Happy New Year everyone! We hope you enjoyed this past year on The Bell Tree and are excited for the year ahead. To kick off 2017, we have a few important rules changes to announce. Be sure to read through all of them, and let us know if you have any questions! You can find the rules by clicking the "Rules" tab at the top of the forum or by simply clicking here: Rules and Guidelines.
TBT bells and collectibles cannot be sold for real money anywhere.
First, we've clarified the rule prohibiting the sale TBT bells and collectibles for real money. It previously stated that posting these transactions isn't allowed, but it now explicitly states that the sale of them anywhere isn't allowed. This is effective immediately and you can read the full rule in section 3.b.
This section also now explicitly states that bells and collectibles cannot be traded for premium or for-pay currencies from other websites:
All auctions should only accept bids posted in their threads.
The auction rules now state that, "Only bids posted in the auction thread may be accepted, even if custom rules are set by the auctioneer." This means that bids cannot be accepted in PMs, VMs, or anywhere else. Auctioneers can no longer reserve special rights to allow bids elsewhere. The list of auction rules is also now numbered, which will make it easier for mods and auctioneers to reference. You can read our updated auction rules in section 3.c.
Bumping rules now apply across the entire forum.
The four hour bumping rule now applies to every board, except the Animal Crossing amiibo Card Post Office board, which still has an eight hour limit. This is explained in rule 1.c., which has been renamed to "Thread Bumping."
Trading board organization is now updated in the rules.
Earlier in the year we changed the forum's trading boards so threads were organized by the items sold instead of the currency used. We've also clarified that threads for TBT to in-game bell conversions should be made in TBT Marketplace. The section for this rule, 3.d., has been completely rewritten to account for this change.
Signatures should not exceed a total height of 250 px, including all text and images.
A discrepancy was found between the rules and the signature guide posted in Bell Tree HQ. The rules say, "Keep your signature under a total height of 250 pixels tall, including all images and text." However, the signature guide stated that an additional line of text could be included, which led to to some confusion. Going forward, we will be using the full 250 px limit like it says in the rules, and the signature guide will be changed soon. However, because of this contradiction, we will give everyone a month before removing signatures that include an additional line of text.
Name change item changes coming due to discovered exploit.
A name change exploit was discovered that allows users to reuse the item multiple times. For the time being, as we work on making a change to the item, it has been removed from the shop and will not be visible in your inventory. After the change, if you'd like to change your username, you will need to post in the Contact the Staff board after purchasing the item and an administrator will change it manually. The item will be deleted from your inventory after it's used.
In the next few days, those who used this exploit will be charged the bells that they would have had to spend for each name. If you believe you are charged bells by mistake, you can post a dispute in the Contact the Staff board and we will look into it further.
User-created discord servers should not be advertised in new threads.
We noticed that several unofficial discord servers for various topics were being posted around the forum. However, these threads fall under our rule that prohibits advertisement threads from being created. From now on, we ask that you keep these links in your signature and refrain from making threads that advertise them. We will also soon be creating a central Discord thread where you can post your links to a directory. Users will be able to continue finding these unofficial Discord communities without multiple threads being posted across the forum. This also applies to other types of chat clients.
That's it for now! We'll post here as we make the pending updates, including the signature guide, name change item, and Discord server directory thread. Thank you!
UPDATE Jan 17 2017 (click)
TBT bells and collectibles cannot be sold for real money anywhere.
First, we've clarified the rule prohibiting the sale TBT bells and collectibles for real money. It previously stated that posting these transactions isn't allowed, but it now explicitly states that the sale of them anywhere isn't allowed. This is effective immediately and you can read the full rule in section 3.b.
3.b. Prohibited Transactions said:The sale of The Bell Tree bells or shop items for real money or items representative of real money is strictly prohibited, whether organized on or off The Bell Tree. The bells or items purchased in such transactions will be removed with no refund, as it will be up to the buyer to arrange a refund with the seller. The Bell Tree and its staff will not be held liable for any refund that is not credited. The seller will face an extended account suspension from the forum and will not have their bells or items restored.
