Forum Policy, FAQ and Useful Anti-Spyware/Anti-Virus Links

[phongn]

Your Moderators
If you have an issue with something that one of us may have done, PM one of the G&C mods or a Supermod.

General Forum Policy
No spam. This means you, TGODers. There is a fine line between what constitutes spam and what constitutes an actual TGOD post. I will assume that all of you understand that difference. This is not a board that exists merely to boost your postcount. Again: spam will not be tolerated and is subject to deletion.

Janeway Porn. Just say no. While not remotely a bannable offense, this will not endear you to the moderators. Please refrain from it.

Spoilers. You will put a spoiler warning in the thread title if you are giving away critical details about a game (plot, characters or whatever). Be considerate to other gamers.

Keep the flames down. While for most threads I do not expect to see flaming, it can and does occur in TGOD posts. If you have an argument, keep it civil or take it to PM. Failure to comply will result in that section being HOS'ed.

Dress your links. Presumably there will be news posts about games and such, and the links will also be huge. Dress them. If you do not know how, here is how to do it below. Note that the link element is not in quotes.

Code: Select all

[url=link] Description [/url]

Dress your images. Presumably there will also be huge gaming-related pictures. Do not inline large pictures. Many do not browse at high resolutions and it will cause issues for them. Instead, use a link as illustrated above. If you have a large number of images, you would do well to dress them as links as many users do not have broadband connections - or at least put a warning in the subject.

No Warez. Just so everyone understands, warez and pirating are illegal, so dont offer pirate copies of games or links to warez sites in threads. We dont need any trouble from such things so keep them away from the board. You may discuss the issue, of course, but keep actual links or advice on pirating or other IP-infringement off the board.

STGOD Policy
Understand the STGOD. If, at some point, you choose to join an STGOD, you must understand it first. Ask around and most importantly, read them before plunging in. Try to keep continuity going. Under no circumstances should someone attempt something like Sheppard's infamous "ASVS Civil War" STGOD - which caused a massive continuity error. Make a new one instead.

Issues with STGOD. If you have an issue with the STGOD, take it up with the moderator for that particular one, not one of the gaming moderators unless they are also the STGOD moderator. You should also try to resolve it over PM or e-mail first.

Enjoy the STGOD. It is supposed to be fun, and is supposed to be an outlet of creativity, whether you're running an intersteller empire or trying to smash someone's brains out. If you are getting annoyed, angry or otherwise not content, step away from the keyboard and calm down. Again: they exist to have fun, not to get into a fit.

TGOD Policy
Understanding the TGOD. Do not spam. I said it before and I'll say it again: TGODing is not spam. It is an area to blow off some steam and/or to attempt to maim someone horribly. It is not a place to increase your postcount.

Issues with the TGOD. Work around them. TGODs have no rules - and thus no formal framework for control - and if you have an issue with another player, you'll have to deal with it yourself. The same flame warnings as above apply.

Enjoy the TGOD. TGODing is supposed to be fun. It is supposed to be a place to blow off some steam. If you are getting worked up over it, take a few minutes to calm down. For us spectators, it's much less amusing to see someone enraged and babling than someone writing 5K of bloody gore.

Policy Dicussion
If you wish to discuss the policies outlined above, please do so in the following thread: http://bbs.stardestroyer.net/viewtopic.php?p=435707

[phongn]

Known Gaming Clans
General Information: The gaming clans of SDNet do not tolerate cheating! You have been warned.

Clan Advertising: If you have a clan that is not an SD.net-affiliated one, please do not spam the board without asking one of the mods.

Quake 3: Callsign {SDN}. Leadership currently being debated. Recommended custom configuration scripts by Einhander Sn0m4n.

Unreal Tournament: Callsign {SDN}. Lead by Crazy9000.

Command and Conquer Generals: Callsign {SDN}

NukeZone: Clans include SDNet (#23988) and Black Mesa (#24582), lead by The Dark and Crazy9000, respectively. Do not suggest anything resembling an alliance between the two groups as this is against NukeZone rules.

