PbNation has implemented an infraction system for rule violations. This system is used by the moderator staff to cite a user when they make an inappropriate post that is against the forum's rules or the Sticky Rules at the top of a forum but not worthy of a temp ban. Be aware that procedures and policies involving the infraction system may change without notice. Use of the infraction system is at the discretion of the moderator staff. The moderator staff can still ban users whose behavior warrants special consideration.

I got an infraction, what do I do? Read the PM that quotes what you said. If it lists a reason why, read that as well. In the future, please do not break the same rule again. We want you to learn from your mistakes and change your behavior so you can keep your account.

How Severe Is A Warning/Infraction? In the scale of tools the moderators have at their disposal, the Warning/Infraction system is the mildest tool. If you were to compare the system to driving, a warning/infraction is just like getting a warning for speeding. Temp and perm bans are a more severe tool more akin to losing your license.

How Does It Work? When a staff member comes across a violation of the rules, they can cite the user for an infraction. When a user is cited, they receive an infraction or warning notice in their PM folder. The PM will include a link to the offending post, a notice of the type of violation, and the number of penalty points assessed, if any. The PM may also include a message from the staff member who gave you the infraction just to help steer you in the correct direction in the future.

Am I In Trouble When I Get An Infraction? No. You're not in trouble and no one is even mad at you. We just wanted to let you know that you stepped over the line. Don't lose any sleep over it, but please be more careful in the future.

Where Do I Go if I Have A Question or Complaint About an Infraction? Please post respectfully in the Talk to Mods/Admins forum. Please do not quote your infraction PM in another part of the site. Never post your infraction PM in the same thread. Since the PM quotes your original post, that just means you are doing the exact same thing you were just infracted for and it is called trolling. It may well earn you another infraction or a ban.

What’s the Difference Between a Warning and an Infraction? Think of a yellow warning as a friendly reminder. It doesn't count against you in any way and it does not give you any points. However, it lets you know that kind of post isn't really needed here. Red infractions are slightly more serious because if you build up too many, you will be banned. However, getting an infraction is no need for alarm. It just lets you know that we do care about maintaining the friendly atmosphere on the site and we take the rules seriously.

Can infractions lead to a ban? If you only have one infraction, you have nothing to worry about. However, if you have four active points, your account will automatically be temp banned for three days. If you have 7 active points, your account will automatically be banned for 7 days. If you have 10 active points, your account will automatically be perm banned.

What Are Infraction Points and How do I Make Them Go Away? Infraction points work in a manner similar to the points on a driver's license. The number of points earned depends on the rule violated. Some infractions are only worth a point or two, others are worth more. When a user earns 4 points, their account is temp banned for a period of three days. Users who earn 7 points are banned for 7 days. If you amass 10 points, then the system will automatically ban you. The good news is that most infractions simply go away after a period of time. We expect you to learn from your mistakes and move on. Keep in mind that most infraction points expire after a short period of time. This is marked as an expiration date. Expired infractions have 0 points.

How Do I Find Out How Many Infractions I Have? Your infraction history can be found by looking at your profile. Only you and the PbNation staff can see your infraction history. It is not visible to the general public. Remember, expired infractions have 0 points.

Why Doesn't The Infraction Disappear From My Profile After It Has Expired? Because PbNation has well over 100 moderators, it is important that we keep a record of who has received a warning/infraction. This helps to prevent you from receiving a warning/infraction twice for the same post.

Do Expired Infractions Count Against Me? They will never count towards an automatic ban. Those have to be accumulated with active points. However, please do not game the system and break the same rules repeatedly. The infraction system is designed to teach you the rules without taking away your posting privileges. If you are breaking the same rules again and again, then the infraction system isn't doing its job and we might have to resort to more serious methods to let you know the rules do apply to you, like an outright ban or a "last chance infraction."

Questions about the infraction system can be posted in the Talk To Mods/Admins forum.

