Forum Rules

[EA_ActionMan]

Welcome to the EA UK Community

• The Moderation Team
• The Rules
  1. Actions with Zero-tolerance
  2. Actions resulting in a warning
  3. Other rules

The Moderation Team

Administrators – From time to time you may notice EA Administrators working within the forums and contributing to threads created by other users. These people are employees of EA and responsible for the upkeep of the website and community. This team of administrators reserve the right to remove or modify the privileges of any member, remove posts and threads and any other actions necessary to ensure the community operates safely and securely.

Administrators:

• EA_ActionMan - UK Social Online Community Manager (Action, MMO, Racing, RPG, Shooters)
• EA_crash7800 - NA Battlefield 3 Community Manager
• EAUK_Aurora – Community Representative
• EAUK_Dogbert - Community Representative
  
• EA_Rom - Football World Community Manager
• Zh1nt0 – DICE Community Manager

Moderators – There is also a team of moderators working on the forum who are non-EA volunteers. Members of the Moderation Team have been selected by the Administrators over the years and some are based in particular game forums. Please note their views do not represent those of EA and EA will not be held responsible for any personal views expressed by these individuals.

Super Moderators- those Moderators who are able to moderate in all forums:

• Adroit
• CrazyCanuck
  
• SmartCanuck1988
• VectorRoll
• ZonalFear

Moderators:

• ayrshirelass- FIFA Series
• chickndipp- Command and Conquer Series
• Wepeeler- FIFA Series, UEFA and FightNight Series
• AdzHolmes – FIFA Series
• Lanky – FIFA Series & Battlefield
• ThePixie86 - FIFA Series
  

There are also other EA employees active in the forums who are members of some of EA’s development studios, namely DICE, Criterion and EA Vancouver. Not all of these members are Moderators and some are here to gain information and feedback or to help with their specific titles. Please treat them with the same respect that you would expected to be treated with by other members.


The Rules

The below guidelines explain what behaviour is expected of you and what behaviour you should expect from other community members. These guidelines apply to, but are not limited to, Blogs, Posts, Comments, Messages, Images and Videos, collectively named “Posts”.

In a bid to ensure a safer and more secure environment for all users these guidelines fall in to two categories; those actions that will not be tolerated under any circumstance and those that will result in a warning which will be followed by a ban for multiple offences.

If you spot a post you feel requires the attention of a Moderator you are encouraged to report it using the “Report Post” button at the top right of each post.

The Administrator and Moderator team will endeavour to respond to all reported posts expeditiously.

Details of the EA Terms of Service can be found here; http://tos.ea.com/legalapp/WEBTERMS/US/en/PC/

Post Rules

It is requested that all posts are written in a constructive manner in order to start or add to a discussion and so that other users can also contribute in a constructive manner. Repeated failure to post constructively and constant disruptive comments will be viewed in a dim light and may invite action from a moderator or admin.

Posts must be made in English as this is an English language forum, any threads or posts that aren’t posted in a language other than English will be removed and the user infracted.

Actions with Zero-Tolerance

Conducting any of the following actions will result in immediate removal from the forum (account banning) without chance for appeal or removal of the associated ban.

1. Religions, National Hatred etc.- Posts that negatively portray religions or promote national hatred, either clear and/or masked and/or links to websites containing this type of language will result in a permanent ban. Posts that stereotype based on country, race or religion are unacceptable. Images, quotes, posts, avatars or signatures that are posted to provoke others for any reason will be removed and the poster will be banned.

2. Impersonating EA/DICE/Criterion employees or Moderators – Impersonating any EA employee or a Moderator will result in a permanent ban. Only vetted EA staff or EA partners are permitted to use the EA prefix on their username.

3. Posting Piracy information, Hacks or Trojans - Posting links to torrents, hacks, or viruses will result in an immediate ban. Asking for serial keys for illegally obtained copies of games or software will not be tolerated and will result in a ban.

Discussion of piracy and illegal torrents and the naming of sites related to these activities is also forbidden and will result in a ban.

4. Multiple Accounts - Each user is permitted one account only. Multiple accounts belonging to a single user will be removed. Those who continue to make additional accounts whether to get around a ban or to pose as different members will have all accounts closed.

5. Account Trading - Advertising your account for sale or trade, or advertising that you are looking for an account or characters to purchase through posts, links to other sites, will result in a permanent ban.

6. Pornography – Linking to, and the posting of, images related to or depicting pornography will result in the immediate and permanent banning of the member’s account without chance for appeal. Naming sites linked to or associated with pornography is also forbidden and will result in a ban. Photos or images from global advertising campaigns or TV shows are not permitted and will result in an infraction.

Moderators and admins of the forum are empowered to make decisions and appropriate judgement calls as to what does and does not fall into these categories and take any necessary action based on these guidelines.



