LOTROinfo Site Etiquette

1. Read all links and attached text on this page before proceeding to the registration page at LOTROinfo.com.

2. Follow submissions guidelines carefully when submitting or posting content to LOTROinfo.com.

3. Be as complete as possible when submitting items and quests to the database. Largely incomplete submissions will not be accepted.

4. Advanced membership members with access to revising Quest and Item submissions must have valid reasons for their revisions, and must enter all changes made in addition to their reasons, in the logs provided.

5. Advanced membership members with image uploading capabilities must use the same guidelines for appropriateness and tastefulness when submitting images as for submitting/posting textual content.

6. Spamming in the Forums for the sole purpose of gaining ranks or points is forbidden, and will result in suspension of the spammer's account.

7. Advertising other sites, services, or products on LOTROinfo.com is strictly forbidden, though personal projects, and non-profit websites are allowed brief mention in passing on the Forums if they are pertinent to the conversation.

8. Conducting business for another site or organization on LOTROinfo.com, such as guild meetings or personal events, is not allowed on the public Forums and should be taken to private messages, if necessary.

9. Although only Moderators and Administrators can create certain major content types such as Guides and Tutorials, any member can suggest or request a specific Guide, etc., and if found valid, every attempt to add it to the site will be made.

10. All members are asked to be courteous, respectful, and mature in their interactions with other members and the staff of LOTROinfo.com.

LOTROinfo Rankings and Rewards

LOTROinfo has special recognition rewards for members who actively participate on the site. As a member, you can earn rankings and rewards, which will display in the Forums and on member Profile pages, by two alternatives paths, Titles and Experience Points.

Forum Titles: "Levels"

Levels are Forum titles, ranging from 1 to 50, just like experience levels in LotRO, that you earn by your overall number of posts to the LOTROinfo Forum. Each time you actively participate on the site, you will gain points towards your next Level.

Forum titles appear in green just under your username in the Forums, though brand new members will not have any Levels until they have posted or submitted a number of items to LOTROinfo.

So if you don't see a title under your name and you'd like to, you'll need to submit a few Forum topics and forum comments before you will see them. Earning high Levels can open special privileges and rewards on the site, and special Forum Title badges.

Experience Points and Badges

Experience Points offer a different leveling system than Forum Levels, and are dependent on the types of content you submit to LOTROinfo.

You can gain a lot of Experience Points by posting certain types of useful guides for members and visitors at LOTROinfo.com, such as Quest and Items, or LOTRO Quick Tips for the LOTROinfo Database. You can also gain points by inviting friends to join the site.

High Point accumulation leads to membership advancement and reward badges displayed in the Forums under your name. Membership advancement offers greater access and privileges on the site, including new ways to gain points, access to more and aesthetically-created avatars, customization of your submitted material, and access to special areas on this site that others don't have.

The levels of membership and accompanying badges are as follows:

	Member
	Silver Member
	Gold Member
	Super Gold Member
	Moderator
	Administrator

For more detailed information on Membership Levels and their privileges, go to this link: Membership Levels

Titles and Points for Admin and Moderators

Admins and Moderators also earn rankings and points by participating. We at LOTROinfo want to encourage all who belong to the site to continue to produce high quality content for everyone's benefit, and therefore offer the same rewards to them as are offered to Registered Members. Because Administrators and Moderators have access to producing some very key types of detailed content, encouraging them to do so remains beneficial to all. And regular members who actively participate on the site have the ability to outrank less active Admins and Moderators, so there's no playing favorites here!

Also note that because Registered Members can also gain Moderator status and privileges with regular, sustained participation, we want to be sure those members' ability to gain recognition for their efforts is never halted.

Finally, while we would like to reward all our active members generously and otherwise monetarily for actively contributing to our site, we are realistically only a fledgling site with less resources than we'd like; however, there are still some rather exciting programs and content that we have in the works, and with which we hope to eventually reward, and provide to, our members as a sign of our appreciation for contributing to and supporting our site.

Quest and Item Submission FAQs

Q. I am submitting an item but I don't see the corresponding quest in the dropdown list. How do I complete my item submission?

A. No problem. Simply complete the item form without selecting a quest. Then go to the quest submission page and submit the missing quest. When you have submitted the missing quest, go back to your submitted item, click the edit tab, and then you will be able to select the quest from the dropdown menu. Resubmit the item when you are done.

Q. I am submitting a quest but I don't see the corresponding quest reward in the dropdown list. How do I complete my quest submission?

A. Same as above, but in reverse. Simply complete the quest form without selecting a reward item. Then go to the item submission page, and submit the missing quest reward. When you have submitted the missing quest reward, go back to your submitted quest, click the edit tab, and then you will be able to select the reward from the dropdown menu. Resubmit the quest when you are done.

Q. How do I get back to my submitted quest or item page? I don't see it on the database page.

A. You should make a point of copying the url of your quest or item right after you submit it, because it won't be accessible from the database until approved. But if you forget to write down the url, you can always find it easily enough in this way: all submitted quests or items will have the url extension /quest or /item and then the name of the quest or item with the words separated by hyphens (-)

If you replace the above item or quest name with your own quest or item name, separating the words with hyphens (-), you should be able to get back to your submission.

Q. I have an item with a lot of multiple stats and I need more than the three lines offered on the item form. What do I do?

A. Just go ahead and fill in the three fields with what you have, complete the form, and submit it with the partial information. Then click the edit tab, reopen the form, and you should see three new fields where you can enter additional stats. Repeat as many times as necessary.

Q. I see a lot of sections that don't apply to my quest/item. What am I supposed to do with them?

A. Like the instructions on the submission page say, if they don't apply, leave them blank!

Q. I don't have an icon for this item and I don't know how to get one. How do I complete the item form?

A. Icons and screenshots are optional. Don't submit one of you don't have one or know how to get one. See how easy that was?

Q. What exactly do I write in the quest write-up box?

A. Just give the details of the quest steps, in your own words. You can write what the quest NPC tells you to do and how you are able to complete his/her requests, including where you found any items or mobs, what you had to defeat, or the locations of other NPCs you were asked to seek out. Just think of it as giving advice for completing a quest, in the same way you would tell a friend how to do it.

Q. How am I supposed to remember all those little things the form asks for about the quest/item?

A. You should take notes when you are working through a quest you plan to submit, such as the quest dialog, the individual steps, or locations of items or NPCs. Hint: Screenshots are an excellent way to keep track of dialog, item stats (get a screenshot of the item tooltip) and can provide you with a way to add icons and images as well! Never underestimate the power of the screenshot!

The nice thing is if you don't get all the information the first time around, you can always come back to your submitted quest or item, and update it.

Q. I submitted my quest/item, but I don't see it on the LOTROinfo Item/Quest database list. Why?

A. All quest and item submissions need to be approved by the admin/ moderators before they can display in the item or quest list. This is usually done within a day or two. Check back then. (All honest submissions are generally accepted, unless they are decidedly unreadable, inappropriate, incomplete, or have not expressly given permission to LOTROinfo with the included checkbox.)

Q. Why do I need to give official permission to LOTROinfo to use my quest/item when I am submitting it to add to their site in the first place? Isn't that sort of a given?

A. You'd think so, wouldn't you? It takes all kinds however, and with anyone able to submit content to LOTROinfo's database, an official statement helps everyone to continue to play nice!

Q. Okay I get it all now. Take me to the quest or item submission page!

A. As you wish.