The following are offenses that will result in an immediate and permanent ban from PbNation®:

• 1. No pornography or links to sites with pornography. This website is not limited to persons 18 and older. Pornography includes posting images with obvious nudity, exposed genitals or female nipples. Links to pornography or links to sites with pornography are a bannable offense. This includes indirect links, photos or videos with the url linked or displayed. We allow members to post images of persons who are wearing very little clothing but do not qualify as pornography. Those images will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and can be removed at the discretion of a staff member. Again, all images must have any link or address that links to somewhere with pornography removed.

• 2. Racism, discriminatory remarks, links to racist websites, racist pictures or racist language including slang on our site is not allowed. Discrimination will not be tolerated and will result in an immediate ban.

• 3. We do not tolerate scam artists. We have and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement agencies to catch those engaged in criminal behavior on this web site.

• 4. PbNation accounts are non-transferable and may not be sold, shared or given away. Do not impersonate someone else or pretend to be an employee of a company you are not affiliated with. Users may not commit Posting Fraud by pretending to be a 2nd user in order to post positive or negative reviews of products or comment on topics as though they were two separate unconnected users. All accounts involved in Posting Fraud will be permanently banned from use.

• 5. Do not spam PbNation in any way. We sell ads if you want to promote your product, team or website. Businesses are not allowed to start threads regarding their own products or services for sale except in the Paintball News forum. Please read and follow the Industry News rules when making such a post. Pre-order posts are not allowed on PbNation. Please read our complete Advertising and Business Posting Guidelines.

• 6. No non-sanctioned contests, money making schemes, lottery contests or referral games are permitted. Pyramid schemes are scams, don't work, and nobody here wants to hear about them. They are considered spam.

• Please read the forum specific rules (usually found in the stickies at the top of each forum). There are often additional rules. If you use the B/S/T section or leave feedback on PbNation you are also expected to know those rules. Ignorance of the rules is not an excuse.

The following are offenses that will usually result in a 1 to 7 day temporary ban and possibly a permanent ban:

• 7. Do not bypass or attempt to bypass the swear filter. The filters will catch most words, but intentionally replacing letter(s) with a *, misspelling a word, spacing out words or avoiding the swear filter in any way will result in a ban. Some words and company names on PbNation are not typical swear words. Do not try to avoid the filter on those words either. Pictures or videos of banned words count as avoiding the filter.

• 8. No trolling. Do not make posts that are inflammatory, or designed to get people riled up. Substance is the key to not being labeled a troll. If you disagree with someone or something, simply say why.

• 9. Do not post other's phone numbers, addresses, pictures, instant messenger aliases, email addresses, etc., without their permission. Respect the privacy of others. PbNation® reserves the right to release such information if need be.

• 10. Do not post any material that is protected by copyright, trademark or other proprietary right without the express permission of the owner(s) of said copyright, trademark or other proprietary right. This includes posting links to or requesting illegal software.

• Please read the forum specific rules (usually found in the stickies at the top of each forum). There are often additional rules. If you use the B/S/T section or leave feedback on PbNation you are also expected to know those rules. Ignorance of the rules is not an excuse.

Each section may have its own rules stickied. Please read and follow those rules. The following is common forum etiquette for all of PbNation and violations may earn an infraction. You can learn more about infractions here in our Infractions FAQ. Excessive abuse will result in a ban:

• 11. Think before you post. Posts containing "ibc", "pwnd", "drink bleach" or any other off topic waste of space quickly becomes very annoying to those who are seeking useful information. Please do not type “first post, second post," etc. even if you are indeed the first poster in a thread.

• 12. Post content in the appropriate forum. Read the forum stickies, or ask a moderator if you are uncertain of the correct forum to post to.

• 13. Keep the use of colored text formatting colors to a minimum. Not everyone uses the same style, so text made to be blue with the [color=blue] tag in one style may not be readable to everyone in another style.

• 14. Do not post in all capital letters. Posting in all caps is considered yelling, and is not only annoying, but impolite.

• 15. Do not start threads directed solely towards another user. Use the private message function to contact individuals.

• 16. No fundraisers or collections for charity on the site. We have no way of controlling where the money goes to make sure it gets to the right people.

• 17. Posts that encourage or promote dangerous or illegal uses, modifications or actions will not be tolerated.

