There is No Freedom of Speech:
This is something I would like to clear up right away. Regardless of where each poster lives, these boards are based in America. Many of the posters here are American and are under the Freedom of Speech clause in the US Constitution. Others not from America should be familiar with this clause, which prevents our government from censoring speech in any way. However, what many people don't seem to understand, is that this right ONLY applies to the government. These boards are the private property of Wizards of the Coast and their parent company, Hasbro, Inc. As such, they have every right to censor what you say, and have complete control over what they do and do not allow on their boards. Which leads to...
You Legally Agreed to Follow All the Rules:
Do you remember when you made your account for these message boards? There was a big long Terms of Agreement/Service list, and a button labeled "I Accept" at the bottom that you had to click before your account was activated? When you clicked that link, you legally claimed to have not only have read the entire thing, but agreed to everything in it. Again, let me repeat that, when you clicked the button, it was a legally binding contract entered into by you, by your own free will. If you are under a certain age, you were supposed to get parental permission before agreeing. If you did not do this, you lied, and WotC is no longer responsible for you should trouble arise, as they thought, under good faith, that you were either an adult, or that you had the permission of your parents, in which case the agreement was legally binding for your parents. This all boils down to the fact that you signed a contract saying "I agree to let you censor what I say, and I agree to submit to your rules."
They Know Who You Are:
Next time you make a post, or read a post by another member, look at the bottom of said post. You will see a line that says the IP address has been logged. This is your Internet Protocol number, which is a unique fingerprint of who you are on the internet. You may think you have a private account, and that nobody knows who you really are, but it isn't true. Wizards of the Coast records this digital fingerprint, and can quite easily use it to trace you back to your Internet Service Provider, and from there find out the billing address of the account that was logged into that IP number at that time of day. This means WotC either now has your home address, or it has your parent's address if you are a minor. If you try to use the boards for something illegal (as spelled out in the Code of Conduct), WotC can track you down and press legal charges against you. Most often, this would apply to people that come on the boards and say something like "Oh yeah? Well I downloaded all the books off the internet and there’s nothing they can do about it!" These people are exceedingly stupid, as they just admitted to committing a felony, and essentially left their home address right there on the post. Does this mean WotC is going to break down your door and haul you to court? No, chances are nothing will happen. But just remember, it is possible, and all it takes is someone at Hasbro to say they want WotC to make an example out of someone to hang you out to dry.
The Rules are for Your Enjoyment:
As much as some of you may think that rules are a bad thing, or that the rules are unfair, let me assure you that they are not. The rules are really very simple, and are essentially the same rules you should have be learning your entire life, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". The Golden Rule. Play nice with others. This is what the rules are, the Code of Conduct simply clarify that. You don't flame other posters, aka call them names, you don't try to cheat or steal, and you try to help keep the boards as clean as when you found them.
Use the Proper Board:
There are many, many different individual boards that make up the boards as a whole. This is to make it easier for people to find what they are looking for. This also means it can be more confusing when you first arrive to figure out where you should post what sort of thing. My first suggestion for these boards, and any other boards for that matter, is don't post. Spend at least a week just reading all the different boards before you jump in with posting. This will let you get a feel for what sort of thing goes where, and will probably answer a lot of your initial questions without having to feel foolish by asking a silly question.
However, please don't let that scare you into not asking about something you don't understand. If you don't know how something works on the boards, go to the Metaboard and ask. The Metaboard is for questions and discussions on how the boards work (not for general chit-chat), and we'll be happy to help you out. If you're trying to post something, and you're not sure if the board you picked is the proper place for it, say so. Just something like "I think this is where this post should go, please tell me if it isn't" will work wonders. If we understand that you're new, and not sure, we'll appreciate that you are at least trying to learn, and will help you out.
Many of Your Questions Have Already Been Answered:
Yup, we have FAQs for just about everything. The first place you should look is the FAQ Archive Board. This board has nothing but links to the FAQs on it, and should help you out a lot. There are also more FAQs in the D&D General board. If you can't find an answer in these, there is always the Search function. Its at the bottom of every page, and can be used to search particular boards, or all of them at once, for threads that pertain to your query. It even highlights all the words you searched for so you can find them quickly and easily. You would be surprised how often this will find what you are looking for, and will save you from having some of the older members rolling their eyes at you as you ask a question that crops up every other week (such as cat people over on the Races board).
