Welcome to the Battle Forum Rules 3.0! Now I know you’re excited to get out there to debate, make a thread, or even participate in a Challenge a Viner debate. But before you do, please review the rules. They are there for a reason, and they aren’t optional. These rules will be enforced, in addition to the general Forum Rules. Also, look to the Battle Forum Table of Contents for a glossary of helpful threads.
If you ever need help, please contact the Battle Forum mods.
Battle Forum Moderators:
- Emperorthanos-
- God_Spawn
- JediXMan
- Juiceboks
- Rogueshadow
- The_Red_Viper
- Vance_Astro
- Owie
- Darthjhawk
- Anthp2000
- Cocacolaman
- Scarlet_death
- Thedailybagel
Rules Sections:
1: Rules for Battle Thread Creation
2: Rules for Debating
3: Challenge a Viner - Rules and Guidelines
4: BANNED Battles
1. Rules for Battle Thread Creation
Making threads can be a bit tricky. Please follow these rules and guidelines.
Search Before Making a Battle
We don’t like dupe threads, so please do a quick search. Example: type into Google “Comicvine Superman vs. Thor” (without quotation marks) before making a thread. If nobody has made it before, go for it! (sidenote: yes… people have made Superman vs. Thor threads, so… don’t make that). If it’s a dupe, it will probably be locked; there are rare exceptions when they will be left alone, and this is up to moderator discretion.
Make Sure It Is a Battle
Before we talk about what is a battle, let’s list what isn’t a battle.
- “Who Can Beat ___?” – This is a question, not a battle.
- Example: “Who Can Beat Superman?”
- “Can ___ Do ___?” – This is a question, not a battle. If it read “Can X beat Y?” then it should be appropriately labeled, like so: “X vs. Y”.
- “Power vs. Power” – This is a comparison, not a battle between characters.
- Example: “Cyclops’ Optic Blasts vs. Superman’s Heat Vision”
- “Item vs. Item” – This is a comparison, not a battle between characters.
- Example: Mjolnir vs. Power Ring”
- Subjective competitions. Ex.: Who is more popular? Who is your favorite? Which character gets the most dates? Etc. These are not battles.
- General competitions.
- Example: “Reed Richards vs. Tony Stark at chess,”
General rule of thumb: if the thread can end with a question mark (?), then it isn’t a battle.
These threads will generally be moved to a more appropriate board or locked entirely.
Types of battles:
- Character A vs. Character B – The standard.
- Example: Superman vs. Thor
- Can also have free-for-all battles, where three or more characters can fight. But these can be hard to make balanced.
- Team vs. Team – This involves two or more characters against two or more characters. These are tricky and it can be difficult to make a fair team battle. It’s particularly hard to find a fair match with three or more.
- These can include one character vs. two characters, but those can be just as hard as a team battle.
- Gauntlets – A character fights multiple characters, one after another, in a gauntlet. Between “rounds,” the character running the gauntlet may or may not heal / rest. These battles should include the conditions mentioned in the next section.
- Scenarios - These involve characters or teams fighting to complete an opposing task. The difference between this and a "competition" is that there is combat involved. The goal is to complete the task (or prevent the other from completing their task), but it comes down to combat abilities and / or tactics.
- Examples: hostage rescue, robbery, bodyguard vs. assassin, etc.
Don’t mark them as “question” threads that can be answered, and don’t make a battle with a victor in mind. In general, it’s also a bad idea to make the battle into a poll.
Make sure that the battle is fair for both / all combatants. Be creative about the battles; don’t just use characters that are common or popular. Use new and interesting characters that would make an interesting and unique battle.
How to Make a Battle:
Now that you know what a battle is, time to explain how to make a battle.
Label the battle correctly. Battles should be labeled in the way “Superman vs. Thor” or “Superman Runs the Gauntlet.” Make sure that you spell the names correctly, with no typos. Don’t say “Bat-man” or “Spiderman.”
Make sure the fight is fair. Do not make a battle with a winner in mind. If the TC (Topic Creator) is the only person insisting that the fight is fair, chances are it isn't. Never show bias as the topic creator; keep your own debating to a minimum. When you make a battle, make sure you are capable of arguing for or against either character, if you need to defend the thread's validity.
In all cases, the battle should include these things:
- Links to characters – One purpose of battles is to spread and share knowledge, so people should learn about characters if they don’t know who they are.
- Mindsets – This means “Morals on” or “Morals off,” or even bloodlusted. This is how they will view the fight, and how far they will go to win.
- Prep or no prep – Do the characters have time to prepare? How much time, and what does that time entail? Prep generally includes: modifying standard equipment, setting traps, etc. Prep does not mean getting outside help. Basically: the Human Torch's prep does not involve asking Reed Richard for help. While prep can involve creating a new device - as people like Tony Stark often do - it has to be within realistic parameters. Cite examples of a character utilizing prep in such a way.
