Curse

Messy · Jun 05, 2008, 01:31 AM // 01:31

Ventari's F.A.Q.

1.- Why does Ventari have so many rules?

It is the only way to make it fair to all users. This forum receives hundreds of new threads a day. Your thread will not stay on the front page for more than a few hours. In order to make it fair so that all of our sellers receive equal exposure we require that you read and become familiar with the rules. We have tried other methods in the past and our Mini-Ban system is by far our most effective tool and is overwhelmingly accepted and appreciated by our sellers.

2.- Why does Ventari have a Zero Tolerance policy and does not give a warning to First Time Offenders?

When you first signed up for a GWG account, you agreed to the Forum Rules and Guidelines. THAT was your warning.

When you enter any of the Ventari Sections, there is a visible Sticky with the Ventari's Forum Guidelines on each page, all the way on the top. You should read these rules before you post so you know what you can and can’t do.

We have a Zero Tolerance policy because there are so many violations. We are doing our best to ensure that rule abiding users have a fair chance at having their thread on the front page.

3.- Which are the most common violations in Ventari?

Bumping to Close a Thread.
Early Bumping.
Multiple Active Threads.
Non -Bid
Posting in the wrong section.

4.- My thread was closed and I didn’t save what I had on my original post. Can you please send it to me?

No, sorry. We need a method to tell our users what their violation is and to make it clear. Keeping your content visible defeats the purpose of the discipline and lets you know that we are serious about our sell forum violation and that you are taking away time on our front page for those who do follow the rules to auction their items.

5.- What is a Mini-Ban and how do you decide the length?

Violations to the Ventari's Forum Guidelines will result in a Mini-Ban. This is a short period of time, usually 1-4 days, depending on the amount of posts a user has and the severity of the reported issue.

For a general rule of thumb:

If the user has 1-25 posts = 1 day ban
If the user has 25-75 posts = 2 day ban
If the user has 75+ posts = 3 day ban
Rude Non-Bid = 4 day ban

Alternate accounts to circumvent a ban, post more threads, shill bid: permanent ban on the alternate account, and 1-4 weeks on the main account (the one with the most posts).
Sometimes extra days might be added depending on the user’s violations history.

6.- How do I find my old threads?

You can access that information in your User Profile.
Find any post you have submitted and click on your name and User Profile:

Scroll down a little bit and you will see a link to all the threads you have started.

You can also access your Member Profile by searching for your user name under our Members List.

7.- I was just banned but I can still log in. Does this mean I can post?

NO. Moderators moderate threads and they close them if there was an infraction. Super Moderators enforce the ban. A ban does not take effect immediately from the time your thread was closed. It might take a few hours. It all depends on the number of bans pending review.

Super Moderators need to review each case before they enforce a ban. This takes time.

If you post while awaiting a ban, you will just add extra time to it. Be patient. Read The Rules, and hopefully you won’t be banned again.

8.- What exactly is a Bump?

When you post a reply on any thread, that post makes the thread go all the way to the top of the Thread List: Page 1, Thread 1, it bumps it to the top. When this happens, the last thread on each page gets bumped down to the next page.

9.- Why do I have to wait 24 hours to bump my thread?

To ensure everybody has a fair chance to have their thread on the first couple of pages. If we didn’t have the 24 hour rule, some users might “camp” their threads and keep bumping it to keep it on the top.

10.- I live in a different time zone, the 24 hours are different here.

24 hours are 24 hours no matter where you live, unless you live on Venus, in which case you might be paying a fortune for your internet service.

11.- I am going out to dinner later (or to the movies, or to school…). I want to bump my thread before I leave because I won’t be here for the 24 hour bump. I am going to be a couple of hours early. Is it ok?

No, it’s not ok. If you do it and we see it, your thread will get closed, and you will serve a mini ban. Think: Is it worth it?

12.- I was banned for bumping my thread. All I did was reply to a question/comment from another player! I did not type BUMP!

Any post you make in your own thread, regardless of what it says, is a bump. Either

your original post and reply there, contact them ingame or via PM or wait for the 24 hours.

13.- My time does not match the boards time. I know I waited 24 hours, but the boards say differently.

If you scroll all the way to the bottom of any page in the forum, you will see the time zone you are set to:
Example:

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 09:55 AM.

If this doesn’t match your time, then you need to adjust it in your User CP (Control Panel):

Go to your User CP
Click on Edit Options
Scroll down to: Date & Time Options
Adjust your Time Zone. If you are not sure, then try different ones until the Board's time matches your time.
Scroll to the bottom of the page and Save Changes.
Check the time now. Does it match? – you are good to go. It doesn’t match: try again.

