Since we're getting out of hand with the stickies, a few of the rule-based ones are going to be unified into this thread. The rules and advisories in this thread were compiled over several years by Buckshot, Final Arrow, Static Shock, god_spawn, Deranged Midget and k4tzm4n.
Any user who encounters a problem in the Battle Forums can contact the following mods for a solution:
Vance Astro
Battle Forum Rules
Make Sure It Is a Battle
The battle forum is for actual fights between characters. Things like 'who has the coolest power' or 'who gets the most chicks' ARE NOT BATTLES. Just because you put 'vs' in the title, does not automatically make it battle forum worthy. They should be placed in general discussion or in off-topic (depending on what they're about). As well, fights with characters who are not comic book or manga characters or haven't featured predominantly in comic books or manga (Bruce Lee vs Chuck Norris, Barney Stinson vs Joey Tribbian etc) do not belong in the battle forum, either.
This has been discussed between the battle forum mods a bit. These are guidelines for what does and does not constitute a battle.
- Who Can Beat _____? - These are not battles and should be placed in that characters forum from this point forward. If they aren't and a mod notices, they'll be moved.
- Power vs Power - Things like Optic Blast vs Heat Vision are not battles and will be moved to the appropriate forum from now on.
- Item vs Item - Things like Mjolnir vs Captain America's Shield are not battles and will be moved to the appropriate forum from now on.
- Can ___ Do ____? - Things like 'Can Wolverine's Claws Cut Cap's Shield' or "Can Superman's Heat Vision Melt Adamantium' are not battles and will be moved to the appropriate forum from now on.
No Repeat Battles/Use the Search Function
We have a search function now which can be used to search for past battles, for more information on this please see the battle forum FAQ . If you want to see who would win a fight, check if we’ve already discussed it. If we have and you have something to say about the outcome that’s been reached, don’t be afraid to bump the thread, but don’t make a new one when one already exists. Our search tool should give you everything you need, but if for some reason it doesn’t, the recap thread is another place you can look for old fights and Google can be used to search CV. Dupe threads will be locked.
Label Battles Correctly
To make it easy for people to look up past battles, make sure the names of characters in whatever fight you're making are spelled correctly (nobody will find "Hluk veersus Supperman") and use "vs" as opposed to "versus" (most people use that - good for searching with quotes). This also goes for a characters name, if you wish to make a battle for "Batman" then put his name as "Batman Vs Nightwing" not "The Bat", "Bat-man" or "Bat min" make sure you get the names correct when posting a battle.
Link to Respective Characters
This is very easy and quick to do and will allow users unfamiliar with the characters to quickly check out their pages to see who, indeed, deserves the win. Please see the FAQ thread on how to do this
Be Specific About Fights
I think this is probably the most important rule, and when it’s followed, many other problems go away. When starting a battle you need to be specific about how everything is going to go down. This includes a lot of factors. A lot of posters just type "fighter 1 vs fighter 2, who wins?" and they're done. Putting just a little effort into it can sort out a lot of questions that pop up later. You can determine if the characters involved are acting in character (like they normally would as their personalities dictate), if they are “bloodlusted” or anywhere in between, how much time they get before the fight (prep), where they're fighting, what gear they have with them, which incarnation of the character, any power limitations, etc, etc. It really isn’t hard to flesh out the battle a little and it goes a long way.
Writing some options again to make sure they’re easy to see:
In Character or Bloodlusted
Prep Time or No Prep Time
Setting (time, location, bystanders, available resources, etc)
Gear (standard weaponry/gadgets/items, unarmed, special weapons)
Character Version (current version, original, alternate universe, etc)
Extra Rules (time limits, boundaries, what counts as win)
When these things are left out it’s generally assumed that characters are fighting to the best of their ability but still within the limits of their personality, using their standard gear, have no prep time, and are their current mainstream versions at the time of the thread's conception. Their starting distance is close and the setting is most often a city. The accepted win conditions are death, KO, and BFR (Battlefield Removal). Without any specifications to a battle, those are what we go by. It’s always best to give as much information about the fight in the first post.
Use Comic Characters / At least one Comic Character per battle
In case you didn’t know, this site was made for comics. It would follow that the majority of fights should be comic related. This isn’t to say that only comic fights are allowed and all others will be locked, but keep in mind what most of us are here for. Also, keep silly battles to a minimum - Aunt May vs. Odin is fun once in a while, but gets tiring if overused. Your battle must at least have one comic character or character who has been in a comic in order for it to be considered a battle, If it is Will Smith Vs DR Dre this should be in the off topic section and not in the battle forums.
