The Lush Forums were created with the intention of providing a comfortable place for people with a common interest to exchange ideas, share information and enjoy each other's company. These forums are maintained in that spirit and members are expected to honor those goals. The basic guide to etiquette is this: be polite, be mature, keep your language clean and respect the opinions of others (even if you disagree).
The administrators will browse the forums from time to time to ensure that the guidelines are being followed. Anyone not following the guidelines may find their posts deleted, and risk being suspended, or even banned, if the problem continues. If you notice any posts that do not adhere to these guidelines, please notify the forum administrator by via the Help >> Contact Us link.
No hate speech.
Any post that insults people based on their race, gender, sex, sexual preference, religion, culture, or country of origin, or threatens them explicitly or implicitly is not allowed and may result in an immediate ban. This includes both fellow forum members and your fellow human beings in general.
No Moderator / Site bashing.
If you have an issue with a particular moderator, the manner in which you've been treated, or the way any aspect of the site is run, please use the Help >> Contact Us link, and your issue will be forwarded to the most relevant person. These matters are best kept out of the public forums, and do nothing to create a harmonious atmosphere we all strive for.
Remember, moderators are here to help you, to keep the site running smoothly and free of pests. They give up their time freely to do so. Please show them the respect they deserve.
Personal disputes
Please do not use these forums for personal disputes, heated debates, flame wars etc. You are expected to treat each other with respect in the forums and take any personal disputes to a private mode of discussion off the forums. If you should find that your discussion is becoming too heated or someone is becoming far too passionate about their argument, please take the discussion to private message or email.
Respect other users
Sometimes people can write something that you may find offensive. Before launching into a public condemnation though, please consider that the person may not have intended to cause offence. It is very easy to misinterpret a post on forums. There is absolutely no need to resort to insults. Respect others even if you disagree with their views.
No trolling
What is a troll? It's a person who posts something which is bound to stir people up and then sits back and watches as dozens of people jump in and start arguing. Sometimes trolls get their friends to join in or post under different names. Generally they will do anything it takes to get attention. If you see a message like this, please try and refrain from replying to it - it may well be deleted anyway.
Keep on topic
Do try and keep to the topic of the thread. If you want to raise a new issue then consider whether a new topic is more appropriate.
Linking to or promoting competing story sites anywhere on Lush is disallowed, and may result in your account being banned.
Self explanatory. If you have your own amateur, non-commercial blog, you may put a link to that in your profile area, nowhere else.
Advertising / solicitation
Advertising for the sake of advertising is not allowed. Posts that are off topic will be deleted.
No threadjacking
Threadjacking is a deliberate attempt at steering a discussion away from the original topic by bringing up another, which may or may not be relevant to the content of original post. Depending on the context, threadjacking can be used as a timely ice-breaker in an awkward situation (especially if you are the topic creator) or more commonly, as a form of cheap amusement for trolls.
Ignore spammers
Spam is a blight upon the face of the net. Nobody likes it. However, it is hard to avoid. Despite our best efforts, you will very occasionally see spam in the forums. If you see any posts of this nature, please contact us, and we'll remove it immediately.
Administration