Forum Policy Changes

[Shonumi]

Hey Dolphin Community,

The purpose of this thread is to openly communicate with our forum users about changes to the forum rules. In the past, rules would mysteriously change overnight, with things being added or removed, largely without anyone noticing. Raise your hand if you read the Global Forum Rules (all of it) even twice a year. Huh, thought so...

Anyway, before we could get away with it. None of the changes were earth-shattering, and they didn't much affect ordinary users because, for the most part, everyone here is well-behaved. Still, it's something we would like to change, to become more transparent about issues that should be important to all users. In the past year alone I've edited the Global Forum Rules a handful of times, so rule changes aren't all that infrequent. While they're mostly tweaks, sometimes we do make major changes (such as the new rules on advertising).

Digressing, here are two of the most recent changes

* The Advanced User group now requires only 100 posts + 4 weeks of forum registration compared to the 300 posts + 4 weeks of registration. This lowers the bar for people wanting to make their own threads in the HD Texture Forum without having to ask a member of Forum Staff to move an existing thread.

* New rules on necroposting are up. Necroposting (aka gravedigging, massive thread bumps) has become a problem recently. Previously, this rule was de facto, unwritten, and could cause confusion among new users. Now we have set guidelines about what is and is not acceptable.

Feel free to discuss anything about the Global Forum Rules here as well. We're always listening guys.

[ExtremeDude2]

That post doesn't say when it was last edited, I assume leet admin powers are at work, would be nice if it did though.

[MayImilae]

It's the master rules post, so it has some funky permissions. But yea, that's what this thread is for!

[Shonumi]

We've tweaked the language for the rules about custom Dolphin builds. It was:

Quote:For those who provide custom builds: We ask that you do not post in other threads about your unofficial custom builds unless your build can specifically solve an issue that the official builds can not. You're free to talk about your builds to the people who post in your thread, but do not advertise your builds all over the forum. If any build should be recommended, it should be from the official forum build bot here.

Now it reads:

Quote:Regarding custom builds: We ask that users do not post about unofficial builds in other threads unless it can specifically solve an issue that the official builds cannot. You're free to talk about these custom builds in a dedicated thread, but do not advertise these builds all over the forum. If any build should be recommended, especially to new users, it should be from the official build bot here.

We've cleaned up the language, but we also would like to make it clear about when it is and is not appropriate to recommend unofficial builds. Remember, we aren't telling you to stop talking about unofficial builds period, just that there's a time and a place to do so.

[mimimi]

About custom builds:
What about the source code? In the past there were a few (almost?) GPL violations. In my opinion, posts to builds without source included or available via link should be against the rules. Not resulting in an instant ban, but having links removed and a warning. This would avoid endless GPL discussions, if it's a forum rule, it just needs to be followed, no discussion necessary, no matter what the GPL says or doesn't.

And where's the line with the pr builds from the buildbot? (https://dl.dolphin-emu.org/prs/) Are those completely free to post? Or "please don't post the link" (that i just posed...) and post a link to a certain pr build only?

[Shonumi]

Source code being available upon binary distribution is already a condition of the GPL; it's probably redundant to specify it here on the forums. The GPL is pretty clear about when you need to post the source, so the debate ends as soon as we tell users to post it. I'm not really worried about getting into arguments with those who dont understand the license.

We as Forum Staff can be more vigilant about this sort of stuff. It's usually neobrain who's dealt with these situations, but the process is the same: verbal warnings and removal of download links leading up to the thread's closure.

PR builds are perfectly fine to post and link to. Anything that comes from the buildbot is going to have the source code available on GitHub (unless there is something I'm not getting).

I don't think it needs to be explicitly put in the rules, but I'm not a dictator. More discussion is warranted on this topic, then we can decide what needs tweaking and changing.

[Shonumi]

A small tweak to the wording of our rules. This:

Quote:To prevent legal issues, you may not post links or refer to any kind of NAND, BIOS, ISO or game that has been illegally obtained or shared.

Is now this:

Quote:To prevent legal issues, you may not post links or refer to any kind of NAND, BIOS, ISO, game, or other copyrighted material that has been illegally obtained or shared.

[Shonumi]

To provide more details on punishments for rule violations, we've fleshed out this part:

Quote:Otherwise, each time you break one of these rules, an infraction will be issued. When you reach 100% warning level, you will be automatically banned from the forums.

It now reads:

Quote:For every rule violation, a warning will be issued. When you reach 100% (10 points) warning level, you will be automatically and permanently banned from the forums. For specific offenses such as Backseat Moderating, Ignoring Forum Rules/FAQs, Flaming/Trolling, and Off-Topic Talk, warning levels are raised by 20% (2 points). Other cases may incur anywhere from 1 to 10 points depending on their severity.

Warnings expire after 1 month. Your current warning level is viewable next to every post or your User CP. Notification of warnings will show up in your PM box.

The previous rules did not go far enough to explain the overall process.

[Shonumi]

The following additions are now present in the Global Forum Rules:

Quote:User Accounts: Users may only have one active account at a time. Alternate, duplicate, or multiple active accounts will be permanently banned from the forums.

Permanent Bans: Permanent bans are issued for the most severe infractions of the Global Forum Rules. These users may not view or post in threads at all. Some permanently banned accounts may be reactivated under Forum Staff's discretion depending on the user's situation. Any permanent ban issued in error will be revoked.

This section clarifies our previously murky stance about "alternate" accounts. Users can only have one "active" account at any given time. It also spells out some specifics relating to perma-bans. The intent behind these two new parts is to curb the practice of "ban dodging", making an alternate account to avoid a previous ban.

[AnyOldName3]

How are we testing for alts? Are we using browser signatures, or IPs, or just doing it when something seems suspicious to moderators?