# Rules Update for the New Year



## Jeremy (Jan 1, 2017)

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.




			
				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)


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## You got mail! (Jan 1, 2017)

Oh geez I'm sure people would love these changes


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## Xandra (Jan 1, 2017)

These rules seem pretty fair


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## uwuzumakii (Jan 1, 2017)

This is gonna make all of the site-monopolizers mad, hehe!! 

- - - Post Merge - - -

Also where's the party poppers?


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## Vizionari (Jan 1, 2017)

Huh, never knew that people were exploiting the username change addon 0.o 

Also, don't know if it was clarified beforehand, but I like that the TBT bells to AC currency exchange is supposed to be in the TBT Marketplace now, since I think more people will see it there.


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## N a t (Jan 1, 2017)

Name changes aren't cheap. Some of you are in for a rude awakening omg, the amount of debt...


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## That Marshal Fangirl (Jan 1, 2017)

I didn't even know you could use the Username Change more than once.  Oh well.  I'm happy with my current username and glad I won't have massive amounts of TBT taken away.


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## pinkcotton (Jan 1, 2017)

Ohhhh, I was about to post a thread asking where was the username change? Because I want to spend my 10 seashells on that  Good thing I saw this! ^_^


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## seliph (Jan 1, 2017)

Incoming even more "Is my signature small enough?" boards full of people not knowing how to take a screenshot

Although I will ask, using my signature as an example: My picture is 250px in height. Is that fine, or is the "signature height" now the grey line to the bottom of the post?


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## King Dorado (Jan 1, 2017)

oh sure, i'm finally so close to my goal of buying a username change, and NOW they remove the exploit!?!  ;A;


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## Idfldnsndt (Jan 1, 2017)

THANK YOU


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## Jeremy (Jan 1, 2017)

gyro said:


> Although I will ask, using my signature as an example: My picture is 250px in height. Is that fine, or is the "signature height" now the grey line to the bottom of the post?




It's fine, it's just the total of the signature's contents.


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## King Dorado (Jan 1, 2017)

so, how many pixels is one line of standard text then?  that's what peoples gonna need to know...


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## Jeremy (Jan 1, 2017)

King Dad said:


> so, how many pixels is one line of standard text then?  that's what peoples gonna need to know...



It looks like it's 10 pixels.


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## Aquari (Jan 1, 2017)

so what if someone used the username exploits many times but they only have like 2tbt, how would you guys go about charging them for it? is there such a thing as having a *negative* amount of tbt?  (ive never used the exploit btw, i just want to know how you guys would go about it)


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## Jeremy (Jan 1, 2017)

Teabagel said:


> so what if someone used the username exploits many times but they only have like 2tbt, how would you guys go about charging them for it? is there such a thing as having a *negative* amount of tbt?  (ive never used the exploit btw, i just want to know how you guys would go about it)



Then they will have a negative bell amount, but it will display as 0 until they make it back or move bells from the ABD.


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## Aquari (Jan 1, 2017)

Jeremy said:


> Then they will have a negative bell amount, but it will display as 0 until they make it back or move bells from the ABD.



ahh ok, thanks!


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## Irelia (Jan 1, 2017)

oh... man....
no more...flight rising gems...._my heart_


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## pinkcotton (Jan 1, 2017)

I have a question! Can we currently purchase a username change or do we have to wait until it's fully changed? If so, how long until we can purchase it again? ^-^


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## Jeremy (Jan 2, 2017)

pinklolipop34 said:


> I have a question! Can we currently purchase a username change or do we have to wait until it's fully changed? If so, how long until we can purchase it again? ^-^



It's currently not in the shop or in anyone's inventories until we make the change over the next few days.


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## Corrie (Jan 2, 2017)

Finally. I am so sick of hearing about DA points, Pokeheroes and Flight Rising. XP


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## Red Cat (Jan 2, 2017)

Isn't it a little harsh to charge people who used the username change exploit for each username change? It's the staff's problem if it was glitched so that people could use it multiple times. Just out of curiosity, now that it's supposedly going to be fixed, how did people manage to exploit the username change?


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## Jeremy (Jan 2, 2017)

Red Cat said:


> Isn't it a little harsh to charge people who used the username change exploit for each username change? It's the staff's problem if it was glitched so that people could use it multiple times. Just out of curiosity, now that it's supposedly going to be fixed, how did people manage to exploit the username change?



You can't normally use the item more than once unless you purposely exploit it.  Anyone using it did so knowing that the item is supposed to be used for one name change only.  It wouldn't be fair to everyone else who had to pay 1200 bells per name change if they weren't charged.  We are also giving everyone on that list one free pass just in case some people accidentally used it.


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## Irelia (Jan 2, 2017)

Just to be clear, does the rule exclude everything flight rising? or just gems?


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## chapstick (Jan 2, 2017)

Can art still be sold for RLC?