Praise in Public, Punish in Private:
This is the method our moderators (easily recognizable by the fact their name starts with WizO_xxxxxxx) use, and we ask that you use it as well. If one of your threads gets locked, and you don't understand why, please don't start a thread complaining about it and demanding answers. You should email the WizO that closed your thread and ask why if it isn't clear. The WizOs don't bite, and will generally be happy to explain things to you so they won't have to close another one of your threads later on. They want everybody to be happy just as much as you want to enjoy these boards. If the WizOs do something that you approve of, make sure and tell them! They have to put up with a lot of annoying people telling them how stupid they are, or how evil they are, and you can probably imagine how much a simple "Thanks, I appreciate you" can go.
There Are Consequences For Your Actions:
I'm closing on a note some people don't seem to understand. These boards are moderated by the WizOs, who make sure the boards stay tidy and friendly. If, for some reason, you get really out of line, they will send you a warning. Now, don't freak out about this too much, as it really is just a warning. They send it to tell you when you are pushing the boarder of what is and is not acceptable here. As long as you play nice and try to follow the rules, chances are you will never get a warning, but it could happen. Most people will take these warnings to heart and try to shape up. Some don't.
If you become a constant problem, the WizOs will be forced to ban you from the boards. This isn't like a Yahoo! or AOL chat where you can just make a new name and come right back. [Generally, WizOs do allow one “new” name to be made when someone has lost their first name(s). Though in egregious violations this courtesy is not extended. –WotC_Mel] When you are finally banned from these boards, it’s called a Blanket IP Ban. That means your entire IP range gets blocked from the site so you can no longer access it. If you try, all that will ever load is an error message saying that you are not allowed to view the site. This ban is permanent. It does not go away, it doesn't get better. Please don't make the admin do this to you, as it affects not only you, but many of those around you, as the ban, by definition, blocks every IP you could ever use, which means it keeps other people near you from accessing the boards as well. It isn't fair for others to be punished for your problems, but if it gets that bad, it’s simply something we're all willing to accept to keep the place friendly for the rest of us.
I don't know if this will really be of help to anyone, but its something I feel needed to be said. If anyone else has points they think need making, feel free to put them up.
They Know Who You Are:
Next time you make a post, or read a post by another member, look at the bottom of said post. You will see a line that says the IP address has been logged. This is your Internet Protocol number, which is a unique fingerprint of who you are on the internet. You may think you have a private account, and that nobody knows who you really are, but it isn't true. Wizards of the Coast records this digital fingerprint, and can quite easily use it to trace you back to your Internet Service Provider, and from there find out the billing address of the account that was logged into that IP number at that time of day. This means WotC either now has your home address, or it has your parent's address if you are a minor. If you try to use the boards for something illegal (as spelled out in the Code of Conduct), WotC can track you down and press legal charges against you. Most often, this would apply to people that come on the boards and say something like "Oh yeah? Well I downloaded all the books off the internet and there’s nothing they can do about it!" These people are exceedingly stupid, as they just admitted to committing a felony, and essentially left their home address right there on the post. Does this mean WotC is going to break down your door and haul you to court? No, chances are nothing will happen. But just remember, it is possible, and all it takes is someone at Hasbro to say they want WotC to make an example out of someone to hang you out to dry.
I am no lawyer, but I believe that WOTC or anyone else would need a legal document, the equivalent of a warrant, to make your service provider give your address and/or name. Some service providers might voluntarily give it, but many will not, even when a major crime is suspected. If they do give it out freely, they could be sued I believe. So it isn't quite as easy as Edymnion makes it sound. That being said, I agree 100% with the spirit of this post, and 99% with the letter of it.
Originally posted by Farland
I am no lawyer, but I believe that WOTC or anyone else would need a legal document, the equivalent of a warrant, to make your service provider give your address and/or name. Some service providers might voluntarily give it, but many will not, even when a major crime is suspected. If they do give it out freely, they could be sued I believe. So it isn't quite as easy as Edymnion makes it sound. That being said, I agree 100% with the spirit of this post, and 99% with the letter of it.
Yes, they would need a court order to get the ISP to divulge the information. However, when you essentially have a signed confession of somebody saying they have been pirating your intellectual property, it isn't hard to get said papers.
Its essentially as hard as it is for police to get a search warrant. They need probable cause, and a good chance to find the evidence they're going in looking for. But again, when you've got a written confession that tends to speed things along.
The intent is that it CAN happen, and it will happen if WotC is forced to make an example of someone. But hey, I'm not going to shed any extra tears over someone who is not only stealing books and damaging my favorite hobby, but who is also stupid enough to brag about it right under WotC's nose. Its like saying "Oh, its not loaded" when you put a gun to your head and pulling the trigger. If it goes off, its own darn fault, nobody else's.
