Druchii.net Policy and FAQ.


We often get compliments about this forum and that it is a nice place to hang out and discuss everything related to our beloved Druchii and even more in a mature way. Since we all like compliments, we are going to ensure, that they keep coming in. To do so, there are a few simple rules for you to follow, the most important ones outlined below.
Please note that, while we are more lenient in chat and moderate strictly on a case by case basis there, all of these same rules apply to every druchii.net forum.

Thanks for Reading this through!


1. Posting guidelines.

Search before you speak.
Before you start a topic, take a little time to search to see that it has not been covered before. Keep in mind that if it has been discussed before but not for quite a while (a few months, at least) then posting it is OK as long as you have something else to bring up.

Let's say that you want to ask people what their favourite Dark Elf unit is. This question has come up time and again, and it's a little vexing for the regulars. Try checking the FAQ section first or, if you can't find it there, try using the search function to make sure that it hasn't been discussed recently. Because the search function can sometimes be cumbersome, surfing through the forum’s first page for the topic in question will usually satisfy anyone who may take offense.

Reviving topics, a.k.a. Necromancy.
A new user may come across an old topic (say, more than one month old) and find that it's an interesting one. There is, of course, the urge to speak your mind in that thread. Please do not: it's annoying for other regulars to suddenly come across a topic of discussion that has long since been discussed to death. This does seem to conflict with the searching rule of etiquette, but that's not the case. If it's an old topic and you have more to add, simply create a new post, provide a link to the old one (if you think it's necessary), and make your statement. Make sure that you are saying something new, though! We're Internet users, we get bored easily.
There is an exception for that rule, which is when a thread is specifically designed for the long term, such as a tactical discussion, or a painting log.

Polls.
At their best, these can be very useful threads because you can get a concise log of others' opinions about something. But be careful when posting a poll: it shouldn't be mindless! For instance, you might want to ask people what sort of Dark Elf army they collect. You could simply create a poll and list a few options, but this is mindless.
It's boring. But let's say you posted this poll but asked also what sort of tactics they employed with that army and how successful it was (done in post form, of course) - that would be more thoughtful and could lead to some interesting discussions.

Double posts.
Several short posts made by the same user in a row raise a suspicion of a try to increase the post count. It irritates many D.net users.
Sometimes, an Internet lag causes a user to hit twice the “post” button. It is easy to delete the last post of a thread, as long as nobody has posted an answer: either hit the “x” button next to “edit”, or, while editing the post, tick the box “Delete this post”.
Especially when you start a new thread, make sure you did not start two of the same, which would be confusing for the readers – especially since both could expand with parallel answers.

Sometimes, a user wishes to add another idea to a post he just made. If the post is less than one hour old and nobody has answered, edit the post instead of making a new one. Just use the edit function (found in the upper right corner of all your posts). That is easier to read for the other users.
However, if you feel that the interval was long enough to make a new post following your own post, it is polite to start with an apology.

On the other hand, it is perfectly acceptable to divide a very long post in several shorter posts, in order to ease the reading and to facilitate future edition of the posts.

Etiquette.
A general rule is to just think before you post. We do expect all members to take their time with their posts. A post that makes no sense makes you look like an idiot. If taking three minutes means you post something coherent, you'll be thanked by all.
Before you click the "Submit" button, just give the post a quick once-over and think about whether you've said anything of importance. If the post is inconsequential, just don't bother.

Constructive Criticism.
Druchii.net is not about getting large post counts, it's about intelligent dialogue.
You are well entitled to have an opinion. There is always a way to express it in a rather positive way, with explanations and suggestions. This will upgrade the general level of the forum, and you wish to belong to a forum with a reputation for high quality, don’t you? So be part of the solution and provide help rather than discouragement.

Thread titles.
When you start a new thread, please select a title which is both concise and comprehensive about the topic you want to raise. The title should allow a good insight about what to expect in the thread.
Don’t use only capital letters. It draws mostly bad tempered attention.

