1. DON'T TYPE IN ALL CAPS.
If you feel the need to capitalize a few word or sentences to make a point, that's fine. BUT PLEASE DON'T TYPE YOUR WHOLE GODDAM POST IN CAPS! IT'S FUCKING ANNOYING!

2. Punctuation and proper capitalization are your friends.
if you want people to take you seriously it helps to throw in some commas and periods every once in awhile theyre not hard to find on the keyboard and they make your posts looks much nicer it also helps people figure out where your sentences begin and end so its a good idea im not going to be a grammar nazi but please put forth some effort ok

3. Oh, one more thing...
You are not Detective Columbo. If you forget to say something in a reply, don't post a new one directly after it. Instead, you should EDIT your original post.

4. Picture size
This site is designed to look nice at a minimum resolution of 1024 X 768. Please be respectful of others and do not stretch out windows with unnecessarily large pictures. Any picture with a width exceeding 800 pixels is considered too large. If an image you want to post is too large, you have two options:

1. If you have uploaded the image somewhere yourself, resize it and try again.
2. If the image is hotlinked, resize it using HTML.

5. And while we're on the subject of images...
Offensive images are not allowed on these forums. Any image containing sex, bodily waste, graphic violence, or graphic nudity shall be deemed offensive. Disturbing medical photos are also not permitted.

6. The SydLexia.com forums are not a pulpit.
As it turns out, SydLexia.com is a pop culture website, not a religious website. The forum staff openly encourages you to discuss topical issues involving religion, but we remind you that religion is an extremely sensitive issue. Please refrain from endorsing or debasing any major religion. This includes Buddhism, Atheism, Judaism, Taoism, Shintoism, Hinduism, Islam, and all major branches of Christianity. However, you are invited to criticize extremist religious groups and individuals such as Osama bin Laden and Jerry Falwell who subvert religion to further their own political goals. In doing so, you must refrain from more general attacks on religion itself. Furthermore, these forums are not a recruitment ground. You shall not use these forums to attempt to convert people to your religion; please note that this includes Atheism. If you find this unfair or if you are eager to show off the shit you learned in your World Religions and Philosophy 101 classes, too bad. THIS IS NOT A FUCKING THEOLOGY WEBSITE.

7. Banned words and phrases
The following words and phrases are banned: ima, prolly, Carson Daly is not a homo, sammich. If you break this rule, expect a polite but firm written warning. Repeated violations of this rule may lead to you being banned.

8. Don't bump old topics for no reason.
Sooner or later, all threads die. That's just the way things go. When new members join the forums, there is inclination to jump into as many topics as possible. And while that is certainly encouraged, please do not revive threads that have been dead for a month or more unless you can contribute something new and interesting to the conversation. It is considered bad etiquette to revive old threads, especially topical ones.

9. Try to stay on the topic at hand.
Much like conversations, threads have a tendency to wander away from the original topic. Please try to avoid this as much as possible. This rule will NOT be strictly enforced, but be aware that the moderators can split offtopic posts into new threads as they see fit.

10. Be patient with your fellow forum members.
Although this site is written in English, the internet is an international community and English is not everyone's first language. Consequently, these forums receive visitors from all corners of the world. Please be considerate of others and do not mock them simply because their English isn't great. These forums have had a few bad eggs whose poor English skills and idiotic opinions turned them into nuisances, but please do not judge all foreigners based on these assholes.

11. Don't be dicks to each other.
Try to avoid petty name calling and heavy petting. These things can be entertaining sometimes, provided they don't get too malicious. Don't cross the line.

12. No racial slurs.
The use of racial slurs will not be tolerated on this board, with a few minor exceptions. You may directly quote songs, movies, television shows, and literature that use racial slurs provided that:

1. The quote is relevant to the current thread.
2. The thread is in a forum dedicated to the source you are quoting.

So a movie quote with a racial slur can only be invoked in a relevant discussion on the Movies forum. This rule applies to titles as well.

13. Don't re-edit modded posts.
From time to time, the moderators will edit posts that violate the forum guidelines. You will not always agree with our decisions and if you ever feel that one of your posts has been unjustly modded and should changed back, you can private message Syd and make your case. However, under no circumstances are you allowed to change it back yourself. We have final say on what is and isn't appropriate on these forums and you are expected to abide by our guidelines. Violations of this rule will be taken especially seriously. Your first violation will result in a warning. Your second violation will result in a one week ban. Any further violations of this rule will result in stronger disciplinary action up to and including an IP ban.

