The forum is the meeting place for everyone who plays World of Warcraft: Forever, and for questions and feedback about GameNavigator. So that people enjoy reading and writing here, the rules on this page apply. They are part of our terms (Terms, section 13). At the same time they describe how we moderate, as Art. 14 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 on digital services requires (Digital Services Act, "DSA" below). Which data the forum processes is described in the Privacy Policy. The German version of these rules is the legally binding one.

1. What this is about

  • The forum has two language areas: English at /forum and German at /de/forum. Both have the same structure, but the posts are separate. Write in the language of the area you are in.
  • Anyone can read, even without an account.
  • To write and react you need an account with a confirmed email address and a display name. You choose the display name once; after that you cannot change it yourself.
  • With your account you can also write private messages, receive notifications, subscribe to threads, create polls and attach images to posts. What applies to these is set out directly below this list.
  • The forum is not an official Blizzard Entertainment forum. GameNavigator is a fan project by Provimedia GmbH.

Private messages

  • A conversation always has exactly two participants.
  • You can write if your email address is confirmed, you have a display name, you are not suspended from the forum and you have written at least one visible post of your own in the forum. For the team the requirement of a post does not apply. Each account can write at most ten messages per hour.
  • Private messages are seen only by the two participants. The team does not read them, and there is no view for them in the administration. You receive no email about new messages; a counter in the header shows them to you.
  • Blocking. If you block a member, that member can no longer write to you, and an existing conversation between you becomes read-only for both of you. A block works in both directions: while it stands, you do not start a new conversation with that person either. The blocked person receives no notice; they only see that they cannot write to you. You can lift a block at any time in your messages.
  • Each participant can remove a conversation for themselves. If an account is deleted, its messages remain with the other person under "Deleted account". Once no participant is left, because both have removed the conversation or deleted their account, it is deleted together with its messages immediately.
  • The rules in section 3 also apply to private messages. Because we do not read private messages, we do not notice a violation there on our own. If someone harasses you, block them. If you consider a message illegal, you can report it to us by email with the details from section 4; instead of the link, send us the text of the message. We then know only what you send us. If you are in danger, call the emergency number 112 straight away.

Notifications and subscriptions

  • Notifications appear only here on the site; we send no emails for them.
  • You receive one when someone replies in a thread you have subscribed to, when someone quotes your post or mentions you with @ and your display name, when the moderation team has decided against you or has lifted such a decision, and when there is an outcome for your report.
  • If you start a thread or reply in it, you subscribe to it automatically. You can unsubscribe with the button in the thread.
  • Notifications are deleted automatically after 90 days, and immediately if your account is deleted. Statements of reasons for moderation decisions and the outcomes of your reports remain available on the page "My moderation decisions" (section 6).

Polls

  • A poll can only be created by whoever starts a new thread, and only when starting it.
  • Each member has one vote and cannot change it afterwards.
  • Only the totals per answer are shown. Internally we store which account has voted, so that nobody votes twice. Your choice itself is not stored with your account; nobody, including the team, can look up who chose what.
  • A poll belongs to its thread: if the thread is deleted, the poll is deleted immediately together with its answers and the records of who voted, just like the images of a deleted post. If moderation restores the thread later, the poll does not come back.

Images in posts

  • Images in JPEG, PNG, WebP or GIF format are allowed, up to five per post and up to 4 MB per file.
  • While you are writing, the original file sits in an upload cache until you submit the post, at most for 24 hours. After that it is deleted, even if you never submit the post.
  • Our server converts every image to WebP, scales it down to at most 1600 pixels on the longest side and removes embedded metadata such as EXIF data and the GPS location. What can be seen in the image remains visible.
  • Images can be seen by whoever may see the post. If a post is hidden, its images can only be seen by you and the moderation team. If the post is deleted, its images are deleted immediately.
  • Images are subject to the same rules as posts, in particular rule 3.5 (copyright), 3.6 (other people's data) and 3.8 (offensive content). You report an image with the report button of the post.

2. What happens automatically

Three safeguards run automatically, without a person looking at the post:

  • Rate limit. A new account (younger than 24 hours or with fewer than five posts) can currently write at most one post every 30 seconds, all other accounts up to six posts per minute. This slows down spam without holding up a running conversation.
  • Links from the fifth post. Until you have written five posts, links in your posts appear as plain text and cannot be clicked. This keeps advertising and scam links out.
  • Invisible form field. The posting form contains a field that people do not see. If a program fills it in, we do not accept the post.

For private messages and images, the limits in section 1 apply in addition.

No program reads your posts and decides about them. Whether a post is hidden, edited or deleted, or an account suspended, is always decided by a person.

3. What is not allowed

Moderation refers to these rules by their number, for example "rule 3.2".

3.1 Illegal content. Nothing that breaks applicable law, in particular German law or the law of the European Union. This includes, for example, threats, calls for violence or crime, incitement to hatred (Volksverhetzung), depictions of child sexual abuse and violations of personality rights.

3.2 Insults and harassment. Do not insult, mock, threaten or stalk anyone, including through mentions or quotes. No hate against people because of their origin, skin colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation, a disability or their age. Argue about the game, not about people.

3.3 Spam and advertising. No advertising for your own or others' offers, no partner or referral links, no chain posts and no posts that only serve to push a thread to the top. You may share your own guide, add-on or video about the game if it fits the topic.

