Welcome to Sporcle!
Here at Sporcle, we are an enthusiastic community of all things trivia. Our community is made up of smart, knowledgeable people who like to learn and be entertained. Together, we respectfully engage in the world of factual knowledge. Our goal is to encourage discourse that is insightful, helpful, and--most of all--fun! In order to do this we need your help. Read on for our guide to achieving Sporcle nirvana.
Playground Rules
Be courteous, don't call people names, and keep interactions civilized. Inappropriate content will be removed when we see it. (This is a recurring theme in our guidelines.)
Respect and help moderators (mods) by reporting bad comments, not by replying to them. Our small team of dedicated mods eat, sleep, and breathe Harry Potter and Kyrgyzstan quizzes, just like you. Help them keep things clean on Sporcle. Hopefully, it will be rare that you encounter inappropriate content.
Got a correction for a published quiz? Use the 'Report' flag at the bottom of quiz pages to let us know. It's quick and easy, and we'll send you a mental emoji filled with candy. If the quiz hasn't been published, leave a helpful comment so the quiz creator can fix the problem.
How to Unleash the Wrath of Sporcle
Here's a list of things that will get your comment, group post, or user account (worst case scenario) zapped into binary dust particles and fed to our fish. Remember, this is not a comprehensive list and our mods reserve the right to remove anything we deem inappropriate or which skirts the boundaries of good taste. See any of the stuff below? Help us out by reporting (more on that below).
- NSFW material: Nope, not allowed. Sporcle is a family site with kid-friendly products. Images or links that might be considered offensive should be avoided. If a ten-year-old kid can't buy a ticket at the movie theater to see it, it will get you in trouble if we see it here. We reserve the right to remove any post or content we deem offensive. Period.
- Racism, sexism, and other discrimination: Singling out classes of people is just like attacking a single person: it has no place on Sporcle.
- Spreading misinformation: Any quizzes or posts that contain lies or misinformation that our staff deems to be offensive, harmful, and/or dangerous in any way are not tolerated and will be removed.
- Spam: Zero. Tolerance. All spam will be deleted.
- Personal Attacks: Don't attack or insult another user. It's not helpful and it doesn't make Sporcle a friendly place. This includes referring to other people as trolls, fanboys, sheep, etc. If you're thinking of using a specific term such as a racial or derogatory insult, think again about why that's a bad idea, and don't do it.
- Offensive usernames: We reserve the right to put on a hold on your account if your username contains language or terms that could be construed as offensive.
- Multiple accounts and throwaway emails: We don't allow multiple accounts per user. Using a disposable email address signals to us that you're not here for the right reasons and we'll block those accounts, You may open a dialogue with us if you want to get set up with a legitimate email account. Also, you may not create an account designed to impersonate another person.
- Posting spoilers: While there is a warning about spoilers before entering the land of quiz comments, a lot of Sporcle users still hate seeing them (unless the quiz is unpublished and the creator is soliciting help). A lot of times, our handy comment voting tools will allow others to punish the offender. After a while, the comment will simply collapse from view. Use caution.
- Abuse of the Reporting system: If we catch you flagging quizzes or comments because you have a grudge with someone, you will be sent to the principal's office and we'll write a note home to your parents. Not really, but don't go there.
- Cheating: If we detect that you are cheating or you are continually reported for cheating, you may find yourself in a timeout so you can think about what you've done. If the behavior continues, you will permanently lose the privilege of using some of our features.
How to Post a Comment
- Post a Comment: We love comments, and simply by registering you can comment on any quiz or group topic here on Sporcle. More on Comments below.
- Post a Group Topic: You're going to love Groups on Sporcle. We have everything from general discussion groups to niche groups for virtually any topic imaginable (if you don't see what you are looking for, make your own!). It's a place to talk about the quizzes you love, ask questions or just talk with other folks in the community about anything you like if that's your cup of tea. You can also leave questions and feedback for our content and support teams in the Quiz Feedback group.
Moderation
- About our mods: They don't speak for Sporcle necessarily, but they are here to help the Sporcle experience be as awesome as possible.
- Censorship? Really? Yes. Advertisers don't pay to have their ads next to ugly shouting, and kids use this site, too. We will remove comments. posts or quizzes that tread on our community boundaries of good conduct and taste (see the "Wrath" section above). When you're here, pretend you are in geography class and conduct yourself accordingly. This is not YouTube's comment section - that should say it all right there. You're free to say whatever you like with no boundaries at other places, but not here. At Sporcle we maintain a different standard, working very hard to keep the conversation informative and fun. The bottom line is that moderators have the final say on whether it falls within our community guidelines. If you don't like it or think you're being treated unfairly, let's talk about it.
Comments
Comments are one of the primary ways our community communicates with each other, and with us. Comments can be a lot to manage, so we have some tools to make it a bit easier. You have 60 seconds to delete your comment after you post one if you goofed or had a change of heart. Every comment has a few tools associated with it:
- Voting Arrows: These are found on the far-right side of a posted comment. Use these (on comments other than your own) to express your agreement or disagreement with what has been stated. Some people use these arrows to approve of a joke made or to "vote" on something positively or negatively. The down arrow speaks for itself. Most members use these arrows sparingly, but jump in when it really makes sense to do so, especially in maintaining the Sporcle vibe of common good. When a comment gets too many down votes, it will collapse from view (it can still be opened and read should you so desire).
- Report: This is the link you use to report a post to the moderators. Use it to report spam, personal attacks, or racist and sexist language. Do not use it to report comments you disagree with or to hassle users.
If a comment is reported or found by mods to be objectionable, it will likely be removed. These comments leave a minor trace of themselves on the site, with the user who left the comment mentioned, but the comment removed. That is the extent of the public shaming. Sometimes we might have a conversation with said user afterwards.
Group Posts
Our editors and moderators will be watching out for great content, whether it be quizzes or group posts, to promote on the site, as well as inappropriate content. All rules listed above about spam, abusive behavior, and basic human decency apply doubly to group posts.
Let's have fun, and see you around! We're glad you're here.
