Greetings everyone! Just here to restate a few previous rules and give a new one for better group dynamics. For all intents and purposes, this group runs pretty smoothly and we want to keep it that way.

Basic site rules apply. No spamming posts, no harassment of others, no personal attacks, no replying to everyone on the thread just to get attention. Just, don't be a dick. A general rule for life.

Now, Sunset Shimmer is wonderful and perfect in every way, and we all have something to say about her. However, we don't need fifteen threads of the same topic. So, if you think a topic about her already exists, go back through the Shimmer Nexus (which I shall be updating in the near future) and try to look for it.

Here's where some of the new rules kick in. Time moves on. Posts get old and disused. If a thread has been inactive for a year, or something sufficient has come up in canon that would require a new thread on the same topic, you are at rights to make a new one.

Now, I admit, I have been prone to quickly deleting uneeded threads before the OP has a chance to save their posts. From now on, when a thread is locked, all posters will be notified and have 24 hours to copy whatever they wrote and move it to the appropriate thread.

However, there is a caveat to this! To discourage the creation and response to useless threads, small penalties will be given to the OP and anyone who replies. They start with warnings and move up to day-long bans for repeated offenses. You will not get permabanned for this kind of conduct. Unless you're being malicious or intentionally creating the same post over and over again. This is really in place to help you guys police yourselves and use your search skills. We want discussions, but we also want a neat forum.

Now, here is a refresher on the kinds of threads we have. These first threads are Permanent ones that require no other threads to be made on them. Offenders will be penalized for making these.
Story Idea thread. This is where all story ideas go. You may also ask for writing help, but there are groups specifically tailored for that.
Art thread. For all your cute, badass, or semi-sexy Sunset needs. Keep it SFW. Also, keep posts to a maximum of 5 pictures at a time.
Spoiler Reminders. A courtesy thread. Actual spoiler threads are usually made by Jondor whenever new material is announced or close to release.
Story Promotion. Made a new story? Proud of your work? Good! Promote it here!
Looking for a Story. Need help finding that one fic you forgot to fave? Someone might be able to give you a hand.

All these are stickied to the top of the forum.

Category Two is anything that could potentially be found in the Shimmer Nexus, which again, I know I need to update. Penalties on this will be given more regard depending on how old or relevant the thread is when a repeat one is made. All we're asking is for you guys to go and take a quick look back to see if someone had the same idea as you.

And of course, if you manage to come up with a completely new idea for a thread, then hot damn! Gold stars all around!

That's the low down. If you see someone making a post that shouldn't be, give them a nudge in the right direction. You might get brownie points. The long and short of it is, post responsibly and be nice to one another. You've done a pretty good job of it so far, let's keep it up!

Now, if you'll excuse me, Her Grace is calling.

Hail to the Sunset Shimmer Nation .

I mean, the rules sure do a good job of keeping the forum empty and lifeless, so hey.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

6348061
The forums are not a chat room. Their success is not measured by "life and activity" but in content accumulated and ease of access to that content.

A group is primarily for stories. You want to chat, go to a chat room. Fimfic has one.

6348088
What you're describing is a wiki.

A forum is a chat room, just on a time delay.

It's your group, and obviously you're free to run it how you want, but there's pretty much never any reason to come here, no interesting discussions to be had, and no room for new fans to express themselves without being slapped down immediately with "It's been done before, n00b."

6348114
A wiki is an outgrowth of the philosophy and purpose of a forum.

A forum retains use as a place to discuss information while a wiki seeks to present that information. A forum is useful for finding/discovering the best information, while a wiki should present that best information.

Neither of those are places for "newbies to express themselves." That is what blogs and fanfic are for. If you just want attention or idle conversation, that is what chatrooms are for.

If a topic has been covered before, there is no need to repeat it in such a manner as all other topics become harder to find and read for future users. There is no point responding to a dead topic (necromancy) unless you have new value to add to it. There is no point "expressing new ideas" if those ideas aren't of value to all users for years to come. "I had this vague idea flit across my mind" is not useful. "I have a detailed idea that I think is worth discussing at length" is.

There is room to argue where the line exists for those things, sure, but "new topic because the place has not many new topics" is a waste of everyone's time. "New topic because I personally want the satisfaction of getting other people to respond to me" is a waste of everyone's time. "New topic because I can't be bothered to read what already exists on the topic" is a waste of everyone's time. And all of those things make it harder for future users to dig through the existing threads in order to find useful information.