Spelling.
Grammar, punctuation and other such things.

Please use proper English words on the forums - this is not a text message or a chatroom, so take your time, and show your wish to make other people’s time in D.net enjoyable. Remember that the site is widely used by people for whom English is not the mother language. They will appreciate to read academic English rather than slang words that they won’t understand.

No textspeak. For example, "Ur so gr8! thx bai."
1337speak and general mutilation of the English language will not be tolerated, and may well result in your post getting outright deleted, no matter its intrinsic value.

Spelling mistakes happen; one or two can be overlooked. We're not expecting literary prose, we appreciate that many of our members either speak another language primarily or have issues with literacy. For those who don't know English that well, you can always download OpenOffice - an excellent freeware works suite - and use the one it includes. Computers have spell checkers, the internet has dictionaries. And even if it still isn't great, we know you've tried.

When punctuation and capitalization are so painfully glaring that the reader needs a moment to digest what you're saying, it results in making people stop reading the post. Examples include not capitalizing the first letter of a sentence; capitalizing random words in the middle of sentences; over-use of commas; incorrect use of semicolons; not using periods to end sentences.

Please also make an effort to paragraph your posts, especially when posting long pieces of text that people are expected to read in a single setting. Remember, indents don't work on phpBB boards - use two returns instead. Such things can go a long way to help you to be understood by the rest of us.

Images.
Members may post images and pictures in any thread on druchii.net, but there are a couple of conditions attached:
- The pictures should be no bigger than 800 x 600.
- If you are posting a large number of images, make a note in your thread title that it's going to be image heavy. While most users' connections will be able to cope with such threads, it's unfair to subject those with slower connections to excruciatingly long downloads without some warning!
You don’t know how to find out how big an image is? Well, here’s how to do it in Firefox and Internet Explorer. Right click on the image and click properties, a box will appear that tell you the size of the image.

Signatures.
We allow images in signatures here on druchii.net but please do not abuse this. For the sake of bandwidth and people with slower connections please limit any images in your signature to less than 30KB with NO exceptions, with a maximum height of 150 pixels. If you notice someone with too large a signature, please report it to a moderator. This is very important and slower users can find it very frustrating.
In addition, the file size of your avatars can be up to 10KB. The maximum dimensions remain at 80 x 80 pixels.



2. Off limits.

Off-topic.
While a little side-tracking is quite alright, saying something completely against the topic of discussion is frowned upon (and can be considered spam, too!). For instance, if someone is making a point about the offensive capabilities of the Dark Elves and uses the Corsair as an example, it's not alright to say "Corsairs suck" or something similar.
Keep on the topic!
Discussions can also mutate. Adding something to the original discussion when the topic has shifted somewhat is frowned upon as well.

Spamming.
We do not tolerate Spamming!
Please note our definition of spam: A spam post is a post that contributes nothing to the discussion at hand. Examples are post with just a smiley, “WOW” posts and similar mindless one sentence posts. We urge people to put a bit of thought and effort in to their posts.
Still, a post which expresses deep thanks for the helpful work made remains welcome – all the more if it stresses out which parts were particularly appreciated.

Posting several posts after one another in the same thread is also considered spamming.
If you have problems judging where the borderline is from what is acceptable and what is not, then feel free to check with one of the moderators/administrators beforehand. Better safe than sorry!

Flaming.
If you see a flaming post, do NOT reply. Instead contact one of the moderators for that forum and let us handle it.
If you reply, you just prolong the lifespan of the flamers and give them what they want. So ignore and let us trained professionals deal with it. That’s the Druchii way, after all: smile openly and call an assassin to do the dirty job for you.
Also, do not post any flames! Pretty obvious, eh?

