Federation Commander

We want this to be a fun and comfortable place where the company and its customers can interact. We want to have as few rules as possible, but some rules are needed, and no set of rules can cover everything. We will use our best judgement to handle problems as they appear, without forcing anyone to read a full page of rules. We reserve the right to reorganize the board and clean out dead topics or old messages without warning.

1. The most basic rule is to use common sense and be polite; if something is insulting, or hurts the company, you can expect to see it deleted without warning, explanation, or apology. You can ask by Email why we deleted your message, but if we think the reason is obvious and that you are just arguing, we may not reply. Repeated rules violations will result in the suspension of posting privileges. (It is actually a violation of the Forum Rules to discuss, debate, question, or protest the Forum Rules on the Forum itself. You can do this by Email but may not get a reply.) Feel free to disagree with the company management, as long as you can do it politely and respectfully.
2. Do not personally insult anyone, although if you don't like their proposed new ship or disagree with their interpretation of a rules question, feel free to politely point out the failings of their argument. If you are insulted, post a reply stating that you protest the insult but do not return insult for insult. If the situation continues, Email support@starfleetgames.com or rules@starfleetgames.com and ask for a referee.

3. Absolutely no discussion, mention, promotion, or support can be given on this forum for unauthorized items "for use with (our products)" published by companies other than ADB. No links can be posted to web sites selling our products; we have our own shopping cart.

4. We have an on-line policy (found at www.StarFleetGames.com) which allows various private web sites to post creative ideas by various players. Sites which operate within that policy can be mentioned; sites which do not, cannot. Nothing from this forum can be posted to any other forum without permission from ADB, Inc.

5. Everything posted to this forum becomes the property of ADB, Inc., immediately. However, if it is used in a product, you will be credited and compensated under our standard terms just as if you had sent the item in by mail. This is of course subject to standard terms and conditions. Development of new material for the games is done at www.StarFleetGames.com/discus and not here. That BBS requires your real name so we can credit authors properly

6. Because a few Gamers cannot disagree without being disagreeable, all discussions of politics, current military operations, religion, gun control, abortion, and similar "hot button" issues are banned and subject to immediate deletion.

7. Rather than post pictures, please upload them to a picture web hosting site such as www.PhotoBucket.com (it's free) and post the url rather than the picture. If you post a picture, please be aware that it is subject to approval of forum administration and may be immediately deleted because of size, content, posting without approval (if it's something to do with products), etc.

8. Submissions of new material for possible publication in our games should be sent to design@starfleetgames.com and not post here. (Federation Commander material should not be posted anywhere. Material for Star Fleet Battles can be posted under the web policy at www.starfleetgames.com. Fan art should be posted to photobucket and not here (that way it remains the property of the artist, but note that if you do art of ADB's property it is a derivative work not usable elsewhere without ADB Inc. permission.)

9. Spamming the post will not be tolerated. Any spam posted will be deleted upon admin finding it as well as the user being banned. Promotion of outside products MUST be OK'd through SVC and forum admin prior to posting.

10. URLs WILL BE CHECKED!!! Make sure they are tasteful, or you will be deleted as a user.

***PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT ADMIN MUST ACTIVATE YOUR ACCOUNT BEFORE YOU CAN LOGIN AND POST. IF THIS IS DONE ON A WEEKEND OR A DAY I AM GONE (MARKETING DIRECTOR) IT MAY BE A FEW DAYS BEFORE THIS GETS DONE. ***

Some additional rules to keep in mind ...

11. No posting Paramount copyright material. This includes person's names and ship names from the various TV series and movies. You may occasionally refer to them indirectly. But posts centered around certain characters or ships is not permitted. Offending posts and topics will be deleted, and not necessarily with any warning or explanation.

Just to be clear, ADB only has rights to Star Trek elements that are already in the game. If the Star Trek element is not already in the game, ADB does not have rights to it. This applies to names, ship names, ship types, weapons, technologies, and so on.

Also, please realize that, outside ADB, it doesn't matter who made the Star Trek related material, it is owned by Paramount. So, anything made for or about Star Trek by FASA, LUG, Taldren, EA, and whoever else is actually owned by Paramount. So, suggesting that ADB talk with those various entities about licensing them is irrelevant. The only one that need be talked to is Paramount, and they don't talk much with ADB.

12. In light of rule #11, be aware that this applies to scenarios, ship suggestions, and RPG adventures. For example, if a scenario suggestion includes Trek specific names, then it is not permissible. Note, however, that situations modeled on film is perfectly OK. You just can't perfectly replicate it, or use the names.

13. Ranks based on post counts are a fun feature on this forum. However, posting nonsense posts or posts that are deemed to just be for the purposes of your post count are not permitted. If this is done, posts will be deleted. Also, if it is repeatedly done, your rank will be overridden and blanked out.

Just what defines an offending post is subjective. Sorry, but that is just how it works. The Moderators and Administrators reserve the right to make those judgments. Examples include "me-too" posts, one word answers (which can actually have more than one word, but are effectively the same), way-off topic, and chatter as chatter.

14. Unlike most forums, thread necromancy is not forbidden or discouraged. When bringing back a long dormant thread, please make sure the new post is salient, on-topic, and adds to the conversation. If in doubt just make a new thread. If your post is not enough to justify a new topic, then think really hard as to whether that post falls into the category of #13.

The VIP code required to register to the Forum can be found at the very bottom of the Federation Commander FAQ list.

As a follow-up to rule #10, if you include a link in your signature or in your profiles "webpage" link that is against the rules, any post you make will be deleted without explanation until you fix your signature and/or webpage link in your profile.

Note that URLs that advertise things that have nothing to do with gaming or FC/SFB/ADB will trigger this. (For example advertising shoes or kitchen remodeling.) Also, any URL that no sane user should ever click on will also trigger this.

Just trying to keep the Forums safe. Thank you!