As we welcome you to Xena Online Community, we would like to do all we can to ensure that you as a fan have a pleasant and rewarding experience on the board.
To this purpose, here are some basic tips that should help with your XOC experience.
XOC is a moderated board with rules. The purpose of the rules is not to squelch anyone's freedom, it's to ensure that most people can discuss the show they love in an environment free of flaming, insults, ridicule, baiting, and fights. The full text of the rules can be found here. Below is a condensed version that recapitulates the most important rules of posting on XOC.
1. Treat other members and their opinions with courtesy and respect. Absolutely no name-calling, confrontational posts, or comments that insult, put down, or ridicule other posters and their opinions (such as stating that someone's argument is "stupid," "crazy," or "lame," accusing another poster of dishonesty, or saying that someone who holds a particular viewpoint is "blind," "deluded," "in denial," etc.). Also prohibited are comments that insult a group of people based on race, gender, religion, sexual orientation or sexual identity, as well as baseless accusations of bigotry (e.g., suggesting that anyone who does not support the Xena/Gabrielle pairing is homophobic).
2. Be respectful toward the cast and staff of the show. Criticism of someone's work is fine, but personal insults are unacceptable, as is gossip and innuendo about the private lives of actors, producers, writers, etc. So is the portrayal, in fanfiction or artwork posted on the board, of fictional romantic relationships between real individuals (e.g. Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor or Kevin Smith), or "shipping" actors as opposed to characters (e.g., expressing the hope that Lucy and Renee will get together as a couple, or suggesting that they may be sexually attracted to each other).
3. Respect the pairing-specific forums. Subtext Zone is a place for supporters of Xena/Gabrielle as a romantic pairing (subtexters); Shipper Talk is a place for Xena/Ares fans (shippers). While posters who are not X/G or X/A fans can post in those forums, they are asked to respect the purpose of the forum and not argue against or challenge the relationship to which the forum is dedicated. However, it is not appropriate to make insulting/mocking comments in SZ about people who do not support X/G and/or do not see them as lovers, or about supporters of other pairings; likewise, bashing/mocking subtexters or shippers of other pairings is not allowed in ST. The rules of respect for fellow members apply everywhere on the board. All Ships Ahoy is a forum where any relationship on the show can be discussed in a supportive environment; if someone starts a thread about a particular relationship in ASA, comments slamming or arguing against that relationship are not allowed unless the thread starter specifically states s/he welcomes them.
3. No mention of illegal activities. That includes pirated DVDs or CDs and illegal downloads of full episodes (of Xena or any other show) or music. Do not ask where you can find such downloads or mention using them.
4. Do not post in all caps (whether in thread titles or the post itself); this is considered "cyber-shouting." Do not use "textspeak" such as "b4" for "before", "n e 1" for "anyone", "wat" for "what", 2 for "to" or "too," "ppl" for "people," "u r" for "you are," etc.; this may make your posts difficult to understand (particularly to non-native English speakers) and may also cause them to be taken less seriously.
5. Do not post sexually explicit material (images or text) in threads. Links to such material can be posted if accompanied by a disclaimer. However, links to pornographic sites are prohibited.
6. Please make sure your signature size (both image/text size and file size) conforms to XOC standards. Check the Signatures and avatars post for the image/file size restrictions.
7. Do not post images with very large file sizes (anything over 350 KB per single image) or use more than 10 images in a single post.
8. Do not mention trolls or troll activities, or bring in conflicts, arguments, or complaints from other boards or online communities (Xena or other).
9. If you have a problem, the moderators are here to help. If you feel that another poster is being rude, disrespectful or confrontational, or otherwise violating board rules, do not try to "handle the problem" yourself; alert a moderator either in the thread or by personal message. The mods are listed at the top of each forum.
We prefer to resolve all problems with board members in a friendly fashion. However, blatant and repeated violations of the rules -- which amount to violations of the rights of other board members -- will result in sanctions up to banning from the board (see more here).
OTHER HELPFUL HINTS:
* If you would like a "Happy birthday" thread on your special day, put down your birthday in this thread. It will also be entered in the XOC calendar.
* If you'd like to be able to chat with XOC members off-board, check out the XOC members contact info thread.