- Knowledge -Whether or not characters have prior knowledge with their opponent. Now this does NOT mean that they will customize their equipment, but it will determine how they handle their enemy - what level of force is necessary, if they will banter, if they know their weaknesses (ex. Kryptonite), etc.
- Location – This is incredibly important, and it can determine the outcome if the fight is close enough. Posting a picture representation of the location is helpful.
- Examples: Warehouse, rooftop, city streets, open field, etc.
- Similarly, you need to state the starting distance (10ft, 100ft, a mile, etc.).
- Gear – What weapons, equipment, and attire are they bringing to the battle? Does Batman have his utility belt? Characters can only use gear that they have canonically used before (IE: Hulk can’t have a Red Lantern ring, and Superman can’t have Mjolnir).
- You are, however, allowed to give characters special items in order to make the fight more fair, such as indestructible swords in order to fight against lightsabers.
- Character Versions – Specify which versions are being used. New-52, pre-52, Ultimate, 616, etc.
- Generally, this is mentioned in the title of the thread. Example: “Pre-52 Superman vs. 616 Thor”
- Win Conditions – The means of victory or defeat.
- Example: KO, Death, and / or BFR (Battlefield Removal)
- Refresh between rounds (for Gauntlets) – Whether or not a character heals or rests between battles, or carries the wounds from the previous round.
You can also add rounds into normal battles, each with separate conditions.
Sometimes, you can add or remove powers to make a fight more fair. But be very careful with this; it can result in an imbalance. Do not add powers or power items that a character has never used. Sometimes, one might wish to equalize stats if you want to compare their combative abilities. Example: Superman vs. Thor, speed equalized. It's better to lower one character's stats to match another than the raise the stats of one character to meet another character.
When there is no information, we use these as the default battle conditions:
- Fighting to the best of their abilities, within their normal ethical / moral boundaries.
- No prep, no prior knowledge.
- A populated city street, starting 10 ft apart.
- Standard gear, current mainstream canon versions (current / standard when the thread was originally made)
- Win by KO, death, or BFR.
- Rest / healing between rounds (for Gauntlets)
Use Fictional Characters
Please use at least one fictional character in each battle. If we see something like "Mike Tyson vs. Bruce Lee" and neither are a fictionalized adaptations of these people, then this discussion will be moved to Off Topic or locked. But if you use a character that Bruce Lee portrayed, or a comic book version of Bruce Lee, then that counts as a fictional character.
2. Rules and Etiquette for Debating
Now we’re up to the part of the rules where we talk about how to conduct oneself when debating in a thread.
Watch Your Language and Attitude
Be respectful. Debating should be a civil discussion, not a malicious argument. Do not be obnoxious, do not troll, do not bait.
A common thing is saying “do you want to fight me in a CaV?” in an antagonistic manner. Don’t do it. CaVs are meant to be civil discussions, in which users should have mutual respect; they aren’t meant as challenges with the intent of proving a point or threatening to “humiliate” another person. This kind of attitude is wrong and it does nothing to positively contribute to the community.
Attack the argument, not the debater.
Do not:
- Insult others. Just don’t do it.
- Use rape in an insensitive context. Basically, don't say things like: "Professor X mindrapes him," and certainly don't say that one character will rape another. Seriously - don't do it.
- Use the word "retarded," in reference to people, characters, arguments... really anything.
- Call people stupid
- Calling an argument absurd can be okay, but this is a more gray area. Avoid words like “dumb” or “stupid.” Words that mean essentially the same thing can carry very different context; don’t use antagonistic words. “That is ridiculous” is a very different thing than saying “you are stupid.” Learn the difference.
See the site rules regarding language.
Stay On Topic
I understand that, sometimes, you can have the occasional joke. But for the most part, try to stay on topic, and do not derail battles with off topic discussions; take it to a PM.
Keep memes and the like to a minimum. The occasional joke is fine, as I said, but memes have no place in a debate. If you are doing that while making a rebuttal, then you may be given a warning. CaVs are the exception, if you begin or end an argument with a "cool" gif; but it is still against the rules to do this in an antagonistic or condescending manner during the argument.
Use Feats
Feats are, essentially, evidence of ability to back up an argument.
When looking at feats, be objective. Do critical analysis and unravel the context behind the feats; don’t take them at face value. See if there is:
- PIS / Plot Induced Stupidity – When a character wins, loses, or does something out of character for the sake of plot.
- CIS / Character Induced Stupidity – When a character wins, loses, or does something out of character because of something that is occurring in the story. Maybe the character is holding back for some reason, or fighting uncharacteristically ruthlessly.
- WIS / Writer Induced Stupidity – When something happens in the plot due to the writer not doing research on a character’s prior abilities.