14. The sound of silence.
Some of our members check the forums from computers at school or work, and the last thing they need to open a thread and have everyone stare at them when a sound file started autoplaying. As a result, you may not embed a sound in your signature. If you want to start a thread with embedded sound, you must either A) disable autoplay and provide a visible media player or B) provide a warning in the topic title that there are embedded sounds. If you want to embed a sound file in a topic you DIDN'T start, you MUST disable autoplay and provide a visible media player.

15. This is April O'Neil, signing off.
Your signature helps to define who you are on the forums, and if it's too big, it makes you look like a big asshole. We ask you that your signature please not exceed any of the following standards:

1. One line of images and videos not exceeding 200 pixels in height and 800 pixels in width, and three lines of default-sized text. This includes line breaks.
2. One line of images and videos not exceeding 200 pixels in height and 800 pixels in width, and one line of default-sized quoted text.
3. Seven lines of default-sized text. This includes line breaks. Quoted text counts as two lines.
4. One line of giant-sized text.

16. Less is more.
With the exception of site staff, forum members are highly discouraged from maintaining more than one account on the forum. If you are caught using secondary accounts to troll the forums or other harass specific board members, disciplinary action will occur. Repeated abuse of secondary accounts will earn you an IP ban.

17. Relevance: It's What's For Dinner
When creating a new topic, please give it a title that accurately describes the subject matter enclosed therein. Topic titles like "What the hell?" and "Oh my god!" are vague and unacceptable.

18. You are not the master of unlocking.
If a thread you started is locked or deleted, it is because the moderators felt that it was inappropriate. If you feel that the thread was unfairly locked, you may contact any or all of the moderators and plead your case. DO NOT START A NEW THREAD ASKING WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OLD ONE. Doing so will result in a mandatory three day ban from the forums. Repeat offenders will receive increasingly severe punishments up to and including banning.

19. Put out or get out.
If you do not post at least once within one week (7 days) of registering your account, it will be deleted. You may register it again if you so desire, but the same rule applies. If you cannot post because you are having trouble activating your account, please e-mail Syd.

20. These forums are not your own personal P2P network.
Looking to trade rare television shows? Having trouble finding Sega Genesis ROMs? Can't find anywhere to download the latest Metallica album? TOO FUCKING BAD. Piracy is illegal, and no one here is going to help you with it. Figure out yourself; if you can't, you don't deserve to get whatever you were looking for. If you ask for piracy help on the forums, you will be disciplined. If your first post on these forums is a ROM request or anything similar, you will be IP banned.

21. What happens in the private forums stays in the private forums.
The private forums on SydLexia.com are private for a reason. They are exclusive clubs, and like most other exclusive clubs, they do not appreciate having their secrets shared with outsiders. Do not reproduce any information from the private forums on the public forums. Doing so will very likely get you removed from the private forum, and may lead to discplinary action on the public forums.

22. Who the fuck are you, Nancy Drew?
Do not post other members' personal information. Ever. Do not post it on the public forums. Do not post it in private forums. Do not post it on the wiki. Do not post it in IRC. Do not PM it. Do not IM it. Do not post it anywhere. If members want to share this information with us, they will post it themselves. If you break this rule, you will be instantly and permanently banned. If it all possible, you will also be sodomized and murdered, possibly as a result of the mods posting YOUR private information.

23. You must have an avatar
This is an online community, and you are expected to have some sort of personality, which means you should probably have an avatar. If you fail to add an avatar, it will be assumed that you are a spambot, which will result in your account being locked or possibly deleted without any further warning. All accounts created prior to February 2011 are exempted from this rule. When choosing your avatar, please refer to Rule 5.

24. No, you cannot run a contest.
This is SydLexia.com. It is Syd Lexia's website. If Syd Lexia wants to run a giveaway, a forum battle, or a video game challenge series, he will run one. If you want to run one, you must first ask Syd Lexia's permission. Then, once you have it, you must get Syd Lexia's express written consent on every single detail of the contest. Until such consent is given, you cannot move forward. You must defer to Syd in every regard in terms of the contest. For example, if you want to run a video game challenge series, Syd must approve every individual challenge. Or, if you're running a forum battle, Syd must approve the teams and the pairings, including the randomization thereof. If you want to do something one way and Syd wants it done another way, you're doing it Syd's way. Why? Because it's his website. If these seems unreasonable, too bad. Start your own website and host your contest there. However, please not that you will not be allowed to advertise it on SydLexia.com anywhere outside of the OPP forum. This includes the IRC channel.

   - Syd Lexia and the moderators