Harassment.
We do not tolerate harassment in any form! There is nothing against a friendly stab in the back sometimes - we are the Druchii after all - but personal insults and similar offensiveness do not belong here! This also includes unwelcome sexual innuendoes, prejudicial comments related to race, gender, and sexual preference, and generally anything that is uncomfortable for another party.
People are different, some take offense easier than others, so do not judge others by your own standards. If they ask you to stop doing something, stop it!
Again, if you do not know where the borderline is from what is acceptable and what is not, then feel free to check with one of the moderators/administrators beforehand. Better safe than sorry!

P-A-N-S-Y & G-A-Y: Offensive and Inappropriate Content.
The usage of such terms is clearly meant as an insult (against the High Elves usually). Now insulting High Elves does no harm, obviously, but by using these terms in an insulting way, real people are automatically insulted as well (High Elves suck, High Elves are g-a-y, being g-a-y sucks - a simple chain of thought), because their sexuality is used as an insult in this case. The usage of the above terms is therefore considered offensive. Most people won't think that far and won't find it personally insulting or offensive, but some definitely do!
Everyone on this site should be treated with respect and offensive material is not welcome here in general.

Controversial topics.
These include sex, politics and religion. Please avoid discussing these sorts of things anywhere on druchii.net - even in the Off-Topic Discussion forum, unless it is specifically authorized by the forum’s rules. We would ideally like to be able to discuss such things and we did allow it at one point, but the fact is that hurt feelings would often ensue: some people feel strongly about their beliefs and opinions, and discussion about these can sometimes cause friction between members. We want to discuss everything maturely, but this sort of thing is just a bit too touchy.
Note that this does not include voicing an unpopular opinion that isn't likely to hurt anyone's feelings by trampling their deeply held beliefs. For instance, you're quite free to state that Corsairs are bad. Just make sure you back it up, otherwise it's trolling.

Illegal Content.
The site owner is responsible for this forum and has to face the consequences for your wrongdoings, so do not take this lightly!
Do not post illegal content or link to sites with illegal content on this forum!
Illegal content includes (but is not limited to) scans of or complete texts copied from GW publications (copyrighted material), which are not available from their own web site. Parts of texts copied to underline a post or clarify a rule or similar uses, are - of course - acceptable!
Points costs can be posted, but should only be used when necessary for discussion purposes. Do not copy and paste army builder program lists that include points costs for every upgrade and item - this is to keep lists easy to read.
Once more, if you are in doubt where the borderline is from what is acceptable and what is not, then feel free to check with one of the moderators/administrators beforehand. Better safe than sorry!
These are some very simple rules, which are not hard to follow. In case you still feel they are restricting you too much... read on!



3. You and D.net.

Member Account Access.
There have been a number of incidences where members have left open access to their druchii.net accounts.
This has resulted in friends and / or family abusing that access and causing trouble for other members of the community. Flaming and spamming being the main issues.
Please be careful with your account. You will be warned - once - and then your account will be locked out.

Check your private messages!
The Private Message function exists for private communication between members, and is a useful tool for people who want to discuss some other matter more privately. Not only that, but if a user has found a comment (or avatar or signature) of yours to be offensive, they may Private Message (PM) you to ask that you change it. Also, the site's moderators sometimes see the need to have a private talk with one of the users if that user has stepped out of line. Warnings are also sent to users via PM. Moderators do not tolerate the excuse that "I didn't receive the PM" - we assume that you check your PMs every time you log on (which we assume to be about once every 24 hours).
The PM function may be found under the Control Panel pull down menu in the top bar. Your new messages are in the Inbox, PMs you have sent and have been read are in the Sent Box, PMs you have sent but are still unread are in the Out Box, and saved PMs are in the Saved Box.
Also, sometimes Moderators or Admins will find it necessary to e-mail you at your provided e-mail address. This will most often be notification if you have been banned from the site. Make sure that your e-mail address is valid, because we cannot be responsible for tracking you down otherwise!

