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OFFICIAL ATRL FAQ
Thank you for visiting the Official ATRL FAQ. ATRL is a large forum with numerous ongoing issues, and we hear you and appreciate your concerns.
In order to make your experience less confusing, here we have compiled the most frequently asked questions we encounter, and detailed responses to these questions.
If you have any questions or concerns about what is written in this FAQ, you are free to use ATRL HQ or submit a help request.
FAQ SUBSECTIONS
I. User Accounts FAQ
II. Help Requests FAQ
III. Warnings & Bans FAQ
IV. Report System FAQ
V. Trolling & Disruptive Users FAQ
I. USER ACCOUNTS FAQ
How can I purchase an ATRL+ membership?
Due to ongoing problems with the server, we are not currently accepting registrations for ATRL+ memberships. If it ever ends up coming back online, we will let everyone know!
I really need a name change.
You may exchange 2000 reputation points for a name change. Please send a help request using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of the forum. Otherwise, you may win them in staff-hosted games or receive them as a concession from staff if you are seen contributing to the community.
I cannot post new threads.
Thread making abilities are automatically added to new member accounts when they hit a combination threshold consisting of total post count, time since the account was created, and overall activity. Requests to have them added to your account will likely be ignored.
Longtime members who have issues creating threads can used the Threadmaking Request Thread to gain access, or send a help request by clicking Contact Us at the bottom of the site to see if there is another issue.
It is also possible your ability to post threads has been removed. You may have received a warning with the reason in it. Check your email. Otherwise, please send a help request and you will be given a reason. Note that it may take between 1 day to 1 week for a help request to be answered, depending on the volume of help requests.
Can I have more than one account?
No. In fact, possessing or registering more than one account is considered a very serious infraction on ATRL. You may not use more than one account, share an account with another user, or otherwise be associated with more than one account at a time.
Individuals who are found to be interacting on ATRL through more than one account will have a permanent ban of all accounts with little to no appeal process.
If you have more than one account, and are just now reading this, please send a help request in good faith and we will disable your duplicates without any punishment for the main account. Do not wait for us to uncover your accounts and face the consequences!
III. HELP REQUESTS FAQ
What is a help request?
A help request is a private request to the ATRL Staff to resolve private account matters, including disputing warning points and bans and settling concerns you have about the forum. All staff can view and process a help request, although individually they are usually addressed by two or more moderators. Typically, for general information or questions about the forum you are encouraged to use ATRL HQ for a faster response. Note, that you may or may not receive a response to the discretion of the staff.
How should I word a help request?
Always politely and with as much information and context as possible so we can properly address your problem. Approach us with as much good faith and honesty as possible. If you believe deep down that you deserve a punishment that you’ve been given, do not send a help request.
How long does it take for a help request to receive a response?
Help requests can take as long as 1 day to 1 week to be processed by the moderation staff, depending on the nature of the help request. When a help request is processed, it is discussed by the moderation team, and a consensus is reached. The help request is then marked completed.
My help request has still not been answered.
Please be patient when awaiting a response or action. By the 1 week point, your help request should receive a response or your request taken care of. Please note you are not guaranteed any response from the staff--responses are send on a case-by-case basis. Typically, a lack of response indicates that a request has been denied.
If your request is not responded to or taken care of by the 1-week point, and you would like a response or some action to be taken, politely re-send your help request with the following characters in your subject line: [RE-SENT]. So, for instance, if you wanted a warning to be revoked, you would re-send your subject line as: [RE-SENT] Please revoke my warning point.
Can I just bypass the help request system and address a moderator directly?
The help request system is the official way to have your request taken care of. Unsolicited PMs to staff directly may not be answered, to the discretion of the staff member. All member requests should be known by each moderator so we all have a working knowledge of the day-to-day functions of the forum.
IV. WARNINGS & BANS FAQ
Why warnings and why do you use them?
Warnings are there to let you know when you have been breaking our rules. Everyone is human and everyone makes mistakes, which is why we provide with several opportunities before a ban is issued. If you have received a warning, use it as feedback and move forward knowing what is appropriate to post on the forum. If you have been banned, you are long past the point of being given second chances. 10 warning points is a serious issue, and appeals are typically not entertained for users who have accumulated this number of points.
I received two warnings for the same post.
This is almost certainly an accident. Our system often duplicates a warning by accident. If this has happened to you, kindly submit a help request and your duplicated warning should be deleted within 48 hours. You will likely not receive a response to your help request in this situation, so monitor your warning points closely.
My warning points have not expired. Can you remove them for me?
Please use the Warning Point Cleanup Thread.
With this in mind, do note that we will never take into consideration expired warning points when issuing bans. Bans are issued when a member of staff counts 10 active warning points on your profile.
I have 10 warning points but have not been banned.