Actions resulting in a Warning
Conducting any of the actions listed below will result in a warning before infractions are awarded. Should a user accrue 3 infractions they will have their user account permanently banned from use on the forum with no chance for appeal.

1. Swearing and Vulgarity – Actively working to get around the swear filter and posts containing or linking to profanity, obscenity, insults, personal attacks, accusations or abusive language will be deleted and will result in a warning. Continued disregard for this rule will result in infractions being received and multiple infractions will result in a ban. Do not post images that include inappropriate language or content.

Masking characters to get around the swear filter is still considered profanity, as is using abbreviations that stand for profanity. Post titles and PM's are subject to the same restrictions as post content. Using inappropriate words that are not filtered, especially when aimed at others is not acceptable and will be dealt with accordingly. Posting words that you know will be filtered can make the posts hard to understand and posts that contain many words that have been filtered are not acceptable.

2. Flaming, Harassing- This includes any kind of personal attack, flame, targeted harassment or intimidation either by posts or private messages. If you have concerns about the treatment you are receiving at the hands of another member, don’t respond in kind; report the posts or messages and feel free to contact a member of the Administration Team for assistance. Please do not post 'flame bait' to provoke others as this will be treated with the same punishment as if you were flaming.

3. Spamming - Spamming includes bumping, creating posts with the sole purpose of linking to another post, excessively communicating the same phrase, similar phrases, or pure gibberish, posting the same post multiple times, repeatedly posting the same topic in different places, 'in before the lock' posts or repeatedly posting images or smilies only. Remember, the edit button is your friend and duplicate posts will be merged.

4. Trading/Gambling - Trades of any kind other than cards or coins in the case of FIFA Ultimate Team are not permitted. Any instances will be dealt with accordingly and the member in question will receive a warning or in extreme cases an immediate account ban. Gambling of any kind is not permitted, including Pink Slip arrangements or lotteries.

5. Advertising – Advertising pay-to-play gaming sites, products or items for sale, referral links or advert links/images in forum signatures, avatars posts, blogs, profiles or messages is not permitted.

However, advertising free gaming fan sites and free to enter league sites is permitted.

6. Graphics, Links, and Screenshots - All files and content linked to from a post are subject to the same content guidelines as described above. If posting graphics from external sources please make sure to obtain permission from the original owner first. It is not acceptable to post scans of magazine articles, books or other publications on the forum.

7. Signatures and Avatars – Signatures and avatars must be suitable for the forum environment. You are not allowed to use the EA logo in your avatar. The maximum size of your avatar is 80x80 pixels. Your signature must be no more than 400x150 pixels and be no more than 500KB. Full links in your signature are not allowed so please use the URL tags. Any link that you add must lead to an appropriate site or image under the other forum rules. Please note that any references to racism, swearing, sexism, ageism or other inappropriate content will result in the member’s account being immediately and permanently banned without appeal.

8. Language – Text and Leet speak are not permitted on these forums. We ask that all posts are made in English.

9. Naming and Shaming - Naming and shaming is not permitted on the forum. This is in regard to those you believe may be cheating in any of the games. Any references of this type will be removed. If you would like to report information regarding those who may be cheating then please contact a member of the EA Support team. Do NOT post it.

10. Warnings, Infractions Bans - It is not appropriate to post about any warnings, infractions or bans given to yourself or others on the forum and any threads made for this purpose will be closed. Posts relating to warnings, infractions or bans may be removed.

Please be aware abuse of the “Report Post” system will be subject to the same discipline as abuse of any other system in place on this site.

11. Posting Personal Details of Others – Posting personal details of others users including but not limited to name, telephone number, address, date of birth is not permitted and any user that does will be infracted. Continual disregard for this rule will result in a permanent forum ban.

Other Rules

1. Distribution of Personal Information - We advise against posting your contact details on the forum and will remove any email/IM or postal addresses or telephone numbers that we see posted in threads. You may add your email and IM addresses to your profiles if you wish. Do not give out telephone numbers or addresses for yourselves or others on the forum for your own safety.

2. Personal Messages - PMs are subject to the same moderation as the rest of the site. Sending offensive personal messages to someone will be subject to the same discipline as posts. If you wish to report a PM please click the triangle icon to the left of the message as you would when reporting a post.

3. Age limitations- A Family Forum - You must be 13 years old in order to post on the forums. This is due to local law and EA policy and any members found to be under 13 will have their account closed. The EA Community Forum is a place for people of all ages to gain information and therefore all posts should be appropriate for people to read without upset and offence.

4. Forum Usernames – EA reserves the right to change the forum username of any user without notice if it is deemed inappropriate or breaching any other rule within these guidelines.

5. Removal of Disruptive Users - EA reserves the right to remove users from the forum without warning if they are judged to be disruptive, negative towards other users or not positively contributing to the community.

Failure to follow these guidelines can result in your posts being moved, locked or deleted, and may get your access privilege temporarily or permanently removed.

EA Community Guidelines are subject to change and evolve without notice.