» Sat Jul 17, 2010 2:05 pm Please Read The Rules.
For any questions about the rules, please read the FAQ below the rules or PM a member or ask in the lair itself.
1. No spam. Any post that is not informative or adding to the discussion is considered spam.
2. If you come into the lair to be disruptive it is trolling. No trolling.
3. All rules of the forum apply here in the Lurker's Lair and are to be followed.
4. Ignorance of the rules is not an excuse for breaking them.
5. If you observe someone breaking the rules, please either ask them politely to stop and explain nicely why or send them a nice PM. If it continues, report them to a moderator.
Below are guidelines and information for those who are new to the lair. It is suggested that you read it all as you will be held responsible for understanding and following the rules of this forum and held to a higher accountability in the Lair due to its seeming lack of a topic.
*Lurker's Lair* FAQ ? a compilation by the community
Q. What is a lurker?
A. A lurker is some one who visits and reads post on a forum, but doesn't reply that often if they reply at all. Sometimes this is due to shyness, as large forums can be very intimidating! Many have come out of their shells in the lair since its creation and many have become friends. All are welcome to come and share in the lair but are expected to follow the rules.
Q. What is the *Lurker's Lair*? What is the difference between the Lair and the rest of the Community Discussion forum, isn't it redundant? I mean there is a Community Discussion forum anyway so why this?
A. The Lair is a place for informal discussion and a check in point, where people can talk about things going on in their life without the "in the spotlight" feel of creating a new thread for each topic. It has been called "The Little Coffee Shop" of the forums and the community in there is a close group of friends. It has become a very important drop-in for many people and true friendships have developed through this thread.
Q. If there is already a conversation going on in the lair, may I start a new one?
A. By all means, yes. It isn't uncommon for lurkers to reply to two different topics on the same post, so don't worry about interrupting anything.
The people in the lair may feel free to post whatever they like as long as it is within the rules of the forum. It therefore may not be used for political or religious comment. It is also not the place to complain about things that happen elsewhere on the forums.
Q. What is considered spam in the lair?
A. Posters in the lair are held to a higher accountability due to the very nature of the thread. Horsing around, play fighting and one word or one line posts that add nothing to the discussion will be considered spam, and/or trolling and will not be tolerated. Warnings and even being banned can result from this behavior.
Now the serious part:
The Lurkers Lair is NOT intended for spamming. Some of the older users may remember that it seemed ok to simply post *lurk* as a post, it never was ok, and that is exactly what caused it to be closed the first time. It was reopened when Community Discussion was opened. Spamming the thread will get you exactly the same treatment as elsewhere, that is you will receive warnings that contribute towards an account closure. In fact due to its history, rules about spam are a little tighter in here than on the other parts of the forum. Other things that we don't want here are play-fighting and horsing around, as that destroys the tone of those that are trying to have a conversation. Disrupting the Lair with this behavior is called trolling, and is against the rules of the forum.
"Think of it as real life situations, if you were at a party or at a restaurant or club, would you be talking about politics or religion? Would you be walking up to strangers saying "lurk" or poof ? Probably not. So why do it here, anywhere on this forum?" This is a place to create friendships and to just talk about what we do and how we feel. It is a great place of support. If people simply post content less junk to boost their post count or to be mischievous it will mean trouble for this nice cornerstone of the forums. And that would be a tragedy.
So please no more posts that say simple *lurk* *lurk* or such, as that constitutes as spam. It seems that there are always those who want to disrespect the rules in an effort to get it closed. Why? I have asked myself that question. I do not know. Regardless, I would say they should be the ones to pay the price for their own actions and not the whole group. However if things get out of hand, that may be the only recourse, because remember it is one thread, and for one thread it takes a lot of special attention from the moderators. I (Archiesummer)then I will be sad.
If the conversation degrades to spam, rest assured you will still be treated as though you arespamming anywhere else on the forum. You will receive a warning, and after 3 warnings your account will be closed. The Lair will still go on without you. Not reading this or the forum rules will not be seen as an excuse either. This is a thread where people can relax and talk about personal things, and it is not to be used as an excuse to make pointless posts. I have had several complaints about behavior in the lair this evening and those people are concerned that a few individuals are going to ruin it for the group. I will try not to let that happen but if the Lair becomes a place where people feel they can violate the forum rules, it may be out of my control. Sorry if that sounds harsh, but that's the way it is. Please treat this thread with respect.
Please help to keep this alive and well and a place where we can meet and share.
Enjoy your stay the Lurker's Lair!