[Keevan_Colton]

Acronyms Commonly Used

TGOD - The Good Old Days, a type of thread where the participants try to off one another in insane ways while avoiding death through loopholes and the like themselves.
STGOD - TGOD's for slightly less insane people, it stands for Structured TGOD. In a STGOD there is suprisingly more structure about what sort of things you can and cant pull...
RP - Role Play, this is an old one, but hey the best always are . TGOD'ing for people who like lots of rules and a healthy does of sanity...

[phongn]

DOS Gaming in the Modern World

So you don't have an old DOS clunker to play your old games with. Perhaps Windows XP's virtual machine is giving you trouble, or you're running Linux or Windows 2000. Never fear! DOSBox is here! It's a DOS emulator that should allow you to play most games.

But perhaps your game already runs under Windows XP, but has no sound. VDMSound is here - it'll provide a sound layer for NT-based operating systems.

[phongn]

Spyware, etc. Tools

So, you have junk installed on your computer that you need to clean off. Perhaps you want to pre-emptively ensure that they will not enter your machine. These will help.

Malwarebytes Anti-malware - Lightweight and easy to use anti-malware software. Detects and removes some of the most serious infections out there. So good, it's commonly blocked from running by many forms of malware.

A-squared free - Not as lightweight, but very high detection rates (although blocking software in some malware can make for poor removal rates). Detects everything from tracking cookies to rootkit-trojan downloaders.

http://www.myantispyware.com/ - Great resource for anyone willing to do their own malware removals. Includes layman level instructions for removing many forms of malware (although experience is definitely suggested for some infections), as well as links to popular and effective anti-malware software.

Spybot Search & Destroy: Detects intrusive spyware and allows you to remove it from your system with a minimum of effort. While free, the developer requests donations to keep him afloat.

AdAware: Like Spybot S&D but some consider it to be a weaker product. A free version exists, two other payware products include additional features.

Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer: A tool from Microsoft that audits your machine for security holes and unapplied updates. A must for any users of a modern Microsoft operating system.

XP-AntiSpy: A tool to disable certain features from Windows XP that some consider intrusive.

HijackThis: A tool to scan certain registry entries and IE extensions to remove intrusive software, spyware and certain trojan horses.

Grisoft AVG: Free antivirus software for personal use.

Microsoft Windows XP PowerToys: Miscellaneous tools; also available for other versions of Windows from 95 to 2003.

SpywareBlaster: Prevents spyware from being installed.

CoolWebSearch Shredder: Destroys the evil spyware tool known as CoolWebSearch.

IE-SPYAD: Adds known-bad stuff into the restricted IE Zone

MRU-Blaster: Wipes out the Most Recently Used lists on your computer.

TDS-3: Detects and removes trojans from your computer. Shareware, 30-day trial.

Enough is Enough: For those of you without Windows 2003, this is a lockdown tool for IE6.

VX2Finder: tool to remove the VX2 family of spyware.

Windows Defender Really good tool for removing misc spyware crap.

Crap Cleaner Good tool for findin misc crap and MRU on your computer.

Audacity want to record any sound from any source in your computer? This is what you want.

MajorGeeks.com - Chicks dig us for our software.

Starforce Protected Games List - Keep tabs if your favorite games is infected with Starforce.

Great tips on fixing Spyware

Malwarebytes Anti-malware - Lightweight and easy to use anti-malware software. Detects and removes some of the most serious infections out there. So good, it's commonly blocked from running by many forms of malware.

A-squared free - Not as lightweight, but very high detection rates (although blocking software in some malware can make for poor removal rates). Detects everything from tracking cookies to rootkit-trojan downloaders.

http://www.myantispyware.com/ - Great resource for anyone willing to do their own malware removals. Includes layman level instructions for removing many forms of malware (although experience is definitely suggested for some infections), as well as links to popular and effective anti-malware software.

Rootkit Revealer Finder of evil rootkits, the bane of Sony!