Code of Conduct

(1) Play Nice

• Respect your peers — Treat others and their contributions with respect and foster considerate dialogue.

• Do not use offensive language — Inappropriate, crude, or abusive language is not only unacceptable, it’s a lousy way to convince anyone of your point.

• Remember, there are no stupid questions — Everyone’s input is welcomed and honored. “Flaming” others or demeaning their participation may build your self-esteem but it won’t help build community.

• No one comes here to be bullied or insulted.

• Report inappropriate behavior — Remove and/or report disrespectful or provocative content, but refrain from seeking vigilante justice.

• You can tell someone that you disagree with their idea or opinion and give reasons why, in a constructive fashion, but turning comments into personal insults will get that comment deleted. NO EXCEPTIONS. The comment could be from Alan Ball himself, but if he calls another user "stupid," the comment is gone. Making repeated inflammatory comments can result in banning.

• TRUE BLOOD is a show that lends itself to theories, speculation and spoilers. Some people come up with some very mundane opinions about the show while others come up with the most out there ideas imaginable. All are welcome here; however, please distinguish between theory, speculation and spoiler. See the Spoilers / Speculation topic below for more information.

(2) Advertising/Promoting Other Sites or Charities

The only listings allowed within the pages of the wiki is on the True Blood Links page and only TRUE BLOOD related sites are permitted to be listed there. If you advertise for a non- site anywhere on the pages or in comments, it will be deleted. If moderators notice a habit of continually posting spam links, you will be banned.

For registered users, your profile page (which can only be edited by yourself and moderators) is yours to use however you please. Feel free to use your profile to advertise your personal site.

(3) Canon vs. Canon vs. Fanfic

Canon is a term used to define factual reference information relating to a fictional universe.

• For TRUE BLOOD, the canon is considered to be anything we've seen in an aired episode or that has been confirmed by Alan Ball (and can be cited).

• For Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse novels, the canon are the published books in the Southern Vampire Mysteries series. Because TRUE BLOOD is only loosely based on the novels, anything factually or speculatively based upon the novels, is considered SPOILERS in the TRUE BLOOD world.
  

Fanfiction or fan art is anything inferred or created by fans.

(4) Censorship

As moderators we strive to be impartial and objective. We will never delete a page, content or comment solely because we disagree with the opinion stated. Nor will we keep a comment that contains offensive material solely because we agree with it. We will however delete any comments that break the above rule, regardless of the opinion expressed in them. If a discussion has not yet started around an inflammatory comment, a moderator will delete it without notice. If you are a registered user, we will send you a message, when warranted, to explain why a comment, page or content was deleted.

(5) Copyrighted Material and Plagiarism

Videos are permitted on the site, but please be smart about it. Posting a YouTube video of an entire episode of TRUE BLOOD will just call attention to it and HBO has the right to ask YouTube (and us) to take the video down, as it is a copyrighted material. Please stick to fan-made videos when possible and applicable.

Plagiarism (copying information from other sources without citing the source) is not permitted and any information found to be plagiarism will be deleted.

Repeated violations (after a warning) will result in banning.

(6) Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation

In contrast to a chat room, where you might find yourself typing quickly to keep up with a conversation, in the wiki format you have all the time in the world to edit your page or write your comment. Before you hit that save button, take a minute to look over what you've written and make sure it all sounds and looks right. There's a neat spellcheck button in the EasyEdit Toolbar (and if you're using Firefox, you'll have auto spellcheck as you type). Keep in mind that spellcheck won't catch misspelled words that are actually other words.

Also, as a point of internet etiquette, TYPING IN ALL CAPS LIKE THIS IS THE EQUIVILANT OF SHOUTING and no one likes it. On a related note, tYpInG lIkE tHiS iS rEaLlY hArD tO rEaD; please try to avoid it. Same thing for bolding, italicising or underling large sections of text. Formatting like that should be used for emphasis. People are more likely to read your text and get your point if you make it easy on the eye.

Also, If you notice a mistake, whether it is a grammar or spelling mistake, or wrong information, do not write a comment saying there is a mistake. The comment can confuse people once the mistake is fixed. Either fix the mistake yourself, or contact a moderator and ask to fix the mistake.

(7) Post Spreeing

One of the features on this wiki is the Top Contributors feature. This highlights a randomly selected portion of the members with the highest number of contributions. Features like this help make people very proud to work on a wiki, but unfortunately some users become fixated on these type of lists or features and will make large numbers of edits and comments to try and make this list. This is known as Post Spreeing and it will not be tolerated here.

The following is a partial list of behavior considered indicative of Post Spreeing:

• Making off-topic additions to pages or comment threads.

• Making multiple, small edits to the same page or pages in a short amount of time.

• Posting the same comment on multiple pages.

• Posting a comment that covers the same content as an existing, active comment.

Once Post Spreeing is suspected, the comments or additions will be deleted and the user will be warned. If the behavior persists after a second warning, the user will be banned.

(8) Promote the Community Spirit

• Use the Moderators as a resource — Reach out to the Moderators for guidance or advice on how best to leverage the site. They are there to help.

• Share the experience — Be an ambassador of the community by enrolling others in the discussion, sponsoring a good debate, and setting a good, collaborative example.

(9) Spoilers and Speculation

What is a spoiler for TRUE BLOOD?

• Speculation tied to spoilers about TRUE BLOOD.

• Anything you have heard, read or KNOW that the rest of us don't.

• Information from unofficial channels before an episode airs.

What is not a spoiler for TRUE BLOOD?

• Anything seen in an episode preview or commercial.

• Anything you have read about TRUE BLOOD in publications like TV Guide.

What is a Minor *Spoiler* for TRUE BLOOD?

• Interviews or videos from the actors themselves.

• "Hints" from existing books that are more anecdotal to the news or commented item than the rest of the content.

What is a Major *SPOILER* for TRUE BLOOD?

• Pre-released reviews, pre-released scripts, pre-released videos, casting-calls.

• Non-HBO TRUE BLOOD set photos.

• Full-fledged existing books or future books only news.

Please be considerate of others ... not all Truebies have read the novels and others simply don't want to know spoilers.