Archie was kind enough to divulge the history of the Lair to us:
Lurkers Lair was started in General Discussion by Lady Ahz, yes, to get people to open up and bring a sense of Community to the forums. But after MW and Tribunal was released the forums experienced a huge boom in population (from like 3k people to over 10k people within a few weeks) and unfortunately a lot of people really abused the General Discussion (and indeed the entire forums) with organized trolling attacks and posting icky pictures and being really mean and all sorts of nastiness, and unfortunately the Admins had no other choice but to close it down.
That meant that these forums were nothing but Elder Scrolls On-Topic discussion, and we actually had to micromanage the forums pretty closely because people were trying to sneak in off topic discussion (or conversations would naturally evolve like they do) to off topic and it really svcked to have to shut that down all the time. The worst of it was that there was a good sense of kinship and comradery among the forums (that still exists today) and there wasn't really anywhere to post really important things such as when a forum member had a baby or when sadly, one passed on. So as an exception, Lurkers Lair was allowed to be the one off topic thread in Morrowind General.
Wellllllllllllllllllllll after a whole year of the forums behaving and getting back on track there was a secret meeting in the underground passages of the forums. All that could be hears was quiet murmrering and the squeaking of Ernesto (the hamster who then ran the server, who was fed trolls and bedded on the shredded remains of deleted threads). Down the halls suddenly a squeaky voice said "I think we should call it Community Discussion instead of General Discussion and that would remind people that this part of the forums is for the Community!" (That was Hungry Donner). "Good idea" growled Pete and Hayt simultaneously, scratching their stubbly beards.
Through the night there could be heard strange sounds of sawing and hammering and the users of the old Elderscrolls forums shifted nervously. Some knew of the dungeons below and the Great Ferocious Hamster that ran the server, some suspected that a trap was being built, a great pit to house all the Off Topic posts. They were not far off.
Then one morning, as Mundus rose in the East over the new glacial mountains of Solstheim, some of the members of the forums refreshed their pages only to see something strange and foreign and new. "What was this?" they looked at each other nervously. Surely it was a trap, a great cage in which to ensnare anyone who was naughty. Soon a brave soul made a thread, a thread not about the Elder Scrolls, and it was not locked or given to Ernesto. The users of the forum rejoiced, and some of them read the stickies with the Rules, carefully crafted and mulled over by the mods and admins. Community Discussion was open, conditionally, that people do not abuse it and fill it with spam (for that gives Ernesto indigestion). But the Lurkers Lair had become home to so many and a tradition, that people decided they wanted to keep it going. (Also Freddo really liked it.) And so they did.
That meant that these forums were nothing but Elder Scrolls On-Topic discussion, and we actually had to micromanage the forums pretty closely because people were trying to sneak in off topic discussion (or conversations would naturally evolve like they do) to off topic and it really svcked to have to shut that down all the time. The worst of it was that there was a good sense of kinship and comradery among the forums (that still exists today) and there wasn't really anywhere to post really important things such as when a forum member had a baby or when sadly, one passed on. So as an exception, Lurkers Lair was allowed to be the one off topic thread in Morrowind General.
Wellllllllllllllllllllll after a whole year of the forums behaving and getting back on track there was a secret meeting in the underground passages of the forums. All that could be hears was quiet murmrering and the squeaking of Ernesto (the hamster who then ran the server, who was fed trolls and bedded on the shredded remains of deleted threads). Down the halls suddenly a squeaky voice said "I think we should call it Community Discussion instead of General Discussion and that would remind people that this part of the forums is for the Community!" (That was Hungry Donner). "Good idea" growled Pete and Hayt simultaneously, scratching their stubbly beards.
Through the night there could be heard strange sounds of sawing and hammering and the users of the old Elderscrolls forums shifted nervously. Some knew of the dungeons below and the Great Ferocious Hamster that ran the server, some suspected that a trap was being built, a great pit to house all the Off Topic posts. They were not far off.
Then one morning, as Mundus rose in the East over the new glacial mountains of Solstheim, some of the members of the forums refreshed their pages only to see something strange and foreign and new. "What was this?" they looked at each other nervously. Surely it was a trap, a great cage in which to ensnare anyone who was naughty. Soon a brave soul made a thread, a thread not about the Elder Scrolls, and it was not locked or given to Ernesto. The users of the forum rejoiced, and some of them read the stickies with the Rules, carefully crafted and mulled over by the mods and admins. Community Discussion was open, conditionally, that people do not abuse it and fill it with spam (for that gives Ernesto indigestion). But the Lurkers Lair had become home to so many and a tradition, that people decided they wanted to keep it going. (Also Freddo really liked it.) And so they did.
The subtitle is latin, means: "And whichsoever way thou goest, may fortune follow."