Banning Policy.
We have a strict Banning Policy on this forum. Offenders get warned exactly once, if we feel they are bending our rules too far or breaking them, before they are banned from this forum on a second incidence! We give ourselves a little leeway in case we feel someone comes here for the sole purpose of breaking the rules, because such a person will not even get a single warning!
Therefore, if you are not sure where the borderline is from what is acceptable and what is not, then feel free to check with one of the moderators/administrators beforehand. I can only advice you to follow the better safe than sorry strategy here, because we will do so (if you know what I mean).
So, if you feel like testing us to see how far you can go, take this advice from me: Don't. (You can consider this your first warning, if you think this applies to you.)

Moderator Accountability.
We would like to remind you of the fact that the moderators too must abide by these rules and if you have a problem with a moderator then please send a Private Message to the administrators (preferably those who are online the most) and they will deal with the issue in an impartial way. If one of the administrators is the one you have problem with, PM another administrator or a webmaster.

How to contact the moderators/administrators?
As mentioned above, if in doubt, better check with us beforehand.
This is best done via Private Messaging obviously. If you don't know how this is done, just click on the name link of the member you want to send a message - the moderators have their names listed near the forum heading for easy reference; then click on the Private Message button on the lower left side. At the bottom of each post, there is also such a button. It works much like posting to the forum from there. If ever you refer to a topic in a PM to a moderator, please be sure to include a link to the topic in question.
Also, to make a moderator aware of a specific post that may defy the content or placement rules, click on the report button (the little R button next to the edit and quote buttons) to report the post. It acts like a Private Message to all moderators and points out to them the post in question.
(rearranged by Calisson)

4. FAQ.

Q. Where are the technical FAQs about how to use this website?
A: Here: Druchii.net Forum Index > Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What does that little R button next to the edit button do?
A. It reports the post to the moderators. Please see above under the "How to contact the moderators/administrators" section.

Q. Where can I find the Dark Elf fonts used on this site?
A. You can find them here courtesy of Shadowspite.

Q. Can I post rules, or ask for rules on this site?
A. You are not allowed to post rules on this site or ask for them as posting them would be copyright infringement (you can find a thread about it here).
Generally there's no problem with quoting the rulebook to answer a rules question for example, but you are not allowed to post complete pages of rules or the complete rules for a special character for example.

Q. What are all the ranks and how many posts do you need to get them?
A.
0 slave on the altar
10 Slave (off the altar)
25 Trainee Warrior
50 Warrior
75 Corsair
100 Shade
125 Dark Rider
150 Executioner
200 Cold One Knight
250 Black Guard
300 Beastmaster
400 Noble
500 Assassin
600 Highborn
800 Malekith's Personal Guard
1000 Malekith's Best Friend
Mods, Admins and people with a post count of 1000 or over can get a custom title.

Q. What do some Druchii Terms mean?
A.
Ancri Dam (Heart of Stag-Talisman)
Autarii (the shades)
Caedlin (Mask)
Courva (Root extract used to enhance one's senses)
Drachau (Hand of Night-Ruler of one of the 6 cities)
Druhir (Druchii tongue)
Hakseer (Coming of age raid)
Hanil Khar (Bearing of Chains annual ceremony)
Hithuan (Druchii ettiquete code)
Hushhalta (Sleeping potion)
Kheitan (Gambeson)
Maelith (malevolent spirits)
Nauglir (Cold One)
Raksha (Restless dead-Autarii dialect)
Sa'an'ishar (lit Shields and Spears-Druchii battle cry)
Urhan (lit high one, leader of Autarii clan)
Vaulkhar (lit maker of Chains, the warlord of Druchau's army)
Vauvalka (illegal magic users)

