Posting the link to IDB on the neopets boards

[thesovereign]

Is posting idb.finlhit.org on the battle dome chat allowed? I know its not censored, but does anyone know if that is somehow tyring to disguise a link or anything like that?

[kalfeer]

Unless I am misunderstanding the context of your question, you are asking about posting on the Neoboard dedicated to the battledome on Neopets proper, and not an IRC channel? Technically, since IDB is not officially affiliated with Neopets, it would be considered an off-site link according to the Neopets TOS, and they do frown on such. Not that people do not post mentions of such all the time, just that it is not considered proper by TNT.

[rabid_schnauzer]

From the long version of the terms and conditions:

Quote:You hereby understand and agree that Neopets does not allow Postings that contain:

<snip>

* links to third party commercial Web sites
* online chat rooms anywhere on our site or links to sites with chat rooms
<snip>

* other information that Neopets deems, in its sole discretion, to be inappropriate for this site.

We are a 3rd party site, but we are not commercial, so long as we are ad-free. However, we do have an IRC client on these forums, and that makes direct links here technically a violation of the T&C. I think it unlikely for neopets to enforce that too heavily, but it might be safer to just refer people with something like "In-Depth Battlepedia, find it on a search engine because TNT frowns on direct links"

Additionally, that last bit mentions that neopets reserves the sole discretion to ban any links whatsoever at their sole discretion, with or without reason.

[jussy]

I'm guessing it might not be blocked, because you haven't added 'www.' or 'http://' in front, so the neopets board programming or whatever (i dunnow how the censor works) doesn't recognise 'idb.finlhit.org' as being a website..

[Shattered Rift]

rabid_schnauzer Wrote:We are a 3rd party site, but we are not commercial, so long as we are ad-free.

Taken a look at the forums without your Adblock on recently, ? Though the main site isn't running any ads, which is what's always linked to.

TNT knew about PPT from what I recall , and it's very probable they're also aware of us, too. That, and do we know of anyone who has actually been warned for posting the link in the BD Chat?

[reiksguardknight]

From the Neopian Times Editorial Issue 287:

Quote:Hi TNT! You guys ROCK! Well, let's get to the point. In January, I was advertising on the Neoboards about this super duper awesome high school RP site (outside Neopia) that I had been invited to. Apparently some people were annoyed and reported me, because a few days later, I logged in and found myself suspended for two days. The screen said that I had been suspended because I had advertised a commercial website on the Neoboards. As far as I remember, I cannot recall the high school RP site being a commercial site - unless I am mistaken. Please clear this up for me. Oh, and by the way, is it legal to collect dailies on a side account if your main account is suspended? Thank you. You guys ROCK! (Please leave my username out of this. Thank you. Once more, you guys ROCK!)
Seriously, man. The rocks.

Anyway, that warning reason should be updated a bit, but to clarify here, please do not post ANY offsite links on the Neoboards. There is a reason they are blocked and, if you have to go around the filters to post something, it should be a hint that it's not allowed.

As for collecting dailies while your main account is suspended, this is not allowed. We set up the suspension system to allow users to keep their account, but to restrict access to the site and its functions for a period of time. This does not mean you can just do these activities on your side. It's the same principal as restock banning. We've restricted YOU, so that doesn't mean you can move to another account.

I wouldn't post any links to any site outside Neopets on the boards based on this info.

[Duke]

I do it all the time. IDB is probably one of neopet's greatest allys. Besides the sponsors themselves, IDB does a lot to increase activity and interest in neopets. I don't know why they'd be against linking to this site. I know I have never been warned for linking to a weapon in the weapons' spotlight and I would say that I have linked to IDB on 50 different occasions.


EDIT: Come to think of it, one reason why they would mind outward links is because their sponsors do not want any other websites or businesses to be recognized. Kind of like if you have ever watched a TV show were the logos on some T-shirts were blirred out. This is because they don't want to subliminally advertize for another company.

[kalfeer]

The problem is that once they recognized one website as being an "ally", here would come the flood of other hangers-on all wanting to be recognized as "fellow allies promoting activity and interest in Neopets™." This is the reason they have blocked ALL offsite links: it is just much less headache for them to deal with.

[Cranberry]

"IDB" and "Idb.finalhit.org" haven't been blocked by the filters, though -- and Neo HAS blocked the names/urls of Neo-related sites in the past. I know that's not the same thing as them saying, "Sure, post the link to IDB all you want," but I see IDB mentioned all the time and I've never heard of anyone being warned for directing people here, so I wouldn't worry too much about doing so. I highly doubt they'd freeze someone for that, anyway; they'd just give a warning/possibly a suspension like the kid in that editorial question. Hopefully if anyone here ever gets a warning for mentioning IDB, they will let us know.

[felicalittle]

You could always tell them to "google indepth battlepedia" I say stuff like that and haven't gotten a warning... I don't know if it is against the TOS though... they had google on the site

IDB is number 1 in that search

[rabid_schnauzer]

Today's NT Editorial Wrote:Hello TNT! In your last Editorial you stated, "Anyone attempting to lead another user off site should be reported." Does this mean that, if you want people to visit your [popular art website] account and post a link on your lookup or siggy, you can be reported/frozen? I am curious, because I had no idea and I don't want to be frozen! ~ulymatedolphinluver

We'll be honest and say that, when it comes to established fan site links, we tend to be a bit lax on this rule. Established websites and fan sites that have historically not been used to scam or pose a threat to players are ones that we generally leave alone, opting instead to spend more time on the ones we know are trouble, like "free hosting" sites and sites that are offering serious cheats or "NP generator" scams.

Now, that's not to say it's allowed. Posting ANY off-site links, regardless of where they lead, is against the rules. So if you post a fan site link and are warned, don't blame this Editorial. We just want to be truthful and say that we pay more attention to those links we know are harmful, and that's why you may see some of these other links slide.

Also, it should be noted that if you do have a link to the established art site everyone knows we're talking about, it should not have any inappropriate material on it that younger folk could see if they followed the link through your UL. Normally, posting links to sites like this gets you warned. If it links to inappropriate material, you're frozen straight away.