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This thread contains all the rules of the Chatterbox in one easy place as well as other information you can use to make your Gaian experience more pleasant.

First! A note on certain threads. While the Chatterbox welcomes all sorts of threads (even ones that could go into another forum), you must remember one thing. If your thread could be in another forum besides CB, you MUST follow that forum's rules when posting here.

So basically, auction threads need to follow Exchange rules, shops would need to follow Minishop rules, etc.

In This Thread
Cyber/PG-13
Chain Letters/14 Gold posts
Scams/Contests
Flaming/Suicide Encouragement
Help on Dealing with Harassment
How to use the Report System
Which Mod to Contact
When to Contact a Mod Directly
Quoting ToS Violations

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CYBER & PG-13 RULES

Cybering
Cybering is described as 'descriptive sexual roleplay'. Cybering in all forms is not allowed on Gaia. This includes requesting, offering or encouraging cybering in your threads, posts or PMs. Please be careful when posting vague requests for fun or offers of fun. If they could easily be seen as a cyber invitation or request, you risk getting warned for violating the cybering rule. Webcam shows also are not allowed.

Image Guidelines
Images also must comply with the PG-13 rating of Gaia. Sexually explicit images that are not artistic in nature are not allowed on Gaia. Only limited artistic nudity is acceptable on Gaia. Sexually explicit and pornographic images are strictly forbidden. Posting, requesting, or selling such images will result in a warning. It is usually best but not required that you contact a mod before posting images you believe qualify as artistic nudity.

Cleavage shots are not considered to be in violation of the PG-13 rating. However this only applies as long as they do not show any n****e and are not provocative or overly revealing. Images of cleavage or breasts not covered with any clothing even if blocked by hands, a sign, other objects is considered overly revealing and thus not allowed.

Cleavage Quests
Users may have 'Cleavage Quests' as long as the images they are asking for fit in the Image Guidelines stated above. If a user asks for sexy, nude or provocative cleavage shots, they will be warned.

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CHAIN LETTERS/14 GOLD POSTS

Chain Letters
Normally coming from emails, chain letters often involve some sort of story that requires you to send the letter to a certain number of people. Doing this will cause something good to happen to the user (or prevents something bad from happening). These letters are untrue and have no real good or bad consequences. They are not allowed on Gaia and if you distribute them, you will get warned.

Personal Information Questionnaire threads
A questionaire thread is a thread where a user gives a long list of questions for other users to answer. Often these threads contain questions regarding email addresses or questions similar to Gaia's security questions. By obtaining this information from a user, it gives the original poster the opportunity to hack another's account.

Please report any threads that ask personal questions such as address, phone number, email address, or any questions relation to Gaia's security questions. Do not reply to these threads. However, threads that do not ask such questions and only ask harmless or neutral questions (favorite color, videogame, etc) are allowed.

14/28 Gold Bumps
Several versions of this kind of post are floating around Gaia, however they all have the same general premise. That by copying and pasting a long message, you will get more gold than normal. The amount of gold granted by Gaia is not based on post size or frequency. So these type of posts will not affect the amount of gold obtained. Please do not post these type of posts as they are not allowed anywhere on Gaia.

Long "Bump/Gaia/Gold" Posts
Any post that is so long that it causes the page to scroll excessively in either direction is not allowed. It is disrupting to the forum and the users on it. This includes posting alot of 'bumps' or any other single words as well as posting very long lyrics for the sole purpose of gaining more gold. As discussed above, this does not work and serves only to get you a warning.

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SCAMS/CONTESTS

"Bump X times for Gold/Rare Items"
Creating a thread which claims that users will get gold and/or items for posting a certain number of times is a bannable offense. You do not get more gold than normal for bumping and trunks and giftboxes are random events that happen...randomly.

