What are the rules of the forum?

  1. General Behavior
  2. Forum Rules
  3. Post Layouts
  1. General Behavior

    1. Don't flame or troll.

      Treat other users with respect. Don't provoke others.

    2. Use HTML and CSS responsibly.

      While we allow the use of HTML and CSS to stylize your posts and profile, do not use it in unintended ways. Manipulating the site scheme, name color, etc. is not acceptable.

    3. Don't register multiple accounts under any circumstances.

      If you are banned, registering a new account will make things worse. Multiple accounts for manipulating polls, user karma, or other stuff is strictly prohibited as well.

    4. Do not upload or link to copyrighted material.

      Most importantly, do NOT upload full ROMs (.nds files) to the uploader. Use patches instead. Click HERE for more information. This also includes commercial music, video and software and anything you do not have the rights to distribute.

    5. Do not submit harmful material.

      This includes files containing viruses and other malware.

    6. Do not annoy people with private messages.

      Don't ask NSMB hacking questions. Don't beg for stuff. Don't ask people to do something for you. Don't ask people to reply to the question you posted. If you do it too much and someone complains, you will lose ability to send PMs and/or get banned.

  2. Forum Rules

    1. Do not spam.

      Avoid creating unnecessary posts with little or no thought involved.

    2. Do not advertise.

      Do not create threads to advertise your own website, forums, etc.

    3. Use proper spelling and grammar.

      Proof-read your posts and avoid using chatspeak, leetspeak, etc.

    4. Post in the relevant forums.

      For example, don't ask NSMB hacking questions in the General Chat forum.

    5. Look for existing threads first.

      When seeking help, there is a chance that the question you want to ask has been asked before. Be sure to check for existing threads/tutorials, or in the F.A.Q. section.

    6. Don't backseat moderate.

      Don't tell the staff what to do, and furthermore do not try to enforce your own rules on the site. You are welcome to politely point things out to other users, but you are not superior to them and should not act as such. If you have a concern or question, please send the appropriate staff member a private message.

    7. Don't bump old threads.

      "Bumping" means posting in threads that haven't had any new posts for a while without adding anything meaningful to the conversation. As a general rule, don't post in threads that have been dead for one month. There can be exceptions, such as a thread you made, or a thread about a specific topic that has been alive for long, or if you're posting something really important specific to that topic. Just use common sense and think whether it makes more sense to create a new thread for your post instead.

  3. Post Layouts

    1. Your signature CAN'T be taller than 200 pixels including pictures, links, text and everything else.

    2. Your layout should generally have a dark color scheme. A very bright layout HURTS the eyes because most of the forum themes are dark color schemes. Dark color scheme means dark background and light text.

    3. Don't use eye searing color schemes.

      Make sure that your text color goes well with your background. Keep in mind that some colors are very hard to distinguish on some LCD screens. Always ensure good contrast.

    4. Make sure that your font has a comfortable size.

      Do not use fonts which are too difficult to read.

    5. It must be easy to locate your post text.

      You should generally never place anything above or to the left of your post text. Make sure that your post text is well seperated from the rest of your layout. It should not be possible to mistake any part of your layout for your post text.

    6. Minimize the amount of distractions in your layout.

      Don't use large images or flashy animations that draw attention from the post text.

    7. Your layout must work well in every major desktop browser and on every reasonable screen resolution.

      Major browsers include Internet Explorer 8, Internet Explorer 9, Firefox, Opera, Chrome and Safari. Popular screen resolutions range from 1024x768 to 1920x1200.

    8. You must use the uploader to host your layout files.

      External hosting services are unreliable and slow. Using the uploader is is the only way we can ensure fast loading times. Also, try to make your image files as small as possible in file size.

    9. Don't customize your username color.

      Custom username colors are reserved to identify staff users, and stylizing your username color might create confusion to new users on who is a staff member or who isn't.

    10. If your layout breaks one of the rules above, or is overall horrible, you will be asked to fix it. If you fail to do it within a reasonable amount of time, your layout will be removed.

    11. If you persist into having a terrible layout despite staff continuously removing it, you will be blocked from having a layout, probably forever.

What is the strike system?

In most cases, the staff at the board follows a three-strike system when it comes to punishments. For most minor offenses, an offending user will be warned about his/her conduct through a PM. If they continue to break the rules, they will be banned for 24 hours (possibly more if it was a serious offense, up to 72 hours). If the user continues to cause trouble, they will receive a second warning, possibly followed by another ban which could last anywhere from 72 hours to a week. Finally, if the user is still causing trouble after all these warnings, they will be permanently banned from the board.