Q. What do all the abbreviations mean?
A.
Armies.
• BoC = Beasts of Chaos
• Bret = Bretonians
• CD = Chaos Dwarfs
• Dawi = Dwarfs
• DE = Dark Elves
• DoC = Daemons of Chaos
• DoW = Dogs of War
• HE = High Elves
• HoC = Hordes of Chaos
• LM = Lizardmen
• O&G = Orcs and Goblins
• OK = Ogre Kingdoms
• RoC = Realm of Chaos
• Skaven
• SAD = Skaven (Skyre) Army of Doom
• TFC = Tzeentch's flying circus (screamer army)
• TK = Tomb Kings
• VC = Vampire Counts
• WE = Wood Elves
• WoC = Warriors of Chaos

Units, characters.
• BG = Black Guard
• BM = Beast Master
• BT = Bolt Thrower
• CKoC = Chosen Knights of Chaos
• CO = Cold Ones
• CoB = Cauldron of Blood
• COC = Cold One Chariot
• CoCh = Chariot of Chaos
• COK = Cold One Knights
• DH = Death Hag
• DL = Dreadlord
• DP = Dragon Princes
• DR = Dark Riders
• GC = Great Cannon
• GE = Great Eagle
• GG = Grave Guard
• GK = Grail Knights
• GM = Grand Master (or TGM for The Grand Master)
• GUO = Great Unclean One
• HB = highborn
• HP = High Priest
• HS = High Sorceress
• HVG = Hellblaster Volley Gun
• ICK = Inner Circle Knights
• KE = Knights Errant
• KoC = Knights of Chaos
• KoS = Keeper of Secrets
• KotR = Knights of the Realm
• KotWW = Knights of the White Wolf
• LoC = Lord of Change
• LP = Liche Priest
• Ma = Master
• MoM = Master on Manticore
• MoP - Master on Pegasus
• Mus = musician (or muso)
• MXB = Multiple CrossBow (the unit or the weapon): the proper name for RXB.
• Og = Ogre
• RBT = Reaper AKA Repeater Bolt Throwers
• RoR = Regiments of Renown
• SH = Silver Helms
• SoP = Sorceress on Pegasus (SSoP for supreme sorceress)
• Spearelves = Dark Elf Warriors
• SS = Supreme Sorceress
• SSC = Screaming Skull Catapult
• STank = Steam Tank
• TG = Tomb Guard
• WE = Witch Elves
• WP = Warrior Priest
• WW = Way Watchers

Equipment, upgrades.
• AHW = additional hand weapon
• BSB = Battle Standard Bearer
• CO = Cold One
• DP = Dark Pegasus
• DS = Dark Steed
• FC = Full Command
• FPA = Full Plate Armour
• GA = Gromril Armour
• GW = Great Weapon (not Game Workshops)
• HA = Halberd
• HA = Heavy Armour
• HLR = Hochland long rifle
• HW = Hand Weapon
• LA = Light Armour
• Mus, Muso = Musician
• Peg = Dark Pegasus (a.k.a. Peggy)
• RatG = Ratling gun
• RHB = Repeater Hand-Bows
• RoHC = Righ of Hotek champion
• RP = Repeater Pistol
• RXBow/RXB = Repeater cross bow
• SDC = Sea Dragon Cloak
• Sh = Shield
• Std = Standard bearer or standard
• xbows = (Repeater) Cross-Bows
• SP = Spear