Free Gold/Item Granters
Offers of free gold or items are usually scams, especially when they involve a relatively new account which is offering up rare and expensive items. Any user who offers you free items/gold by linking to a site which asks for your password or security questions is SCAMMING. Please user the "Report this Post" or "Report this Thread" buttons to report them right away.

Some other scamming attempts have included users making a FAKE Gaia Login page. It looks exactly like Gaia but please be aware that the address (URL) will not be gaiaonline.com. If you come to a page that does not have gaiaonline.com in the address, do NOT login and report the link to a mod.

A new feature that could help with scams such as these is the inventory post type which allows users to display their items for others to see. While not entirely foolproof (items are still displayed after being traded), it can help to provide a bit more credibility to a user's claim or offer.

Remember, anything or anyone who says they need your password to give you something is trying to scam you and gain access to your account.


Email/IM Scams
The admins and staff of Gaia will never ask for your password. Ever. The only emails you will ever receive from Gaia are those sent for the purpose of registration and banning (and always after the fact). Do not respond to any emails or instant messages via chat programs that ask for your password or answers to your security questions.

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FLAMING/SUICIDE ENCOURAGEMENT

Abusive Posts, Trolling, and Flaming
Any posts containing racial slurs, verbal abuse directed at a user or comments made with the purporse of provoking flaming (trolling) are against the ToS. If you feel a user has made an abusive post or is trolling, plrease use the 'Report this Post' button.

Suicide Encouragement
Posting any content (images, links, etc) that encourages other users to harm or kill themselves, even in a joking manner, could be considered abusive. However, in cases where a user has posted about their intent to commit suicide or harm themselves, any encouragement at all will lead to a warning or even a banning.

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Help on Dealing with Abuse/Harrassment
When another user starts to abuse or harrass you, did you know there's a wonderful feature to help you out before you even have to resort to filling out a form? It's called the Ignore feature and surprisingly, many users are unaware of exactly what it does. So next time you're having problems with another user, just go to their profile and click Add to Ignored. Once you have added a user to your ignore list, the following things will happen:

1) They will not be able to PM you
2) They will not be able to post in any thread that you created.

Many times, this simple step stops the harrassment right at the beginning and stops it from escalating any further. If the user continues to harrass you after being placed on ignore, then you should report them through the proper channels, as addressed below.

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USING THE REPORT SYSTEM

Now fully implemented into the site, the reporting system makes it easier for users to report inappropriate threads and posts. It also makes it easier for the Mods to handle the reports effectively.

Report this Post User Image

Use this button to report a specific post that is in violation of the ToS. Clicking it will take you to the report form which you then fill out and submit. Since this button is located right next to the QUOTE button, you must be careful not to confuse the two. Abuse of the report button will lead to your account getting a temporary ban. Do not use this button to report misplaced or inappropriate threads.

Report this Thread User Image
Located at the bottom of the page, you can find it right next to the Subscribe button. Please use this button to report threads that are inappropriate. However, please take note that you will likely NEVER use this for reporting a misplaced thread in the Chatterbox. The Chatterbox is a forum that can be home to all types of threads, no matter how well they may fit into another forum. This includes Charity threads, Lottos and Minishop threads. Please do not report these threads. This is also not how you would report scamming or hacking.

Report a Hacking
You can find this link at the bottom of the main forums page. Use this form if you or someone you know has been hacked. Please provide all information you have that will help the investigation along. This includes usernames, emails, links and screencaps. Please be patient when submitting a hacking report. It can take anywhere from a few days to a week or more for a mod to begin work on your case.

Report a Scam
You can find this link at the bottom of the main forums page. Use this form if a user has scammed you or is attempting to scam others. Please provide all information you have available including usernames, links and screencaps. Please be patient when submitting a scamming report. It can take anywhere from a few days to a week or more for a mod to begin work on your case.