Giving Characters Certain 'buffs' or Removing Powers
I generally don't have a problem with this, as long as it's not overdone. Things like upgrading certain characters to a certain physical levels, or removing powers for two opponents to gauge hand-to-hand skills is fine as long as the fight is fair in the process. However, giving people like Hulk the Power Cosmic or people like Nightwing a Green Lantern ring is unacceptable because neither character has displayed the skill and/or competence to use such weapons/items. That said, it would be difficult (and in most cases, nearly impossible) for people to debate. Threads of this nature will be locked if it becomes an issue.
Make Fair Fights
Don’t make battles that are clearly one-sided. Most times this happens when people want to make one character look bad or another look good. Either way it’s childish and a waste of space. Sometimes it’s a mistake because you don’t know all the abilities of one of the characters and it turns out that they have a power that would make them win easily, but that doesn’t happen much (and it really shouldn’t, CV is an encyclopedia, look up characters before you make the fight). If it’s obvious you’re doing it on purpose, the thread will be locked.
Examples of fair battle
http://www.comicvine.com/forums/battles/7/taskmaster-vs-wolverinebone-claw-rules/526613/
http://www.comicvine.com/forums/battles/7/cyclops-vs-wolverine-rules-included/403437/
http://www.comicvine.com/forums/battles/7/what-if-spider-man-vs-exiles-mimic/526330/
http://www.comicvine.com/forums/battles/7/what-if-spider-man-vs-midnighter/415054/
Be Careful with Team Battles
There are two main problems with team battles. The first is having too many people. With too many people on each side there are often too many ways for things to happen for the outcome to be accurately predicted. That can be fun to discuss, but very difficult to reach a conclusion. The other problem is having one or two big players. If you have a team but one character is vastly more powerful than everyone else, there’s usually no reason for the rest of the team. This problem also happens in partner battles.
Examples of good team battles:
Links to come
No More Universe Vs Universe or Character X vs Universe Threads
These types of threads are be banned. Universe vs Universe threads involve too many people or a person vs a universe could end up becoming a stomp and offer no debates at all. Like Superman Prime vs Marvel Universe. He would end up fighting some being that he wouldn't beat and if you do the universe vs universe threads it just ends up being omnipotent vs omnipotent which is also against the rules and offers no debate. This is an extension of the be careful with team battles but this is gonna be cracked down on more.
Be Creative
This is more a suggestion that a rule. Sometimes you just want to know which of your favorite characters will win in a fight and don’t really care about making it interesting, but that kind of thing often leads to the same kinds of fights, or the same characters in fights, over and over. To remedy this, try to cut back on very popular characters. A lot of fights involving well known characters have been done, and it gets annoying. Superman, Batman, Juggernaut and Thor do not need to be in a battle every day. (The same goes for extremely powerful characters. Galactus, , Odin, Spectre, etc, etc, etc have been done almost as much. We don’t need to keep seeing them again and again. Those all powerful battles get tedious even when it’s NOT the same characters.) In addition to picking new characters, making the setup for the fight unique also adds to it.
Examples of creative battles:
http://www.comicvine.com/forums/battles/7/danes-alternate-universe-surprise-showdown/535778/
http://www.comicvine.com/forums/battles/7/fellowship-of-the-vine-rules/558465/?
http://www.comicvine.com/forums/battles/7/lizard-runs-the-gauntlet-rules/398781/?
http://www.comicvine.com/forums/battles/7/daredevil-knightfall/415694/
http://www.comicvine.com/forums/battles/7/fellowship-of-the-vine-rules/558465/
http://www.comicvine.com/forums/battles/7/fellowship-of-the-rings-rules/420966/
Stay On Topic
Stay on topic, now from time to time a thread can be taken off topic, now this can at times have it’s place, But often will lead to some type of argument or flaming. If you are talking in a topic you must focus on the characters at hand and anything else relevant to the battle, if you wish to talk about something else use the PM facility or use one of the many community chat areas often found in the RPG section or in Gen Discussion.