If you have 10 active warning points and haven't been banned, the moderation staff have just not noticed. You are very lucky. Stay behaved and we probably won't notice.
My account has been banned despite me having less than 10 active warning points.
There are two reasons your account may have been banned before 10 active warning points.
1. You have posted something extremely explicit, offensive, or insensitive. The most common offense under this category is obvious racism, transphobia, and homophobia.
2. You have been banned by accident. You may send a help request to remove your ban if this occurs. Please note it may take as long as several days for moderators to respond to or act on a help request depending on the volume of help requests. To avoid this issue, consider submitting a Warning Point Cleanup Request.
I was banned or warned for something that was not against the rules before, and I didn't know. I would like a concession for this.
No. The rules may change at any time. It is your responsibility to be aware of and follow these rules. Announcements (which should not be ignored) are made when significant changes are made to the rules.
If you have not visited ATRL in a long-time, or have just come back from a long ban, that would be a good time to review the rules prior to posting.
I was warned for a post or topic that I hid.
We thank you for seeing your mistake and backtracking on your decision. Do understand, however, that once your post or thread has been seen & responded to by other users, the post has had its effect.
We generally do not warn posts or threads that were hidden by you before we see it, but if it is, the post or thread was most likely a serious infraction of our rules. If you have any questions, please follow the help request procedure.
I am banned now, can I please be unbanned?
Only if your ban was accidental (for instance, if we miscounted the number of warning points you have). If you have reached 10 active warning posts, there is no appeal process. You must wait 2 months before accessing the forum again. Multiple help requests to appeal a legitimate ban is seen as disruptive and may result in you losing your ability to send help requests permanently, as well as an extension of your ban.
I've been banned from a thread. How long will this be for?
Generally, first offense thread-bans are for 2 weeks or a longer period, to the discretion of the moderation staff. A subsequent one is usually longer or permanent, to the discretion of the moderation staff.
V. REPORT SYSTEM FAQ
How do I know my report has been addressed?
All reports are addressed. It may take as long as 48 hours for a report to be processed. We aim to address reports in under 24 hours.
It is clear my report was not taken care of.
If you feel like your report was not handled (for instance, if a topic you reported was not closed), and it has been at least 48 hours since you submitted the report, you are free to submit a help request with your concerns.
VI. TROLLING & DISRUPTIVE USERS FAQ
Another user has been harassing me.
Please add the user to your ignore list. You can do this by clicking on the user settings dropdown and selecting Ignored Users. If the user has been posting or messaging personal attacks directly or indirectly towards you, it is your responsibility to report them using the report system. If the user somehow continues to harass you through the ignore system, please send us a help request.
Many users are harassing me.
If many users are harassing you, please look within yourself and ask whether or not you yourself have been participating in behaviour that has caused users to collectively harass you. Although harassment in this situation is, nonetheless, unacceptable, it would be in your best interest to find ways to fix your own behaviour so that you do not upset other users. Collective bullying, toward innocent users, is not a common phenomenon on ATRL.
Malicious threads about my favourite artist have not been closed.
If a thread is legitimately malicious in nature, it may take up to 48 hours for moderators to process a report.
Why are some threads that seem to criticize an artist or encourage fights left open?
Factors such as the post and thread-making history of the topic creator as well as the current state of the thread are taken into consideration when considering whether or not a thread will be closed. The following questions are considered when determining whether a thread is malicious or not:
- Does the thread ask a legitimate question about an artist that can be answered without insulting the said artist?
- Is the OP worded in a way that suggests the topic creator wants to have a discussion about a controversial issue surrounding an artist in a mature fashion?
- Is the topic creator a known disruptive user (i.e. has many warning points), or a typically well-behaved user (i.e. has very few or no warning points)?
If it is decided that a thread is legitimately malicious, the offending user may be warned for Flamebait or Trolling, and the topic closed or hidden.
I feel like the moderation team is biased towards certain fan bases and certain members.
This is not true. Although as humans, the moderators cannot be perfect, we take great care in our decisions and make them in the best interest of our members and the health of our discussions.
Why was my thread hidden instead of closed?
Threads are closed or hidden if they break any of our rules. Whether is hidden or not is at the discretion of the handling moderator, although threads are typically hidden if many threads need to be closed at once. This allows for the clutter of useless threads to disappear, making it easier for users to find legitimate threads on the first page of a sub-forum.
Why are some trolls allowed on ATRL?
We try to allow a degree of free speech for users to express their opinions, positive or negative, about any popular figure or work of art. If a user has been consistently negative toward an artist, to the point where their posting derails threads into arguments and a generally toxic atmosphere, we will issue a warning to the individual, typically under Trolling. Furthermore, any posts that are particularly inhumane or scathing toward an artist are warned under Trolling.
In the meantime, if a particular user is posting negative opinions that bother you, but they are not necessarily breaking the rules, please take advantage of the ignore feature.