Report Abuse/Harassment
You can find this link at the bottom of the main forums page. Use this form if a user is abusing or harrassing you outside of the forums, such as through PMs. If the abuse is occuring in a thread, please use the 'Report this Post' button. Please provide all information you have available including usernames, links and screencaps of PMs. Please be patient when submitting a harrassment report. It can take anywhere from a few days to a week or more for a mod to begin work on your case.

Feedback Form
There are some issues that are not suitable for the reporting system. The feedback form is there for you when you need to report something to the admins. Inquiries about donation letters, reporting an inventory glitch, contesting a ban or any other matter that a moderator would be unable to assist in are all valid reasons for filling out the feedback form. Please be patient when using the feedback form. As you can imagine, the admins receive MANY of these a day and as such it can take some time before they get back to you.

If you are uncertain, PM an online Moderator (Dedicated preferably) first and they will be able to help you with where to go.

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WHICH MOD TO CONTACT

* List of Chatterbox Moderators {Click Me}

Here is the list of all the different types of people that you can contact if you need help, please make sure you PM the right person.

Admins
The Administrators are the ones who created and who maintain Gaia. They work on all the coding, creating items and features and fixing the bugs. As such they are often very busy people.
If you should need to report a moderator for misconduct, you would contact an admin (Dri, Ling, L0cke or Jakobo). Please PM them the reason for the report as well as any evidence you may have.


Omnimoderators
Omnimoderators focus on issues with users' accounts, especially when it comes to Hacking and Scamming reports. They will be the moderators who respond when these forms are filled out. They may also be moderators in some forums around the site.
When to Contact an Omnimod: Talk to these moderators about problems you may have with your account, items, and inventories.

Global GAIA Moderators
Taking over part of the role of our former General Moderators, the Global GAIA Moderators will be working with Abuse and Harassment cases, as well as being leaders for the Gaia Community and the moderating team. These individuals will continue to moderate the site much like before, but will be able to assist users across a variety of forums.
When to Contact a Global mod: If you need to find out about abuse or harassment, TOS violations that may require immediate attention, or if they are the only online mod listed in a forum.

Dedicated GAIA Moderators
The name change from Dedicated moderator to Dedicated GAIA Moderators reflects the slight reassignment in the moderator's duty on the site. Working with the GAIA Helpers around the site, Dedicated GAIA Moderators help to move threads that are in the wrong forum. Additionally, Dedicated GAIA Moderators are able to handle ToS violations in threads and posts, responding to someone's "Report This Thread/Post" . Much like they do now, when a Dedicated GAIA Moderators is free of obligation to their own section of the site, they are capable of moderating around GAIA.

GAIA Helpers
We have added a new level of moderator known as the GAIA Helper. These are the users who you should contact regarding threads that are in the wrong forum / subforum. These individuals are capable of moving threads from one forum to another, and are often dedicated to the forums they frequent on a regular basis. Every GAIA Helper will have a moderator on the site who is responsible for their actions. Therefore, if you are in disagreement with the actions of a GAIA Helper it is best to contact a member of the administration team. Please of course, be sure to include any relevant PMs, thread links, and information that would assist us in the matter.
When to contact a Helper: If a thread needs to be moved to another forum. Helpers cannot deal with TOS violations.

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WHEN TO CONTACT A MOD DIRECTLY
Ideally, users should use the reporting system to report violations. But sometimes there are situations where immediate mod intervention is needed. Such instances would be serial trollers, porn bots, or users spamming disturbing images. In these cases it's perfectly acceptable to PM an online mod to deal with the matter. Examples of these cases are:

  • Jesusbots
  • Normal bots
  • People posting offensive images
  • People spamming off-site advertisement
  • People scam spamming

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Demon Seishi
QUOTING TOS VIOLATIONS
Please be aware! Do NOT quote any posts that contain images, links or any content that violates the ToS. This is because it is often very time consuming and difficult for mods to try to track down and delete every quoted post of a ToS violation. Please think about the poor mods! crying
Gaia Forums » GAIA Community » Chatterbox

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