General Tabletop Rules, Guidelines and Useful Threads.
Welcome to the Warhammer 40,000 Tabletop section of the forum. Below you can find the rules and guidelines of the section, as well as additional recommended reading links which cover the most common issues/queries raised in their respective subforums. These links are updated when new material surfaces, so make sure to check back regularly!
First, the difference between a rule and a guideline. Quite simply, rules can and will be enforced via the warning system, locking of threads, or deletion of posts. Guidelines cover recommended forum etiquette, and are not likely to yield warnings unless abused in the extreme.
This is not to say that you cannot be warned for breaking a guideline, merely that the chances of it happening are slim unless you are repeatedly abusing it. Since most of the guidelines are common courtesy anyway, this should largely be a non-issue.
Rules
1) Read the Forum Rules. These subsection specific rules are not designed to work instead of the main ones, but as an addition. This means you need to read them to know what they contain, since they are not repeated here due to redundancy.
2) Use the Search function. Due to the nature of the section, topics frequently arise that have been covered a number of times previously. Creating a new thread when the answers are already there for the taking is going to end up in a lock, unless there is new information available.
3) Do not bash GW’s prices. This is not in place because we are all hardcore GW fanboy’s (since we certainly aren’t), but because threads serving only to cry about prices have no discussion value. They bring nothing to the forum, and it’s an argument we’ve all heard several times before. We know GW stuff is not cheap. Get over it.
4) No advertising. This relates more specifically to personal eBay auctions, but is a catchall for all types of blatant, self-serving advertisement. Bear in mind the relevancy of what you are linking to the current discussion topic. For example, if someone wants to know of a site that sells a specific type of scenery or modelling equipment, a link/review is perfectly acceptable since it is in context. Creating a new thread to advertise your new eBay auction, or some stuff you’re offloading on barter town is going to get killed dead, with any links removed. Keep it relevant, and if in doubt, check with a member of staff beforehand. We won’t bite your head off.
5) Do not post points costs for wargear or weapons. Don’t post statlines (unless they are fictional) in full (though sections relevant to discussion are permissible). Provide a page reference instead of quoting, word for word, entire rules. Relevant sections of a rule are permissible, as long as they deal only with a fraction of the whole rule. The purpose of this rule is to prevent people being able to get information for free, which they otherwise would have to own a codex/rulebook for. Copying whole sections of rules, or statlines is IP theft, and is not tolerated here.
Guidelines.
1) Post coherently. This covers everything from spelling to punctuation, no excessive caps or smilies, no massive outbursts of punctuation, using capital letters when appropriate, and so on. Not only does it benefit you as the poster, since people can understand what you’re trying to get across, but it benefits everybody else since they don’t have to decode your posts. Not everyone who visits these forums is a native English speaker, so consider the difficulty involved in trying to decipher a horrendously formatted and typed post, and be considerate.
2) Take care to put your thread in the correct section. They are very clearly labelled, and we know that occasionally mistakes happen, but there’s very little excuse for not putting a painting related thread into the painting section, or a background related thread into Backstory and Fluff. It only makes you look lazy.
Useful links. A collection of threads aimed at those who may be unfamiliar with the forum, which cover some of the most frequently asked questions, or frequently covered topics. These are the cream of their respective discussions, so it is highly recommended you read them.
Guide to starting 40k - So you're new to the hobby?
Get your stats here! (and other legitimate downloads) - 40k Reference sheets and other links to GW downloadable material (links lead to GW homepage, but have been catalogued for easy reference).
