The SHIPS rules are now being extensively changed in the light of the shift in opinions and facts since HBP was released.

The only place where shipping debates are now allowed is in the Great Hall. In the ships forum, there are now, "supporters only","venom" and a handful of "triangle" threads.

ALL THE SHIPS THREADS, UNLESS OTHERWISE CLEARLY STATED, ARE FOR SUPPORTERS OF THAT SHIP ONLY.

Breaking this rule will be met with a warning in the thread and a friendly Owl (Private Mail) reminder to read the rules. After the first warning, if the posts continue to be offensive, your posts will be deleted without further notification as they will be regarded as off-topic and inflammatory. They also lead to unnecessary upset as supporters of those ships don't like it when people begin posting in their threads and telling them why their ideas are wrong. That leads to the breaking of another forum rule - creating a hostile environment.

Feel free to contact a moderator (wizengamot) if you are offended for any reason. That's what we're here for, and we will always take a complaint seriously. You are also welcome to contact us if you have any questions.[/color]

Don't be rude about REAL people or their opinions. Don't flame or insult anyone else's opinions. This goes doubly for Slash threads or cross-generational pairings. Express your opinions politely. This forum caters for EVERYONE.

Please bear in mind that these boards are used by all ages and nationalities and therefore there are many ideas expressed here that you may not agree with for whatever reason. If you disagree with a pairing, please bear in mind that there are people out there who may agree with it and be offended by your remarks. Express yourself politely and considerately at all times. I repeat, FLAMING, RUDENESS AND AGGRESSION ON THESE THREADS WILL BE MET WITH AN OFFICIAL WARNING FROM THE MODS.

The VENOM Threads

These are NOT debate threads - they are purely for NON-SUPPORTERS of ships.

1. Members who support the ships being discussed in the VENOM threads are strongly advised to stay away. You WILL see things that will upset, annoy and anger you. The purpose of these threads is for people to have a place to freely vent with like-minded people, but NOT to argue. Supporters have their own threads, people who hate certain ships need to have a place to vent to that is free from retaliatory/argumentative posts or flames (nasty, personal remarks)

2. These are NOT debate threads - there is no case to answer. The mods DO NOT want to see defensive posts in these threads. If you want to debate, then apply for membership to the Great Hall. (See 'Hogsmeade' for more info)

3. All Veritaserum rules still apply - no cursing, abuse, nastiness or personal attacks will be tolerated in the VENOM threads. You may feel free to criticise the ship as much as you like because they are fictional and you're not hurting anyone, but DO NOT attack REAL people, DO NOT attack Jo Rowling personally who worked very hard to create this series that we all love (although you may express dissatisfaction, so long as you do it POLITELY) and DO NOT attack the opinions, intelligence or make other personal remarks about the fans who support these ships/characters. That behaviour WILL NOT be tolerated. Such posts will be met with official warnings and a restriction of your posting privileges.

4. Please do not argue against one ship on the basis that another is more likely. The VENOM threads are ONLY for discussing the reasons why you don't like THIS PARTICULAR SHIP - the fact that you prefer another is NOT a valid argument.

5. VENOM threads are only for ships that have sailed and may only be opened by a moderator.

We're a friendly enough bunch here, honestly we are, and are very approachable if anyone has any problems. Don't ever be afraid to contact us - we're here to help. What we won't do is tolerate bad behaviour that makes this place uncomfortable and unpleasant for everyone. If you don't understand something or are unsure, PLEASE ask first rather than risk a warning later.

Okay....enjoy yourselves!!

388 hits on a rules thread - tut, tut, tut. Just goes to show how many people pay attention, doesn't it?

Okay...look. This is the situation. I am very, very tired of telling people off for being rude about other people's ships in a supporters only thread. No one listens, no one reads the rules, so I'm going to make it nice and simple for everyone whilst also saving the staff from hassle of having to constantly Owl people.

Any post that is rude or anti-supportive within a supporters thread from now on will simply be deleted. You won't be warned, you won't be told where your post has gone - it will just disappear.

If you continually do it, then obviously I'm going to have to start reducing people's post counts accordingly.

I hope that's not necessary.

VTM has always been an oasis for shippers where they can post in peace, and I will not let that change now.

A purge of the ships threads to remove all rude/nasty/anti-support posts will be undertaken over the next few days. So if you're wondering where your posts have gone, that's where they'll be - in the trash can.