14.- I bumped my thread early by mistake and then deleted the bump. Why was I banned?

Other users might not see the “bump” you deleted, but moderators can. We have these special glasses and we can see anything that was deleted

Advise: Don’t do it! Abstain! Refrain! Bumping and deleting bumps will earn you extra ban time.

Even if you deleted the bump, the damage is already done, your thread was moved to the front unfairly. Deleting the bump after realizing it was too early does not push your thread back to it's prior position.

If you bump too early by mistake, immediately your top post, delete all content and put in: "***Closed - bumped early by mistake***". Do not wait 10 minutes, do it straight away.

Your thread will be closed, but you can post a new one in 24 hours and this way you will avoid the mini-ban.

15.- My thread looks sloppy with all my 24 hour bumps. What can I do?

You can delete your legitimate 24 hour bumps if you want, just make sure you are not deleting EARLY bumps. Remember, Moderators can see it all.

16.- I have 2 Guild Wars Accounts. Can I have 2 GWGuru accounts as well?

You can have 2 accounts if you want, just make sure you don’t post with both accounts in any of the Ventari sections at the same time. Posting 2 High End or Sell threads would give you an unfair advantage. Think about it: you get to have 2 active threads!! Just remember, if we find out, your main account will get a 1-4 week ban and your alternate will be perma banned. Best advice: Abstain!!

17.- What is Shill Bidding?

It’s a way of using different accounts to bump your own threads.

You on your main account: WTS Mini Polar Bear. 10,000 ectos
Unsuspecting GWG User: 11,000 ectos
You on you alternate account: 15,000 ectos, this Polar Bear is gonna be MINE!
Unsuspecting GWG User: 15, 200 ectos (ugh)
You on your alternate account: 20,000 ectos
You on your main account: (buahahahahaha)
Unsuspecting GWG User:: 20,100 ectos ( ugh ugh)
Ventari Moderators: BUSTED!!
You on your main account: Oh no!!! 2 week ban!!
You on your alternate account:: Oh no, a permanent ban!!

18.- My brother, sister, mom, dad, boyfriend, girlfriend…. Also play Guild Wars and they also have a Guru account. We share the same the same Internet connection. You might think it is an alternate account. What can we do?

If you share a computer or IP with another GWGuru user, just inform a member of the Ventari's Staff of both your GWGuru user names. If you do not ensure we have this information, you risk having your threads closed and your accounts sanctioned. Don't wait until you get a thread closed for having alternate accounts, coming up clean then is not very credible.

Under no circumstances can people who share a computer or IP post in each others threads.

You also can’t have threads open in the same section at the same time. Take turns. If you have a really hot sword you want to sell, ask your girlfriend to add to to her thread.

19.- My guildie, boyfriend, girlfriend, sister, brother… is selling an item that I want to buy. Why can’t I bid on their thread?

Because you can’t. Tell them in guild chat you want to buy it. Call them up. Walk to their room and let them know. Do not bid on the thread, or you risk getting banned.

20.- I was banned for 3 days and I made an alternate account because I have this Tonic I MUST sell.

Well, if you get caught, you will get extra ban time, 1-4 weeks on your main account. The alternate will get perma banned. Is it really worth it?

It’s like a domino effect, you go from having a 3 day ban, to a 1 week ban, a 2 week ban, a month ban, a perma ban, all because you couldn’t wait 2 more days!!

You can still view the boards as a guest, you just can’t post. Be patient and Read the Rules.

21.- I was banned for a Non-Bid post. All I did was :

say the item was a piece of junk. I was trying to warn unsuspecting buyers.
Let buyers know the guy is a scammer.
Make a legitimate suggestion.
Ask more information about the item.
Ask more information about the Auction.

Don’t do it again. If you need to contact the Original Poster, use a PM . If you feel there is something wrong with the post, report it.

Is your friend

22.- I was banned for a Non-Bid, I posted a bid of 125 gp! I did bid.

125 gp, in most cases, is not a legitimate bid. You might feel that is what the item in question is worth, then why bother bidding on it? In many cases, completely underbidding for an item is a subtle way of saying: “Your item is a piece of junk”. As much as you are entitled to your opinion, the person selling the item in question is entitled to having a thread free of your opinions.

23.- I was banned for Multiple Active Threads, but I had closed my previous thread. I typed:

“Sold” on the last post
This thread will go on until such and such date.
“Closed” on my first post, all the way on the bottom.