Magic Items, spells, gifts.
• AoD = Amour of Darkness
• AoES = Armor of Eternal Servitude
• BA = Blood Armour
• BCB = Banner of the Cold Blood AKA Banner of the Cold Ones
• BDE = Black Dragon Egg
• BH = Black Horror
• BL = Black Lotus
• BoHG = Banner of Hag Graef
• BoM = Banner of Murder
• BoN = Banner of Nagarythe
• BW = Bladewind
• CB = Caledor's Bane
• CoM = Crystal of Midnight
• CoS = Casket of Souls
• CoW = Cry of War
• CW = Chillwind
• DB = Doombolt
• DB, DrB = Dread Banner
• DS = Dispell Scroll
• DoD = Dance of Doom
• DVm = Dark Venom
• EYE = The Guiding Eye
• GE = The Guiding Eye
• GEM = Gem of Nightmares
• GoK = Gifts of Khaine
• GoM = Gem of Nightmares
• HB, HyB = Hydra Banner
• HyT = The Hydra’s Teeth
• IP = Infernal Puppet
• MB, Manb = Manbane
• MoC = Mark of Chaos
• MoK = Mark of Khorne
• MoN = Mark of Nurgle
• MoS = Mark of Slaanesh
• MoT = Mark of Tzeentch
• PoD = Power of Darkness
• PoIB = Pearl of Infinite Bleakeness
• PoK = Pendant of Khaeleth
• PoS = Potion of Strength
• PwS = Power Scroll
• RofD = Ring of Darkness
• RoH = Ring of Hotek
• RoK = Rune of Khaine
• RS = Rending Stars
• SD = Sacrificial Dagger
• SoHG = Standard of Hag Graef AKA Banner of Hag Graef
• SoS = Standard of Slaughter
• SS = Soul Stealer
• SSS = Sea Serpent Standard (Corsairs only)
• tGE = The Guiding Eye
• ToD = Touch of Death
• VHS= Van Horstman's Speculum
• WB = Witchbrew
• WoP = Word of Pain
• WMD = A 100 points item (Weapon of mass destruction)

Rules.
• AP = Amour Piercing
• AS or ArSv = Armour Save
• ASF = Always Strikes First
• BtB = Base to Base (contact)
• CC = Close Combat
• DD = Dispel Dice
• D3 = Half the result of D6
• D6 = Six (6) sided die roll
• HtH = Hand to Hand (combat)
• KB = Killing Blow
• Ld = Leadership
• LoS = Line of Sight
• Lvl = Level (of a magic user)
• MM = Magic Missile
• MR = Magic Resistance
• PD = Power Dice
• PIaNE = Pursuit Into A New Enemy
• RAI = Rules As Intended (as opposed to RAW)
• RAW = Rules As Written (sometimes supposed not to be RAI)
• RiP = Remain in Play
• WS = Weapon Skill
• WYSIWYG = What You See Is What You Get

Tactics.
• AS = Army Selection
• ACR = Active Combat Resolution, obtained by kill count
• Bus = long unit with many ranks (like 5x8)
• CR = Combat Resolution = ACR + SCR
• ETC = European Team Championships
• FC = Fast Cavalry
• GD = Golden Daemon
• GT = Grand Tournament
• HvA = Heavy Artillery
• Hvy Cav = Heavy Cavalry
• Lt Cav = Light Cavalry
• MMU = Many Medium Units
• MSU = Many Small Units
• MSE = Many Small Elites
• NAS or nas = no armour save
• RF = Refused Flank
• RFZ = Red Fury zone
• SCR = Static Combat Resolution, known before rolling dice: rank bonus, standard, magic banner, flank/rear charge, charge bonus…
• TWF = The Warhammer Forum
• VP = Victory Points
• WAAC= Win At All Costs
• WM = Warmachine
• WOg = Wounded Ogre

General.
• AFAIK = As far as I know
• AKA = Also Know As
• DD = Druchii Discussion
• FAQ = Frequently Asked Questions
• GW = Game Workshops (not Great Weapon)
• IIRC = If I Recall Correctly, or If I Remember Correctly (I’m not sure which one is accurate)
• IMHO = In My Humble Opinion
• IMO = In My Opinion
• LOL = Laugh Out Loud
• OP = Original Post (1st one in a thread)
• OT = Off Topic
• PLOG = Painting Log
• Q&A = Questions and Answers
• WD = White Dwarf
• WFB = Warhammer Fantasy Battle
• WGD = Wargames Discussion
• WHFB = Warhammer Fantasy Battle
• WIP = Work In Progress
• W40k = Warhammer 40.000


All my thanks to tmr for his impressive work.