System Wars Survival Guide 2.0 - Forum Guidelines and Rules

Welcome to System Wars - Survival Guide 2.0

System Wars is a unique forum dedicated to the discussion and debate of systems, consoles, handhelds and games. It is the only forum at GameSpot in which debate on which system and/or games is the "best" is allowed. Indeed, not many people survive System Wars. The mightiest system warriors back up their arguments with facts and substantiated arguments.

Quick Rules in SW To Always Follow:

• Keep your discussions around what belongs here: platforms, games, developers, publishers, and stats.
• Do NOT quote more than two images in your post.
• Do NOT have more than four quotes in your post (quote pyramids).
• Do NOT post or bump extremely abusive discussions (account suicide threads/adult material/illegal activities/illegal advertising/etc).

Overall Recommendations

Read the Terms of Use

When you sign up for a GameSpot account, you agree to a Terms of Use. It's important to read and understand this Terms of Use (TOU) agreement. The TOU also applies at all times in System Wars, and violating its rules can result in moderation, suspension, or possibly a permanent ban from posting on GameSpot.

Three Strikes Rule

GameSpot’s Moderation policy has shifted to the new three strikes rule; forum thread announcement here. First offense: User will receive a warning. Second offense: Seven-day suspension from the site. Third offense: Permanent Ban from GameSpot. The ban will be imposed to those that violate our guidelines within a span of 60 days of each offense. If no further incidents occur within the 60 day period, the user will be cycled back to good standing and all is right in the world. Every strike will be accompanied with a private message detailing what the violation was. Note: minor violations will not result in an official strike unless such behavior is characterized to warrant such action. You will know when you have an official strike because your private message will say "First Strike," or "Second Strike," etc.

Read the Stickies. DO IT.

Popular upcoming game releases, major trade shows, news stories, GameSpot announcements, or other events may receive a special stickied thread dedicated to them. If there is a stickied thread for a topic, please do not create, or post in, other threads related to that topic. By posting in the sticky, all discussion on the subject can be organized in one thread, rather than having dozens of posters each creating their own threads as they hear the news.

Know the Karma System

When you flag a post, that content gains +1 karma point for the submitter and the accused. If the moderator accepts the accusor's position, their karma is reset. Once a user hits +10 karma they are banned from posting until their karma goes back under 10. Karma automatically degrades -1 karma each night. Please allow at least 72-hours for a moderator to act on the flagged content.

Avoid Redundant Topics

Before you create that topic, remember to use the search feature to see if that same topic has recently been created. It’s also recommended to check back a page or two to see if it’s on the forum. It's also important to avoid creating “fad topics.” For example, if someone creates the topic "10 Reasons the PS4 rocks 2013", and another person creates the topic "10 Reasons the Xbox One rocks 2013", the process can quickly spiral out of control, flooding the board with too many of the same type of discussion. Don’t do it.

Remember to Disagree without being Disagreeable.

Take diligence to remain on discussion about the systems or games being debated or discussed, rather than discussing the people who play them. It's a good idea to make sure the purpose of each post is to debate ideas, rather than to attack the poster presenting the ideas.

Understanding SystemWars; The Very Basics

Fanboy Nicknames

• FAKEBOYS are those who falsely support one system. They are often used to create false hype for new games or products, making a certain type of fanboy look very bad when said product doesn't fully deliver as expected.
• FANBOYS are those who support a system, and show extreme disgust for other systems.
• HERMITS are those who support the PC. Possible origin being that PC fanboys have a hard time finding a place amongst the console fanboys.

