Tony

I appreciate the input as always, Justin. As a Head Mod, I handle most of the banning and suspensions, and review issues our Moderators submit to me for further review. We have a capable team, but I get most of the dirty work. In regards to leniency, you and I obviously followed the same path. I used to issue warnings without points, but that leniency has been taken advantage of one too many times, so I do everything by the book nowadays.

Lately there have been several posts from a handful of users hellbent on spreading false propaganda about how WebFlake Staff manages and moderates this community. Most of the posts all follow the same rhetoric.. "WebFlake is ruled with an iron fist", "Nobody likes X Staff member", or the popular shtick of today's society: "freedom from oppression". When did WebFlake become Cold War Soviet Russia, Somalia, or North Korea? I'm going to address the most common complaints, and clear the air. Warnings / Suspensions / Bans When a user is warned, suspended or banned.. they have access to the reason why. Either by notification, email, or the No Permission page presented to you when logging into the site. Warnings do not go away, points are not removed, and only serve as a reminder to not commit the same violation (or any others) again. Suspensions are often handed out to users who frequently violate our guidelines, or simply ignore our warnings. Occasionally, if the action is severe enough, we will suspend a user without warning (i.e. if the user spams vulgarities repeatedly, uses racial slurs, etc). Bans are doled out to habitual offenders, spammers, leechers, and duplicate accounts. If you have questions on what actions may lead to these forms of moderation, or how we utilize them, feel free to PM me directly for clarification. One member PM'ed me earlier this evening to ask what the difference is between Head Moderators and Moderators.. I was happy to oblige. Alleged "Oppression" This is really just a cry for attention people. No one is being oppressed, you're simply confusing your dislike for our guidelines with real-world problems that millions suffer from every day. Not being able to sell ripped skins or request content via PM does not make you "oppressed". We put these guidelines in place for the best interest of everyone in the community, not just a few that we allegedly hate so much that we are trying to ruin their lives... (notice the dramatics?). We're always open to suggestions on altering our guidelines, but don't expect making a spectacle of your topic will bring the change you seek. All of these theatrics as of late are downright annoying and immature. Anonymous isn't going to bring us to our knees, and you won't rally thousands of members for your ridiculous "cause". We are a file sharing community, powered by our donators, and managed by volunteer Staff. Complaints against Staff I was not-so-politely informed tonight that I am apparently "hated" and many people have grudges against me. It's true. I have a long line of haters and wannabes, and an even longer line of critics. It's something I've learned to tolerate a long time ago as a game developer. If you have a legitimate complaint about how I moderate on this site, feel free to send a Private Message to Phun, who will be glad to review the complaint. The reality is though, that 95% of the users who already sent complaints are vulgar, belligerent, and hateful users who just wanted to complain. The other 5% are bandwagon users who see one user complain and promptly join in on the fun. Whatever the case, instead of whining publicly, contact Phun.. or, send me a direct message and we can talk about it. As for other Staff, you're welcome to send complaints to Phun or myself about Moderators. Can't say I've gotten one worth reading however. Membership on WebFlake When using this site, you accept the fact that your membership here can end at any given time with or without prior notice, either by your own choice or that of a WebFlake Staff member. There are no guarantees of "privacy" on a private domain, nor are we obligated to allow you to use this site any more than you are obligated to be here. If you do not like our guidelines or our moderation, you are free to seek out a new community. We will wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. In short, we're not a community for troll fodder or shenanigans. People come here to share and download files, offer and hire services, and get a running start on becoming a webmaster without the ridiculous fees most software developers charge for the content. I can't possibly fathom why some users take it upon themselves to make this community into a Broadway drama, instead of simply familiarizing themselves with our guidelines and having a good time here. There is much to learn, many files to be had, and ample friends to make throughout WebFlake. If you have a penchant for drama, rest assured, it won't be tolerated here.

The question(s) in this support topic have been answered and the owner has been able to solve the problem. Because of this, the support topic has been closed and moved.If you have other questions, please open a new topic.

The question(s) in this support topic have been answered and the owner has been able to solve the problem. Because of this, the support topic has been closed and moved.If you have other questions, please open a new topic.

The question(s) in this support topic have been answered and the owner has been able to solve the problem. Because of this, the support topic has been closed and moved.If you have other questions, please open a new topic.

The question(s) in this support topic have been answered and the owner has been able to solve the problem. Because of this, the support topic has been closed and moved.If you have other questions, please open a new topic.

The question(s) in this support topic have been answered and the owner has been able to solve the problem. Because of this, the support topic has been closed and moved.If you have other questions, please open a new topic.

There is a hook for such a thing.. but it's faulty at best. http://community.invisionpower.com/files/file/5878-disable-right-click-and-ctrl-c/ Fair warning however, even with the use of such a hook, browsers these days have built-in functionality that allows anyone to explore a site's source code. Chrome has Inspect Element, and FireFox has FireBug. Any site that it visible by human eyes is, in theory, potentially rippable. If you're going to even try to be accessible then this, by definition, must be the case (how else will browsers be able to deliver your content if it isn't machine readable). You could potentially use AJAX and rolling encryption to request all of your content from the server. You'd need to keep the method changing, or even random, so that each page load carries a different encryption scheme. But even this can be cracked if somebody truly wants to crack it. You'd also drop off the face of all search engines and therefore take a hit in traffic of real users. In short, nothing is safe on the internet.

