BT Information Thread

[Niniel]

This is were you will find all the information that you need about the Black Tower. The thread will contain information about:

 

1. Staff

2. Rules

3. Ranks

4. Factions

5. Bonding

6. Spoilers

 

 

To those of you who were members of the BT Social Group - there have been some changes. You can read about them here. 

Edited December 16, 2021 by Asha'man Shar'aman

[Niniel]

The Staff

 

BT Leader, a.k.a Dragon Reborn = Illian Tear

BT Moderator = Asha’man Shar’aman

 

Faction Leader of the Light, a.k.a Logain = Asha’man Shar’aman

Faction Leader of the Shadow, a.k.a Taim = Illian Tear

 

 

The staff is here for you. Let us know if you have any suggestions, complains, want to give us brownies etc. The staff is responsible for moderating the club and see to it that everyone knows about, and follows the rules.

 

The staff can give out points to members who have done something amusing, helpful, extra crazy etc. Faction leaders and moderators can give out 30 points/month. There is no limit for the Dragon.

 

Edited June 12, 2021 by Asha'man Shar'aman
Update

[Niniel]

Rules

 

 

The Black Tower is the home of madness, we are by nature pretty nutty and we can do some crazy things. However that is not an excuse to be rude or nasty to any members.

 

The Staff here are to moderate any misbehaviour or inappropriate language or images etc. This is a PG 13 site. They will be dealt with accordingly. If you feel that you have been unfairly moderated, please ask for clarification, if you are still unhappy, then come to me, if you are still unhappy then the next stop is the Admins of the site. The Club admin is Verbal32.

 

This is the latest verion of the DM Code of Conduct.

 

 

Introduction

This Code of Conduct ("CoC") is meant to supplement, not replace, general Dragonmount rules, and if situations arise that are not covered by the CoC but require moderator attention, the Admins will act as they believe necessary in the best interests of the site after consulting with the relevant staff and other Admins.

 

The Dragonmount Staff

1. The Dragonmount Staff consists of Admins, Club Leaders, and Moderators. We also enlist the assistance of other contributors and developers who are not necessarily considered Staff when it comes to making community decisions. 

 

2. A full list of the DM staff can be found here. 

 

Warning Point System

1. Dragonmount employs a "3-strikes" warning system throughout the website. All registered members are subject to receiving  1 or more Warning Points if violations occur. Violation types include, or may be similar to:

 

• Hate speech (flagrant) (3 points earned—automatic site ban)
• Inappropriate Language (1 point earned)
• Abusive Behavior (1 point earned)
• Topic Bumping (aggressive) (1 point earned)
• Inappropriate advertising (1 point)
• Signature Violation (0 points earned—but email warning sent)

 

2. You will receive an automated email if you are cited with a Warning Point.

 

3. Warning Point Consequences - Most Warnings will result in the user receiving 1 Warning Point, which generally remain on your record for 180 days. 

 

• 1 warning point:  the user has their content moderated for 2 days. Posts and comments during this timeframe requires moderator/admin approval to be seen by the community. 
• 2 warning points:  the user has their content moderated for 30 days. Posts and comments during this timeframe requires moderator/admin approval to be seen by the community. 
• 3 warning points: user is permanently banned from DM. 

 

4. Banned - A user who is banned, either by receiving 3 or more Warning Points or other method determined by a Dragonmount Admin will not be able to post to the forums, clubs, news comments, or anywhere else on the website. Banned users will be removed from all clubs and not allowed to sign-in to the website any longer. 

 

I. Violations of Conduct

 

0. All Violations are determined by the Dragonmount Staff. We are open to fair discussion, but reserve the right to make all final decisions on the nature of a violation. 

 

1. Hate Speech – Dragonmount takes a strong stand against bigotry and discrimination in any form. Anyone found posting sexist, racist, homophobic or religious hate messages will be dealt with quickly and severely. Typically, violations of this nature will result in permanent ban from the website, as outlined above. 

 

2. Inappropriate Language - Please refrain from using inappropriate language, especially in anger. As a guideline, only language found in the Wheel of Time books should be used. The DM Staff have the authority to use their judgement for concerns that arise in this area.

