I. Welcome
First and foremost, welcome to the Official Halloween Message Board. To help this board run as smoothly as possible, making your posting experience more enjoyable, as well as making the jobs of the moderators and administrators here easier, please heed the following pieces of advice, rules, etc.:
A. Introducing Yourself
If you are a new member and feel the need to introduce yourself to the other users of this message board, please make a post for yourself in theMembers Introduce Yourself thread.
B. Searching the Board
Please, before creating a new thread, do a simple search of the board, either by scanning threads or using the Search function, to see if there have been any recent threads whose topic your thread may duplicate. All duplicate threads will be immediately closed, as we want to avoid ‘clutter’ on the board.
C. Creating a New Thread
When posting a new thread, it is important that you search (as described above) but also once searching, attempt to place the thread in an appropriate section of the board. (i.e. All Halloween 4 discussion should take place in the Halloween 4 forum, any Halloween fan creations should go in The Library, and -- this one's the exception -- any discussion of Freddy vs. Jason should take place in the Nightmare on Elm Street forum) It is also important to make the title of your new thread representative of the content within it. A title like "Hey Look at This!" or "SO COOL!" tells a member nothing about what's taking place inside the thread and makes searching for a thread virtually impossible.
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR NEW MEMBERS:
Before you can create a thread, you need to have made a predetermined amount of posts in other threads. This is not to encourage one word posts or meaningless responses, but instead it is intended to show you the rest of the board and the way we do things before you start creating threads of your own. We apologize if this hampers those new folks who want to create an interesting new topic, but if you hang around for just a few days you'll surely have 20 posts in no time.
D. Private Messaging
This message board has a private messenger feature for communicating with other board members. Because of this, we ask that you keep all personal discourse off of the board. All posts which seem to serve only as private discourse will be deleted at the discretion of the administration.
E. Avatars
You can add an avatar (small picture) under your name on all your posts by clicking on User CP at the top of the screen, clicking on Edit Options, scrolling to the bottom of the page and clicking on the Change Avatar button. Avatars can be no larger than 150 x 150 pixels. You can either upload them from your own computer or post the URL location of the picture you want as your avatar.
If you need more help with setting up an avatar for yourself, check out the Avatar Help Thread.
F. Free Speech
Free speech – within reason – is generally tolerated here. People are free to express views and opinions as they like, and some of these opinions may be mean-spirited. So, to prevent yourself from being ‘flamed’ it may be wise to refrain from silly, inane, and immature comments, using internet shorthand (i.e. "how r u? lol"), and posing questions which are already covered in this FAQ.
However, not all speech is tolerated here. Hate speech, offensive slang terms, and discussion that may aid any member in committing illegal acts will be immediately closed and/or deleted. See the rules or contact the administration for clarification.
G. Signatures
1. No links to pornography. This will result in immediate banning
2. The length of your sig should be kept to approx. 10 lines or less. The number of lines you should have will vary depending on your font size. Exercise common sense here. We practice a code a uniformity, so if you're sig is the length of a bible passage, please edit it. Any excessively long sigs will be deleted and replaced with a link to the board Rules and FAQ's.
3. Profanity in sigs is tolerated to a degree. If you're quoting someone or using it moderately that is fine. However a sig with the F-bomb copied and pasted 15 times in a row will be deleted.
4. The usage of sigs to flame or take a cheap shot at another member is prohibited. This is generally not a problem in this community, but it does arise from time to time. You can code it anyway you wish, but we're more than likely going to catch it and issue you warning points.
5. Images and/or videos (IE Youtube or Google video) in sigs is prohibited. It causes loading issues for members still using dial up and typically leads to poor board appearance.
H. User Titles
User titles are titles that appear below your name beside every post that you make. These titles are the same for every user under 1,000 posts; as you gain in post count your user title will change to correspond. Once you reach 1000 posts you get the title of "slasher". Before that title though there are three other titles: "Trick or Treater" (0-100 posts), "Haddonfield High Alumni" (100-500 posts), and "Smith's Grove Mental Patient" (500-1000 posts). The only title higher than "slasher" is a custom title. These custom titles are available only if you pertain to certain criteria. Those criteria and more details on custom titles are available in the Custom Title Thread.
Please be aware that asking a question about custom titles that is already covered both here and in the custom title thread -- ie a stupid question that shows you have not read these rules or the first post in the thread -- may result in endangering your eligability for a custom title. If you have a legitimate question, however, or need clarification, feel free to either post in the thread or PM a staff member.
NOTE: Do not simply speed through by making hundreds of useless posts simply to attain a 'better' user title. The staff has the right to deny anyone a custom title if they recognize that a user has contributed nothing of merit to the board. Please, attempt to make your posts insightful and interesting, and you'll get there in no time!
I. Closing/deleting threads
The administration at any time may close and/or delete a thread for any reason they see fit, and that reason may or may not be disclosed, or even in the hands of this administration. If you would like an explanation as to why any thread has been closed or deleted, beyond what has been stated in the thread, contact the administrator or moderator who is responsible. However, do not create new threads asking "why was my thread closed/deleted?". Such threads will not be replied to and will be immediately closed.
J. Multiple accounts policy
Each OHMB user is allowed one account. Any attempts to create subsequent accounts will result in their deletion and warning points will be given to the user’s primary account. If you’ve forgotten your password please contact us at franchise@ohmb.net . Forgotten passwords do not serve as a valid excuse to create an alternate account.