Not the most intelligent of intros. For starters, the obscenities weren't necessary.. and lastly, you won't be advertising your site here without purchasing a paid advertising package through Administration. If you intend to be a member here, I strongly suggest you review our Guidelines and

Please send me your IP via PM, and I'll cross-reference banned addys. I'm assuming you know how to get your own IP.

The OP has already found a host, thus additional replies have been deleted. Furthermore, I am locking this thread to avoid more blatant advertising.

The question(s) in this support topic have been answered and the owner has been able to solve the problem. Because of this, the support topic has been closed and moved.If you have other questions, please open a new topic.

It was pretty much just Phun, along with Staff advice.

I have merged your two topics.. there was no need to create them separately.

The question(s) in this support topic have been answered and the owner has been able to solve the problem. Because of this, the support topic has been closed and moved.If you have other questions, please open a new topic.

Well, the reality is, we've always asked users to add a prefix for rips, or to use file tags as well. Whether we force users to complete a field or not won't change whether the information provided is accurate. I'm not saying I don't approve of the idea, but with thousands of downloads already submitted, it's a little too late to adjust that.

As has been alluded to, getting caught with an application (one of their most expensive ones) without a license for it, even if you have a license for the board software, is your own fault. You can't fault IPS for suspending your account. Evidently you were reported or made a mistake (presumably while using one of their hosting accounts based on the email you received). In most circumstances, IPS will ignore "piracy" unless it's a site like WebFlake. Gaming communities using their software really only generates interest, not a loss of profit.

The irony in that is WebFlake is one of those "older sites". We've been around for quite some time now, and will continue to withstand the test of time. In any event, welcome to the community!

Phun is already aware of this and has assured me he will handle it as soon as humanly possible.

Smaller hosting companies aren't apt to have the latest copies of MySQL and PhP.. which is precisely what vBulletin 5 requires to run efficiently and smoothly.

This topic was created out of necessity, just 24 hours prior to Phun deciding to add the Marketplace. I was not aware that he intended to do so as quickly as he did, otherwise this likely would not have been posted. I am well aware that ripping skins is a service, which is why allowing members to sell the service via PM was a gross violation of our 'no advertising' policy (as well as stepping dangerously close to our Unsolicited PMs policy). Those are some interesting numbers, however. It's interesting you say 90% because only 386 of our 26,860 members have an avatar, and of those 386 users only 3 use the Guy Fawke (ala Anonymous logo). Three users on the entirety of the site. We best be careful, as apparently WebFlake will be brought to its knees by an enormous horde of oppressed peoples. This isn't the Cold War Soviet Union.. we have guidelines in place to protect our site and its users. The best part about this site, is it isn't obligatory. Meaning, if you don't like said guidelines, you're free to find a new 'home'. Having said that, it's important to note that sending Private Messages to users who have not solicited them, is still a violation of our Community Guidelines. We now have a Marketplace - there is no need for requesting services via PM. I have no interest in reading further inane and egregious, close-minded material, therefore.. Topic locked.

Being that it's a marketplace, I'd say no. Posting freebies would just get buried. You're better off posting in Webmaster Discussion that you're willing to rip skins for free. But understand that there will be users who will be more interested in paying for a rip from a user with a longstanding reputation, or perhaps a rip that can be done now rather than later. There will always be varying circumstances that could determine the success of paid versus free rips. Keep in mind that posting anything like "I'll rip for free what X user is charging $5 for", or posting in that user's services topic to discredit their work because they are charging for it, won't be permitted. Not saying you'd do that, but it's one rule I just realized should be included in the Marketplace Guidelines.

Personally, I'd much rather have retail copies of skins in our Downloads area only. I think ripped skins are a waste of time as they rarely include the "extras" and are typically just imagery and CSS. However, we have a few users who dedicate an exorbitant amount of time to properly ripping skins and the differences between the retail copies and their rips are virtually nonexistent. As a result, some users should be rewarded for that service. The benefit to this is, people are more apt to complain about lousy rips they paid for, versus rips they either leeched or downloaded and assumed was just a junk skin (unaware that it was really a terrible rip). The community will police itself in this sense, so we really won't have dozens of "rippers". Our current ratio of rips to retail copies is astronomically different. 98% of all submitted skins are retail. I'm hardly concerned about the possibility of diminished rip uploads. On another note, I've considered prohibiting the sale of ripped skins without a copy of the skin being shared. I'm betting we'll see plenty of generosity. Users will likely purchase the rip and happily share it.

When posting offers, please be sure to include all relevant details.. Coupon or Promotional code Website where offer is located Website where the offer is meant to be used Products / Services the code is eligible for Any extra terms or conditions You may share coupon or promotional codes that double as referral links, if you so desire. Both you and the user utilizing the code will profit, so this is acceptable. You may NOT link to codes that are obtained by way of downloading archived files or by completing "surveys". Sites like these are known scam sites, and such topics will be promptly deleted. As always, ensure that you review the codes currently available, before posting duplicates.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns that you feel need to be addressed, feel free to post them here and I will respond to them as quickly as possible. Thank you!