We have created the following list of message board rules and guidelines to keep this an enjoyable environment for us all. Violations of these guidelines may result in your removal from this message board and/or potential suspension (or permanent closure) of your There account.

Thread/Post Content

1. Post in the correct forum and do not cross-post.

If you are unsure of where to place a post, choose the single most appropriate forum. No need to cross-post to multiple forums – we’ll see the post no matter where you place it. If you cross post, or spam the forum, your posts will be removed and you will be contacted for violating the forum rules.

2. Keep feedback constructive.

All feedback about our products is appreciated as long as it is constructive. Keep it straightforward and include examples and facts when applicable. For example, “There.com is ****!” or “This world is dying!” is not constructive feedback. However, “I am way annoyed with the following things about this functionality and here’s why…” is constructive and useful to us. The best way to get your opinions recognized is not to be abusive or offensive, but to be constructive and communicate in a mature fashion.

"I'm leaving" threads will be removed due to the inevitable flaming that immediately ensues. Thus, they are no more than troll threads. We welcome constructive feedback and are always concerned when a customer is unhappy.

No ranting. Ranting is posting irate, unconstructive (usually vague) comments to "blow off steam." This is considered a form of trolling since ranting does little but end up in flame wars.

False obituary threads are considered trolling of the highest order, and knowingly posting false news of a player’s real-life death may result in banning of both your forum privileges and your membership account.


3. Keep feedback high-quality.

Please avoid frivolous and duplicate postings. For example, threads to announce that the servers are up (after a downtime), or threads made just because you want to be the “first post” in a newly created section of the boards, are not quality postings and cause us extra work to remove.

When a thread continues to revisit the same issues with the same adverse opinions over and over again (i.e. “beating a dead horse”), and no new information/discussion is being introduced, this is not productive. We will shut down threads that we deem to be unproductive, unhealthy, and not aimed at community betterment. We’re not saying you can’t have adversely opinionated discussions, but if those discussions devolve into personal attacks or become unproductive, we’re going to shut them down. This is absolutely subjective and we will probably step on some toes along the way, but that level of discretion is necessary to limit community upset and the resource impact on our side.

If we close a thread, we expect the discussion to stop. If we have administratively closed a thread and you attempt to circumvent this closure by starting a new thread to carry on the same discussions, we will moderate the activity.

Avoid posting random and off-topic conversation in the General Discussion forum. Off-topic threads/posts will be moved to the Off Topic section without notice or explanation.

If a relatively controversial thread has run its course and no one has replied to it for approximately 2-3 weeks, please do not throw new fuel on the fire by making a post and attempting to revive a “dead” discussion. Threads that fall into this category will be closed.

4. Know the search function. Use the search function.

Before you ask a question, please check ThereCare (info.there.com). If your answer is not there, please use the “Search” function located at the top of every page of the boards. Your question may have already been asked and answered elsewhere.

5. Read before you post.

Development and Community staff may be posting to several threads on this board and in ThereCare, often with explicit information. Before posting check ThereCare and the News and Events section of the forums. Before adding a post to a thread, please review the entire thread to be sure that the question you are about to ask hasn’t already been answered.

6. Do not use the Message Boards to Report Abuse Issues.

If you experience or witness a violation of the Terms of Service, please report the issue to There Customer Support. It is not appropriate to report these types of issues in the forums, and we will edit or remove these posts/threads.

You can report a violation of the Terms of Service or abuse issues to abuse@there.com any time. We handle these reports as a priority and are typically able to address and respond within 12-24 hours (not including weekends). Customer Support is also available for abuse issues via There Live Help. Live Help is available 24 hours a day for abuse issues.

General Conduct

1. Abuse will not be tolerated.

No flaming, trolling, harassing, profanity, abusive language or abbreviations, personal attacks, racial, religious, ethnic, or sexual slurs.

*Flaming is defined as attacking others in harsh, personal terms.
*Trolling is defined as deliberately posting derogatory, inflammatory comments/threads in order to bait other users into responding.
*Personal attacks include, but are not limited to, insulting a poster directly: EX: “You are stupid, you suck, and you should [censored].”

Directly attacking another poster will result in a warning. If the behavior persists, you will be suspended or banned.

Do not indirectly attack another member or try to coax them into a fight. We reserve the right to close any thread with the obvious intent to harass another member and will moderate if necessary.

2. No character assassination threads

Threads that single out a player for ridicule or to accuse someone of actions in-world will be removed without notice. Repeatedly targeting another person is considered ongoing harassment and is a severe violation of the forum rules. In-world violations need to be reported via the appropriate channels (such as the Live Help system or an email to abuse@there.com). Public posts of such accusations will be construed as attempts to cause antagonism for its own sake.

No personal attacks against forum moderators or company staff are allowed. If you disagree with an action taken by a moderator, you can send your complaint to help@there.com and submit your issue to us. Abuse of the devs or moderators is likely to result in an immediate, permanent ban from the message boards, and can result in the suspension of your account.

