Forum Rules and Guidelines, GP/DP, member title, warns, and any other forum related stuff Options

[DG Announcements]

Table of Contents

• Forum Rules *Please read first*
• How to get GPs/DPs
• Warn FAQ
• Stop Asking for the Following
• Posting Ranks

[DG Announcements]

How to get GPs/DPs


DOWNLOAD POINTS (DPs)

Now, firstly, DPs stand for 'Download Points'. These are need for downloading ROMs. Logical, no?

Ways to get DP:

1. Convert your earned GPs from this board to DPs.
Each post is 6gp, a new topic is 10gp. Its 30gps to 1 Global DP. (assuming your warn level is 0%)
Convert them in the GP->DP Converter, which can be found here: http://www.dgemu.com/Convert.html [link locations: main site/forums] This conversion rate will change depending on the rating you have. For every 1 rating you need 9% more GP to convert. However, with minus ratings, its -9% for every one minus rating you have.

2. Global DPs will reset every 24 hours (at midnight, GMT+2) back to 25.
If you have 3.05 DPs, when it resets, you will have 25. If you have 28 DPs, it will reset to 25. They do not build up. And on a slightly related note, DPs converted from GPs (as from above) will not reset, and will stay until you use them up. However, these are used before your Global DPs, so it would be recommended that you only convert when you need the specified console DPs.

3. Donate $10US, and you get 550 NDS/GBx DPs (which wont reset) you get, (PS, $20US = 1200 NDS/GBx DPs, the thorough donation conversions can be found here). The DP you get from donating can be specified if you want NCDP, Sega DP, etc instead of NDS/GBx DP. Apparently, once you've donated and don't want it all as NDS/GBx DP, the Donator's center allows you to convert them into other DP.

4. Helping the site.
There are certain ways in which you can add content to the site and be rewarded for it. You can submit a review of a game, and that'll earn you 10DPs only if it's of high quality (as judged by the staff. What they are looking for can be found in Reviews FAQ). Also, every now and then, there may be an opening in the screenshotters team. Check the main page for openings. Being a member of the screenshotters team is also a good way to contribute to the site and earn DP for doing so.

5. DP Loan
Not so much as a way to earn them, but there is a new DP Loan system which allows you to obtain more DPs which can be used over a set a period of time.

6. Contests and tournaments
Certain quizzes and online tournaments may offer DP as a prize. Please check with staff for more details as this is still a fairly new concept that we're still working the kinks out of. And let us know if you have any ideas about tournaments by suggesting a game in here.

Note that Each type of DP is used for specific roms. List as follows:

• NDS/GBx DPs for the NDS, GBA, GBC, GB
• NCDPs for N64, SNES, NES
• Atari for Atari Jaguar, Atari Lynx, Atari 2600,
• Sega for Sega Genesis, GameGear, Sega Master System (SMS)
• Retro for MAME, Neo Geo Pocket (Color), Wonderswan (Color), PC Engine - TurboGrafx-16, Sam Coupe

GPs
Credit towards Dgemu_Noob

GP is the currency of DGEmu and stand for Gold Pieces.
But what are they for? Well, y'see, the many uses include:

• Converting into DPs to download here
• Buying profile customizations at the DGStore

And... thats about it. GP do not decrease or disappear unless you break forum rules.

Yes, they are important, especially for downloading, so how to get them...?

• Posting a reply in a thread will get you 6GP (Minus the Spam Centre and a few other places, check the forum descriptions at the board index for details.)
• Posting a topic in a thread area will get you 10GP (Minus the Spam Centre and a few other places, check the forum descriptions at the board index for details.)
• Having a topic you made become "hot" (more than 15 replies) will grant you an extra 15GP
• Global Moderators and up may award you GP for high quality or helpful posts. However, it is their discretion so please do not bug them about it. Similarly, they may deduct GP for rule-breaking posts or those of very poor quality.
• Answering questions in some of the threads in the Competitions section of the General Discussions forum can increase your GP quickly, namely the GP Rewarding Quiz
• The Debates forum offers more GP for interesting threads/posts. Honestly you have a better chance of getting more GP in that section than anywhere els eon the site, as long as you abide by the rules in that section, which are a bit more strict than other parts of the site.
• Members who donate can convert their DPs into GPs here: http://www.dgemu.com/dp_convert.php
  
  Also, you can lose GP for making rule breaking posts (usually 10-20GP), such as:
• Posting a spammy response in a thread (ie. "i lyk pokemon cuz theyre cool lol")
  
• Making short posts, as in "ya i guess thats ok" or "maybe i dunno ", pretty much the same thing as a spammy response.
  
• Creating a duplicate topic. *If the search function is down the staff will be a bit more lenient with this. However, it is suggested that you read the pinned topics in the forums to avoid making duplicate (dupe) topics, namely this one. If you want to create a topic and you aren't sure if it has been made yet, PM a staff member and we will search for you, just don't go around PMing every mod who's online to search for a thread every 5 minutes.

