1. POSTING

1) Any on-topic thoughts or comments can be posted on the Gambit Guild Council Chambers (referred to as GGCC from this point). By on-topic, we mean discussions on Gambit, news about Marvel or interviews from the creators, reviews of or thoughts on comics etc . . . Specifically, discussion of the infamous, "who should play Gambit in the X-Movie?" thread is allowed on the board, because people have the ability to skip over it if they do not wish to read it.

2) Off-topic thoughts or comments are allowed in moderation. If you've just graduated, got a promotion, bought a new puppy, read a fabulous novel, feel free to share the good news (or the bad) with us. However, the board is not intended to be a place to discuss your obsession with Seven of Nine or brown M&Ms at length, so keep them short and sweet, both in terms of message length and discussion duration.

3) Please keep your comments appropriate. What that means in reality is that you should not swear or post anything too sexually explicit. If you have to give vent, may I recommend some of Beast's expressions? "By the Stars and Garters of Betsy Ross!" is surprisingly satisfying to say. We are not the Mother Grundy of mailing-lists or message-boards, but we do have young visitors and we do not want to expose them to anything with which they'll feel uncomfortable.

4) *Always* use spoiler warnings and spoiler space for discussion of any part of the plot lines for any issue which is still current and use them with discretion for other recent issues with major turning points or revelations in the story. It is a good idea to put a spoiler notice in the subject area.

Although the Guild has a strong U.S./English base, we aren't just a club for those in the United States or even for only those in English-speaking countries. The Internet is global and since members join from all over the world, plot/story spoiler warnings are especially necessary with this group since many members don't get their comics at the same time. As a rule of thumb, anything that happened less than three months ago should still be given spoilers as that's when international readers get them.

5) The infamous "I agree" posts are still frowned upon, even in a message-board environment. It's all bittage that needs to download and does slow down the message-board. While we encourage members to write back and reply, even when they agree or just want to have some fun, we also encourage adding something to a simple agreement. Instead of just saying you agree, tell us why or add some thoughts of your own.

6) Similarly, please don't quote very much of previous messages in a thread. They all are available in a neat stack for reading when the topic is opened and all you need to do is indicate to which one you are replying. In most cases, a sentence or two should be enough to indicate that you're replying to post A and then to post C.

7) Cloning, or pretending to be someone else. On message boards, some antisocial people are inclined to pretend to be another poster. It's easy enough to type in another name in the block at the top, but it is both immoral and illegal. It has also resulted in the shutdown of other message-boards. If you are caught doing so, you will be banned from the board *immediately*, if that indicates how serious we are about this problem. EZboard provides the admin the option to trace and ban your IP address, which is something that you can neither fake nor hide.

8) Flaming, or being deliberately rude to someone. In the course of debates, things do get heated and there's a fine line between criticising the person's views and criticising them personally. The former is why the board exists, the latter is unacceptable. You will be warned if you flame someone, and, if you continue to do so, you will be banned.

9) Trolling, or provoking people deliberately. To give an example, posting "Gambit stinks! He's the worst character ever!" on the GGCC is clear trolling and it will be handled in the same way as flaming.

IMAGE GUIDELINES:

EZboard allows users the option to have pictures as a way of expressing their individuality as well as a type of electronic signature. However, there are certain guidelines to which these images must adhere: 1) This will sound harsh, but they *must* be 256-colour, static gifs of maximum 150x150 pixels. Anything else takes too long to load and slows the message-board down to the speed of mud. If you need help converting, send the URL of the file to brucepat@iafrica.com and the President will use her graphics software to sort it out for you. Corel PhotoHouse resizes beautifully without loss of quality or distortion.

2) Nothing pornographic, obscene or violent, please. We do not want to see various body bits, rude gestures or blood and gore.

3) Although this may seem obvious to some, it doesn't have to have anything to do with X-Men. It can be fine art, your favorite character from another series, a favorite pet, symbols in kanji . . . Whatever tickles your fancy.

PROBLEMS:

If you have problems with the message-board or with another member, contact one of the two admins and she or they will attempt to sort it out for you:
* Alexis (nekobaghira on the board) at alexis@twcny.rr.com
* Karen (karen_sedai on the board) at brucepat@iafrica.com

Matt Murdock Statement: The Gambit Guild is not an official fansite, and, as such, is not endorsed by Marvel. Nonetheless, we do acknowledge our debt to them for creating such a wonderful character and would not dream of making any profit from him other than the enrichment of our imaginations. All textual content on the site is, however, property of the Gambit Guild. If you wish to use it on your own site, please ask. We'll only be to happy to help.