You can’t expect us to search for the word “Closed”. You live and learn. Next time, make sure you go to the TOP post of the older thread, click

and Delete ALL the content and enter:

"*** CLOSED BY SELLER ***"

This way when we mouse over it, we immediately see that it is closed.

24.- I was banned for Multiple Active Threads Within 24 hours, but I had closed my previous thread.

Before you open a new thread in any Ventari Section you need to make sure of 2 things:

You close your previous thread.
You wait 24 hours from the last time YOU posted on your older thread before you open your new thread.

By using

, deleting all the content and typing **** CLOSED BY SELLER*** you ensure nobody else bids on your item again, thus changing the last time the thread was active.

Some users open a thread, 10 minutes later: sell their item, type closed, and within the hour open a new thread to sell something different.

25.- I was banned for Multiple Active Threads, but I waited 24 hours before I opened a new one.

This happens when you leave threads open and you start a new one 1-2-3 days later. Until a thread is closed, it is still active.

When you open a new thread and a moderator notices you have other threads open, if they are 3+ days old, they tend to simply close them. If you really REALLY want to play it safe, just try to remember to close older threads before you open a new one.

26.- I can’t change my thread title! What can I do?

No, you can’t change your thread title. What you can do is:

PM a moderator, they can change the title for you.
Close the thread, wait 24 hours and open a new one.
Use a more generic title: Johnny’s Low End Sale, Johnny’s High End sale, and keep it updated. You can always add new items and delete items that have been sold.

27.- My thread was closed because my title had pretty symbols. I just wanted to make it look cool and stand out.

If you do that you get the shackles symbol

which definitely makes your thread stand out.

You are allowed only one "divider" symbol between items/categories.

28.- The picture with the items I was selling was removed. It took me hours to stitch it all together.

That means your picture was too big. Users should not have to scroll sideways to see your picture. It is extremely annoying. What you can do is make a few group pictures, one for greens, one for swords, one for bows…. It makes much easier to navigate.

29.- I was banned and I disagree with the ban. Who do I contact?

You contact the moderator that banned you. If you contact another moderator, they will refer you back to one that banned you, save yourself some time.

PM the mod in question and try to resolve the issue. If you still feel like you were unjustly banned after a few PMs, then and only then, bring it up to a Super Moderator. Make sure you have saved the PMs exchanged when trying to resolve the issue before you contact a Super Moderator.

30.- What is the difference between the Forum Rules and The Ventari Guidelines?

The Forum Rules are general rules that apply to all areas in GWG.

Ventari has extra Guidelines that apply to all the sections in Ventari.

31.- I have a question regarding the rules, what do I do?

Send a PM to one of the moderators.

Messy · Jun 08, 2008, 02:57 PM // 14:57

I want to post a picture of my weapons, how do I do that?

Taking a Screen Shot

When you press the "Print Screen" button on your keyboard, Guild Wars will save the current content of your screen as a JPEG file on your hard drive. These screen shots are stored in the following directories:

Quote:

C:\Program Files\Guild Wars\Screens
Documents\Guild Wars\Screens

The Print Screen key is usually on the top row of your keyboard. IF you don’t have this key, you can always go to game options/ Control Tab/ Miscellaneous/ and assign one.
Image Editing Software

You need to crop/resize your pictures to keep them within the limits allowed in this forum. All posted images must be no larger then 800 x 600 in size and no larger then 600KB in file size. Images larger than this will be converted to URLs. Users should not have to scroll sideways to view your full picture.

If you don’t have any Image Editing Software, you can always get :
Irfanview or
Picasa
They are both FREE.

You can also use Paint. Although it doesn’t have a CROP option, you can still crop with it:

Start/ All Programs / Accessories
1- Under File, Open the screen shot you need to Crop.
2- On the Left Hand side you will see the tools. Use the Select (looks like a rectangle). To unselect in case you don’t like your selection, just click anywhere else on the image. Once you have the selection/crop you want..
3- Under Edit click Copy
4- Under File click New
5- Under Edit click Paste and voila, your screenie is now cropped.
6- Save as a Jpeg to whatever folder you are using to save your screenshots.
Posting Screenshots

There are 2 very popular FREE sites that you can upload your pictures to and share them:

Imageshack: Seems to be a favorite. It allows you to post small thumbnails and when you click on it, it will take you to the original uploaded picture. This saves bandwidth.

Photobucket:Tends to load faster and the maximum size picture you can upload is 800X600.