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## Jeremy (Jan 2, 2017)

Shiemi said:


> Just to be clear, does the rule exclude everything flight rising? or just gems?



Just gems.



Maxibear42 said:


> Can art still be sold for RLC?



Currently, yes.


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## LambdaDelta (Jan 2, 2017)

this is the worst pseudo-direct

where's my link for free tbt


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## King Dorado (Jan 2, 2017)

LambdaDelta said:


> this is the worst pseudo-direct
> 
> where's my link for free tbt



ikr! I shudder to think of how much The Bell Tree Forums must have had to pay its team of lawyers to have these Rules and Regulations ready to drop on us on the very first day of the year...  
no wonder the forum could only afford one new collectible for the shop this Christmas!


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## Sgt.Groove (Jan 2, 2017)

liking these rules allot, and hey, no more pokeheroes nugget request and flight rising gems, now all I wonder is if the people hacking pokemon will still be allowed? Just like a tootsie pop commercial, the world will never know (probably :3)


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## whatnamenow (Jan 2, 2017)

Darius-The-Fox said:


> liking these rules allot, and hey, no more pokeheroes nugget request and flight rising gems, now all I wonder is if the people hacking pokemon will still be allowed? Just like a tootsie pop commercial, the world will never know (probably :3)



The "hacking" of pokemon should still be fine. This website was made for AC so hacking those items should be wrong. Pokemon is just a side dish.


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## Sgt.Groove (Jan 2, 2017)

lol, im not against people hacking, im just not a fan of people distributing it. But eh, whatever floats peoples boats is how I view it, just never was for me. But acnl hacking being banned is reasonable, and nintendo is catching up to hackers with the updates and all.


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## KaydeeKrunk (Jan 2, 2017)

The FR gems thing seems a bit silly, only because it's very easy to switch one for the other on the site, so they could just as easily purchase gems and turn them into treasure to trade for bells essentially finding a loophole for paying money for bells. Just saying.

I'll have to figure out if my signature works, I know the picture itself is only 200 but with the spoiler and text idk if it works.


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## Life Reaper Sammy (Jan 2, 2017)

Fair enough rules.
I guess implementation is a must when things get hairy.
Not like there are any major hiccups with these, as far as I can tell.

Good work!


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## uwuzumakii (Jan 2, 2017)

So when you say an update to the shop, will it include collectible restocks?


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## SensaiGallade (Jan 2, 2017)

People are gonna have a field day with these new rules.


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## seliph (Jan 2, 2017)

BluePikachu47 said:


> So when you say an update to the shop, will it include collectible restocks?



Please god no


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## ApolloJusticeAC (Jan 2, 2017)

It's good you figured out the username exploit since I remember others doing it.


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## SensaiGallade (Jan 2, 2017)

BluePikachu47 said:


> So when you say an update to the shop, will it include collectible restocks?



Gimmie a restock anyday!


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## Venn (Jan 2, 2017)

Those people with the name changes, the amount of sudden disappearance from their banks...


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## pawpatrolbab (Jan 2, 2017)

Is my sig okay?


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## visibleghost (Jan 2, 2017)

wait what how mmy people actually used that username exploit?? lmao rip


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## Pinkbell (Jan 2, 2017)

Thanks for keeping us informed! I really never used FR or poke heroes and so on... And I havent ever had a name change lol


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## Superpenguin (Jan 2, 2017)

Why are rule changes always more strict. -~-


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## Alolan_Apples (Jan 2, 2017)

Superpenguin said:


> Why are rule changes always more strict. -~-



Because it's their site. They can do what they want to do. They can even moderate people who complain about not getting collectibles they want, but I doubt they will do that.


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## Cory (Jan 2, 2017)

i mean, it was pretty obvious who used the exploit.


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## Jeremy (Jan 2, 2017)

KaydeeKrunk said:


> The FR gems thing seems a bit silly, only because it's very easy to switch one for the other on the site, so they could just as easily purchase gems and turn them into treasure to trade for bells essentially finding a loophole for paying money for bells. Just saying.
> 
> I'll have to figure out if my signature works, I know the picture itself is only 200 but with the spoiler and text idk if it works.



Disallowing for-pay currencies is one way to help prevent the influence of real money on TBT's economy.  We can only control so much without making bells useless by banning everything that is traded by the community here.


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## Irelia (Jan 2, 2017)

Darius-The-Fox said:


> I wonder is if the people hacking pokemon will still be allowed? Just like a tootsie pop commercial, the world will never know (probably :3)



//sweats 
_don't give them ideas._


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## Paperboy012305 (Jan 2, 2017)

Superpenguin said:


> Why are rule changes always more strict. -~-


Animal Crossing Community does worse. This is why i'm here...

I suppose it'll take me awhile to remember these rules. BTW, what is the item you're referring to for the item rule?