6348136
Not a chat room. The group is far from dead. If anything, it is still cluttered and in need of some pruning. I'd prefer if Knighty implemented a thread merging function someday, hence why the axe hasn't been used to clean the place up. Cutting off the creation of useless topics before anyone wastes their time on them and directing them to existing threads is better for everyone.

Sorry, just because some other groups are run piss-poor doesn't mean they all need to be.

6348144
Ha, yeah. Groups with actual discussion are piss-poor. Sure, bud.

Recently, someone posted a video of Sunset singing. It was warned and locked, and told to use the appropriate thread, but then had a link to the art thread, which is specified here as for photos. Why was it warned, locked, and deleted? Honestly, due to this, I have not made a single comment to things that look like they follow the rules, for fear that somehow in someway, like that post, it will be locked and I will be warned, even though there seems to be no reason for it to be taken down. Perhaps there should be a video thread? Another post I saw taken down was discussing allergies for Sunset, a horse allergy. In the post, the person mentioned in passing that they might include that idea in their story, but the purpose of the post was to explore and discuss the aspect of Sunset having a horse allergy. This, then, was taken down due to it being a story idea, which, by reading the post, I could tell it was not. Could someone please explain this? Why things are being taken down and being redirected to another area that is not applicable to them?

6349874

I think you need to work on your reading comprehension. The thread that was linked is the ART thread. Nowhere does the ART thread state that it is for photos only. (Why would you take a photo of a digital image, then digitize it, then post it here, that makes no sense.)

Videos are a form of art, therefore they go in the art thread. The forum does not need a separate thread each time someone stumbles across a video that they feel like sharing.

The allergy thread in question was not a post for discussing a fully fleshed out topic. It was a random single line idea. As I stated in that thread, if you have an idea for which you can write a couple of paragraphs and which therefore has some substance to it, some actual meat beyond "lol, random idea guise", then it is deserving of a new thread and lasting discussion.

If you have a single sentence "lol, random idea, guise" idea, then you do not need a brand new thread with which to spam people. Post garbage like that in an existing thread if you just can't keep it in your pants.

6350403
I can see where you're coming from for the idea thing. Thank you for clearing that up. But, for the "art" thread, it does specify to keep it below 3 images. And yes, videos are a type of art, but, if we're going broad like that, stories would seem to be included too. Art is a very broad category, and, in the thread, the implication feels like it is for images/gifs only. When I said photos, I meant images. I think part of me was more wondering why either 1) there are no rules for videos in said thread, if it does include it, or 2)there is not a video thread. When most peopke see art, they think images, not videos. If this could be cleared up on the art page, perhaps that would help. My post was more for clarification than anything, not questioning the rules. Keeping clutter down is good, especially in a group this big.

6350442
Fair enough. Videos are now mentioned explicitly as part of the thread.

6332934

And why was a thread I posted deleted when it didn't seem to be against the rules?

7274410
I don't know? It wasn't me who deleted it.

7274452
Then ask the one who did as I'm curious for I got no warning from anyone.

7274479
I don't know what thread you posted, so you're going to have to be a little more specific.

7274479
You do not need a separate thread for some random nonsensical crossover idea that you wanted attention for. Especially since, as you pointed out, you posted the same thread in multiple different groups. You may keep your other thread in that other group because I don't have to look at it, nor be bothered by the notification it generated.

Be thankful you did not receive a warning because all too often the people who get indignant about receiving such warnings (as you seem to be) feel the need to escalate their offense until they instead receive a ban either temporarily or permanently.

7274603
That wasn't a story idea, and I was curious not indignant as I've received warnings and went okay (I'm the type that wonders what I did wrong) and it was only in one group which no one commented on.

7274650
It wasn't an anything. It was some random idea that tickled a couple of your brain cells for five seconds. There was no substance and no merit to it. It said nothing about Sunset Shimmer as a character. If you want to blog about your random one-line ideas, then blog about it in your own blog space. This group is not your blog space.

7274711
Nor was it a blog.

7274723
Thanks for proving my point. If it wasn't worth posting in your own space, why would it be worth posting here.

If you want a formal warning about your thread, I'll be happy to go document one, otherwise be grateful that you got off with this exchange and work on fleshing out your ideas into something of substance in the future.

7274734
Also, it being worthless is just your opinion, and since my question is answered I'll stop now.