Terms and rules

By registering at the IGN Message Boards, users agree that any post deemed inappropriate may be removed at the sole discretion of IGN. IGN also has the right, at its sole discretion, to revoke board privileges at any time without notice or reason. In simple terms: if you break the rules, you will be banned. Exploiting loopholes to circumvent rules will also result in a ban. IGN is not responsible for messages posted on the IGN Boards or the content therein. Unless expressly stated otherwise, this includes messages posted by IGN personnel, agents, representatives et al. IGN reserves the right to reveal the identity of or whatever information we know about any user in the event of a complaint or legal action arising from any message posted by said user.

• Flaming & Trolling

  While it’s okay to have disagreements in discussions, name calling or other personal attacks will not be tolerated and will result in a ban. Trolling is defined as posting anything specifically designed to attract a negative reaction from an individual or group. Not all negative opinions are automatically considered trolling, but positive discussions are encouraged. Determination of flaming and trolling will be made at the discretion of mods.

• Profanity

  Use of profanity as personal expression, in pictures, or in text, is allowed on the IGN boards. However, any profanity used will be subject to guidelines. Explicitly sexual or profane descriptions and writing are not allowed. (The IGN Boards are not your own personal Penthouse forums.) Profanity directed in an attack against another user is subject to the same considerations as flaming and trolling (see above). Usernames with profanity are prohibited.

• Signatures

  Signatures are subjected to all board rules that a post or thread would be. IGN Prime members are able to use [img] code within their signatures provided the picture adheres to the ToS. Supplemental signatures including but not limited to Tapatalk signatures shall not include images or be more than 2 lines of text long.

• Spam an Off-Topic Posts

  Active contributions to discussion will always be welcomed; however, advertising and excessive spamming or bumping of any thread is not permitted, and will result in a ban. Off-topic posts will be deleted or moved to the appropriate board. Excessively posting off topic content or hijacking and driving a discussion off topic will result in a warning or ban.

• Piracy, ROMS, and Copyrighted Material

  Linking to or giving information about any site that distributes illegal software or media, or any site seeking help to circumvent any copyright laws, is grounds for an immediate ban. This is true for all copyrighted material, including but not limited to games, movies, music, magazines, and videos. Discussions about customizing hardware, emulators & ROMs, custom firmware, jail-breaking, etc. are fine but demonstration of how to do any of these things either linked or posted directly on the boards is prohibited. Users agree not to post any material that is protected by copyright, trademark or other proprietary right without the express permission of the owner(s) of said copyright, trademark or other proprietary right. In appropriate circumstances, IGN will also terminate your account if you are determined to be a repeat infringer. Any content from outside locations is permitted as long as it abides by their (and our) permissions.

• Impersonating Other Users & Posting Users Information

  You may not impersonate another board member or create an account specifically for the purpose of provoking another user or group of users.

  Revealing users' personal information (without their consent) will result in your account being banned. This includes links to other social network pages, images, or personal information that has not been posted by the user. If a user is requesting that their personal details are no longer posted please do not continue to post that information.

• Spoilers

  Be considerate of the other users who may not have seen a movie or played a game that you're talking about. IGN boards feature Spoiler Tags mark-up code: [spoiler] [/spoiler], [spoiler=text] [/spoiler], or inline spoilers with [ispoiler][/ispoiler] - please use it.

  Spoilers in thread titles are never allowed. In threads dedicated to discussion about a particular game, movie or book, spoilers for that work must be tagged for content less than six months old. In threads dedicated to discussion about an ongoing TV series, spoilers for that show must be tagged for content less than two weeks old. Instructions to allow/disallow spoilers as expressed in the title or OP must be followed. If a spoiler is not about the topic of the thread, then it must be marked.

  In situations where an older work is being recreated in another medium (e.g. Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead) threads dedicated to discussion of the original version must be clearly marked. In all other threads, the newer version of the work is considered the release date for the purposes of tagging spoilers.

• Hacking, Scripting, and Altering Board Code

  Altering or changing IGN code and/or exploiting code bugs for purposes other than what the message boards were intended to do is prohibited. On a similar note, using automatic scripts on any part of IGN is also not permitted. Accessing or using someone else's account is strictly prohibited. These actions are grounds for an immediate and permanent ban. You are responsible for securing your account and for any content your name has posted unless there is IP proof that another user has maliciously used your account. In this case you will need to create a new account for security reasons.

• Bans

  Ban times will be increased for repeat offenses. We only will discuss the nature, reason, and length of a ban with the user banned. If you log onto the IGN message boards and receive a message that you have been banned, please note the reason and time and wait for the ban to end. If you believe the ban is in error, you may contact a moderator through the "Looking for a Moderator Forum" or via PM on an alternate account. Your ban will then go through a review process and you will be notified within 7 days of the review's outcome. It is standard practice on IGN to increase ban times for repeat offenders. Taking any action while banned other than privately disputing a ban claim (including posting/liking/messaging/reporting other users) on an alternate user name is not permitted, and will result in an extension of the current ban.

• Nudity, Pornography, Pedophilia & Sexually Explicit Content

  Absolutely no forms of pornography are allowed on the boards. Media that contains sexual acts, pubic hair, female nipples, nude or seemingly nude people, bodily fluids or genitals that are in any way visible (even through clothing), is not permitted. We allow mature discussions of sexuality and pornography, but these discussions must remain mature at all times. If you plan on starting a sexual discussion, please do not use any sexually explicit or profane wording in the subject line. Any posts, pictures, jokes, or discussions with a clear intent to sexualize children, including sexually suggestive photos of anyone seemingly under the age of 18 will incur a permanent ban from the IGN Boards.

  The use of unaltered classic art (excluding photographs/videos of people or acts depicting pornographic material) for the sake of discussion and not for the sole purpose of circumventing a ban on otherwise banned content is allowed.

• Racism, Sexism, Hate Speech, and Bigotry

  Posts that are racist, sexist, or otherwise discriminatory are not permitted on the IGN boards. Gross generalizations, stereotypes, demeaning speech/slurs pertaining to race or gender are not allowed, and are subject to a warning and/or ban.

• Questionable Content

  Since we can't have a rule to cover everything, this is the rule to, well, cover everything. These are public boards, so act like you would if you were in a public place. (A nice place!) These issues are left to the discretion of individual moderators, but may include any material that is knowingly false and/or defamatory, misleading, spammy, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, sexist, obscene, racist, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, that otherwise violates any law, or that encourages conduct constituting a criminal offense. Asking for or offering any of the material listed above is also out not permitted.

There are tens of thousands of posts each day on the IGN message boards, so we can't always promise you'll receive a warning every time action has to be taken. By registering at the IGN Message Boards, users agree that any post deemed inappropriate may be removed at the sole discretion of IGN.

Also note that the Board Rules extend to all areas of the IGN Message Boards system, including but not limited to Private Messages and Signatures.