Rule commentary & interpretations

[rusty_shackleford]

Quoting the commentary as of the time of making this thread:

Commentary:
The rules are kept as minimalist as possible, subject to periodic review for the purpose of identifying possible reductions in scope and complexity. Therefore, commentary on the rules, their interpretation, and general site policy is placed here as a supplement.

• Please be aware that HQ is not a social media platform. Therefore:
  • It's acceptable to share professional works, such as books, comics, or similar items, that bear your name.
  • We discourage personal vlogs. If you wish to discuss personal topics, consider typing them in text format and posting them in the Off-Topic forum. No, we won't read it.
  • Gaming content, such as gameplay videos, game reviews, or commentary, is highly encouraged. If you include gameplay videos, please consider excluding overlays of your facial reactions.
• Rule 2 — "Doxxing" is defined as uniquely identifying information — including but not limited to physical address, phone numbers, family members, place of work, and personal photos. If you are unsure if a piece of identifying information would fall under this, just assume yes.
  
  • Refrain from 'self-doxxing' — sharing your personally identifying details, including links to your personally identifying social media accounts or self-portraits (selfies).
  • If you have reason to believe that information you have posted may cause you real harm, please contact a staff member to petition to have it removed. The smaller the scope of the request, the more likely it will be approved.
• Rule 3(A) — We recognize that discussions in threads naturally drift away from the original topic. These discussions will be merged into other threads or split into their own threads once the discussion is no longer active so as to not disrupt them.
• HQ has a large selection of forums that cover a diverse range of topics as well as a catch-all Off-Topic section. Threads should be created in the appropriate forum.
• Avatars must be sensibly animated. No flashing lights. A gaming avatar is preferred.
• This is a forum dedicated to a hobby that is overwhelmingly male and heterosexual. Therefore, examples of obscene content include but are not limited to pornography featuring males. This does not include content that is relevant to a video game topic.
• Please mark content that is a spoiler with spoiler tags as appropriate, it's just a kind thing to do.

This thread will be for explaining any confusion or interpretations of the rules as required, so as to keep the rules themselves concise and unburdened by commentary and the interpretations of various definitions. I'll update this OP as time goes on.