3. No spamming or thread bumping.

There are no circumstances under which spamming or thread bumping is acceptable. If you ask a question on the board (not answerable by ThereCare) and it hasn’t been addressed by a staff member, there is a reason for that (or there is not an answer currently available). Bumping or spamming will not make the answer appear any faster, so please refrain from doing it. This includes, but is not limited to: comments not contributing to the board, cross posts, and messages posted repeatedly.

4. No “Petitioning.”

Do not create threads/posts to “petition” for game features, additions, changes, or other issues. You may post suggestions and/or ideas to the boards, but you may not create a ‘petition’ for others to sign. This is bumping in disguise and will not be allowed.

5. No “I Demand Answers” threads

Threads that make threats or use other combative language will be removed without notice. If you ask a question on the board and it has not been addressed by a staff member, there is a reason for that (or there is not an answer currently available). In the event of legitimate emergencies, or other unprecedented scenarios, we will endeavor to provide comments, even if it is only to state that there is no officially available information. However, this is not always possible.

6. Censorship Posts.

All posts referring to message board censorship will be removed. All message board content is allowed/removed at the discretion of Makena Technologies. These posts will be removed and the poster warned. Any further posts will be removed, and the poster will be banned from the message boards. Also, working around a ban to continue posting is also prohibited and may incur an extension of a current ban.

Threads designed to announce, appeal or contest a banning decision on behalf of a third party will be removed without notice.

7. No account hopping to evade suspension.

You are personally responsible for your conduct on the forums. If you create a new account to continue posting because another account was suspended, any forum accounts involved will be permanently suspended. Forum and/or world bans apply to a person, not specifically an account.

8. No proxy posting.

Posting on behalf of a suspended user is not allowed.

9. No Conspiracy Threads. No Trials in the "court of public opinion"

Threads that make groundless claims about Makena Technologies or any of its employees acting in collusion with or granting favoritism to any group or player will be removed without notice.

If we see a member attempting to create an event, i.e. a deliberate, public attempt to force the company to move outside its normal policies and practices to resolve an issue, we will edit or remove these posts/threads.

In the past, we have seen these types of issues arise when one member is unhappy with another member, when a member has been displeased with staff decisions, etc. If you have an issue with another member, the discussion should be conducted privately (e.g. face-to-face or via e-mail). If abuse is involved, it should be reported to abuse@there.com. If you do not agree with a decision, practice or policy, please send an e-mail to help@there.com

10. Bad Word Filter.

Makena Technologies message boards have a bad word filter. There.com is a PG-13 environment and is therefore censored for language. Any attempt to circumvent this filter will not be tolerated including acronyms and/or mispelled bad words that are censored by the bad word filter.

11. Respect the opinions of others.

Often times arguments can’t be won, so if you have a contrasting opinion, please state it simply and clearly. If necessary, agree to disagree with others who may have differing opinions. When discussions turn to long, hostile arguments, the thread will be closed or removed.

Also, do not dismiss other players by calling them “whiners”, “fanbois”, or other derogatory terms, or suggesting that they “just quit”. This is NOT constructive.

12. No Rule Circumvention threads.

Any thread we feel is trying to find some loophole to get away with disobeying the rules of the forums, in fact or in spirit, will be removed.

13. No Legal Action threads.

Using the forums for encourging, promoting, endorsing, or inciting any kind of legal action against anyone is strictly prohibited. Such content will be removed, and the author's posting privileges will be suspended.

It is very important to us to maintain forums that allow new and veteran members alike to address concerns to the company as well as help each other. To do this, a certain amount of decorum and civility is required. We reserve the right to update these rules as necessary, so please take the time to review them on a regular basis.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Below are the general Rules of Conduct for There and the official message boards. It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with these rules and follow them!

RULES OF CONDUCT

The following rules govern basic interaction within There and the There website (including message boards). Please be aware that failure to comply with these rules of conduct may result in the termination of your There account according to the There User Agreement.

In addition to these rules of conduct, explicit rules affecting your account may be found in the There Terms of Service and User Agreement.
1. While using There, you must respect the rights of others and their rights to play and enjoy the world. To this end, you may not defraud, harass, threaten, or cause distress and/or unwanted attention to other players.
2. You may not post or communicate any player's real world information through the There world or on the official message boards.
3. You may not use sexually explicit, harmful, threatening, abusive, defamatory, obscene, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive language.
4. You may not post or link to any sexually explicit, harmful, threatening, abusive, defamatory, obscene, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive imagery or content.
5. You may not impersonate any Makena employee.
6. You may not violate any local, state, national, or international laws or regulations.
7. You may not arrange for the exchange or transfer of any pirated or illegal software while using There or the official message boards.
8. You will follow the instructions of authorized personnel while in There or in the official message boards.
9. You may not upload or transmit on There.com any copyrighted content that you do not own all rights to without the express written permission of the author or copyright holder.
10. You will not exploit any bug in There and you will not communicate the existence of any such exploitable bug (bugs that grant the user unnatural or unintended benefits) either directly or through public posting, to any other user of There. Bugs should be promptly reported by sending an email to help@there.com.