Remember: try to be objective.
Posting Scans
Keep your scans to a minimum. Use good arguments and facts to reinforce your points; do not rely on copious scans to make an argument for you. If you want to post scans, post cropped panels rather than entire pages. For more information, see here.
3. Challenge a Viner - Rules and Guidelines
A CaV (Challenge a Viner) is a structured debate wherein two or more users debate in a public thread. A CaV may be a part of a tournament. Once the debate is complete, voting becomes open to the public, and other users may vote on who they believe made the best argument. Here are some rules on CaVs:
- CaV creation rules:
- CaVs are not bound by the Battle Forum (1.) Rules for Battle Thread Creation or (4.) BANNED Battles. Whether or not the battle is fair is determined by the users who agreed to the battle in the first place. Likewise, participants may use characters that would otherwise be banned (such as Dragonball characters) if both agree.
- Do not make a battle without permission as a means of “calling somebody out.” The conditions of the battle should be discussed privately between the debaters (or tourney host). Once the conditions of the battle are agreed upon, one of the participants will create the battle. Once made, the conditions may not be changed without permission from the debaters or the tourney host
- Voting rules:
- Voters must vote PURELY on the basis of merit – who made the best argument? Do not vote based on which character(s) you think would/should win in a battle
- Do not give your opinion regarding the battle itself, and do not make an argument of your own.
- Do not comment on the arguments being made until voting is open.
- The CaV creators may choose to exclude users from voting based on post count (ex.: “People must have at least 500 posts to vote”). They may not exclude specific users from voting.
- You get one vote. You may not vote using alt accounts, and you may not vote for yourself.
CaVs are a serious debate platform, so please treat those battles with a degree of dignity.
4. BANNED Battles
Don't bump banned threads
Some of these rules haven't been around forever, so some threads that violate the rules might be around. If you find one... just leave it be. Don't bump any thread that violates the rules.
No Fake Characters
Do not make up a character, like "Me with Superman's powers vs Thor," or a fan fic character that you made up. Characters have to originate from an officially published work of media.
Universe vs. Universe threads are BANNED
Do not pair a single character against an entire universe, and don’t match up an entire universe against another universe. This also applies to Composite X verse Character vs Character Y. Examples: “All of Marvel vs. All of DC.” or "Composite Naruto character vs Silver Surfer"
Do Not Use Omnipotent Characters
Don’t do it. The point of battles is to have discussion, and you can’t have a discussion with infinitely powerful characters. Example: The Presence, the One Above All.
Also, don’t use characters with Toon Force, such as Bugs Bunny or other absurd characters. There’s really no way to get a proper discussion going with characters like these.
Don't Use Excessive Numbers
Don't do something like "1,000 Wolverines vs. Hulk." There's little basis for debate, here. Limit it to actual characters; don't use multiples of the same character. You are also not allowed to make a thread asking "How many X does it take to beat Y?"
However, you can do something with multiple versions of the same character (Ult. Wolverine, 616 Wolverine, Fox Wolverine, etc.).
Note: these numbers are okay when using generic characters, such as 1,000 Stormtroopers - because these are types of characters that often appear in large numbers. But take care and give thought to your threads; do you really need 1,000 Stormtroopers for something? Just contemplate first.
Do Not Use Religious Figures
Be respectful to the various faiths that we have here, regardless of whatever personal beliefs you have. This includes, but is not limited to, religious figures from: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc.
An exception would be fictional representations, such as Lucifer Morningstar from DC / Vertigo. But don’t use parody versions (like the Super Best Friends from South Park).
In general, using figures from ancient mythology is fine, such as Greek / Roman, Norse, Egyptian, etc.
Temporarily Banned Specific Topics
For a list of temporary bans on particular topics, see this thread.
If you see somebody violating the rules, then here is a brief guideline to reporting users:
- First, flag and walk away. If something is flag-worthy, don’t engage, and don’t antagonize by saying “flagged” or threatening to flag them. Just do it and let the mods handle it. I know it can be tempting, but if somebody is throwing insults at you and you flag them, just stop fighting back and walk away from the discussion entirely.
- Second, if you want to call a mod into a thread, such as @JediXMan, please do more than just tagging the mod. Say why you are tagging the mod in the body of the post.
Above all else, make sure that the post, thread, or user that you are flagging is actually breaking the rules; don’t report them just because you disagree with them.
If your thread gets locked, do not get upset, go on a tangent, or make a thread in an attempt to maliciously call out moderators because of it. Calmly contact the battle forum moderators (listed at the top of this thread) with your inquiry, but before you do, review the rules to see why your thread may have been locked.
Contact the Battles Forum Mods; please don’t use the PM All Mods function for your grievances.
I know this was all a lot to take in, but it’s all for the purposes of keeping the boards civil and making the overall experience positive. Have fun and start debating!
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