it due consideration and send along a response. And who knows? You may be responsible for the next FAQ question.


This FAQ was written by Eris Rising and the Snarkfest Moderating Team for previous incarnations of Snarkfest. We update it as needed.

Updated 12/24 regarding NSFW content:

Updated 03/08/2007 regarding Expressing Opinions versus Taking Over a Thread.

Updated 3/18 regarding moderator communication and board rules:

and

and

Modified 3/21 about registering:

Modified 6/12:

Modified 9/14 to clarify the no politics rule:

Modified 5/15 to clarify rules around The Official Drunk Thread and drunk posts in general: