These guidelines are all heavily enforced and should be read and understood prior to posting on GameDev.net:

• Topics that you post should be relevant to the forum in which you are posting. This includes posting non-game development related topics in the GDNet Lounge.
  
• Before posting in a forum, you should read the forum's Getting Started box for FAQs and common questions and search the forum to see if someone else asked your question already.
  
• Insults and personal attacks on other members will not be tolerated.
  
• Posting someone's personal address or phone number without their consent is forbidden, and may land you in legal trouble as well.
  
• Software piracy is banned from these forums. Posts asking for pirated software or for how to find pirated software will not be tolerated. Admitting to using pirated software or other pirated material is a bannable offense.
  
• Offensive language is allowed but should be avoided and never directed in the form of an attack towards another member. The forum software automatically censors some words, and GDNet Staff and Moderators may censor others.
  
• Do not spam. It will be deleted as soon as a Staff member or Moderator sees it.
  
• Do not start a topic that condones illegal activities or activities that tend to incite flame wars, such as: drug use, killing, warez, theft, race, nationality, sex, and religion.
  
• Do not use the forums as a personal messenger service. That is what email or the private message system is for.
  
• People engaging in abusive activities will have their accounts rendered inaccessible and be permanently banned from GameDev.net. Furthermore, if necessary, we will take whatever steps are needed to report you to your ISP for abuse, and won't hesitate to contact law enforcement authorities should the nature of the abuse warrant it.
  
• Any posts containing language or images that are inappropriate for viewing at work, at public terminals, or by children are likely to be removed. Members who continually post such things will be warned and eventually banned. Links to this type of content, or posting content modified in some way (pixelation, or posting as ASCII "art" for example) will also not be tolerated.
  
• You will be held responsible for anything posted using your account. Therefore, you should keep your account details private, not share your account with others, and avoid linking to images that are dynamically updated or that are hosted on a server you don't control.
  
• If you feel that you have been unfairly treated by a moderator, you should contact the moderator in question, another moderator you are comfortable with, or a member of the staff in private to resolve the issue. Posting a thread to criticize the moderator is not constructive and may result in a reduction of account privileges.
  
• The moderator of each forum is ultimately responsible for determining what is and isn't appropriate material for that forum.
  
• No user is permitted to have more than one account. If, for some reason, you feel the need to create a new account, contact a member of the staff to discuss doing so beforehand.