Protip: If the search function is down, use CTRL+F.

Please note that these rules DO NOT apply in the Spam Center

Edits:
Updated 9/6/09 by Patrick
Updated 2/8/09 by Patrick
Edit~Killa-
Edited by mystery mod/admin.
Topics merged (kinda)
Update 19/10/2005 (19th Oct)
Edited by the drunk writer (November 4th)
Edited by Bish with qcarachato always PM'ing me with updates (12th Dec '05)
Edited by - with molh394 adding parts about Screenshotters team and reviews (11 June 06)
Update again 5 Sep '06.
Added DGStore to GP uses, added that GPs do not reset (atomicknight)
Small DP loan section added (15 March '07)
atomicknight: Re-posted from cached version (April 1, 2007)
Hadel: Added link to GP->DP Converter w/ pics of the links, too. (Sept. 15, 2007)

[DG Announcements]

Warn FAQ

Warn FAQ(written by Ody)

There should be some similar topics and I may sometimes repeat something said in "Board Rules" topic. However, this guide is based on personal experience with the intention of dissuading new members from making topics that are condemned to be closed and lead to unwanted warns. Since almost all topics that end up closed are written by new members, I think this topic can help. Nevertheless, I am also aware that new members won't read this before posting since they don't even read rules in general. However, if you made it here, then you are already on the right track.

Anyway, let us start with the basics:
Q: What is a warn?
A: A warn is basically a note permanently attached to your profile with either positive or negative implications.

Q: What types of warns are there?
A: There are two types, positive and negative.

• Positive warns are given for misbehaving (i.e. breaking board rules). They show up in your log as "Added to warn level" followed by a description as to what rule you broke.
  
• Negative warns are awarded for good behavior and helpfulness. There is no distinct way to get them as they are given at the discretion of the board staff. They look similar to positive warns, except they show up as "Removed from warn level" followed by a description as to what you did right so to speak.
  
  NOTICE: warns do not disappear. Ever. Unless you were mistakenly or unfairly warned.

Q: How can I view my warn log?
A: In your profile or from any posts you've made, you will see something that will look something like this (0%) . Simply click the underlined percentage to view the log.

Q: Can anyone else see my warn log?
A: Only you and moderators (and higher of course) can see your log. Do not worry about other members viewing it and criticizing you.

Q: How do warns affect me?
A: Besides being a measurement as to how good a member you are, warns also affect the conversion rate from GPs to DPs. This ensures that well behaved members can obtain ROMs easier than rule breakers. In addition, extremely high warn levels puts you at risk of being banned and extremely low ones may make you eligible for a promotion or other extra goodies.



How to lower your warn level (ie how to get negative warns)

One of the most recurrent questions that appears very often concerns the possibility and the way to get negative warns so that I decided to compile the fragmented answers from different threads to make a single unique explanation that deals with all the means for getting a precious negative warn.

Here are the different methods I know that can lead you to a probable negative warns.

A. Reporting rule-breaking posts

This is the most basic way. When you see someone breaking a rule (including an oversized sig), don't hesitate to report him/her using the report button under every post. It is also a means to make yourself noticed by moderators. However, please do not report a rule-breaking posts if it is more than a week old or so, ten days at most. Unofficially, if we didn't catch it by then, we let it go. The only exceptions to this are if its porn or potentially harmful links/links to other ROM sites. Reporting may be a sure way to get a negative warning but in general, it takes time before moderators decide you have earned it so that you have to be patient.


B. Helping members

When you see members in difficulty concerning a technical (or non-technical) question, take the time and try to help him/her solve his/her problem. Being a helpful member is also a good way to get noticed by moderators since they are the first to help people. However, beware of abusing your willingness to answer. You have to know that quality should be put before quantity. In other words, when you don't know what to answer, do not post meaningless answers like "re-download the ROM" or any variation of "I want to help you but I don't know". There again, you have to be patient and contribute a lot before getting a negative warn.


C. Finding duplicated topics

When you see a topic that has been done before, you can search for the original thread and put the link on the duplicated one. Please do it only if you have the original link and also report the duplicated topic so moderators can be aware of its existence as soon as possible.

Protip: If the search function is down, use CTRL+F.


D. Posting interesting replies/topics

This applies mainly to people who post in the Debates section, where the rules may be stricter, but the rewards are better for making informative/interesting posts. They can be earned elsewhere, however, but it may very well take some time.


E. Reporting mass spammers

When you notice a member that is mass spamming (aka flooding), report him at once using the report button. Some moderators will give you a negative warn for this.


