OK, so let's get some forum conduct rules going

[MT2008]

Over the last few months, as we've expanded, we've seen quite a few users challenging us in a number of ways, and doing stuff we don't consider appropriate IMFDB etiquette. Most of these things are various little nuisances that bothered us a little bit (i.e. failing to spell properly or failing to use proper grammar in movie titles), others a bit more serious (vandalizing pages).

So, I call on all of my fellow IMFDB admins (Bunni, Gunmaster, Orca MoviePropMaster, Alienqueen, Excalibur, etc.) to help me put together a set of rules that relate to IMFDB content. What we agree on in this topic should become final for a page that all users will be expected to follow.

I will start:

(1.) (Most important) IMFDB HAS A ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY FOR VANDALISM. Anyone who is caught inserting gibberish into pages or removing content from pages unnecessarily will be immediately banned. (I think first-time vandals should get banned for 2 days, and then permanently if they do it again).

(2.) Do not upload images or make pages for guns that we already have, unless it's another variant that we missed. Even then, we prefer that you do not upload images of guns that do not appear in movies, or which could not possibly appear in any movies. What this means is that weird experimental guns that never went into production should not be on IMFDB.

(3.) MoviePropMaster's gun images are absolutely untouchable by anyone other than himself, because the fact that they're exclusive to us makes them by default better than anything we can get off World Guns, Remtek, or any other site. This is sort of a moot point, since he can protect his images now, but just in case he ever forgets one...it is NOT to be messed with.

(4.) When doing a new page for a film, make sure the title is grammatically correct and capitalized, and don't use symbols unless they actually appear in the official title. For instance, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade‎" should not be "Indiana Jones & the last crusade". When in doubt, go to IMDB and copy-and-paste the title as it appears there. (However, I must remind Admins that we have many users on here from other countries, for whom English is not a first language. In Spanish, for instance, only the first word of any title is capitalized. So be picky, but be culturally sensitive, too. ).

(5.) Before you make a page for a gun that you THINK IMFDB doesn't have, check carefully. Just because it doesn't have its own individual page doesn't mean it doesn't have one on another page. The M4 Carbine, for instance, goes on the "M16 rifle series" page, while all of the MP5, Glock, and SIG P220 variants are grouped on one page, etc. IMFDB's de facto policy for a while has been to group variants of particular guns - or guns that belong to the same basic family of weapons - on one page.

(6.) ANY USER-CREATED MEDIA - meaning any movie, TV show, video game, or anime series that is not documented on IMDB, All Movie/TV/Game Guides, TV.com, IGN, or any other reputable media database - does not belong on IMFDB. This site documents gun appearances in professional media only. More specifically, this applies to user-made flash games, YouTube home movies done with airsoft guns, or anything else of the sort. The only exceptions will be user-created mods for first-person shooter video game (i.e. any of the mods for "Half-Life") - provided they are well-known and popular enough to warrant a page. When in doubt, ask an administrator and we will determine a game mod's value to IMFDB.



Keep 'em coming...