The PGL Arena

[Peench]

Here at PreGameLobby we are constantly making adjustments in an attempt to make this place the friendliest place to chat about gaming on the internet. We want everyone to view PGL as a lounge where friends and friendly acquaintances come together and hang out.

We have grown to well over 400 members in the short time that we have been live. With growth we are seeing various challenges. We are trying to balance a great amount of varied interests while generating fresh content and new things for all PGL Members. There comes a time when we all become so friendly that we engage in friendly banter and overall smack talk. Those of us who know the rest of us see this for the friendly joking it may be. New members or others who are not familiar with all our personalities may view certain jokes as attacks or otherwise be offended by them. We want to avoid this type of belief as we attempt to build a friendly place for mature gamers to come together.

With those thoughts in mind we are creating, on a trial basis, a new forum for registered members only: The PGL Arena. This is a no-holds barred, knock down, Jimmie-super-fly-snooka arena where anything goes. If you are easily offended, DO NOT read this forum. This forum is intended purely for the mature (18+), registered guests of PGL to let off steam or try to one up their friends in verbal warfare. You can think of it as a place where you can verbally emcee a “rap battle” against friends, or a place where you can goof off or let off steam in the most colorful language you can dream up (with a few minor exceptions).

We have created the PGL Arena not because we want to foster negativity here at PGL, but instead because we want to foster positive posts everywhere else. We all have to let off steam once in a while for whatever reason. It may be a bad day at work or it might be something someone else posted. Whatever it is, the PGL Arena is where you can take it if your thoughts or comments are “R” rated.

The trade off for creating this forum is that the owners, administrators and moderators are going to be focusing on keeping the remainder of the forums on track and positive. We will be following the Terms of Service posted in “New Member Introductions” forum and which you now have to agree to before registering. As a reminder, here they are:

Although the owners, administrators and moderators of PreGameLobby ...Waiting for players will attempt to keep all objectionable messages off this forum, it is impossible for us to review all messages. All messages express the views of the author, and neither the owners of PreGameLobby ...Waiting for players, nor Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd. (developers of vBulletin) will be held responsible for the content of any message.

By agreeing to these rules, you warrant that you will not post any messages that are obscene, vulgar, sexually-oriented, hateful, threatening, or otherwise violative of any laws.

The owners, administrators and moderators of PreGameLobby ...Waiting for players reserve the right to remove, edit, move or close any thread for any reason.

Specific Rules

1. You must register with us in order to post. Posting to PreGameLobby ...Waiting for players is a privilege, not a right. If your post is deleted (in violation of any of the below guidelines or otherwise), do not expect or ask for an explanation.

2. Posts dedicated solely to advertising will be deleted. We generally refer to such postings as SPAM. If you have something you would like to promote (your business, web site, etc.), so long as it meets all of the other guidelines, please do so in the "signature" space provided in your user profile. Once logged in, please find the profile feature under the user menu.

3. Harassment, threats and abusive language towards other members is not tolerated. Your account will be deactivated and we will no longer allow you to participate in our community by any means. Based on our judgment, we may decide to give you a warning before taking action, although we are not required to do so.

4. Posts containing links or information pertaining to illegal file-sharing of copyrighted material (music, 'warez' or otherwise) will be deleted. Any discussion of how to do something illegal ('warez,' other pirated software, etc) will also be deleted.

5. Please use common sense when selecting your avatar (the 80 pixel square that appears each time you post). Often referred to as keeping it "work safe," do not use an avatar that could be deemed offensive, overtly sexual, or hateful in the most conservative of settings. This rule also applies to any links you decide to post or keep in your signature. Again, use common sense... could someone at an office in a major corporation be fired over having an image such as your avatar in their web history?

6. Pornographic material will be deleted. Do not link to pornographic material.

7. The owners, administrators and moderators reserve the right to suspend your account for behavior that is deemed immature, inappropriate or in conflict with the terms of usage. Determining whether actions/posts fit in these categories is made in the sole discretion of the owners, administrators and moderators.

8. PreGameLobby ...Waiting for players was designed to cater to adults. We require that all members be at least 18 years old to join.

Additional Guidelines:

1. Introduce yourself. For your very first post, whether it be starting a new thread or replying to another, you might want to give a little background on yourself before you type your message. You may also post in the New Member Introduction Forum. Also, please complete the profile area inside the user menu so that people will know better who you are.

2. Gaming Identities. It would be nice if everyone here used their gaming identity (regardless of platform) for their forum name. If you do not use your gaming identity as your forum name, please include this information in your forum signature so we can all game together.

3. Use Search. Please use the search feature if there is a particular topic or person you are looking for. This is very handy and can save many heartaches and "oops" posts.

4. Content. We're not stuffy and we talk about everything. Please, however, watch what you post. We like to keep things at an adult level. If the words you type were an article, could they only be published in a hate or pornographic magazine? If so, do not post them here. There are many internet boards that accept that king of posting. PreGameLobby ...Waiting for players is not one of them.