This section also now explicitly states that bells and collectibles cannot be traded for premium or for-pay currencies from other websites:
3.b. Prohibited Transactions - list of items representative of real money said:For-pay currencies from other websites, such as DeviantArt points, Pok?heroes nuggets, and Flight Rising gems.
All auctions should only accept bids posted in their threads.
The auction rules now state that, "Only bids posted in the auction thread may be accepted, even if custom rules are set by the auctioneer." This means that bids cannot be accepted in PMs, VMs, or anywhere else. Auctioneers can no longer reserve special rights to allow bids elsewhere. The list of auction rules is also now numbered, which will make it easier for mods and auctioneers to reference. You can read our updated auction rules in section 3.c.
Bumping rules now apply across the entire forum.
The four hour bumping rule now applies to every board, except the Animal Crossing amiibo Card Post Office board, which still has an eight hour limit. This is explained in rule 1.c., which has been renamed to "Thread Bumping."
1.c. Thread Bumping said:Bumping is posting in a thread when it falls down the board index to purposely return it to the top for increased visibility. To avoid excessive and unnecessary posting on the forum, threads should not be bumped until the thread is inactive for at least four hours. Due to the slower rate of posting in the Animal Crossing amiibo Card Post Office board, threads may only be bumped after eight hours of inactivity. If you continually exceed either of these bump limits, you may receive a warning, infraction, or suspension. Please report instances where a user is consistently exceeding this limit.
Trading board organization is now updated in the rules.
Earlier in the year we changed the forum's trading boards so threads were organized by the items sold instead of the currency used. We've also clarified that threads for TBT to in-game bell conversions should be made in TBT Marketplace. The section for this rule, 3.d., has been completely rewritten to account for this change.
3.d. Trading Board Organization said:Whether you are using TBT or Animal Crossing bells, transaction threads should be made in the board that corresponds with the items being exchanged: Re-Tail for Animal Crossing items, Villager Trading Plaza for Animal Crossing villagers, Museum Shop for art, or TBT Marketplace for forum collectibles and miscellaneous items. Exchanges between TBT and Animal Crossing bells should be posted in the TBT Marketplace board.
Signatures should not exceed a total height of 250 px, including all text and images.
A discrepancy was found between the rules and the signature guide posted in Bell Tree HQ. The rules say, "Keep your signature under a total height of 250 pixels tall, including all images and text." However, the signature guide stated that an additional line of text could be included, which led to to some confusion. Going forward, we will be using the full 250 px limit like it says in the rules, and the signature guide will be changed soon. However, because of this contradiction, we will give everyone a month before removing signatures that include an additional line of text.
Name change item changes coming due to discovered exploit.
A name change exploit was discovered that allows users to reuse the item multiple times. For the time being, as we work on making a change to the item, it has been removed from the shop and will not be visible in your inventory. After the change, if you'd like to change your username, you will need to post in the Contact the Staff board after purchasing the item and an administrator will change it manually. The item will be deleted from your inventory after it's used.
In the next few days, those who used this exploit will be charged the bells that they would have had to spend for each name. If you believe you are charged bells by mistake, you can post a dispute in the Contact the Staff board and we will look into it further.
User-created discord servers should not be advertised in new threads.
We noticed that several unofficial discord servers for various topics were being posted around the forum. However, these threads fall under our rule that prohibits advertisement threads from being created. From now on, we ask that you keep these links in your signature and refrain from making threads that advertise them. We will also soon be creating a central Discord thread where you can post your links to a directory. Users will be able to continue finding these unofficial Discord communities without multiple threads being posted across the forum. This also applies to other types of chat clients.
That's it for now! We'll post here as we make the pending updates, including the signature guide, name change item, and Discord server directory thread. Thank you!
UPDATE Jan 17 2017 (click)