F. Writing helpful guides

If there is a recurrent question that whose answer is fragmented amongst other posts, you can try to summarize the entire problem and the solution.
Example: here


G. Uploading

DGEmu has recently started offering PC games and PSP ISOs, as well as video game soundtracks, free of DP charge. But, since it's still rather new we could really use some help from members you wouldn't mind uploading a thing or two. Ask a staff member such as Invisible Bones or hackerx for more information.


H. Staying out of trouble

Some people got a negative warning for staying out of trouble for a long time. Simple as that.

Also, unofficially, mods have been known to hand out negative warns to the more...entertaining people of the Spam Center, just don't try too hard or you'll probably get trolled out of there in a heartbeat.

I. Other recommendations

Please be kind (as well as correct) in your replies regardless of how annoying a member appears. Flaming others by saying something like "stupid n00bz!!" is not helpful and can annoy some moderators (especially given that your reply is not any smarter).

Conclusively, never ask anyone for a decrease.

Credits:
Patrick for updating everything yet again when it was Greenz's job to do so.
Ody (Writing the original guides)
djnforce9 (Combining Ody's guides into one and revising it).

[DG Announcements]

Stop Asking for the Following

Do not ask for translation patches
If it isn't at http://www.romhacking.net, it doesn't exist.

Never ask for ROMs
Apparently, most members fail to understand that DGEmu has nearly every single commercial ROM in existence (for the systems we have). Do not ask for non-commercial ROMs (as in hacks, though we have a few of those) DGEmu does not have.

Do not ask for game saves
If you want game saves, go to www.gamefaqs.com and most of what you need should be there. If you absolutely have to create a topic about it, do it in the Spam Center, just don't expect many helpful replies.

Do not ask for DP refunds
We only offer refunds in extreme cases - namely, when the server messes up and doesn't give anyone the file they requested. Since most download errors are client-side (i.e. your fault), asking for refunds will cause your topic to be closed and will likely lead to a GP deduction.

Do not ask for a higher global DP reset
At the time of this post, DGEmu has approximately 1,500,000 members. Assuming that every one of these members has 25 MB worth of daily downloading bandwidth, that translates to 37,500,000 MB (~37.5 TB) of bandwidth PER DAY. Even an increase of 1 global DP would increase that amount by 1.5 TB, so don't ask. We've already doubled the DP reset over the last few months and offer DP free PC games and PSP ISOs (!)

Do not complain about the DP system/reset
Well, let me clarify, you can complain if you want in the Spam Center, but if you post a thread in Suggestions saying "hay ur DP system sux " or something equally as annoying/useless, you can expect to get your thread closed at the very least and warned if whatever mod who catches it is in a particularly annoyed mood at worst. Don't say we didn't warn you about getting warned for this. Get it? Ooh geez, I'm such a cut-up.

Do not ask for ISOs
Most ISOs can be 700MB or more in size, and upwards of 4GB+, meaning that hosting them on a normal web server would burn loads of bandwidth in a matter of hours (exception will be the PSX ISOs but those are not up yet and will only be made available to power members, *currently on hold*). If you want ISOs, please use a search engine such as to find torrents or a filesharing site, such as dragonzip, DGEmu's smaller, still-in-the-works sister site (that honestly, nobody pays attention to) Dragonzip is currently down.

Do not ask for emulators
Here's a list (with links) of compatible and reliable emulators for most systems.

If you're using Vista, and having trouble with any of the emulators, try running it in compatibility mode. (right click the Emulator file and select the Compatibility tab)

That's not a guaranteed fix, but it could work.

GBA
VisualBoy Advance (v1.7.2), If you're looking for multiplayer capabilities, read this.

NDS
DeSmuME
No$GBA
iDeaS
NeonDS

*Please refer to this topic for usage instructions for each of these emulators.

SNES
snes9x - Windows
snes9x - Macintosh
ZSNES (v1.51)*

*Please note that if you're using a Mac OS, the best one you can get is Snes9x. ZSNES won't work properly.

NES
FCE Ultra (v0.98.15)
Nestopia (v1.35)

Nintendo 64
1964 (v0.9.9)
Nemu64 (v0.8)
Project64 (WIN v1.6)

Playstation
ePSXe (v1.7.0) (Be sure to grab the bios and you might want to download the compatible plugins as well)
PCSX v1.12

Genesis/Mega Drive/Sega CD
Gens (WIN v2.14)
Kega (v3.51)

Neo Geo
Kawaks
Neo-RAGEx

MAME
MAME (Command Line)
MAME Plus! (Graphic User Interface)


If you're looking for an emulator for a system that's not in the list, you can probably find them here or here.

Any member who feels something must be changed/added, feel free to PM me. If you have the power to edit this thread and have something to add, please do so. Any help would be appreciated.

Credits towards thievingmexican24, dualist, SteveoDBGT, atomicknight, Milo, Strykr_Omega, Disko Stu, h3ndr1ck, Negativeone, Ish and phoenix121.
Thanks to DJ Night Force 9 for reorganizing the thread.

