These guidelines are meant to keep the company on here enjoyable, and your visits fun. So please follow them closely as penalties will be given with no exception.
Registering an account is an acknowledgment that you intend to follow the rules and decorum of the Biotech forum. The Administration reserves the right to alter, enforce, add, or waive any rules for any specific member at any time.
The following are the basic rules:
- There is no flaming. Flaming makes for a negative atmosphere and it will not be tolerated. That means you should avoid yelling at and needlessly criticizing other members.
- There is no trolling. Trying to force someone into an argument it not allowed. Trolling often turns into both spamming and flaming and casts a negative atmosphere.
- No pornographic, sexually offensive, sexually explicit, or objectifying material. Simple rule. Administration judgment applies here. Sexually suggestive images will be heavily scrutinized. If you have to question whether or not it's okay, it's probably not.
- Do not use foul language on the Biotech forum system. We want the forum to be kept clean, and that includes keeping a clean sounding forum. I believe that I have filtered most, if not all of the objectionable words, but some may have slipped through. Just because a word is not filtered does not mean it is allowed!
- In general, do not double post. Topic bumping is allowed under two conditions:
- It has been over 48 hours since the last post.
- The bump contains new information (i.e. a new image, etc.), not simply "Come on post people!".
- Also, please do not revive topics that have not been posted in for 90 days or more (except in the Software forum). If you would like to continue that discussion, simply make a new topic regarding the subject, referencing the previous topic if you wish.
- Post in the right forum! Resist the temptation to post something off topic because you think you'll get "better responses" in a particular forum. Doing so repeatedly is a good way to get yourself in trouble. I am aware of the fact that it can often be confusing to decide which forum a topic should go in. Feel free to send a PM if you are unsure.
- Do not post a topic with partial information. Don't post a topic with only part of the point you want to make and state that you will post the rest of your thought when X amount of people reply. That's a form of spamming and is not allowed. It also can cause confusion within the topic, thus generating more spam that could have easily been avoided.
- No blatantly juvenile toilet humor. Simple rule. Talk about what you do to relieve yourself, although strangely popular is not needed here.
- Respect those in authority. Being rude to an Administrator, Moderator, etc. is highly inappropriate and will be dealt with using the highest possible punishment. By registering you agree to treat those in charge with the utmost respect.
- The use of our personal message system should be kept appropriately. If you receive an offensive PM, please forward it to an administrator, who may have an ability to deal with the situation. We have the right to remove/disable this service if it is not used accordingly, or in conjunction with these guidelines.
- Be considerate of transfer speeds. HTML is disabled at the moment, but if it is enabled at a later date, the use of is, embedded objects, java and javascript will not be tolerated. Not everyone has broadband! DO NOT attempt to subvert, modify, or disrupt the normal flow or display of the Support Forum or its content. Doing so will result in immediate punishment, likely banning.
- On that note, please make sure that your signature is a reasonable size. We currently do not have any imposed limits, however, sigs. that are unnecessarily large (screen stretching, large amounts of images, etc.) will be edited. If a need arises, we will implement signature restrictions. Please don't make us have to do that!
Methods of policy enforcement:
Should a member violate one or more these guidelines action can be taken. These are
some of the methods of action:
- Post count reduction. For many minor offenses a post count deduction can be issued. This potentially makes a member’s rank decrease.
- Reprimand by a Forum Leader or Admin. This is just a simple talking-to. It is basically a warning not to repeat the offending action.
- Warning level raised. If a petty offense is committed, a member can get his/her warning level raised. When the warning bar is full, a member is automatically suspended.
- Suspension. A break from posting and/or PMing because of a rule violation. Suspension can last anywhere from a few days to indefinite suspension.
- Banning. Banning means that you are no longer invited to participate in the Biotech forum. Once a member has been banned it is generally permanent and cannot be reversed by anyone except an Administrator. In extreme cases, banned members may be invited to return, however, don't count on it!
I am aware that some of these rules may feel strict or unnecessary. But believe me, I've seen forums with minimal moderating, and they aren't pretty. Our goal should be to cast an enjoyable and professional atmosphere. By following these rules, that should be easily attainable.
Here are some links that may be of interest to you:
Biotech's WebpageBZPower [
Topic] - Where we started.
Lego - Without them, most of our games wouldn't exist.
One final guideline:
Go out and enjoy! :)