Watch Your Language (and Attitude)
Just like the rest of the site, the Battle Forum is “Kid Friendly”. This means no cursing and no name calling. And while there’s no strict rule against having an attitude or being a jerk, if you can’t discuss something without throwing insults you probably shouldn’t try. The attitude thing extends into being a gracious winner or loser. If, after a long debate, you find that your position has withstood all attacks against it while the opposition’s hasn’t, there’s no need to be obnoxious about it. If it turns out that you were wrong the whole time, don’t get mad, just accept it. These things really aren’t important enough to get bent out of shape over. (And when the time comes that you’ve switched positions, you won’t want someone being obnoxious because they “beat” you or acting like a child because they “lost”.)
PIS and CIS
These are terms commonly used on battle forums on other sites and most of us know what they mean. For those who don’t, PIS is “plot induced stupidity” and CIS is “character induced stupidity”. PIS/”jobbing” is when a character loses for the sake of plot despite the fact that they should be able to win. CIS is when a character loses because an aspect of the character (usually a lack of intelligence) gets in his own way. Superman losing to Batman would be PIS is most cases since Superman is perfectly capable of beating Batman in a number of ways before he can react. Sandman losing to Spider-Man is CIS because Sandman isn’t all that smart so Spider-Man, who is less powerful and should be easy to beat, can outsmart him and find victory.
Determining what is done for the plot and what is done because of the characters involved can be hard for some people. Superman is a prime case. In comics, Superman rarely uses his speed offensively. This is done for plot, to prolong the story and make it interesting (though it can also be said that it's a part of his character and not done solely because it benefits the story). In comics, Superman doesn’t kill. He does not spare his enemies because of the plot, he spares them because it’s part of his character not to kill thanks to how he was raised. In battles on the forum we include CIS, but not PIS, so Superman uses his speed but generally doesn’t kill unless otherwise stated. (“Bloodlust”)
This kind of gets into “bad writing”. It’s a term that gets thrown around a lot but one I don’t think always applies. Not every fight where the more powerful/capable character loses is bad writing. Situations can determine the winner just as much as the characters themselves so those should be taken into account before judging if a win “should” have happened or not.
What Can You Use?
Like most things in the fight, the following may vary depending on what the thread creator chooses to allow. Despite, or maybe because of, how much debate there’s been on this area (check old threads in the Battle Forum) this section is rather small. What I have here is what I think most people agree on.
Things that aren’t canon are not used in battles unless otherwise stated by the creator of the thread. For things that are canon, an understanding of the character as a whole helps determine what they can do in fights. For example, one time feats, crossover feats, powers/abilities that haven’t been used in a long time (but haven’t been specifically removed) are not to be dismissed out of hand, but they should be weighed against regular appearances and displays of abilities. Don’t just use a character’s best showings to determine what they can do, and don’t just use their worst showings to limit them.
Posting Scans.
I'm perfectly fine with people posting scans to support their argument in the Battle Forum, but it shouldn't be taken out of hand. For example, if you want to prove that character A is a better fighter than character B, make than argument, compare the two, whatever. Then, you can post a few scans to reinforce your point. If you have to post several scans, reduce them to thumbnails to make browsing through the thread easier for everyone else. What I don't recommend is posted loads and loads of enlarged scans in one post. It accomplishes nothing, other than making it difficult for people with slower internet connection and/or older computers to browse through threads. If this becomes an issue, these kinds of posts will be deleted without warning. Just saying.
Adding Music
This is both annoying and distracting, if you wish to add music to a battle thread then it must be done so via a player of some type to allow the users the choice of listening to it, rather then it being forced onto the user as they enter the thread.
Manga / Anime Vs Comic Threads are ALLOWED
These types of threads were once banned but brought back. These types of battles can however be banned once again if this rule is mistreated. However, due to the flame wars that inevitably arise in DBZ vs comics threads, these particular types of threads are not allowed. Other anime vs comics threads are permitted.
DBZ VS Comics/Manga Threads are BANNED
Due to the childish nature of some users and amount of flame wars that have been started since unbanning anime, it has been decided by the battle mods that DBZ VS Comics/Manga threads are here on out banned. We have decided that anime in general is still allowed. We have seen plenty of threads with anime characters that have had perfectly respectable and reasonable debates, but with 90% of DBZ threads ending in flame wars and insults due to some fans and some comic users, Dragonball, DBZ, DBGT VS Comics/Manga threads are now against the rules. Comics, anime / manga, video games, movies, cartoons / television shows, or adaptations from any of the aforementioned, may not be paired up against Dragonball, DBZ, DBGT, or any other piece of the Dragonball franchise.