* If you need help figuring out how to create a signature, post images and links, etc., please check out the Help forum.
XOC is a moderated board with rules. The purpose of the rules is not to squelch anyone's freedom, it's to ensure that most people can discuss the show they love in an environment free of flaming, insults, ridicule, baiting, and fights. The full text of the rules can be found here. Below is a condensed version that recapitulates the most important rules of posting on XOC.
1. Treat other members and their opinions with courtesy and respect. Absolutely no name-calling, confrontational posts, or comments that insult, put down, or ridicule other posters and their opinions (such as stating that someone's argument is "stupid," "crazy," or "lame," accusing another poster of dishonesty, or saying that someone who holds a particular viewpoint is "blind," "deluded," "in denial," etc.). Also prohibited are comments that insult a group of people based on race, gender, religion, sexual orientation or sexual identity, as well as baseless accusations of bigotry (e.g., suggesting that anyone who does not support the Xena/Gabrielle pairing is homophobic).
2. Be respectful toward the cast and staff of the show. Criticism of someone's work is fine, but personal insults are unacceptable, as is gossip and innuendo about the private lives of actors, producers, writers, etc. So is the portrayal, in fanfiction or artwork posted on the board, of fictional romantic relationships between real individuals (e.g. Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor or Kevin Smith), or "shipping" actors as opposed to characters (e.g., expressing the hope that Lucy and Renee will get together as a couple, or suggesting that they may be sexually attracted to each other).
3. Respect the pairing-specific forums. Subtext Zone is a place for supporters of Xena/Gabrielle as a romantic pairing (subtexters); Shipper Talk is a place for Xena/Ares fans (shippers). While posters who are not X/G or X/A fans can post in those forums, they are asked to respect the purpose of the forum and not argue against or challenge the relationship to which the forum is dedicated. However, it is not appropriate to make insulting/mocking comments in SZ about people who do not support X/G and/or do not see them as lovers, or about supporters of other pairings; likewise, bashing/mocking subtexters or shippers of other pairings is not allowed in ST. The rules of respect for fellow members apply everywhere on the board. All Ships Ahoy is a forum where any relationship on the show can be discussed in a supportive environment; if someone starts a thread about a particular relationship in ASA, comments slamming or arguing against that relationship are not allowed unless the thread starter specifically states s/he welcomes them.
3. No mention of illegal activities. That includes pirated DVDs or CDs and illegal downloads of full episodes (of Xena or any other show) or music. Do not ask where you can find such downloads or mention using them.
4. Do not post in all caps (whether in thread titles or the post itself); this is considered "cyber-shouting." Do not use "textspeak" such as "b4" for "before", "n e 1" for "anyone", "wat" for "what", 2 for "to" or "too," "ppl" for "people," "u r" for "you are," etc.; this may make your posts difficult to understand (particularly to non-native English speakers) and may also cause them to be taken less seriously.
5. Do not post sexually explicit material (images or text) in threads. Links to such material can be posted if accompanied by a disclaimer. However, links to pornographic sites are prohibited.
6. Please make sure your signature size (both image/text size and file size) conforms to XOC standards. Check the Signatures and avatars post for the image/file size restrictions.
7. Do not post images with very large file sizes (anything over 350 KB per single image) or use more than 10 images in a single post.
8. Do not mention trolls or troll activities, or bring in conflicts, arguments, or complaints from other boards or online communities (Xena or other).
9. If you have a problem, the moderators are here to help. If you feel that another poster is being rude, disrespectful or confrontational, or otherwise violating board rules, do not try to "handle the problem" yourself; alert a moderator either in the thread or by personal message. The mods are listed at the top of each forum.
We prefer to resolve all problems with board members in a friendly fashion. However, blatant and repeated violations of the rules -- which amount to violations of the rights of other board members -- will result in sanctions up to banning from the board (see more here).
OTHER HELPFUL HINTS:
* If you would like a "Happy birthday" thread on your special day, put down your birthday in this thread. It will also be entered in the XOC calendar.
* If you'd like to be able to chat with XOC members off-board, check out the XOC members contact info thread.
* If you need help figuring out how to create a signature, post images and links, etc., please check out the Help forum.
