Welcome to Siliconera. We\u2019re a site dedicated to covering interesting video games and all things related to them. We hold our community in high regard and try to make it a friendly, informative place for people. We achieve this by enforcing a carefully designed set of rules and ask that you adhere to them so everyone can have a good time. So whether you\u2019re in the comment section or taking a break from talking about serious business on the main site in the forums, these guidelines will help everyone feel comfortable.<\/p>
1. Be Self-Aware and Don\u2019t Be Rude:<\/strong> We also will not allow harassment, antagonism, and\/or picking fights. Debating is fine. But once we see inappropriate behavior, a warning will be issued.<\/p> Hate speech and racism will not be tolerated. This applies to someone you are directing a comment to in a thread, groups of people in general, and our staff. It will result in an immediate ban. It also means statements where people who try to excuse their behavior with, \u201cIt\u2019s okay, because I\u2019m [insert race\/gender-preference]\u201d won\u2019t be allowed. You don\u2019t have to like or respect other people, but you do have to treat them with common courtesy.<\/p> Some swearing will be permitted. That said, any comments using curse words will be held in our moderating panel for review by a Siliconera staff member. Swears may not be directed towards community members, staff members, or companies. We reserve the right to edit or remove swear words from your comments if need be in order to approve them for viewing on Siliconera.<\/p> Rampant swearing and five of George Carlin\u2019s Seven Words You Can\u2019t Say on TV aren\u2019t allowed in article comment threads. (\u201cShit\u201d and \u201cpiss\u201d are the two that are.)<\/p> You know yourself better than anyone else. Are you posting in good faith? Are you being unreasonable or childish? Are you being a creep? Before you post, ask yourself: \u201cIs what I\u2019m posting the way a mature adult would behave?\u201d<\/p> 2. No NSFW or Illegal Content: <\/strong>We do not allow nudity, underage objectification, sexual harassment, or obscene behavior in any Siliconera section. This especially applies to things like gifs and YouTube. We don\u2019t allow theft or linking to illegal content.<\/p> If we see people abusing the privilege, then we will be forced to remove the ability to post gifs, YouTube videos, and links.<\/p> 3. Stay on Topic in Articles:<\/strong> For example, if an article is about a game and censorship is not mentioned, bringing up censorship there will get you a warning. Likewise, talking about things like console wars or port begging will get you a warning.<\/p> Unless an article is specifically related to platform choices or censorship, refrain from complaining about platforms, what platform a game is on, and censorship.<\/p> 4. Behave Yourselves in Our Forums:<\/strong> Our forums are a place to discuss topics that might be considered provocative or off-topic elsewhere, like censorship or console wars, but that is still not a license to deliberately troll or antagonize others. Hate speech, trolling, and acting in bad faith are never allowed. Debates can be heated and passionate without devolving into arguments and toxicity.<\/p> 5. Do your research before you post:<\/strong> Siliconera holds its community to high standards. With the amount of rampant misinformation going around the net these days, it\u2019s more important than ever for us to rely on facts, separate truth from fantasy, and exhibit common sense. If you can\u2019t do this, don\u2019t post.<\/p> 6. Extreme Circumstances May Occur:<\/strong> We know that a few visitors will try to skirt the rules and make things unpleasant for regular users. We reserve the right to take action to curb your behavior when we feel it\u2019s crossing the line, even if it\u2019s not an explicit violation of the above rules.<\/p> In most instances, if someone breaks a rule once, they will be warned. If a second is broken, they will be banned. In extreme circumstances, no warning will be issued and someone will be immediately banned.<\/p> \u2026And that\u2019s it. These aren\u2019t difficult rules to follow. Be mature, be tolerant, and we\u2019ll all be fine. Siliconera has always valued having a small, but productive, community over a large, out-of-control one. As such, we aren\u2019t afraid to bring the hammer down on anyone that makes things unpleasant for others, but we would really prefer not to.<\/p>