The Celestial Guide to YCM (For new members)

[Amethyst Phoenix]

[align=center]The Celestial Guide to YCM

By Amethyst Phoenix [/align]

Hello there, and welcome to the Yu-Gi-Oh Card Maker Forums!

 

This guide will help you understand YCM and become a great, contributing member to the forums. We will cover the basics of the card maker, forum etiquette, the infamous concept of OCG (Official Card Grammar), and much more! Lets get started =)

 

Chapter 1: The Basics

YCM is a site for yugioh fans to make their own cards via the card creator, talk about the TCG (trading card game), help each other improve our decks, or just socialize. There are a variety of people from different backgrounds and with diverse interests at YCM. You are sure to find someone to relate to.

 

We should start with the rules (written long ago by the legendary Frunk). Here are the official rules of YCM:

1.) No profanity, inappropriate material, or content.

2.) No illegal content.

3.) No harassment.

4.) No flaming.

5.) No spamming.

6.) Stay on topic.

7.) No trolling.

8.) No whining.

9.) No begging.

10.) No pornographic material

11.) Follow Signature Restrictions and Rules.

12.) Account Responsibility.

13.) No topics/posts on hacking.

14.) No multiple accounts.

15.) No plagiarism.

16.) Always read and follow staff messages.

17.) No backseat/mini-modding.

18.) Staff can delete messages or lock threads at any time.

19.) Do not release Other User’s Private or Personal Information.

20.) Staff Have Final Say.

21.) No Advertising.

 

Let’s take the time to elaborate on a few of these.

 

Swearing is allowed to a mild degree but don’t overdo it, and be sure to censor part of it in some way.

 

Flaming is direct and pointless insults towards people. “You fail at life” is an example. Do not confuse criticism with flaming. Many users are rather blunt in their reviews of your work, and will not hesitate to inform you of the flaws present. They are just trying to help you improve.

 

Spamming is pointless posts and threads about nothing. Short posts that don’t contribute (such as nothing but a rating and no explanation) are also considered spam. Make sure you don’t post a topic about something that already has a thread. This creates needless clutter in the forums.

 

A troll is someone who posts pointless topics, goes through all topics and posts irrelevant spam, attempts to incite arguments, and so forth. Don’t post in spam threads; it just gives the troll what they want: attention. It also encourages them to post more pointless topics.

 

Don’t make signatures huge, use spoiler tags. (note, when posted on the forums these tags would activate within the guide. When applying them to a real post remove the stars that have been added to the guide to prevent this). If you type: [*spoiler=*insert what you want to title it here*]

*put content here*

[*/spoiler]

 

It will make the title appear and, upon clicking it, it will expand to show the whole thing. Note: A signature appears under all your posts. You can add one via the “my cp” option at the top. (CP = control panel).

 

If your siblings or friends get on your account and break the rules, you will be held responsible. It is your duty to keep your account secure. On that note, account sharing is also against the rules.

 

You may not have multiple accounts. There is no need for more than one, and using them to give your main account +reps (more on the reputation system later).

 

Stealing others’ cards, ideas, or signatures is classified as plagiarism, and is a grave offense. This is also referred to as “ripping” in regards to sigs and avatars. Users have been banned for ripping others images. It is however ok to use others artwork if you give credit in your posts. It is also ok to use the same images as others in card. However some have become overused, and a few users may criticize you for utilizing them.

 

Mini-modding is when regular users attempt vigilante moderation. Telling others to lock their threads etc is an example of this.

 

Chapter 2: Starting Out

After registering, you may be tempted to start pumping out cards and posting them. STOP! This is the most frequently made mistake (hell, I made this mistake myself when I was new). First, make an introduction thread in the introductions forum. Talk about yourself and your interests. This will help people get to know you better. Then, observe others cards for awhile to get a feel for how good cards are made. Make some friends, and socialize in general too. Maybe even join a club that interests you (in the clubs and organizations sub-forum).

 

Be sure to read the rules that are stickied at the top of each forum and sub-forum. If you have any questions, post them only in the Questions and Help section.

 

You may notice the stars under your name. These designate how many posts you have, and are somewhat of a status symbol (however, never judge people on stars alone). You start off with one star, and gain more as you make posts. Here’s a list:

1 Star – 0 posts

2 Star- 30 posts

3 Star- 150 posts

4 Star- 400 posts

5 Star - 1000 posts

6 Star- 5000 posts

7 Star- Only Administrators are 7 star (YCMaker, creator of the website, is the only admin currently)

 

You also have a title, but you can edit it to whatever you want.

 

Avatars are small pictures that appear near your name. You can edit yours from the “my control panel” section (you can edit pretty much anything there).

 

If you wish for a name change, use the Alias Emporium in the general section. Be sure to read the criteria. If you can’t decide on a new name, use the pre-established thread to ask. Don’t clutter polls with name suggestion threads.

 

Also, use adequate spelling and grammar and put thought into your posts.

Chapter 3: The Reputation System

The reputation system is a number under your post count that shows what the community thinks of you. To rate a user, go to their reputation page and click the add rating button. You can give them a positive, negative, or neutral rep. Be sure to leave a justified reason. The number displayed on their posts is the combined total value of their reps. If someone gives you a neg, and it’s justified don’t “Revenge neg” them. This is against the rules. If you feel a neg you’ve acquired is unjustified, post in the Rep Complaint Thread in the general section. Don’t worry if you have low rep to start out with. As you become more and more known to the YCM public, you will begin to rake in the reps (for good or bad).

 

Chapter 4: Custom Cards

When you’ve made some cards, it’s time to present them to YCM for reviewing. Click the card in the card maker, and copy and paste the text that appears in your post to make the card appear (Attachments are against the rules, you must use image tags). Remember to take criticism well, going into at people who don’t like your cards won’t help. Take their advice, they most likely know what they’re doing.

 

Some card basics:

Use Correct OCG and Spelling.

Have good, clear images with backgrounds.

Post cards in the right section.

Make interesting effects, average or boring effects are not good.

Don’t make normal monsters.

Leave the circulation blank, they aren’t limited or 1st edition unless they have gold corner stickers (unless you edit it with another program, they won’t have said sticker).

Don’t make threads saying “Post your cards here” that’s what the whole forum is for silly!

Refer to Icyblue’s awesome guide for in-depth card making advice from a pro (http://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/thread-42031.html) and DJ Osiris’ guide to OCG (http://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/thread-51154.html)

[sleevecard]

Add a link to the rules thread as well. Beautifully done Amethyst :)

[Amethyst Phoenix]

kk, will do.

 

Thanks =)

 

Update: The rules link has been added (hyperlink in the word rules towards the beginning)

[sleevecard]

I'm going to put a link to this in the club.

[Lazer Yoshi]

Great Guide man. =D

Maybe Center-Align it, but that's it.

Freakin' awesome!