#Roms constitution by Thomas Jefferson (XxDeThxX) As of now this is a proposed preliminary document, to be voted on at the next meeting, where by popular vote we shall decide if its official, if not, we shall make any changes nessisary. Ops voting on this should realize that once they agree to this, they will follow the rules, and *fairly* enforce the rules. If you have an idea for a change before this time, please send email to: xxdethxx@null.net The stuff up here will be gone once this is finalized :) I guess this is like version 1.1 now or something ;) I changed a bunch since the original already.. -------cut here-------------------------------------------------------------- The job of the #roms op is to maintain the channel, protect it from harm, and to preseve the steady flow of conversation. These rules are here to show the users what we expect from them, and what they can expect from us. We do not want to turn it into a "we control you" situation, but want to make things fair so that your time in #roms can be enjoyable. Please realize, #Roms is a very multi-faceted channel, it is not just a place to swap rom files, but it is a place for people who share common interestes to hang out and talk. This document is designed for DOS edit or a standard ANSI Unix terminal. Contents: 1. Do's & Dont's of #roms 2. Tips & Tricks 3. Op guidelines ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. The Do's and Don'ts of #roms * Don't under any circumstance use colors. If you send a CRTL+K character to the channel, you will automatically be banned regardless if it created a color or not. Colors are not compatible with all IRC clients, and they annoy many IRC users, so we have opted to disallow them. * Do not repeat yourself. We can read just fine, no need to say something twice in a row. This again will automatically get you kicked, and if you do it again you will be banned. If you have a message on a timer, please set your timer to 900 seconds (15 minutes) apart. * Do not draw special attention to yourself. This includes excessive CAPITALs excessive bold/underline/inverse or any other means of drawing attention. * Do not start pointless flame wars like Windows vs. Unix, Intel vs. Cyrix, PSX vs. N64, etc. If such a war gets started, don't participate. * Do not use scripts which you cannot control or do not know how to use. * Do not bug the ops for ROMs and help, we are regular people who don't have everything nor know everything. * Do not have a message-on-joins. If you feel you need one of these messages, talk to an op. If they feel it is proper you may be allowed to do so. * Do not use DoS (Denial of Service) attacks on any of the users or ops. This includes (but is not limited to) Winnuke, SSping (Jolt), land (lateria), Teardrop, Bonk, Boink, ICMP flooding, smurfing, syn flooding, and espessially ICMP_Unreach (Click). While it may seem like a great deal of fun to you to see somebody ping timeout or have their connection reset, its a very childish thing to do, AND its illegal. These attacks waste many peoples time, bandwidth and money, and hurt productivity on multi-user machines. Just don't do it. * Do not use this channel for things other then its main intent. It is not a warez channel, it is not a crack channel, it is not a porn channel, it is not a music (midi/mod/mp3) channel. (However, video game midi/mod/mp3s are welcome :) Conversation of such topics is ok, but please refrain from file trading of these types. There are plenty of other channels for that. * Do not bother us with N64 related things just yet. Until the existing emu- lators run commercial roms, please take your N64 business to #N64ROMS or to #N64DCC * Do participate in the conversation and enjoy yourself! * Do read and follow these rules, and encourage other visitors to do the same. * Do ask an op if you are unsure if doing something might get you intro trou- ble. * Do offer your own FTP/WWW sites. * Do try and help people with their requests, you never know when they might be able to help you back! * Do feel free to setup an XDCC or FServe. (See guidelines below) XDCC Guidelines: * 15 or higher minute timers! * Limit pack list to 12 or so lines * Try and put 'DCC' somewhere in the nickname if possible, it makes it easier for users to /ignore it if they do not wish to see pack listings! * Please offer files related to the channel or related to emulation. FServe Guidelines: * No on-join advertising for your Fserve * No ratios, do it for free or don't bother * Any advertisment should be on a 15 minute timer * Try to have your !trigger command work in a private message instead of public. Eg, use on 1:TEXT:!trigger:?: instead of on 1:TEXT:!trigger:#: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Channel Tips & Tricks * Type /ignore *DCC* (or /ignore *DCC* PUBLIC with BitchX, IRCii) to ignore DCC offerers. Note: This will only ignore those offerers who have DCC in their nicknames. * Wait a minute or two before diving into conversation or sending out your request. You may have a question that other people have been asking all day and it might just be answered before you ask it. Besides, if you jump in with no regard to what is going on you may be interupting something! * In the event that you are banned, just wait for the ban to