 

3. Abusive Behavior - Dragonmount strives to provide a safe and friendly community for members to enjoy our shared love of The Wheel of Time and related works. A member may not harass, threaten, or otherwise bother another member, including moderators, Club Leaders, and Admins. 

 

4. Topic Bumping - It's OK to respectfully "bump" an older message thread if a reasonable amount of time has gone by and the thread has become static. Frequent bumping, or bumping a larger volume of topics will result in a Warning. 

 

5. Inappropriate Advertising - There's a fine line between this and outright spamming.  If a well-meaning member posts more than one topic to advertise a website or pet project, a Warning will be issued.  The DM Staff will use its best judgement on what is spam and what is simply a well-meaning, but over-aggressive way of telling people about something outside of DM. If you have a website or project you want people to be aware of, please post a single thread in the Off-Topic forum. In some cases, posting a single thread on a Club forum may also be appropriate. When in doubt, please ask the relevant Club Leader or Moderator. 

 

6. Signature Violation - Dragonmount has specific rules for creating signatures. If there's a violation, you will be asked to change it, but generally speaking, you will not receive a Warning Point. 

 

II. Member Conduct

 

1. Privacy. No member of Dragonmount should ever publish private correspondence, without the approval of ALL Parties involved in the exchange. This includes PMs, E-mails, and Instant Messages.

 

2. Bullying. Bullying takes many forms and can be far more destructive than many people will realize. Some people will laugh off the most vicious comments; others may be driven nearly to suicide. The Staff reserve the right to remove any posts, avatars or sig pics that are deemed to fall into this category. As a general guideline – if you wouldn’t say what you’re about to post in real life, in a dark alley, to someone twice your size and better trained in fighting than you, don’t post it at all. See above for more information on this topic. 

 

3. Personal Attacks (including on Private Boards). Personal attacks on other members are not tolerated, period. Club Leaders and their assistants are expected and obligated to deter any personal attacks made by one of their members. Failure to do so will result in 1 or more Warning Points being issued. See above for more information on this topic. 

 

4. Account Information. The individual who registered for an account will be held responsible for all actions taken by the account. To avoid being accused of something you did not do, never give your account information to anyone.

 

5. Off-site boards.

 

(i) No Dragonmount member(s) may create an "off-site" which exists solely for the purpose of themselves and other Dragonmount members participating in Dragonmount related social interaction and/or private communication within a forum setting (either in an attempt to avoid information being viewed by Admins, or because they are dissatisfied with any aspect of Dragonmount's rules or members).

Using Dragonmount as a place to recruit members to such forums is also prohibited. Any Group or subcategory that is found to have created a social off-site board expressly for Dragonmount-related communication will be dealt with on a case by case basis.

 

(ii) The only authorized off site web spaces that are acceptable are: Club wiki's, and web pages

detailing Club information or documentation.

 

(iii) Advertising of independent (non-Dragonmount affiliated) sites is allowed on Dragonmount by placing ONE link and invitation on the General board. Members are also welcome to place a link in their personal signatures subject to signature size rules. Please contact webmaster@dragonmount.com for permission for any other advertising.

 

6. Instructions by staff.

 

(a) Ignoring instructions given by staff, or these rules is grounds for discipline, which will, for first offenses, typically take the form of a 30-day temp ban. However, if the nature of the conduct requires it, the discipline imposed may vary at the discretion of the Admins, up to and including a permanent ban even for a first offense. Should the conduct continue after the expiration of any temp ban or imposition of other discipline, or should the member require further discipline for other misconduct, the member will typically be permanently banned from the site. Again, however, the Admins have discretion to impose a lesser punishment should the situation warrant it.

 

(b) If you believe Staff is wrong in an instruction they gave you, open a discussion with them about it via PM (

not on-thread). If, after making an attempt to discuss the issue with the Staff member, you believe you are not being adequately heard, feel free to include the relevant supervisor (see below for information on the Staff hierarchy).

In the interim, follow the Staffer's instructions even if you disagree with them.