• 18. Think of PbNation as a PG-13 web site. If you want to post material that wouldn't be allowed in a PG-13 movie, then it is not appropriate here.

• Please read the forum specific rules (usually found in the stickies at the top of each forum). There are often additional rules. If you use the B/S/T section or leave feedback on PbNation you are also expected to know those rules. Ignorance of the rules is not an excuse.

All of the normal PbNation rules still apply.

Here's a quick recap:

• No mislabeling videos. Label and tag videos accurately.
• No videos of shooting people off a paintball field.
• No gore videos.
• No porn or links to porn.
• No flaming.
• No trolling.
• No commenting that a video is old.
• No bypassing the swear filter.
• No promotional videos for companies on the swear filter.
• No telling someone to drink bleach or do some other kind of harm to themselves.
• No links to illegal copies of commercial videos. This will earn you a perm ban. Trailers released by the company are fine.

This FAQ should answer most of the questions/complaints about banned accounts.

1. First and foremost, warnings. The day you created your account you agreed to the Terms of Service (TOS) of PBN. The TOS is your warning. Ignorance of the site rules is not an excuse. Moderators do are not required to give warnings before requesting a ban. In fact temp bans are in themselves warnings, it could be perm instead.

2. Bans are not done by moderators. There are only a select few that have ban rights so most bans require some sort of checks and balances before they are issued

3. We do not ban randomly. If you got banned then you broke a rule. Don’t try to argue with it. The above check and balance prevents accidental bans. Chances are if you can’t find the post that got you banned then it’s either in our evidence archive (not viewable to the public) or has been removed due to the violation of the rules.

4. Your chances of getting a ban reduced or lifted is less than winning the lottery. If by some miracle the ban gets changed you better go out and buy some Power ball tickets that day.

5. Banned accounts are just that. That means all PMs and feedback threads go bye bye with the account.

6. Ban duration is given on a case by case basis. We don’t compare violations to each other. So please don’t complain that Bob only got a 3 day ban while you got 5. Just suck it up and do your time.

7. See someone else doing what got you banned? Use the report post to moderator. Do not post in this forum. Reporting hasn’t gotten a response? Remember we have lives too. If the post is a bannable offense the forum mod will put in a request for the user to be banned as soon as they are able.

8. Excuses!! We have heard them all so don’t even try. Aside from the fact that it’s nearly impossible to prove who was at the keyboard when the offending post(s) were made, its your responsibly to log off your account and set a "strong" password to protect yourself. PBN is not getting "Hacked" so don’t claim that someone broke in and stole your password.

9. If you have to ask if what you want to post is allowed then don’t post. This is the quickest way to get a temp ban. Play on the safe side when it comes to posting on borderline topics.

Please read here for B/S/T tips or here for the complete B/S/T Rules including examples.

We recommend you always check for new and old PbN feedback as well as the Theft Forum before considering any deal here.

(Please click on the number for a more detailed explanation and even examples.)
1. Buy/Sell/Trade here on PbNation at your own risk. Always get complete contact information before anything is shipped.
2. Post new threads in the proper forum.
3. No links to auction sites, forums or other sale sites.
4. Post a title that accurately describes what you are selling.
5. List the item(s) for sale clearly and post a reasonable price. Websites may not just link back to their site.
6. Product being sold must be in seller's possession. No pre-orders.
7. One thread per item sold (please read the sticky in the Gearbag and ASM forums for exceptions).
8. Post new or "only tested" items in the New or Unused Equipment / Services forum only.
9. No counterfeit, illegal, prohibited or non-paintball items where the user must be 18+ to purchase.
10. No selling online gaming accounts, virtual goods or currency.

Violating any of these rules risks an infraction, thread closing, thread deletion or even a ban. Gold Ups will not be refunded.

If you have questions, please post them in the Talk to Mods/Admins section. Please read and follow the complete Terms of Service as well.

Please report posts that break the rules. If you can not follow all of the rules found here, please do not post in the B/S/T section of PbNation.

