READ ME!

Rules of this Forum

1. Obey all basic rules of civility. No flaming, trolling, or otherwise picking fights.

2. Members banned from the TheManaDrain boards are prohibited from posting.

3. Without accounts we can guarantee for nothing here, so no trading allowed.

General Posting Guidelines:

* Before asking for complete decklists, browse the other forums and/or use the "search"-button

* State the intended format, if it is for 1-on-1 or multi and similar things

* Writing decklists: Group them logically, for example first mana sources, then removal etc.

* Write first letter of card names in capitals. Try to evade the use of abbreviations and nicknames for cards because this forum is also for newbies

* Dont use all-caps (equals shouting) and dont use too many special characters like multiple "!"s

* Choose an appropriate topic title that decribes the contest of the thread very well. "I have a question" is too fuzzy.

* Generally, the more info you give on your deck or problem, the better the replies.

* Dont just state that a card choice or similar is stupid, explain why it should not be used and make an alternative suggestion if possible

* Before you hit the submit-button to make a new thread, make sure that there is not a thread with that topic already. Rather contribute to an existing one than opening a new one. Also have a look at the pinned topic called "Jumpstation" which is a colection of useful links, your issue might as well be already discussed.

* Writing in red and bold is reserved for mods. I recommend furthermore to not use a red font or colors at all. Black is just the easiest to read and important notes from mods should be recognizeable as such easily.

* Do not post win percentages, this only draws flames and causes misunderstandings

* There is absolutely no need for lines like this: "I am only a basic user so I cannot post in X and therefore I post it here"
Everybody can see that and mods do look at your status before making comments and before moving a thread. I translate these sentences as "Bohoo, I dont have an account, so I post here, its your fault (and please give me an account)". That´s annoying and may result into the opposite. So just that you know. I might edit/delete these phrases next time I see them.

* If you post a thread about a single card from Mirrodin, give that damn thread a proper beginning: Post more than 2 lines and provide it with something I can call a basis for discussion! Things like "Ohh, XXX is awesome, what do you think?" will get closed.
This, of course, will be true for any new set that comes out, meh. NEW

Membership Policy & Forum Philosphy
First some words from our Master, Zherbus:
(keep in mind that he is talking about our previous system where you could post without membership and every registered member was what now is a full member)

"The application process, as I have run it before is nowhere in the immediate future. All new accounts will be taken on a case by case basis, with most of the new recruits coming from the Unregistered Forums.

Honestly, the application process didn't work as well as planned. It was alot of work to go through and approve each application, and as a result 40% of the applications hardly ever used the accounts they applied for. In addition, of those 60% who did use their accounts caused me getting PM's from my respected members to the effect of 'Dude, how did this guy get through the application process'. In short, my membership base has lost faith in the application process and I have as well.

To earn the right to a registered account, you basically need to prove your worth here in this forum. Below I will post some tips on how to get our attention in a positive way. (This list will be edited from time to time, so keep checking.)

1. Post in readable english. There is nothing more revealing about someones intellect than to have glaring grammar errors. I'm not talking about a missing comma here, or a mispelled word there. I'm talking about, "Hi evrybody! does NE1 have NE list for Keeper?!?!!!@!?!! post them thx."

That just sucks and makes me want to tell you to go away.

2. Don't over do it! I see specific people start like 3-4 threads a day and its just insane. Noone wants to see how many bad decklists you can come up with in the shortest amount of time. If you can't focus on a few topics, or if you can't put enough thought into typing each one, then why would we want to read your topics?

3. Continually asking for accounts is a huge turn off. I AM reading these, and I have other people doing the same so they can make recommendations. We don't need to be reminded that you want an account every post you make as a P.S..

4. Understand the method to my madness. Ask yourself why you want an account here. I bet one of the answers is that as far as type 1 content is concerned, we are the leading site.

As a forums gets more popular, it attracts more people. When you attract more people, you attract more undesireable members. Once you have attracted enough undesireable members, then content of the forums takes a sharp decline. Soon the respected members find they no longer gain anything from the forums and typically wont want to stick around.

That sick cycle shows how a good forums site goes to a bad one. For proof, go browse the forums of any other forums based site. MTGNews, Brainburst, and Wizards.com all have open memberships and look at the difference in quality there.

Two examples of members that have been admitted into TMD's roster:

Toast on 2/23/02 - Example of his work in the forum.

Humanman on 2/23/02 - Example of his work in this forum."

I recommend you to read this twice if you seriously want to become a full member.

Next I want to give some statements regarding membership and this Forum.
(also old comments regarding the last system)

"It was debated in the past if we should create this forum at all. What people seem to misunderstand again and again is that TMD is a private site. There are no ads, sponsors or any other commercial interests in running this site. This means that no one has the "right" to post here or to become a member like on public forums.
There was a time where everyone who wanted to could get in, yes, but this was only the initial time where only members of the old Beyond Dominia community knew about this site. Of course also truely new members slipped in. But this time is over and everyone should accept this. Zherbus´main goal is to keep up and even increase the high quality of posts here, and that in turn will increase this site´s fame and popularity.
Sometimes it really helps to accept reality and admit that you aren´t the next Finkel. Overestimation of one´s own abilities is so common among Magic players. Just realize that being not perfect is no shame and accept that there are still many things to learn.

We have this Newbie/Guest Forum where everybody is allowed to post. I´d like to point out that this Forum is still part of TMD, and like it seems it is getting bigger and more important each day. Yes, you don´t have a neat avatar here. Yes, you cannot edit your posts. But this Forum can still be a very good place to have a decent conversation about Magic going. Luckily many members with accounts come here and join in, which I am very glad about.
What I basically want to say here is: Don´t see this as an inferior place or "waiting room" or "n00b pool". This Forum can be exacly what you need, advice on your decks and thoughts on your level. If you are already beyond that level, keep on posting and help other users out. We will recognize your skills and the next step, membership, is the logical consequence.

So, to close this, either accept having no membership and try to have a good time in this fine Forum or try hard and post at high quality (not necessarily quantity!) to eventually become a member. If you fail, try harder. But do not bitch about this policy or other people that got membership; if you can honestly congratulate them, you are on the right way. Yes civility is also a criterion that we are looking for.
Finally, if you became member, possibly after a long time, do not ever forget where you came from: Do not act like a jerk once you have your password and come back here to help out other applicants.

With enough work from both you and me we could even turn this Forum into something that worthwhile that you do not really need membership any longer! Until then I´ll try my best to make this a place where you at least enjoy to be.

Puschkin"

This may be old shit but the essence still holds true with the new system, which is in fact the same, only that the former unregistered users now have accounts with avatars, the ability to edit their posts and so on.\n\n