 

7. Account/Name changes. Members should only have 1 account on Dragonmount, unless given specific permission by the Admins. If a member decides to make another account, they must gain permission from the Admins, who will then either merge the accounts or delete the one the member no longer wishes to use. Members who wish to have their display names changed should PM the Admins with the request and an explanation of why they want their name changed. Members who do not abuse the process by seeking to repeatedly change their display name will typically be given permission to change their display name, so long as they either use "Formerly [Prior Name]" as their personal text or include it prominently in their signature for a 90 day period following the change.

 

8. When a decision is made and it is not the decision a member wanted, they will accept it with good grace and move on. Continually badgering and haranguing about the decision will result in a warning. If the warning is ignored, the member may be subject to discipline, up to and including banning. 

 

III. Conflict Resolution

As Dragonmount is on the Internet, it is inevitable that drama will ensue. If internet drama happens to you, please follow the following procedures.

 

1. Notify Staff of any Issues.

 

(a) If a member has an issue with another member (and this includes issues with Dragonmount Staff members- if the dispute is based on anything other than the Staff member’s actions as DragonmountStaff), please bring it to the attention of the relevant staff (Moderator/Club Leader/Admin) by PM. 

 

(b) If a member has an issue with a Dragonmount Staff member’s actions as Dragonmount Staff (i.e. a problem with how a particular issue or situation was handled by the Staff member in their official capacity) please PM both the Staff member and the Staff member’s supervisor.

 

2. Keep Disputes Private. Dragonmount strongly believes that issues between members, or between members and Staff, are best resolved in private, via PM and e-mail. Keeping issues private allows the parties involved to consider the problems and possible solutions without grandstanding or worrying about “losing face”, and avoiding public disputes is thus more conducive to reaching a resolution that works for all parties involved. DO NOT call out other members or Staff on-thread; doing so is in and of itself grounds for discipline.

 

3. Speak Your Mind. Dragonmount will never discipline any member for telling Staff something Staff does not want to hear. That doesn’t mean that members have license to be ruder to Staff than they would be to other members. But it does mean that if you see a problem, you need to tell us about it, no matter what it is.

 

4. Remember that Reasonable People Can Disagree. There are certain things that are black and white, of course: bigotry won’t be tolerated, favouritism is wrong, American football is better than soccer. But most disputes don’t fall within these realms of incontrovertible truth; more often, there are shades of grey, and reasonable people acting in good faith can and will take different positions even when looking at the same set of facts. As a general rule, people who come into a discussion of issues with this in mind tend to be able to find a mutually agreeable resolution much more often than people who don’t.

 

 

TERMS OF SERVICE (A reminder of what you agreed to when you registered)

 

Please review the Terms of Service available here.

 

Copyright Policy:

 

Digital Millennium Copyright Act

 

It is our policy to respond to clear notices of alleged copyright infringement. Our DMCA page describes the information that should be present in these notices, how to submit them, and how Dragonmountwill respond to such notices.

 

Regardless of whether we may be liable for such infringement under local country law or United States law, our response to these notices may include removing or disabling access to material claimed to be the subject of infringing activity and/or terminating subscribers. If we remove or disable access in response to such a notice, we will make a good-faith attempt to contact the poster of the affected content so that they may make a counter notification.

 

Edited August 28, 2019 by Niniel

[Niniel]

Ranks

 

In the Black Tower you can earn points in different ways. When you get a certain amount of points you will get a new rank. The ranks are:

 

Civie (Civilian) = It’s what you are as a newcomer.

 

Soldier = When you have earned 30 points. Soldiers can choose a faction.

 

Dedicated = When you have earned 90 points.

 

Asha’man = When you have earned 200 points. Asha’man can give out 10 points/month.

 

Attack Leader/Baijan'm'hael = When you have earned 400 points. Attack Leaders can give out 15 points/month.

 

Storm Leader/Tsorovan'm'hael = When you have earned 800 points. Storm Leaders can give out 20 points/month.

 

Here you can see how to earn points and how many points you currently have: Points thread.

 

While it is not necessary, if you wish to address someone formally by their rank, here are the correct titles.