3.4 Trading gold, accounts and services. No buying, selling or swapping of gold, items, characters or accounts for real money or other consideration outside the game. No boosting offers and no shared accounts. Links to such offers are not allowed either.

3.5 Copyright. Only post texts, images and videos you created yourself or are allowed to use. Name the source when you quote something, and prefer linking to others' content over copying it.

3.6 Other people's data. Do not publish personal data of others without their consent, for example real names, addresses, phone numbers, photos or screenshots of private messages.

3.7 Fraud, malware, cheating. No phishing links, no malware and nothing that helps take over other people's accounts. No advertising for cheats or bots. Report a game bug in the "Beta Feedback" board, but without instructions on how to exploit it.

3.8 Offensive content. No pornographic content and no graphic depictions of violence.

3.9 Deception and evasion. Do not pretend to be someone else, including a member of the GameNavigator team or of Blizzard. Do not create another account to get around a suspension.

3.10 Profile. Display name, avatar, signature and "About me" are subject to the same rules as posts. Your email address and other people's names do not belong in your display name.

4. How to report a post

If you find a post that breaks the law or these rules, report it. The procedure follows Art. 16 DSA.

With the report button. Every post has a report button. Choose a reason and briefly describe why the post is illegal or which rule it breaks. The button itself tells us which post you mean.

By email. You can also report a post by email to info@provimedia.de, for example if you have no account. So that we can assess the report, we need the link to the post, an explanation of why the content is illegal, your name and email address, and your statement that, to the best of your belief, your information is accurate and complete. If your report concerns child sexual abuse, you do not have to give your name.

What happens next.

  • You receive a confirmation of receipt.
  • A person from the moderation team reviews the report promptly, carefully and objectively.
  • We tell you how we decided and how you can object to that decision (section 7). If you reported with the report button, the outcome appears in your notifications and remains available on the page "My moderation decisions".
  • We do not tell the affected person who reported them, unless this is exceptionally strictly necessary.
  • If a post points to a crime that threatens someone's life or safety, we inform the law enforcement authorities (Art. 18 DSA). If you are in danger yourself, call the emergency number 112 straight away.

5. What moderation can do

Moderation is done by people: by moderators we appoint for individual boards, by super moderators for the whole forum and by the administrators of Provimedia GmbH. They act carefully, objectively and proportionately and respect the rights of everyone involved, in particular freedom of expression (Art. 14 (4) DSA).

Measure What it does
Move A thread goes to a more suitable board, always within the same language area. This is not a penalty.
Pin An important thread stays at the top of the list.
Lock thread Nobody except moderation can reply any more; the posts remain readable.
Edit post Moderation removes, for example, a forbidden link. The post then carries an edit note.
Hide A post or thread can no longer be read by others. Always with a reason. The images of a hidden post can only be seen by you and the moderation team.
Delete For serious cases, such as illegal content. The images of the post are deleted along with it immediately.
Forum suspension You cannot write until a fixed date, including private messages. Only super moderators and administrators impose suspensions, always with a time limit and a reason.

As a rule we start with the mildest measure that is enough: editing or hiding. For serious or repeated violations, such as illegal content or pure spam accounts, we also suspend straight away. How long a suspension lasts depends on how serious the violation is and whether it is repeated. A suspension only affects the forum; your account, the navigator and a Supporter subscription remain unaffected.

We record every measure with its time, the person who took it and the reason in an internal moderation log, so that we can trace decisions and review objections.

6. You learn why

If we restrict one of your posts or your account because the content is illegal or breaks these rules, you receive a clear and specific statement of reasons (Art. 17 DSA). It states:

  • what we did (for example hidden, deleted or suspended), where it applies and, for a suspension, until when,
  • the facts the decision is based on, and whether it follows a report or our own review,
  • the rule from section 3 or the legal provision the content breaks, and why,
  • that a person decided, not a program,
  • how you can object (section 7) and that you can always go to court.

You see the statement of reasons in the forum as soon as the measure applies, and you also receive a notification. The statement of reasons remains available on the page My moderation decisions; the deletion after 90 days only affects the notification.

7. Objecting to a decision

You can object to any moderation decision: as the affected person against hiding, deletion or a suspension, and as the person who reported against our decision on your report, including when we took no action. The procedure is modelled on Art. 20 DSA.

  • How: by email to info@provimedia.de with the subject "Forum objection", the link to the post or your display name, and a short explanation. Objecting is free of charge.
  • Deadline: within six months of the day you learned about the decision.
  • Who decides: a person from the Provimedia GmbH team, not a program.
  • Outcome: we tell you our decision promptly and with reasons. If the measure was wrong, we lift it without delay. You receive a notification about the lift just as you did about the measure itself: that your post is visible again, your thread is back or your suspension is over is not something you should have to find out for yourself.

Independently of this, you can go to court at any time.

8. Contact

Single point of contact for the forum under Art. 11 and Art. 12 DSA, for users as well as for the authorities of the Member States, the European Commission and the European Board for Digital Services:

Provimedia GmbH
Weidenweg 12, 74321 Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany
Email: info@provimedia.de
Phone: +49 7142 9170511

You can write to us in German or English. A person reads your message.

9. Changes to these rules

If we change these rules materially, we let you know in the "Announcements" board and by email (Art. 14 (2) DSA). The date at the top shows the current version.