L. Bandwidth theft/Hotlinking policy
Bandwidth theft or "hotlinking" is direct linking to a web site's files (images, video, etc.). An example would be using an img tag to display a JPEG image you found on someone else's web page so it will appear on your own site, eBay auction listing, weblog, forum message post, etc. Hotlinking is not permitted on this board. This is a standard rule for any official board and ours is no different. Any picture you wish to post here must be uploaded to an image hosting provider (I.E. photobucket). If you hotlink any image, warning points will be applied to your account - No excuses.
M. Bootlegs & Non Licensed Merchandise/Media:
To make this as simple to understand as possible this section of the rules will apply to anything Halloween related that is not officially licensed by Trancas International Films/Compass International Pictures/Dimension Films/Universal Studios/The Weinstein Company, LLC/Miramax/Disney etc...
1. Bootleg Films
At no time may you discuss where to obtain the following: Halloween DVD's, VHS, "Fan Edits" or other video material from the Halloween franchise that has/have been produced/sold/distributed or otherwise bootlegged without expressed written permission of the afore mentioned companies.
This includes but is not limited to;
- Providing links to websites, auctions, classifieds or directly selling them through this forum, etc.
- As well as discuss the names or parties responsible for the creation of bootlegged material not officially licensed by the afore mentioned companies.
Any member that is caught or found to be actively selling or producing these films will be permanently banned from the forums. No EXCEPTIONS!
2. Bootleg Halloween/Michael Myers Mask
At no time may you discuss any Halloween/Michael Myers masks that are being produced/sold/distributed or otherwise bootlegged without expressed written permission of the afore mentioned companies.
This includes but is not limited to;
- Providing links to websites, auctions, images, classifieds or directly selling them through this forum, etc.
- As well as discuss the names, companies or parties responsible for the creation of bootlegged material not officially licensed by the afore mentioned companies.
Any member that is caught or found to be actively selling or producing these Masks will be permanently banned from the forums. No EXCEPTIONS!
3. Bootleg Halloween Music
Any CD's Mp3's or other audio material from the Halloween franchise that have/has been produced/sold/distributed or otherwise bootlegged without expressed written permission of the afore mentioned companies.
This includes but is not limited to;
-Providing links to websites, auctions, classifieds or directly selling them through this forum, etc.
- As well as discuss the names, companies or parties responsible for the creation of bootlegged material not officially licensed by the afore mentioned companies.
Any member that is caught or found to be actively selling or producing this material will be permanently banned from the forums. No EXCEPTIONS!
4. Etc:
In addition to the above rules this section also applies to any bit torrents, games, toys, apparel, other Halloween related items and any intellectual property not limited to just Halloween that are being produced/sold/distributed or otherwise bootlegged or sold without the expressed written permission of the afore mentioned companies.
This includes but is not limited to;
- Providing links to websites, auctions, classifieds or directly selling them through this forum, etc.
- As well as discuss the names or titles of any film or parties responsible for the creation of bootlegged material not officially licensed by the afore mentioned companies.
Any member that is caught or is actively selling or producing these items will be permanently banned from the forums. No EXCEPTIONS!
Violation of any/all of these rules will result in a warning from a forum administrator/moderator, any further violations will result in banishment from the forum. NO EXCEPTIONS!
This topic is not up for debate. These are the rules of the forum and we hope that you obey them and continue to support the Halloween franchise in a positive way!
II. Rules/Administrative Action
The staff believes that it is necessary to have a set of rules which all users must abide by. These rules are, but not limited to:
1. No "spamming" (flooding the board with inane posts to cause disruption)
2. No racial or sexually offensive slang.
3. No posting of any grotesque, pornographic, or similarly inappropriate material.
4. No posting of personal information (including e-mail addresses and phone numbers) of any of the stars, writers, or anyone else involved in the production of the Halloween films.
5. No discussing, instigating, or carrying-out of any "raids" on other message boards.
Though these are the visible rules, conduct on this message board is not limited only by such. Any behavior that the administration feels is inappropriate for this message board will be dealt with appropriately at the discretion of the administration.
To uphold these rules and maintain a board built on decency, we have a system for dealing with troublesome members. Discipline can be rendered by one or more of the following methods:
1. Verbal warning.
2. Warning points applied to your account.
3. Temporary banning caused by an accumulation of warning points.
4. Permanent banning.
Though this is generally the protocol used, any number of steps may be skipped or repeated due to the nature of the offense at the discretion of the administration. (i.e. spamming usually results in immediate banning, while minor slang infractions are often treated far more leniently, with offenders sometimes receiving multiple warnings)
If you have any questions or comments regarding administrative action, do not create a public thread to do so, it will be closed immediately without explanation. Please contact one of us directly through the board’s private messaging system.
(The preceding portions of this document are based upon this page and have been modified for our purposes. Our thanks to The Ataris Official Message Board administration for their thorough rule outlines.)
IV. Donations
Much like any other message board of our size, we accept donations for helping to run the board. If you would like to make a donation at any time, you can send it to the PayPal account franchise@ohmb.net. This won't get you out of trouble and it won't do anything special, but you will know that it goes towards a good effort. Thanks to anyone who donates!
V. The OHMB Staff
If you need assistance using the board or have any questions not addressed here, please feel free to send us a private message on the board or contact us via any means listed in our profiles.
Administrators
Deadpool
Franchise
Brian
Moderators
Atomic Dog
Slab
Laow-Z
EvilOnTwoLegs
Kara Strode
Man In Black
Black Sunshine
Finally, and most importantly, please do your best to respect others' right to their own opinions and please, enjoy the board!
- The Official Halloween Message Board Staff
A special thanks to Mojo for compiling this Rules/FAQ page.