Fixed some broken links n' stuff -Pat
Newest update: 29/11/08 by Shai.
Molh: Changed the No$gba link from the official site to our NDS Emulators Download thread, since the official site requires a donation. (04/07/09)

[DG Announcements]

Posting Ranks

This topic answers how to obtain certain posting statuses, which are displayed to the left of your posts.

Posting Ranks
If you haven't noticed, under your avatar or username, theres a word, and underneath that, there is a little symbol (henceforth called 'pips') that look like . That is the rank you're on.

So, I proudly present you, the posting ranks.
All new members start off at 1 pip, as they have 0-49 posts. Another pip is added for each rank you achieve.

Egg: 0
Hatchling: 50
Serpent: 150
Winged Serpent: 300
Dragon: 500
Elite Dragon: 750
Holy Dragon: 1000
Reaper Dragon: 1500
Ancient Dragon: 2000
Master Dragon: 3000
Tiamat: 5000
Bahamut: 10000

You need to POST in sections that increase post count in order to increase your posting rank. Duh.

*Not all sections offer a post increase, such as the Spam Center or the hello/goodbye section. But really, post ranks are arbitrary, at least for the time being.

All Staff members (Support Staff, mods, admins) do not have any pips, rather a badge as a sign of their position on the staff.
You can also customise this title to whatever you want. Just buy the "Custom Member Title" (and fill in the text box according to what you want) in the DG Store.

[DG Announcements]

Forum Rules

The staff reserves the right to increase your warning level, deduct points, or ban you for disregarding the rules.

Posting Rules

• Do not spam. This includes nonsensical and illegible posts, obnoxious posting style (all/excessive capital letters, 1337-speak, etc.), random comparison threads, advertising in posts or personal messages, off-topic replies, and offensive posts* or personal messages. Always make at least one full sentence adding new content to the thread in your posts.
• Do not leave huge gaps in your post, or post lots of meaningless nonsense. Basically, if we have to scroll excessively, and it's not because your post is filled with interesting content, we will not be amused. This also applies in the Spam Center.
• Do not make duplicate (repeated) threads or posts. Use the search function or check pinned threads in the appropriate section to see if your desired topic has already been covered and never copy or repeat someone's post.
• Please post in English. Provide some sort of English translation if you do not know it very well.
  
  As said before, if the search function is down, just use common sense or PM a staff member to search for you, as we can still use the search function. Or use ctrl+f

General Rules

• Advertising is only allowed for members with more than 1000 posts and only with the permission of an Administrator. Please note, for those with permission to advertise, pyramid schemes, or referral links are still not allowed.
• Do not post or link to any obscene, offensive or pornographic material.
• As said in the posting rules section, do not make spammy/non-english/illegible/fdghrtyhd/ -type posts.
• Do not attempt to bypass the profanity censorship filters unless it's needed for context. Occasional and mild swearing is fine, however, don't go over the top with it.
• Do not post huge images, such as a 4mb gif. If the image exceeds this limit, use URL tags instead of IMG tags.
• Do not ask for the following: translation patches (search romhacking.net), ROMs and ISOs, game saves, DP refunds, higher global DP reset, and emulators. Links to several emulators can be found in this post.
• Do not make multiple accounts (unless authorized by the administration) or submit a working account to bugmenot. In either case, the accounts will be automatically banned.

Profile Rules

• Signature images should not exceed the following size limits: 500 pixels wide, 400 pixels tall. This also applies for multiple images all together.
• Signatures and avatars shall not exceed a combined 80 kb file size.
• In addition to the image limits, you may not have more than 10 lines of text in a maximum window on 1024x768 resolution.
• Personal photos may not exceed a 100kb file size.
• No profile elements may have or link to any obscene or pornographic material.
• Do not harass members through the personal message or comment systems.
• Members with more than 1000 posts and the permission of an Administrator may advertise in their signatures as long as they follow the general rules.

Contacting the Staff

• If you witness a member breaking a rule and wish to report him/her, please use the report feature under each post. A direct report to a staff member through a personal message or email will most likely be ignored.
• Posting only to say a certain post is violating the forum rules is unhelpful, considered spam, and will be treated accordingly.
• Do not email the site or send personal messages to the staff members asking questions which can be answered by reading the forums or the homepage.
• Do not PM or email a staff member requesting for GPs, DPs or ROMs.
• Do not PM or email a staff member to argue about your warn level unless you genuinely feel you were unfairly warned. And be smart about what you say in the PM unless you're looking for another warn. If you feel that a mod is "singling you out" or whatever, contact a higher ranking mod.
• Insulting/threatening a staff member will not be tolerated.

The rules and regulations are subject to change without prior notification.

Mods, do not edit this thread without permission. Thank you.

~DGEmu Administration