Chat (2018)


 * A. General. All ESB policies in this section apply to all ESB-related chat rooms: the ESB chatroom on FANDOM and Discord/Skype chat rooms including "SpongeBobia Chatroom," "ESB Chat Moderators," "ESB Administrators," and "ESB Bureaucrats." All ESB rules apply to the said chat rooms. [simplify]]
 * 1. Do not abuse communication tools. This includes blank messages, gibberish, and spreading words or sentences out into multiple messages. Other abuse of communication tools can result in a kick or ban at the discretion of the banning moderator or Discord/Skype administrator.
 * 2. English is the preferred language in the chatroom. It is recommended to not use other languages. Using other languages to spam, troll, or to swear is not allowed. [redundant; these 3 items are already mentioned in the policies]
 * 3. Trolling is forbidden.
 * a. If a Anyone is who disturb ing s the chat room environment and does not provide ing anything useful to the conversation which may be considered trolling, . chat moderators and administrators can ban the user from chat immediately. Any trolling in the ESB chat room will result in an immediate ban. In Discord/Skype, users continuing to troll will receive a kick. Administrators can block them trolling users infinitely from ESB at their discretion if they feel the user does not provide any positive engagement to the community.
 * b. Anyone trolling in the ESB chat room will result in an immediate ban. The administration may infinitely block the user from ESB. [merged above]


 * 4. Profanity. Profanity is forbidden. This includes use as an acronym or censored. "Damn" and "hell" are allowed if they are used in context and not against another user. Any use of profanity after a user is issued a warning will immediately result in a temporary ban from chat.
 * 5. Be respectful toward all users, their views, and their opinions. Do not discriminate against or harass anyone. Doing so can result in a kick or ban by the discretion of the moderator.
 * 6. Posing as a user of a higher position than you is forbidden.
 * 7. Posting anything inappropriate or links to inappropriate sites is forbidden. This includes linking to content not suitable for children under the age of 13, notably sexual content. The chatroom is to remain clean.
 * 8. Asking users for personal information (age, phone numbers, addresses, ASL (age/sex/location), religious beliefs, etc.) is forbidden.
 * 9. If you are going to exchange social networking information (Discord, Skype, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.), do it in a private message.
 * 10. Drama, arguing, and having heated debates is forbidden. Friendly, civil debates are allowed.
 * 11. Refrain from saying things that are not useful to the conversation and continue to interrupt those having a conversation. If more than one person is doing this, those people must take the conversation elsewhere.


 * B. ESB Chat room. The policies in this section apply to the ESB Chatroom on FANDOM.
 * 1. Specific rules
 * a. Doorspamming (coming in and out of chat) is forbidden. It is understandable if you have a bad connection, but note you may be kicked to stop the flooding. Anyone doing this on purpose shall be temporarily banned.
 * b. Chat invasions (inviting a large group to chat, normally to troll and/or spam) are forbidden.
 * c. ChatTags are enabled on ESB's chatroom. You may have fun with them, but you may not misuse them, such as using colors for every message you send.
 * d. All moderator orders must be obeyed unless said otherwise by an administrator or someone of higher power.
 * e. Abusing the chatbot (username: SpongeBobiaChatBot) is forbidden. It is okay to have a little fun with the chatbot, but if it gets excessive, a chat moderator can kick or ban you at their discretion.
 * f. Conforming to disruption is forbidden. Conforming to disruption qualifies as feeding the trolls, continuing to discuss the trolls after they've been banned, participating in heated arguments, and engaging in unfriendly banter with other users.


 * 2. Underage users. It is against FANDOM policy for a person under the age of 13 to use FANDOM. Any user who is underage or claims to be underage will not be blocked or banned since all underage users will be dealt with by FANDOM Staff, not by ESB Administration.
 * 3. Moderators
 * a. All administrators and bureaucrats are chat moderators. A selected few chatters are appointed chat moderator because they are active in chat and trusted to keep the peace.
 * b. Abuse of chat moderator powers is forbidden. Any abuse of them will result in immediate termination.
 * Any continued abuse may result in a block.
 * c. Chat moderators have no jurisdiction over what happens in a private message. If someone bothers you, ignore them. There is no definite way to prove what is in a private message.
 * d. There is a hierarchy in the chatroom in regards to final decisions. Chat moderators are outranked by administrators, and administrators are outranked by bureaucrats.


 * C. Discord/Skype chat rooms. The policies in this section apply to the ESB chat rooms on Discord/Skype. (combining with title of section)
 * 1. Adding users. Any user is allowed to add other users to the chat. However, users can only be added if they are: (combining with title of section)
 * a. A current member of ESB. Users who have retired from ESB, left FANDOM altogether, or are inactive (with the exception of chat moderators, discussion moderators, administrators, and bureaucrats) are not allowed into the Discord/Skype chat.
 * b. The user is not blocked from ESB or FANDOM (meaning they are not globally blocked from the network). Users who are unable to edit on the wiki or even enter the chat room are not to be allowed into the Discord/Skype chat rooms.


 * 2. Kicking policy
 * a. Unlike the FANDOM chatroom, when a user is kicked from the ESB Discord/Skype, they cannot come back in until another user adds them back.
 * b. Kicked users can be added back immediately unless they misbehave again and are kicked once more.
 * c. If a user has received a third kick from an administrator, they will not be allowed back into the Discord/Skype for twenty-four (24) hours. If the user is added back but continues to misbehave, then they will be kicked from the Discord/Skype for seven (7) days. Any users who continues to misbehave even after those kicks will receive longer kicks from the Discord/Skype depending on the severity of their actions.
 * d. Do not add back any user who is kicked from the Discord/Skype until after their ban expires. Any user attempting to add users back before their ban expires will receive a kick themselves unless otherwise stated.
 * e. Make sure to listen to the Discord/Skype administrators. Any user who ignores warnings will be temporarily kicked from the Discord/Skype.
 * f. Discord/Skype usernames cannot contain profanity, references to profanity, or refer to sexual content.


 * D. Reporting. If you see anything in the chatroom that is a violation of any policies, please report it, either at the report form (ESB:Report user) or sending a message to an administrator or bureaucrat (see here: ESB:Crew). You can also report to administrators on Discord/Skype. See a list for Discord here and for Skype here.