I'll also add a few more things that count as spam.
Offensive Language
Please refrain from using offensive language in your posts. Some words that may be considered offensive are swear words and words that are degrading to a group of people when used in a negative connotation, such as "gay." Any posts containing these words will be edited, deleted, or locked depending on the thread.
Flaming and Trolling Please don't insult other people or their tastes. No matter how much you may hate something you may state it as long as you
state it respectfully. Here's an example:
Here's an example of what not to do:
I understand the whole freedom of speech and freedom of the press thing, but some things are just not smart. Would you shout "fire" in a crowded theater? Or, to relate it to this forum, I am a fan of
The Warriors, so would you send me a private message telling me how you think the movie is horrible because you think the acting sucks and the dialogue is bad? No, because that's just asking to be reported.
To sum it up, if you don't like anything and can't state your opinion respectfully then please don't even bother posting whatever it is. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press is good and all, but please don't hurt anyone's feelings. It's rude.
Posts with only a few words I know Akane already posted it up above, but I've seen plenty of posts like these lately so I'd like to make it clear that posts with only one or two words do count as spam. I will be sending out private messages to people who spam, so please don't do it.
This is only directed to the people who do it often, like more than five or six times. If you do it a couple of times then I will not be sending out a warning unless you keep on doing it.
Old Threads[/b]
Please don't reply to old threads. If a thread is more than two months old then it will be locked.
Telling people that they are spamming[/b]
Try not to tell people that they are spamming. While you do mean well, it really doesn't help to stop the arguments. It's also off-topic, which counts as spam especially since some people know full well that they are spamming.
Plagiarism[/b]
Plagiarism is a terrible crime to commit. Just don't do it unless you want to have a lawsuit on your hands. People who have spent hours on their work do not deserve to have them stolen.
I don't know about anyone else, but if I see something on here that I recognize is by another person then I will have no problem reporting the post as well as the person's profile to the creator of the work. You have been warned.
Advertising It's already in this thread, but I'll say it again:
please do not advertise your forum through private messages. If you wish to advertise any of your websites then please go to
this thread so the General Talk forum won't be flooded by advertisements.
Also, please keep the advertising to the thread that I linked to above.
Spam Please do not use an excessive amount of smilies. A lot of them together tend to slow down the page, especially for users who have dial-up. Even with broadband it still makes it difficult to scroll.
Try not to post in old threads. Some of the members aren't around anymore or sometimes the discussion has ended. I think that if a thread is two or three months old then it's best not to post in it.
Don't make posts that stretch the page.
No spam threads. These push informative threads to the next page and irritate users. Saying that you do not have to click it is not a valid excuse since it is still visible. Please scroll to the bottom of this post for a somewhat detailed explanation.
One type of a thread is enough. Try not to make repeat threads unless the previous thread is several months old.
Was double posting already mentioned? Anyway, try and edit your posts instead of posting again, especially if it hasn't been a long time since you last posted.
Posting games count as spam as well since they usually don't contain many words and serve no purpose. They're amusing at times, but they contain no discussion and therefore do not belong in General Talk.
Private Messages Don't spam anyone by private messages since it's extremely irritating. If someone is sending you spam and won't stop then you can block them by going to the preferences section and entering their login name (it appears in the location bar when you go to their profile).
Also,
please do not advertise your forum via private messages. This is also considered spam and is very rude. If you'd like to advertise your forum then please add it to your signature instead of sending messages to people. (Thanks goes to Kel for the suggestion about advertising your forum.)
ROMs Please do not post the links to any ROMs since it is a violation of copyright law as well as the ProBoards Terms or Service. The links below will help clarify it.
ROMs and Warez from the GameFAQs Help Files ProBoards Terms of Service Most ROMs are not legal, not even if you delete them after twenty-four hours.
Miscellaneous Since there have been posts saying things such as "A counting game never hurt anyone" or "Just don't click on it!" I have decided to add this section. True, a posting game hasn't done anything to anyone, but if one spam thread is allowed that means that they will all have to be allowed. It's unfair to tell one member that they are not allowed to spam yet allow another member to post whatever it is that they wish.
Helpful LinksThis is just a collection of links mentioned throughout this post.
Forum/Website AdvertisementsROMs and Warez from the GameFAQs Help FilesProBoards Terms of ServiceTinyURL
I'll add something else to this post if anyone else thinks something is missing.
;D 
)