Harsher bans may be issued if a user racks up multiple warnings in a short amount of time or does something idiotic such as flooding the board or posting questionable material.

I'm new, where should I start?

The best place for newcomers to start is the New Members thread where you can introduce yourself to the board. If you have any questions not addressed by The Rules, feel free to ask them in the proper forum.

What can I do about my thread being closed/trashed/deleted?

First off, don't complain on the board about a thread being closed or deleted, and don't single out a certain mod or admin as being responsible. This will result in a ban. Learn from your mistakes and move on.

If you feel you need clarification on why the thread was closed, or if you feel a mistake was made, contact a staff member, preferably a local moderator who's in charge of the relevant forum, and politely explain the problem.

Help! I've been banned! What do I do now?

First off, do not create a new account to complain about your ban, as that will just result in a permanent ban from the board. If you feel that the ban was unfair or if you wish to know exactly why you were banned, PM an admin and calmly ask about it. Aside from that, the only thing you can do is wait for the ban to expire and make sure you know why it happened.

What's with the funky colors everyone's names are written in?

The color of a given user's name is determined by that user's sex and power level.

Male Female N/A
Banned user
Normal user Normal user Normal user
Local moderator Local moderator Local moderator
Full moderator Full moderator Full moderator
Administrator Administrator Administrator
Root Root Root

So basically, if a user's name is written in a solid yellow, that user is an administrator of unspecified gender, whereas a bright blue indicates an ordinary male user. Note that some themes may change these colors to better match their general style. If an user's name is in a different color from the ones above, said user is either a Full Moderator or an Administrator, as they can choose a custom color to their liking.

What are the user rankings?

It's all listed on the Ranks page. Ranks nobody is on and which you didn't reach aren't listed (to keep some suspense), unless you're a full moderator (moderating all the forums) or administrator on this board.

How do I edit a poll I made?

You don't. Poll editing carries a risk of gross abuse. Imagine if you will, that you make a poll about something, and you don't like the results. With poll editing, you could then go and switch the answers around. If you really need to edit a poll, ask an admin with database access (for example,  Dirbaio) to edit it for you.

Is it possible to make a post layout specific for a theme?

Iif you link to external CSS files you can use the $theme variable in your post header to link in specific versions:

<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="http://.../MyLayout_$theme.css" /> becomes <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="http://.../MyLayout_nsmb3.css" /> with the current board settings.

The following theme names are possible: cheesewheel, win31, nsmb4, abxd20, dfrac, fantasy, cycle, mudkipz, pwny, test, oldmetal, zenburn, abxd30, gold, sotd_nolag, dailyflat, asmut, firewave, neptune, silkyroom, halloween, sotd, night, dailykp, orange, fondue, circuit, umbreon, pinklines, green, dos, nsmb1, yule, flatgray, glossy, monogreen, cheesealt, trash, Holo, unnamed, roundish, classicsharp, classic, nsmb2, cheese, nsmb3, bstruct, grayscale, cubeminer, lighttest, nsmb5, panda

How can I become a moderator or administrator?

If us administrators trust you enough for this. Don't ask us, we may ask you if we ever feel you worthy of being promoted. Being a good and regular member helps, while asking for this doesn't. It also depends whether we feel a need to promote more people, which isn't so often the case.

How can I get a copy of this board software?

You can get the latest stable version at the ABXD Devboard. Keep in mind that you'll need some place to run it on, and that place must support PHP and MySQL. Having basic skills in PHP and MySQL database management can be very useful.

Are cookies used for this board?

Yes, it uses cookies to store your login information. You can still use this board with cookies disabled, but you won't be able to log in.

We also use Google Analytics to collect statistics about visitors. These are anonymous and aren't used for evil purposes.

General disclaimer

The site does not own and cannot be held responsible for statements made by members on the forum. This site is offered as-is to the user. Any statements made on the board may be altered or removed at the discretion of the staff. Furthermore, all users are expected to have read, understood, and agreed to The Rules before posting.

We do not sell, distribute or otherwise disclose member information like IP or email addresses to any third party under any circumstances. If you have questions about any information contained in this FAQ, please send a private message with your question to a moderator or administrator before posting.