With all the new forums going up lately, Valentine has given me me permission to post this. Here are some tips on making your forum successful...

One very important part of building your own forum is to BE ORIGINAL. Most people don't realize this, but you can't use the same ranks that Psypoke uses, which is something I've seen a lot. I've also seen many forums that use Psypoke rank images. MAKE YOUR OWN.

For example, these ranks cannot be used...

Elite Four
Lite Four
Gym Leader
Frontier Brain
Gym Trainer
Bug Catcher
Pokemon Trainer (kinda eeeeh on this one, you'd probably get away with using it)
Psychic Trainer
Dragon Tamer
Pokemon Master
Pokemon Ranger
Fails at life


And these rank images cannot be used...
















Also, be original in what you name your forums, and where you place them. For example, don't go make an exact copy of Psypoke. Come up with original names for forums.

I'm not a staff member, but I can say that you will be banned from Psypoke for copying any of these things.

Another VERY important thing is to be careful about who you give a job to, whether it be a Moderator Job or an Administrating Job.. I've seen many forums advertised here that say something like 'We need Mods and Admins! First 8 people to sign up get the spots!'. This drives me crazy. What if a complete idiot who spams, doesn't follow the rules, double posts, and is illiterate joins first and he/she gets an administrative spot? Be careful and don't give the position who PMs you and says "Can I please be a mod?".

Also, Be sure to have a CLEAR set of rules, with in depth explanations behind each one. This is a bad example of rules...

1- Don't spam
2- Don't flame
3- Don't curse
4- Have fun!


The last thing I'm going to say is about affiliation. Some new sites, that maybe have 3 members, are putting Psypoke, PokeZam, Serebii, etc. under their affiliates. You cannot do that. Your site/forum most likely does not meet their Affiliation Requirements. Affiliation is a 2 way deal.

I learned pretty much all of this the hard way . I may edit in some more tips and pointers later.

~Eon


Feb. 29th, 08:
i went ahead and added the current rank images and titles, as well as correcting eon's grammatical mistakes. ;o

- valentine

oh, and, feel free to make your hate sites and crap, except just know the admins probably won't cry their hearts out and change their ways, but instead laugh at you and hit you with a banhammer. yep.

OMG. Don't steal my idea. I posted that idea in Hyperpokes for everyone.

It's not exactly copyrighted by you, Swampzard (Poe). It's common knowledge (well, to some anyway).

Added something. Check the first post.

All right, my first sticky . Anyways, I added a few things.

I have a question/arguement to one of the points/an individual rank image:

If the other images are used, it's quite obviously been copied, but this one is just the single pokeball sprite, which I don't believe Psypoke can legally disallow other forums to use it in a rank image, seeing as it is a sprite from a game. You can do lots of things with this to create rank images, such as using an opening pokeball sprite, highest rank having a fully opened pokeball, or just a line of these, but a curvy line ect.

I'd also say that things like 'Pokemon Breeder' and 'Newbie Trainer' are quite sad really, it shows your taking a psypoke idea and editing it so you aren''t directly copying, but you can't be bothered to think up your own forum ranks. I am personally creating my own forum and it took me about 3 minutes to come up with an original rank idea, which is still related to Pokemon.

I also think you missed a point, which is the forum pokemon emoticons. ({rotom}{milotic}{torchic}{yamna}ect.) I really don't think people should use those, or steal that idea.

The coding for the layout was a premade, from I-forget-where. I think. I looked at the source code and still can't tell where its from D:


Btw, here are some other threads that cover this topic:
http://psypokes.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3744
http://psypokes.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3979&start=0

The link doesn't even work anymore. Odd.

When I first looked at the site, the layout said it on it. I went to the link stated.

It seems to have no contact with rocket hq.

I had made my forum before I knew about the Psypoke forums. I wanted to ask a question.

Those ranks are really original, but I was using a couple of those before. Still, they're not the same. For example Gym people are like mods, but my gym people need post counts. Same with Pokémon Masters. The admin is Forum Administrator and the mods are Forums Moderator.