There are too many kinds of spam to even begin to list them all, but here are the most common types you need to avoid while posting on PbNation:

Commercial Spam - Commercial spam is not just limited to users who have legally established businesses. Any user who attempts to use PbNation resources for financial gain is subject to PbNation rules governing commercial spam. The protection of our users is our priority. Discussions should be free of unsolicited advertising and promotion. For further explanation of advertising spam, read the Advertising and Business Guidelines

• B/S/T Spam - These are posts trying to sell something be it a cell phone, paintball gear or a website. We limit all B/S/T threads to the B/S/T section. We limit new items and services to the New or Unused Equipment / Services forum. We do allow signatures to display B/S/T items you have listed on PbNation, but posting "check my signature" or something of the like is not allowed outside of the B/S/T area.

• Contest Spam - All contests must be approved in writing. No design contests. No "name this" contest. No raffles or lottery contests of any type even held in conjunction with a paintball event. No exceptions. If it is not approved, please do not post it.

• Social Networking Spam - Promoting a forum, blog, website, business or telling people to join virtually anything can be considered spam. This includes promoting a social networking site like Twitter, Facebook, Myspace or more. Add them to your signature but please don't make posts or threads encouraging users to check it out or join.

• Corporate Spam - This is spam perpetrated directly by a business. This is taken very seriously and often ends with the user being banned and sometimes the business being added to the word filter.

• Link Spam - These are any type of unsolicited links posted on PbNation. If you see a user looking for something like directions that aren't on PbN, you can post a direct link. Please don't just post a link to another forum and say "check there." Please also avoid posting links to paintball items for sale, especially if you have an interest in the company selling.

• Pre-order Spam -No pre-orders of any type may be posted on PbNation. Too often these items haven't even been made yet so we do not allow them to be sold here. Our B/S/T rules are very clear - you must have the item in hand to sell it on the site and you may not make B/S/T posts outside of the B/S/T section.

• Email or PM Spam - These are any type of unsolicited PM's or Emails sent to our users offering a product, service or advertising a website. If you see a user looking for an item you have for sale, feel free to PM or email them with a direct link to the item listed on PbNation. Never PM or email users who have not expressed interest in buying that item. Please don't ever PM or email users asking them to check out a website. If you PM or email users with offers to sell them New gear or a service, that is also spam (even if they expressed an interest in that item) unless it is a current link to a thread in the New or Unused Equipment / Services forum.

• Promotional Spam - Promoting a forum, blog, website, business, team or telling people to join virtually anything can be considered spam. Make sure you read the sticky rules in a section to see if this type of post is allowed before you post. If it doesn't say it is allowed, please avoid doing it. Starting a new thread to promote something or making multiple posts to promote something is an easy way to get banned.

• Website Spam - Promoting another website is prohibited here without explicit permission. There is a fine line between posting a link to useful and relevant information and promoting another website. Starting a thread with a link to another site is often crossing that line. Encouraging others to visit another site is often crossing that line. The key to not spamming is providing a specific link to the exact information you want to share as well as how you post within the context of the thread itself. The alternative is to just go ahead and post the information directly on PbNation.

Post Spam - This is spam posted by a normal user not trying to sell something.

• Excessive Spacing Spam - This involves adding spaces to a post that aren't needed forcing other users to scroll down.

• Filtered Site Spam - Filtered websites show up as *******. Adding spaces or changing the site's name so it is not filtered is not allowed. Promoting the site but not naming it is also not allowed.

• First Post Spam - Do not post "1st post", "1st", "First post", "First Page" or anything similar (or with any other number) at any point in a thread, even if you post a comment too. It is really annoying and not tolerated. It can often result in an immediate ban.

• Misleading Links - This is a link that claims to be one thing but actually goes somewhere else. Sometimes these are done as pranks. This applies to signatures too.

• Malicious Links & Code - Malicious code can include embedding code into posts or links that generate unwanted actions when executed. Malicious links are links that take control of a user's browser or operating system, or cause the download of unwanted software. Malicious code can include embedding code into posts or links that generate unwanted actions when executed. This includes forcing style changes.