 

Civilian: Civilian (Name) Example: Civilian Aman

 

Soldier: Soldier (Name) Example: Soldier Aman

 

Dedicated: Dedicated (Name) Example: Dedicated Aman

 

Asha'man: Asha'man (Name) Example: Asha'man Aman

 

Attack Leader/Baijan'm'hael: Attack Leader (Name) Example: Attack Leader Aman. Baijan'm'hael (Name) Example: Baijan'm'hael Aman

Storm Leader/Tsorovan'm'hael: Storm Leader (Name) Example: Storm Leader Aman. Tsorovan'm'hael (Name) Example: Tsorovan'm'hael Aman

 

Staff Titles:

 

Light Faction Leader: Logain

 

Shadow Faction Leader: Taim or M'Hael

 

Black Tower Moderator: Moderator (Name) Example: Moderator Aman

 

The Dragon Reborn: My Lord/Lady Dragon (if the Dragon uses pronouns and titles other than he/him or she/her then those titles will be noted down here so long as they are appropriate) 

Edited November 29, 2022 by Asha'man Shar'aman
Spelling and titles

[Niniel]

Factions

 

When you become a Soldier, you can choose a faction, Light or Shadow.

 

The Light Faction - is the nice and crazy side of the BT. Good and protective, the Lighties make it their mission to hold the Shadow at bay, while embracing their own side of the taint. This Faction is run by Asha’man Shar’aman. 

The Shadow Faction - is the dark and scary side of the BT. The Shadowies are prone to constant evil thoughts and plans to take over the world. This Faction is run by Illian Tear.

Edited December 16, 2021 by Asha'man Shar'aman
Update

[Niniel]

Bonding

 

 

Bonding makes use of an intricate weave that creates an enduring psychic link between two individuals.

The following are the procedures for bonding someone within the Black Tower.

• Members may have as many bonds as they would like in the Black Tower.
• Prior to creating a bond we ask that you PM the person you wish to bond with and seek their permission.
• As channelers, we use the proper noun 'Bond'; As members of the Black Tower, we make use of saidin... not saidar.
• Your bond may be a traditional Warder/Aes Sedai type, a bond of brothers, a bond of sisters, a bond of friends, a bond rivals, etc...
• At least one of the people being bonded must have obtained the rank of Asha'man or higher in order to prove that they are ready for the bond.
• Whether or not you RP the bonding is up to you but we like to see some sort of ceremony/scene (more than just saying "Okay, we're bonded") describing the event.
   

Unbonding

The process of removing or loosing a bond is often a painful and difficult thing and thus a private matter.

The following are the procedures for unbonding someone within the Black Tower.

• If you wish to be unbonded from someone you may PM your Faction Leader and the Club Leader asking that the bond between yourself and 'person X' be officially removed.
   

If you have any questions regarding the bonding process, please PM them to your Faction Leader or the Club Leader.

Edited December 16, 2021 by Asha'man Shar'aman

[Asha'man Shar'aman]

Spoilers:

 

The Black Tower is by nature a pretty spoiler-filled club (just look at the name) so not much will be changing regarding spoiler rules. However, with the WoT show out, there are some rules regarding spoilers that were not previously in place. 

 

Book spoilers: These do not need to be spoiler tagged. While I'm sure many would appreciate it if you did, it is not mandatory, and the Staff will not reprimand you for posting a spoiler comment without a tag. 

 

Show spoilers: For a month after the entire season has been out, that season’s content must be spoiler tagged. Spoilers are not allowed in thread titles. Show spoilers no longer need to be tagged a month after the whole season is out. If you fail to follow these rules, the Staff has the right to edit your post so it fits the spoiler rules. If you consistently ignore the spoiler rules, a Staff member will contact you, and you will be given consequences. If you believe you have been falsely accused, please contact the Dragon (Illian Tear) or the BT Moderator (Asha'man Shar'aman). 

 

Example:

 

Spoiler

Spoiler parts go here. Do NOT spoil anything outside of the spoiler tag. 

 

As the show progresses, these rules will likely change, and this post will be updated accordingly. 

Edited November 10, 2022 by Asha'man Shar'aman