Palaver - A forum for Stephen King fans & Book Collectors FAQ

Here you can find answers to questions about how the board works. Use the links or search box below to find your way around.

1. Post & Topic Relevance

(A) Members should always seek to keep their posts applicable to the topic they are posting in and should, likewise, (B) begin new topics only when the subject matter to be discussed is relevant or covered under the terms of the forum they are placing the topic in. Off-topic posts outside of designated areas will be monitored and, if in excess, moderated by forum Facilitators. Topics placed in the wrong forum of the site are subject to being moved to the correct forum by Facilitators or merged, if applicable, according to the terms of Posting Guidelines 2A – 2C. (C.) Topics and posts which are deemed unproductive or unnecessary are subject to being closed/moderated and potentially deleted by Facilitators at any time without notice.

*Information for new members*

Due to problems with spammers signing up as members and posting spam, we've enabled a safeguard for all new accounts. An automatic system will moderate all posts made by members with fewer than 10 posts. If the post contains any key words that have been flagged as commonly used in spam, the post will not show on the board until after a staff member has moderated and approved the post. We've enabled this function to ensure that our board continues to be work safe. Spammers will often post pornography, which is caught by our automatic post screening system and sent to a special forum not viewable by members.
Members with fewer than 5 posts will not be able to send private messages (PM) or play in the arcade. If you have just signed up: start posting! We have several threads for new members to introduce themselves and ask any question you may have. Welcome to the site!

2. New Topics

(A) Members should only post new topics when a like or similar topic has not already been posted, and (B) it is the responsibility of the posting member to administer applicable searches to find any such topics before posting the new topic. (C.) Any topic not in compliance with these guidelines is subject to being merged with the pre-existing topic(s) at the discretion of forum Facilitators.

3. Member Interaction

(A) Members are expected to treat their fellow members with common respect on the boards at all times, even during disagreements. Although adult language is permissible in the forums, it should not be used in an aggressive manner with the intent to cause harm or for the purpose of malicious degradation. Further, (B)racism, homophobia, or any other type of bigotry or prejudice will not be tolerated at thedarktower.org. Racist terms, ethnic slurs, and other terms which are associated with prejudice and hate will be edited from the forums and any user found posting such content will be mod queued until such time as action has been decided upon by site staff. (C.) No member shall engage in any behavior that could be construed as sexual harassment, including—but not limited to—unwelcome sexual advances; sending, either by email or personal message, unsolicited and unwelcome images of a graphic nature; requesting images or other content of a graphic nature repeatedly against the wishes of another member; stalking; as well as any other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature. (D) Members should report such activity to site staff immediately so that mediation can be implemented, but must understand that behavioral action against any member’s account will not be taken without compelling evidence and due process. (E) Features of the site including but not limited to Reputation and Private Messaging may not be misused. (F) Member reputation feature- Management reserves the right to disclose the I.D. of reputation senders to the recipient. The decision would be based upon management determining that a member has either abused the reputation feature itself, or made comments that violate our existing TOS agreement regarding member interaction. (G) Unforeseen Circumstances-Management reserves the right to ban a member for any reason, including infractions not stated in the Terms of Service Agreement.

4. Staff Interaction

(A) Members are to show respect for site staff at all times while posting in the forums, and should never openly question a staff member’s authority. (B) If a member feels that they have been treated unfairly, or that a situation was dealt with by a staff member in an uncouth or unfair manner, they should either address it to said staff member via personal message, or report the incident to site Human Resources (Patrick). (C) Blatant disregard of a request, arguing with, or attacking a staff member in the forums will result in immediate mod queue for a period of no less than twenty-four hours. (D) In the event that a staff member has edited a post or closed a topic, no member shall then repost the edited content or topic. Violation of this guideline will result in a mod queue of no less than twenty-four hours.

5. Spoilers

(A) Spoiling key parts of any story for another member is never acceptable, and (B) Spoiler Tags MUST be used if necessitated by the Spoiler Requirements of a particular forum. (C.) Each forum of the site has a sticky post at the top of the forum page detailing the Spoiler Requirements for that area, and (D) it is the responsibility of the member to check these requirements prior to posting spoilers in that area. Spoiler tags can be applied by clicking the icon in the Post Reply toolbar. (E) Failure to comply with any given forum's spoiler requirements may result in behavioral action, up to termination of the member's posting privileges.

6. Signatures & Avatars

(A) Images in all signatures (for regular and gold package members) should be no larger than 200H by 500W. See example below.

Photobucket

(Yes, we realize the irony of using an animated image to demonstrate guidelines while animated signatures are actually not allowed on the site.)

(B) No animated images are allowed in signatures or avatars, as they affect page loading.
(C) Profanity and other potentially offensive text will not be allowed in signatures in any font size over 10.
(D) Signatures or avatars used for the purpose of attacking other members or staff will be removed by site staff, and may result in behavioral action.

7. Adult Content

(A) Sexually explicit images containing nudity are not permitted to be posted on the site at any time. Whereas (B) suggestive imagery is permissible if posted in an applicable thread, such threads must be clearly marked as NSFW (not safe for work) in the topic’s title. (C.)Suggestive images of any kind are not allowed to be used as avatars or in member signatures. Violation of this guideline will result in the removal of the image, and the posting member will be warned. Repeated violation may result in further behavioral action.

8. Alternate Accounts

(A) Members of thedarktower.org are allowed only one account for use in the main forums, unless given explicit and documented permission by a site Director. (B) Members found to be using alternate accounts will have the additional account(s) blocked, and may be subject to behavioral action.

9. Spamming & Misuse of Accounts

(A) Members found to be “spamming” the forums—or other members via personal message—in any way or for any purpose will have their private messaging privileges suspended and will be immediately mod queued for a period of no less than twenty-four hours. If the spamming continues after the imposed period of mod queue and PM suspension, said member will have their membership terminated immediately. (B) Members who use their posting or private messaging privileges for the purpose of conspiring or acting out against site staff will have their private messaging privileges suspended and will be immediately mod queued for a period of no less than twenty-four hours. If the behavior continues after the imposed period of mod queue, the member will be restricted until such time as site staff determines behavioral action, up to termination of the member's account.

10. Illegal Content

(A) Content which violates the laws of the United States is not permissible at any time and may result in termination of the member’s posting privileges.

Search FAQ

  • Select this option if you would like your search to look in the text of FAQ items as well as their titles.

Select an option here to specify how you would like your search query to be treated. 'Any words' will return the most numerous but possibly least relevant results, while 'Complete phrase' will return only results that contain exactly what you are searching for.