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## Red Cat (Jan 2, 2017)

Superpenguin said:


> Why are rule changes always more strict. -~-



They're not really more strict. A lot of the changes is just clarifying some common sense stuff and streamlining things. It's not like people are going to get banned over the changes. There will just be more threads getting moved / closed.


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## Chicha (Jan 2, 2017)

I think the new rules seem fair. I had no idea there was a name change exploit. Wow.

Looking forward to whatever collectibles come to the shop next!


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## That Marshal Fangirl (Jan 2, 2017)

Yes, update the shop admins!  A restock of the ones currently out of stock would be a great way to start 2017.  Some new ones would be cool too.


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## Silversea (Jan 2, 2017)

The ban on trading TBT items for paid currency is intriguing, but I won't argue.


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## King Dorado (Jan 2, 2017)

I don't know who took advantage of the name change glitch, or what/how the bug worked, but maybe a more fair way to address it would be to give those who utilized it the option of either paying the tbt for the free name changes, or having their username revert back to whichever one was the last one they had paid for in the shop.


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## seliph (Jan 2, 2017)

Silversea said:


> The ban on trading TBT items for paid currency is intriguing, but I won't argue.



Pretty sure this was always a rule wasn't it?


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## Alolan_Apples (Jan 2, 2017)

Maxibear42 said:


> Can art still be sold for RLC?



Not only they still allow it, but it's an increasing trend. I was actually against it because it involves spending real money on a site that isn't a shopping site or site that has for-pay currencies. What I didn't realize is the labor costs involved in drawing.


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## Pinkbell (Jan 2, 2017)

Is my sig too big now? q-q...


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## Oblivia (Jan 2, 2017)

Pinkbell said:


> Is my sig too big now? q-q...



It's fine.


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## Silversea (Jan 2, 2017)

gyro said:


> Pretty sure this was always a rule wasn't it?



People have been trading for flight rising gems and so on for some time. That doesn't mean the rule never existed prior, of course.


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## N a t (Jan 2, 2017)

The shop refresh sounds like a restock to me. It'd be interesting if we got a new cake again. I'm just expecting more flowers though, and I am totally happy with that :v


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## Chicha (Jan 2, 2017)

Petey Piranha said:


> The shop refresh sounds like a restock to me. It'd be interesting if we got a new cake again. I'm just expecting more flowers though, and I am totally happy with that :v



Ooh, same! More flower collectibles would be wonderful. I'm predicting violets or lillies. I'd love to see carnations but I get a feeling we may see them for Valentine's Day.

We can never go wrong with more cakes, either.


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## That Marshal Fangirl (Jan 2, 2017)

Please restock the chocolate cake... please...


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## Hopeless Opus (Jan 2, 2017)

Superpenguin said:


> Why are rule changes always more strict. -~-



this site, out of all the forums i've ever been on, has been so chill with the rules. i see things on here 24/7 (including some of my own posts lmao) that probably would have gotten people banned on other forums i've been a part of. these aren't even all that strict, i can't imagine what people would say if they actually cracked the whip on some crazy stuff that goes on around this forum sometimes lol


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## Pinkbell (Jan 2, 2017)

Oblivia said:


> It's fine.



Thanks! I was worried when I put the floofy squirrel next to em ^^


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## Franny (Jan 2, 2017)

Wait, what exactly is the username exploit? I'm confused. Is it just being able to change your username more than once?


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## Oblivia (Jan 2, 2017)

Spy said:


> Wait, what exactly is the username exploit? I'm confused. Is it just being able to change your username more than once?



A few people figured out how to exploit a glitch that allowed them to use the same Username Change item multiple times, thus avoiding paying the 1200 TBT bells for each change.


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## The Pennifer (Jan 3, 2017)

The rules sound good ... there needs to be structure and regulation in place to make the forum a safe and fun place to be! ❤ I sincerely think that all the mods and admin do a very good job ... (and now I will try not to worry about the size of my signature ... but I believe it's ok?)  - nibbles nails nervously


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## Haskell (Jan 3, 2017)

Vizionari said:


> Huh, never knew that people were exploiting the username change addon 0.o
> 
> Also, don't know if it was clarified beforehand, but I like that the TBT bells to AC currency exchange is supposed to be in the TBT Marketplace now, since I think more people will see it there.



It was probably on purpose that it was not a general consensus.


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## Trent the Paladin (Jan 3, 2017)

The Pennifer said:


> The rules sound good ... there needs to be structure and regulation in place to make the forum a safe and fun place to be! ❤ I sincerely think that all the mods and admin do a very good job ... (and now I will try not to worry about the size of my signature ... but I believe it's ok?)  - nibbles nails nervously



You're cutting it close, but I'm pretty certain you're within the new limit. 



pawpatrolbab said:


> Is my sig okay?