• COWS are users who are devout supporters of Sony's hardware. (The name comes from 6th gen characteristics where many accessories were needed to get the full experience, like the multi-tap, additional controllers, hard drives, eye toy, etc. This was called "milking" therefore getting the name "cows")

• LEMMINGS are those who support the Xbox and its entire franchise (Comes from the 6th generation where Microsoft fanboys believed anything that Microsoft said. And also because they listen to all of the Microsoft commands, like "jump off a cliff".)
• SHEEP are those who support Nintendo and their entire franchise (They are called sheep because they blindly followed anything that Nintendo said.)
• MANTICORES are those who support all systems. It's a rarely used term. They are called manticores because they are a mixture of a lot of animals. Now you see "multi-system owners" in place of this formerly common name, although don't be mistaken, a multi-system owner is not impartial towards all systems like a manticore.

Explaining Hype

Big (or small) upcoming releases typically have a "hype" level attached to them judged by hype threads, or sometimes (rarely) general consensus hype found in the forums. HYPE (noun) is a word used to describe the expected results. Example: The hype on Mass Effect for the Xbox 360 was AAA. Sometimes, games do not reach that quotient which then they are considered a FLOP (noun). This occurs when the score of a game does not meet the hype. Example: Mass Effect was hyped AAA yet reached only AA status. A game can be hyped in the following four ways:

• AAAA (or AAAAE) - this is a game that scores a 10 in the review only found on GameSpot.com, unless specified by the post.
• AAA (or AAAE) - this is a game which scores a 9.0 in the review only found on GameSpot.com, unless specified by the post.
• AA (or AAE) - this is a game which scores a 8.0 in the review only found on GameSpot.com, unless specified by the post.
• A (or AE) - this is a game which scores a 7.0 in the review only found on GameSpot.com, unless specified by the post.

This is the proper way to hype a game. If you believe a game is going to get an 8, then you hype it as an AA game. It may also be an AAE game which means it will be exclusive, which will come up later in this guide.

The Metagame

The Metagame has been the heart and soul of SystemWars since its inception. While there is no "determinant" to dictate who wins a generation (anarchy in SystemWars!), one of the biggest indicators SystemWarriors use to debate their system of choice is games, and more importantly, exclusive games. The Metagame tracks which platform holds the most amount of exclusives, and thus when you see a big exclusive game meet its hype or perhaps flop, there is always a large amount of hoopla in the forums. One important caveat in this is that only GameSpot reviews count, and second opinions on GameSpot reviews hold no bearing. To read more about the Metagame, check out Ninja-Hippo's thread here or check out the official SystemWars spreadsheet that showcases the exclusive count (Hippo's spreadsheet has been replaced).

Defining "Exclusive"

Exclusive is defined as "not shared, or only available to one person/item." A game is "exclusive" when it is only found on that specific platform, and none others. For example, Battlefield 4 is not exclusive to PC because it is also found on the PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PS3. There are, however, certain important branches of the SystemWars exclusive tree that one must take mind of.

1. TIMED EXCLUSIVES. Should another version of an exclusive be announced, that said game will be an exclusive until the release of its multiplatform variant. From the announcement of the game coming to another system until the game actually releases on said second system, the game is called a timed exclusive. (To explain, let's say this really great game came out on the Xbox 360 in December, it would be called an exclusive. Now March comes, and they announce it for the PS3 coming in July. It is then called a timed exclusive. Once it releases on the PS3 in July, it loses its rights of being called an exclusive.)
2. EXCLUSIONS. Rarely, there are times in which games found on another system are found to be "exclusive." This is because the two games may share a similar name yet offer significantly different content. For example, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter on the Xbox 360 is significantly different from the PC version in almost every respect, and thus, it is considered to be exclusive.
   
   1. Just because two (or more) games have different names does not dictate it to be an exclusive. For example, Ninja Gaiden Sigma is not exclusive to the PS3 because its name is different to Ninja Gaiden Black. Ninja Gaiden Black and Ninja Gaiden Sigma are largely the same game, since Ninja Gaiden Sigma is a remake of Ninja Gaiden Black. Remakes, or next generation ports are not considered to be "exclusive."
   2. There is no such thing as "console exclusive" or "company exclusive." Console exclusive is a term coined by lemmings that used the Xbox 360/PC games as a means against the PS3. PC and Xbox brands are not "Microsoft Exclusive" as the PC is an open market in which even Sony (Playstation owner) distributes PCs. Furthermore, just because a game is Xbox One and Xbox 360, or PS3, PS4 and PSVita does not mean they are "exclusive." They are considered multiplatform games.