IP addresses, just like driver's licenses, can be forged, misguiding and oftentimes just pure covers. There're inner ones, outer ones, depending on your router, and split ones. Then you can go to my computer center at which I work and post from whichever of our 120-odd computers. The generic login is stickered onto each monitor, giving an indefinite number of people who do business on any given computer on any given day.
Other points you make are practical to a T. I don't think it's any stretch of imagination or necessity to write an essay; people should behave themselves. Whether by hobby or social caste, our crowd comes with a lot of elitism that makes for tension. Regardless, most of us graduated kindergarten and should know the chief rule that one shouldn't be rude.
"Do unto others as you'd have done unto you" doesn't work. Most of us wouldn't mind a little banter against us, but the fact is, we're all kidding ourselves if we think that excuses the passive-aggressive remarks and masked insults.
Way to write this, I guess. It is somewhat of a nice, formalized way to say "behave yourselves" and it doesn't allow for a whole lot of argument, especially in its second half.
Moved to the D&D Metaboard.
*Bamf*
I support everything that this says.
Well said!
Originally posted by WizO_Sith
Excellent post.
Moved to the D&D Metaboard.
*Bamf*
Um, Sith, I put it in Regdars for a reason, so it would actually be where people could find it for more than a couple days...
Unless this gets stickied, it'll just be lost in a couple days and nobody will see it again...
Very well.
Very well indeed!
Originally posted by Zherog
If it was in Regdar's and saw the light of day, doesn't that Doxxie or Mel had to approve it? Or has the approval process been changed?
Yeah, that was my understanding. It was in Regdar's, and even had that first reply. Obviously Mel/Dox gave it the thumbs up or it wouldn't have shown up in the first place.
But they're right, Regdars is supposed to be RPG related, guess I forgot about that.
Originally posted by Edymnion
Yeah, that was my understanding. It was in Regdar's, and even had that first reply. Obviously Mel/Dox gave it the thumbs up or it wouldn't have shown up in the first place.
But they're right, Regdars is supposed to be RPG related, guess I forgot about that.
Uhh, no actually....
It was moved because
- I didn't know about the Dox/Mel thing
- I am a dingus.
*Bamf*
I am no lawyer, but I believe that WOTC or anyone else would need a legal document, the equivalent of a warrant, to make your service provider give your address and/or name. Some service providers might voluntarily give it, but many will not, even when a major crime is suspected. If they do give it out freely, they could be sued I believe. So it isn't quite as easy as Edymnion makes it sound. That being said, I agree 100% with the spirit of this post, and 99% with the letter of it.
If you live in the US and haven't been following the lawsuits and contentions between Verizon and other ISPs and groups like the RIAA and Titan Media, you might be interested to know the following:
The DMCA gives copyright holders the right to compel an ISP to give the name and other personal information of a user without having to go before a judge, merely by having a paper processed by a court clerk. All they need to do is say that they have reason to believe that infringement is taking place, and your particulars are theirs. Verizon has fought this in course, lost, and is awaiting appeal. They are concerned that, among other things, this violates due process, gives the user no chance to fight the disclosure of their name, and could be used by any number of copyright holders (as they aren't too hard to come by) to harvest personal information for less than wholesome means. (Actually, there's one Jane Doe case in California where an woman is fighting to prevent her name from being released, and the RIAA is taking action to have the identity disclosed before even resolving that case, though the ISP is apparently refusing to comply until said issue is resolved. I haven't been as up to date on that one.)
Part of this stems from the so-called "compromise" in the DMCA, where ISPs receive some protection from being sued over infringement of their users, but copyright holders get several powers in "good faith."
Now, I myself am also not a lawyer and cannot thereby give legal advice as such. However, personally, I would not be comfortable in the least in having my IP associated with any particular messages acknowledging criminal wrongdoing in general, and at this instance, copyright infringement in particular.
So... Announcing that you have just downloaded a mess of books off of a p2p service would be, in general, a bad idea.
Originally posted by Farland
I am no lawyer, but I believe that WOTC or anyone else would need a legal document, the equivalent of a warrant, to make your service provider give your address and/or name. Some service providers might voluntarily give it, but many will not, even when a major crime is suspected. If they do give it out freely, they could be sued I believe. So it isn't quite as easy as Edymnion makes it sound. That being said, I agree 100% with the spirit of this post, and 99% with the letter of it.
While we've never tried to get someone's home address from their ISP, we have contacted a few ISPs in the past to inform them of exactly how their service is being used (or misused.) So persistent troublemakers who manage to circumvent a blanket IP ban risk losing their internet access altogether for a time.