It appears that you're a little over the limit.


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## Mars Adept (Jan 3, 2017)

Hopeless Opus said:


> this site, out of all the forums i've ever been on, has been so chill with the rules. i see things on here 24/7 (including some of my own posts lmao) that probably would have gotten people banned on other forums i've been a part of. these aren't even all that strict, i can't imagine what people would say if they actually cracked the whip on some crazy stuff that goes on around this forum sometimes lol




Agreed. This is the only forum that I've been 100% without warnings, infractions, and whatnot.


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## Trundle (Jan 3, 2017)

Jeremy said:


> *Name change item changes coming due to discovered exploit.*



Whoops...



Jeremy said:


> *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.*



Uh oh


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## King Dorado (Jan 3, 2017)

bad news-- looks like the price of tasty cakes has gone up...   ;A;


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## whatnamenow (Jan 3, 2017)

King Dad said:


> bad news-- looks like the price of tasty cakes has gone up...   ;A;



Yeah it was only a Christmas offer


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## Trystin (Jan 3, 2017)

King Dad said:


> bad news-- looks like the price of tasty cakes has gone up...   ;A;



Oh no it actually went up. Wasn't it only 29 bells? Or am I going crazy?


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## Silversea (Jan 3, 2017)

King Dad said:


> bad news-- looks like the price of tasty cakes has gone up...   ;A;



Shoot -- now the economy is going to be ruined.


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## Oblivia (Jan 3, 2017)

Kaia Trystin said:


> Oh no it actually went up. Wasn't it only 29 bells? Or am I going crazy?



Looks like the 39 bell price was an oops.  I've adjusted the price back to the intended 29 bells. 

If anyone bought a tasty cake for 39 TBT bells and cares enough about the 10 TBT, you can send me a PM and I'll credit you the difference.


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## Silversea (Jan 3, 2017)

To make up for it we should penalize Justin and Olivia for all the extra charges of 10 TBT.

It's meant to be a joke don't yell.


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## Taj (Jan 4, 2017)

I feel like I'll be seeing people with around -10671 bells with that name change karma XD


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## Jake (Jan 4, 2017)

neester14 said:


> I feel like I'll be seeing people with around -10671 bells with that name change karma XD



The negative will only be displayed to the user, everyone else will see 0 bells.


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## Antonio (Jan 4, 2017)

Yahoo! More rules for people to break, can't wait!!!


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## Blu Rose (Jan 5, 2017)

these rules actually seem p cool, man
might start posting here more often again


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## epoch (Jan 7, 2017)

Lol I'm a bit late to this but just to clarify, only AC-TBT bell transactions are allowed in the TBT Marketplace, right? That means items from Pokemon should be sold in the Pokemon Center?


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## Jeremy (Jan 7, 2017)

epoch said:


> Lol I'm a bit late to this but just to clarify, only AC-TBT bell transactions are allowed in the TBT Marketplace, right? That means items from Pokemon should be sold in the Pokemon Center?



It actually just means that AC-TBT bell transactions should be posted in TBT Marketplace instead of Re-Tail.  You can still sell Pokemon in TBT Marketplace.


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## Amy-chan (Jan 8, 2017)

ThatOneMarshalFangirl said:


> Please restock the chocolate cake... please...


I totally agree. It'd be perfect for my (planned) cake sidebar.


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## epoch (Jan 8, 2017)

Jeremy said:


> It actually just means that AC-TBT bell transactions should be posted in TBT Marketplace instead of Re-Tail.  You can still sell Pokemon in TBT Marketplace.



Ok, thanks!


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## Jeremy (Jan 17, 2017)

The Username Change item is now available again.  If you had the old item in your inventory the new version should now be there instead.  To change your name, make sure you have an item in your inventory and post a thread in the Contact the Staff board, under the Username Change category.  Once an administrator changes your name the item will be removed from your inventory.  Remember to search for the username you want to make sure it's available.  Thanks!

Jake has also posted the Discord/Chat Group Directory Thread, which you can find here.


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## Antonio (Jan 18, 2017)

Jeremy said:


> The Username Change item is now available again.  If you had the old item in your inventory the new version should now be there instead.  To change your name, make sure you have an item in your inventory and post a thread in the Contact the Staff board, under the Username Change category.  Once an administrator changes your name the item will be removed from your inventory.  Remember to search for the username you want to make sure it's available.  Thanks!
> 
> Jake has also posted the Discord/Chat Group Directory Thread, which you can find here.



Thank you but you forgot to mention the free bells you were gonna give to everyone.


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## Heyden (Jan 19, 2017)

ouch my fine


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## PeeBraiin (Jan 19, 2017)

Heyden said:


> ouch my fine



RIP,  Ho much did you pay?


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## radical6 (Jan 22, 2017)

oh you guys actually fixed that exploit i used hahahahahahah rip


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