But, it does not have to be permanent. Very much alike the original anime ban, this could be lifted when we feel it is appropriate. Until then, however, we feel this is for the best.
Challenge a Viner threads or the tourney matches CAN include a DBZ character VS a comic book or manga character outside of the Dragonball Universe. The reason for that is those types of threads are contained between two users and are generally handled much better and in a much more respectable way between said users. It's only the open threads that are generally the problem.
DBZ vs DBZ battles should be OK due to them being in the same universe and much easier to avoid combusting. But once again, I will say this could be as easily taken away. Don't ruin this.
"Beat My Character" Threads are BANNED
As of late, there has been a continuous growth of "Beat my character" threads on the Battle Forums. While initially they posed little to no problem, they have increasingly become more tedious and simply turn into a case of "my character cannot be defeated". Reasoning is all but lost within these threads and it only becomes a matter of indecision and needless arguing as the OP can hypothetically come up with whatever counter power they want to keep their character from "losing", hence deviating from the original purpose of the battle itself.
Having said this, the battle mods have decided that "Beat my character" threads shall not be permitted on the Battle Forums due to a lack of reasoning and little room for actual debates.
Do Not Use Unbeatable Characters
Simple rule and one that should be obvious as it falls under the spite thread rules, but I'll spell it out so everyone can see it. No more using omnipotent characters. By using characters like TOAA, Bugs Bunny (just cause the fact of his toonforce being ridiculous), Presence (or Over-Monitor whatever), MoM etc, we don't get debates. We get either a stalemate between omnipotent characters, which lacks a debate as they can't do anything to each other, or destroys any other character(s) even if you stack abstracts against them. If you can't feasibly beat a character then don't use it. If you see someone using essentially unbeatable characters like TOAA or ridiculous toonforce capabilities like Bugs Bunny, flag it. Even if the character is created and falls under the category, flag it. These threads offer nothing and clog up the forum.
Insulting Users.
Insulting other users in any shape or form is not debating and will follow with a warning from the mods. Comicvine is a friendly site and we will enforce this rule to make sure it stays this way, if you can not debate civilly then this site is not the place for you. If the debate is getting heated walk away and alert a mod, do not insult back as this will just lead to you getting a warning as well.
Trolling
Let me start of by explaining what trolling actually is! Trolling is a user who posts to incite flame wars and continues to post in a manner that is offensive or posting something that has nothing to do with the thread. Baiting other users into an argument and continuing that argument in hopes of offending that user or the community. As such this is not allowed on comicvine and will be dealt with according to the comcvine guide lines! again if you can not debate civilly and with out trying to ignite a flame war then comicvine is not the site for you.
If your thread gets locked...
Do not get upset, go on a tangent, and make a thread in an attempt to maliciously call out moderators because of it. In most case, the moderators here will not lock a thread for no reason, and if it does get locked, it could be because it doesn't adhere to the rules of the Battle Forum and/or because it doesn't adhere to the terms and conditions of the Vine. Sometimes, a reason as to why your thread was locked will be stated right before it is. But, keep in mind that we don't always have to state our reasoning, because as a Viner, you are supposed to be aware of the rules. Sometimes, we make mistakes and believe a battle thread to be an unfair. If you have an issue as to why your thread was locked, kindly send a PM to the moderators if it really means that much to you and the moderator responsible will tell you. If you can come up with a reason to unlock the thread, it will be unlocked for you.
HOW TO DEAL WITH TROLLS
Problem, Comic Vine? Three simple steps to dealing with trolls:
- Do not engage them at all. They feed off of your attention. No matter how much they attempt to bait you, you absolutely need to ignore them.
- If you sense someone is blatantly trolling, flag their post or PM a mod. We'll check it out and handle it. There's no reason for you to get your hands dirty.
- I know it's tempting to argue with them. "Someone is wrong on the internet! I can't stand by and let that happen!" I've fallen into that trap dozens of times. It never turns out well and is simply a waste of your time. So please, for the love of all that is holy, follow steps 1 and 2.
Got it? Good. The Battles section is meant to be fun. So please, help keep it a fun and friendly environment. There's no reason to get mad over any of this stuff. See trolling? Report it. Once a comment or thread is flagged, we will respond to it as quickly as we can.
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