And I had Sunyshore Market and SlatePort market already there, so I'm keeping them.

They're my originals, but a bit obvious so many use them. Am I still allowed to advertise my forum?

Just asking,
Cultred

P.S. I'm already advertising them with my signature.

Well, you joined on the 17th, and your first post on your forums was the 24th, so I think you're lying. >:|

Psypoke doesn't "own" the ranks/names, put using them just because Psypoke does is lame and unoriginal. ;o

Sorry, but I made it by a phpBB2 provider first, then recreated it with a different one. So, it was fairly original. I just wanted to state this to be clear so I can get better answers.

Sorry if you guys think it's unoriginal. I just did what I thought then I met up with ya'll's...

Alright just want to know if ranks based upon the nintendo game generations is okay like gold trainer, ruby trainer. And can I advertise more than one forums ? Just like to know. As I am admin in more than one

...i don't know why we'd get mad at you for using ranks we don't even use. we don't own pokemon; go ahead and use 'em.

as for the multiple forums thing, sure, i guess.

yeah okay thanks. It's just that I've been given a mission by the head admin to go get another forums active with users.

Ok, first of I don't have the skill to make a forum but I'm just stating my opinion, what gives psypokes the right to copyright these things? lets say I was making a forum, I would definitly measure a persons rank using pokeballs(I had that Idea before I even heard of psypokes), and are you seriously telling me that I wouldn't be allowed to use rank names like that? I mean they're in the game, you can't claim ownership of something that's in the game, like I would definitly use bug catcher as the lowest rank(or youngster), as for the admins and mods, elite 4 and gymleaders are the first possible choice, I mean what would you expect me to put?

If you read a book and then write one of your own using the SAME EXACT ideas, knowing full well that it sounds identical to the other book, then wouldn't that be plagiarizing? But if you didn't read Harry Potter and decided to write a book about a wizard with a scar who goes to school, people might call you out for being a copycat, and being a member of the forum is evidence enough of stealing ideas which the Admins put work into creating.

As for things you could put, if you /really/ wanted to put Pokemon related names, try "Canalave Gym Leader," "Cerulean Gym Leader" etcetera. Give specific names according to each moderator's taste and not just the basic "Gym Leader," because you're just reworking their idea without actually stealing it directly. You could also make the forums and then name the mods accordingly from that. "GD Mod" isn't such a bad title.

you are more than welcome to use the pokeballs in your rank images - but the combination/amount is ours, save for the lone pokeball.

and we realize that our rank titles are kind of generic for a pokemon forum. you'll just have to find a way around it.

yeah of course I wouldn't use the same combos, but I just don't see how psypokes can just go and copyright a thing that is in the game, it's not fair.
and just to be clear, I don't want to make a forum, I just want to state my opinion.

As Kasey said...


And as Sparrow said...

So I guess you could use them, but it'd be dumb to.

in that case ok, the only reason I was fighting about it was because it said at the top that using these ranks could get you banned.

Well I guess using the PROBATION, FAIL and ILLITERATE ranks could, and using the EXACT same rank images probably could too.

im made a zelda forum but do not know how to get more people to join ....... oh it a logic rping(role playing) forum by phpbb oh one more thing

you do not own the copy right of pokemon the person who made people owns it and these ranks

Elite Four
Gym Leader
Gym Trainer
Pokemon Trainer
Pokemon Master
Pokemon Ranger

any one can use them just because you have them on here does not mean you can say to some one that they can not use them because you do not own pokemon because the person who made people owns it or you can say Nintendo does . i understand what you are trying to say but ubless you have 100 % owner ship of pokemon then its not stealing if some use only .no one on here unless they are with the Nintendo can not say using those ranks are copyrighted .


im only saying my opinion .

well said cid, though you have horrible literary ability.
and post the link to your forum in "testing and advertising" and I'll join.

ok i will make a topic on it and lol well i did not do to good in english class because i did not do any thing that must, oh its only words after all so why fight over some words

it's just a little hard to understand, and the admins might give you the rank of illiterate. so your not a native english speaker?