Necroposting Policy

The Three-to-Six rule set designates a period of time from 90 to 180 days (3-6 months) in which a thread has not received any activity in between its latest response and the post preceding it. Any reply created in a thread before this time cannot be considered as necroposting (although warnings may be issued regarding relevancy), while any reply after this time will automatically cause a thread to be locked. Any reply within Three-to-Six will put a thread in limbo rather than instantly going from active to necro. From that point a case of necroposting will occur upon one or more of the following conditions being met:

• Reply is irrelevant to the thread,
  
• Reply is redundant or counter-intuitive, offering no significant or unique ideas worthy of advancing progressive topic discussion,
  
• Original poster (OP) of the thread has requested to have the topic locked,
  
• A new thread of the same topic has been created that renders discussion on the old topic obsolete.*
  *On the flip side of the coin, new threads will be locked when an older topic's latest reply dates back to less than 90 days.

In most cases, I will expect members to restart a discussion topic in a new thread if the topic has gone unremarked for over six months. Any threads that have been locked as a result of Three-to-Six may be disputed by the OP (and ONLY him/her) under the following arguments:

1. OP can show that staff wrongfully determined relevancy or value of the thread's response,
   
2. OP can provide new or ongoing information to the subject worthy of encouraging significant discussion,
   
3. Posts have been added following the limbo reply that are relevant and contribute to the topic.

In the case of b) and c), the necroposter may still receive a warning, although the thread can be considered active following that point.

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Regarding finer details of the system, here are the special considerations for necroposting that I would like everyone to keep in mind per forum. All forums in which Three-to-Six DOES NOT APPLY will be highlighted in red text:

THE POKÉDEX

[RULES AND INFORMATION]
Rather than locking threads here, staff will delete comments that are redundant or irrelevant to the original topic as discussion on forum rules and site information should always be open regardless of distance of time between posts.

[NEWS AND UPDATES]
Same as above for sticky threads. Normal threads adhere to Three-to-Six; however, I would prefer that offending posts still be deleted in order to preserve an update's chronological position.

[INTRODUCTIONS]
In addition to Three-to-Six reasons, I will accept claims of necroposting here if the OP hasn't been active on the forums for over 90 days upon the time of reply.

FUN AND GAMES

[CONTESTS]
With the exception of discussion threads, Galen and I will be locking any contest thread that isn't currently active, rendering necroposting impossible in those situations.

[WIIKLY NEWS REPORT]
While any thread can be locked here on account of necroposting for the time being, Sparky the Chu reserves the right to cancel this policy for any (and all) submissions he would like to remain open to comment at all times.

[RANDOM FORUM GAMES]
Three-to-Six observed.

GENERAL DISCUSSION

[ALL DISCUSSION FORUMS]
Three-to-Six observed.

[RANTS AND RAVES]
Given the caustic nature of this particular forum, I will not accept any excuses for resuscitating threads that have been inactive for over 90 days (To be lowered to 30 days if abuse becomes common, which it fortunately hasn't so far).

VORE DISCUSSION

[ALL VORE FORUMS]
Three-to-Six observed.

CREATIVITY

[ARTWORK - STORIES - OTHER CREATIVE PROJECTS]
Unless an artist/writer/etc. specifically indicates otherwise, users may leave constructive comments related to their submissions at any time in the threads they create. I see this section as a gallery and showcase for our members' creative works and thus will not be observing the six month time limit, the exception being with projects that require user participation (e.g. Story sign-up sheets). However, this does not mean that a thread cannot be locked if a post made after 90 days is not worthwhile to the topic. Also, like in Introductions, I will accept a necroposting report if the OP has not been active in the forums for over three months.

[TRADES - REQUESTS - COMMISSIONS]
Same as Introductions. Responses to closed threads will cause them to be locked outright.

ROLE-PLAYING

[ALL RP FORUMS]
These forums operate differently in that the participants in a role play are not limited to time in their responses. Necroposting only occurs in the event that after 90 days without a response, someone alien to the action either jumps into the thread asking for permission to join or attempts to join without permission or explanation. Only the OP can request his thread be unlocked at this point.

[OOC]
Necropost rules function EXACTLY as they do in the RP forums; by this, I mean that to accuse a non-participant of an RP of necroposting in its OOC thread requires that both the OOC thread AND the RP thread be 90 days inactive. If a thread does not exist in the RP forums, apply Three-to-Six. Use your better judgment in this case.

[SEEKING RP]
Same as Introductions. Responses to closed threads will cause them to be locked outright.

[CHARACTER SHEETS]
See above.

SUPPORT AND SUGGESTIONS

[ALL SUPPORT FORUMS]
Three-to-Six observed, with the exception of the Sandbox.

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That should be about it. Let me know if you have any questions, and thanks!