Surviving SystemWars; Things to Consider

General Guidelines for ALL Threads

If you are the CREATOR of the thread: Keep responding to your thread. If people argue alternative points, argue them or accept them. Start some discussion in your thread and do not just post a link with no opinion. Zoom in on one part of the article, or the whole article and analyze it. If you RESPOND to the thread: Keep yourself on-topic. If they are talking about online interactions, don't talk about the mustache of the President of the developer of the game.

VGChartz and Other Sites

Don't use VG Chartz in posts, don't create threads with them. They will be laughed at. In terms of other sites, make sure you're linking reputable sources and not no-name blogs. If the site in question is posting a huge rumor, use common sense to decide whether it warrants posting... if it seems crazy to you, might be best not to post it.

Creating Threads

• Any Versus Threads; If you are the CREATOR of the thread: Focus on a specific aspect. Asking "What's better PS3 or 360?" is boring. "Which has better analog sticks, PS3 or 360?" is much more interesting and discussion can get more detailed. If you RESPOND to the thread: Keep the discussion focused where it started.
• Graphics Threads; If you are the CREATOR of the thread: Use an interesting title, and until further instructions have some kind of 56k warning. Separate the games clearly if you are talking about multiple games. If you RESPOND to the thread: Don't quote more than one image in a post.
• Hype Threads;
  
  • Before the game releases, If you are the CREATOR of the thread: Give us some interesting information about the game, how it its different from games that are similar to it. Give us a few graphics, and if posting more than 6 images, put a 56k warning in the title.
    Extra Special Note: Don't put OFFICIAL in the title of your hype thread, unless a moderator has posted that they will sticky the thread when they the time comes. Try not to make threads more than 6 months in advance of a games' release. If you RESPOND to the thread: Don't quote more than one image in your post. Please post your hype, and discuss the game's strong points and weak points.
  • After the game releases, If you are the CREATOR: Place the score in the title of the hype thread. If you RESPOND to the thread: If the thread is stickied, keep all discussion in that thread. Any threads about games who have stickied hype threads willl be locked.
• News Article Threads; If you are the CREATOR of the thread: Post a link to the thread you are talking about. Take a stance on the article. Extra Special Note: No threads about Illegal Activities. This includes roms, emulators and posting copyrighted material. As far as GameSpot is concerned, we don't want any legal complications. It's fine to post links to articles that talk about Piracy, but make sure the article doesn't say how to pirate stuff, no matter how vague the instructions are. If you RESPOND to the thread: Take a stance on the article.
• Special Notes; SOMETIMES, Community (What are you Playing? Threads, Post your Picture Threads, Discuss the Summer Season Threads) may be approved by moderators from time to time at the moderator's discretion.

Surviving Interactions; SW Rules

The Golden Rule(s) To Follow

• Directly attacking others, threats or inflammatory posts should not be tolerated, ever period.
• Repeat, redundant posting to increase post counts should be discouraged, because seriously, its annoying.
• No advertising, spamming, solicitation or commercial self promotion should be allowed
• Prohibit discussing any illegal activities. Yes, we get that there are some federal guidelines that may not represent your area.
• No posting of lewd comments, language or photos, while the internet is for p0rn, GameSpot is not a place for fap footage.
• No posting of misleading or irrelevant comments, stay on topic.

Violations of the Code of Conduct

It is extremely important for you to understand that this section of our Code of Conduct isn't designed to cover everything. We may take action issue a warning, ban your account(s) and/or IP addresses, lower your post count, delete/edit your post(s)/thread(s), etc. if your conduct at GameSpot is counterproductive to the Code of Conducts principle guidelines.

--EDIT: Whoops, posted in a locked thread--