expire. Most automatically triggered bans only last 10 to 15 minutes, instead of bugging an op about it, just sit and wait it out. If you are banned for more then a day, look for the ban length in the kick message and wait to come back when it has expired, instead of trying to get in every 20 minutes. I *DO* go through and remove long term bans for "good behavior" from time to time. * Try a search engine. Sometimes what you are looking for is readily availa- ble on the web, be it information or a file. You might just find it quicker if you search for yourself. * Ask niceley! Don't just come in shouting "GIMMIE ROMS!" or ask your request by drawing special attention to yourself. Even if you aren't kicked, this isn't an effective way to get what you want! * Be specific! Asking for a copy of Super Mario will get you Super Mario much quicker then asking if "ne1 has ne NES romz?!??" * Don't even bother to ask what emulator is best. Channel visitors have a large variety of machines and operating systems, so you will always get several different answers to this question. You're best bet is to grab a bunch and try them all out, experiment a little! * RTFM! Look for FAQ files or readme.txt files and READ THEM! You will become much knowledgable and will find the answers to all your questions in text files. Next time somebody asks a stupid question that you would have asked had you not been so smart, you can think "NOW whos the idiot?" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Op Guidelines General: * Ops should not consider themselves "above the law." They should try and follow the same rules the users do. * Ops should fairly enforce the rules. If you kick somebody for breaking a rule, don't let somebody else get away with it later. * Channel topics often reflect the tone and mood of a channel. Watch what you say. * Try to attend meetings. They are always on Monday nights at 8PM EST time. If you cannot be there, talk to the person who called the meeting to see what you will miss ahead of time. * Work on your "lamer tolerance." Instead of showing off your bloated egos, help the newbies out. :) Kicking/Banning * Do not ever ever ever kick for difference of an opinion. A user is entitled to his/her opinion just as much as you are. * Before you kick, or ban, decide if maybe a simple warning might help. * If a pointless argument is started, see to it that its canned, don't take somebodies side and abuse your power to make that side "win." * Excessive bans on the bots slow them down a lot. Be cautious who you ban and how long you ban for. Check and see if there is already a ban on the bot before adding a redundant one. PERM bans should only be used in extreme situations. 99 out of 100 times 30 days is a long enough time for a ban. Be sure to also include a descriptive comment on why the ban exists, things like "eye r0x j00" or "you are lame" are not acceptable. And lastly, and most importantly, use good judgement when choosing the hostmask to ban, refrain from banning large chunks of ISPs or entire ISPs if at all possible. * Never kick or ban another op for a "joke." If you feel they have done some- thing very against the rules, save a log and show the other ops, we might work out a suspension situation. Opping/Deopping * Never deop another op unless there is fear they will put the channel in harm. * Never op somebody claiming to be an op, but cannot use the bots for whatever excuse they give you. * If you op a friend temporarily, make sure it is somebody you can trust. If your friend does harm to the channel, it will be taken as if you had done the damage yourself. New ops * New ops are nominated by a current op and voted on at a meeting. The person will become an op if 65% or more of the ops vote YES. If it is under 65%, they cannot be voted on again until a later meeting. During a new ops first week they are evaluated, and can be removed at the end of the week if they do not perform up to par. Bots * Don't bring in unessisary bots. If you would like to run an eggdrop talk to IceWizard. * Unessisary bots include clones, which are only allowed during a time when we feel channel security is being threatened. * Bot access levels/flags are not given out to look "cool" but to people who help with channel security, run bots, and know a lot about them. Consequences * You _really_ should know better. We expect you to. However, if an op breaks excessive rules they shall be suspended or removed for a time, depending on seriousness. Length of suspension shall be decided by the other ops. * A person shall be removed if they are a threat to channel security or if they have been suspended multiple times and still havn't learned better. * An op can be removed, or suspended by 75% +o vote, or a unanymous (100%) +t vote. Suspensions will last 7 days in general, unless another time amount can be agreed apon. * A +t op is subject to the same suspension, and is now allowed to vote on himself. For removal of a +t op, all other +t ops must be in 100% agreement and at least a 65% popular vote. Other situations * Any situation not covered in this text shall be decided yes or no on by a vote (if possible), or shall be worked out at an op meeting. The End. If you are still reading you are either a good op (yay!) or a nosy regular :)