5. Meaningful Content. Try to keep your posts meaningful and informative! Repeating similar posts such as "LOL" or other single word responses should be kept to a minimum. That is not to say we can't all have a good laugh now and then, but remember we are here to generate a community and help others.

6. Private Messaging. If you find yourself about to make a post directed to a fellow individual or group of posters, ask yourself "would it be easier to use email?" Posts that are addressed to one specific person (be it another user, moderator or administrator) will generally be removed. However, we do allow certain posts made about other users such as "happy birthday" posts and also what can be called an "appreciate post."

7. Repetitive Posting. Do not post telling someone to read your other posts. There are a handful of cases where this if acceptable, but if you are going to reference another post of yours, please include a link when appropriate.

8. Disagreements. It is a given that at some point you will disagree with others posts, different content here or certain points of view of gamers, writes or staff who contribute to PreGameLobby ...Waiting for players. We would be boring if everyone agreed and no one challenged anyone on anything. Debate is encouraged, but harassing, threatening or personally attacking someone simply because you disagree with their opinion or statement is wrong and not acceptable. Keep in mind that the owners, administrators and moderators will determine what is harassing or threatening, not you. Also keep in mind that we are all adults and we can disagree about something without ending up in a playground battle. Be mature.

9. Untouchable Topics. Please refrain from talking about religion and politics. There are plenty of other forums you can go to for this.

10. Be Tolerant. Ignore posts you do not like and support the ones that you do. Responding to posts you dislike is a waste of energy, time and thought that could go towards an interesting topic.

11. Spoilers! Posts that may reveal and therefore ruin the ending to a recently released game, book, reality show, etc. should be prefaced in the subject line with "*SPOILER*" to avoid ruining the surprise or outcome for someone else.

12. Moderators. Each forum has assigned users who have requested to act as volunteer board moderators. These users have been approved by PreGameLobby ...Waiting for players owners. While we may approach helpful members, please do not blindly request to be a moderator. Typically existing moderators will nominate someone to replace a moderator who is stepping down. Because moderators were all chosen by the owners, we generally side with moderators and the decisions they make. If, however, you believe a moderator is not doing their job or abusing their power, you may contact the appropriate administrator who will review your complaint and determine whether any action is necessary.

13. Have Fun. At the end of the day you game because you want to have fun. PreGameLobby ...Waiting for players is a community of gamers who want to have fun. First and foremost we are a community. We like to think of ourselves as one big, happy family. While we may have disagreements at times, we all still have a common bond. If you are here posting, make sure you have fun while doing so!

I know this post is long, but thanks for bearing with us. Some of these rules above are hard and fast rules while others are guidelines. Overall it is not our intent to be Nazi moderators (no offense to any Nazi’s out there). Instead it is our intent to create a “lounge” type atmosphere where mature gamers feel welcome to come and hang out; where people feel like they “belong” and are accepted by us all and where new members can come and ask questions without being attacked.

We are trying to find balance. We obviously cannot please everyone. We can remind people to stay positive and to be helpful as that’s what we are all about here at PGL. That being said, we may obviously not be for everyone. The new PGL Arena is our latest attempt to find that perfect balance. If posts are made that are not appropriate for the topic (with some leeway obviously), a new thread will be created. If they are inappropriate in general, they will be moved to the Arena. We don’t want to stifle discussion, but if that discussion gets heated and is off topic, it will be moved.

Thank you all for reading this entire post (you DID read it all didn’t you?) and for being a part of the greatest gaming community ever.

ps - only registered members can view the PGL Arena.

[BrewCityUpstart]

Originally Posted by Peench

You can think of it as a place where you can verbally emcee a “rap battle” against friends,

I was with ya until you said that. That is just plain gay. And anyone that has ever met Cujo, certainly knows gay.

[Peench]

^ Example of something that can be moved to the PGL Arena.

[D_Litch]

I give it 2 moths before the Arena is the most popular section. Wait, make that 2 weeks.

[NuclearCujo]

You really should have named it the Brew and Cujo Show. Thanks for giving us a place to treat each other like crap with out the Politically Correct Hippies whining about it!

[BrewCityUpstart]

Originally Posted by NuclearCujo

You really should have named it the Brew and Cujo Show. Thanks for giving us a place to treat each other like crap with out the Politically Correct Hippies whining about it!

No show will ever be the Brew and Cujo show. I don't like men. Sicko.

Originally Posted by Peench

^ Example of something that can be moved to the PGL Arena.

I thought this thread was! I normally just hit the 'new posts' button.

[blars]

I guess I should have saved my last comment in the Sitedown thread for here...oh well.

We all know that this was a result of Brew's homophobic tendencies. That one event back in high school scarred him for life.

[BrewCityUpstart]

Originally Posted by blars

I guess I should have saved my last comment in the Sitedown thread for here...oh well.

We all know that this was a result of Brew's homophobic tendencies. That one event back in high school scarred him for life.

Atthis point I'm just gonna hafta except the fact that you, Cujo, and dlitch all just want to have sex with me. I'm gonna have to avoid your states like the plage.