• Multiple Posts - Multiple posts or threads about the same thing, even posted in different sections, is spam. Posting several times in a row in a single thread is also spam. You can always edit your post, there's no need to make several posts all in a row.

• Non-contributing Spam - This can range from stating the glaringly obvious to posting just "lol," "in before close (ibc)," "pwnd," "drink bleach" or any other comment that doesn't further the thread. Putting an excessive amount of spaces or repeating the thing said by a previous poster can also apply as non-contributing spam.

• Picture Spam - This involves posting a picture that adds nothing to the thread or starting a new thread with an off-topic picture. . Often people try to do this to be funny, but it's mostly annoying.

• Quote Spam - This involves quoting a post that adds nothing to the thread. Quoting an inappropriate post or one that breaks the rules is not allowed and can earn you an infraction or even a ban.

• Repetitive Post Spam - This involves posting the exact same thing, or even slightly modified versions of the same post, as previous posters in the same thread. This applies if you are making the same post over and over or even if you are just agreeing with other users or trying to be funny. You can always agree with other users but please say why. PMing the same thing over and over to either the same user or other users is also not appropriate.

• Repost Spam - This is reposting the same thing a moderator just removed. Posts don't just disappear, if a mod deleted something, please do not repost it.

• Site Features Spam - This is using one of the site features to spam other users or the site itself. This includes but is not limited to the Video section, Review section, Field and Store section, Private Messages, Email this User, Talk to Mods forum and even the "report this post to a moderator" link. These are all part of PbNation and may be used at the appropriate times in moderation, but abusing them will result in an infraction or ban. Spamming using the Feedback system is generally considered Feedback Fraud and often ends in a perm ban.

• Text Post - Some threads are dedicated to pictures only. Some allow some text after the picture and some allow no text at all. Read the first post in the thread for rules. Quoting a previous picture in the thread then posting text is also not allowed. These threads are not for discussion.

• Trend Spam - You'll notice various trends or fads on PbNation that will come and go. Try not to get caught up in them. There have been way too many to list, but just because "everyone else is doing it," doesn't mean it's OK.

• Up Spam - Posting in a thread just to bring it to the top is spam. This is especially frowned upon with old threads or with inappropriate threads that violate PbN rules. If you find a thread a mod should see, just report it, don't post in it and take it to the top.

• Video Spam - This involves posting a video that adds nothing to the thread or starting a new thread with an off-topic video. Often people try to do this to be funny, but it's mostly annoying.

Moderators oversee specific forums. They have the ability to edit and delete posts, move threads and perform other manipulations. Becoming a moderator for a specific forum is usually rewarded to users who are particularly helpful and knowledgeable in the subject of the forum they are moderating. Be polite to our mods, they are volunteers and you will quickly find yourself unwelcome on the site if you are continually rude to them or about them.

Mods do not generally have the ability to ban users, but they can recommend which problem users should be banned. Mods can only moderate the forums to which they have been assigned.

Mega moderators are moderators who have been mods for a long time and have been rewarded with more responsibility and the ability to change more things on the site than a normal mod. Please be very respectful because they do have the power to ban users from the site.

Admins have the final say in virtually any discussion. We only have a few Admins and their decisions are final. Their is no appeal or higher authority to consult.

A current list of mods, megas and admins can be found here.

Users have their names in blue and their Custom User Titles (the words right below their avatar) in black.

ASM users also have their names in blue and their Custom User Titles (the words right below their larger avatar) in black.

Professional Paintball Players have their names in Green.

Mods have their names and their Custom User Titles in light blue text.

Mega mods have their names and Custom User Titles in bold light blue.

Admins have their names in dark blue italics and Custom User Titles in light blue.

Please note these will colors can change if you use different skins than the default one.

Becoming a Forum Captain for a specific forum is usually rewarded to users who are particularly helpful and knowledgeable in the subject of the forum they are moderating. We are always on the lookout for users who would make good Forum Captains. We look for knowledgeable users who both understand and follow the rules, are helpful to other users and have been active on the site for a long period of time.

Please don't ask (this is a biggie) - Forum Captains are picked from the users by other moderators. Want to stick out so you are noticed by the mods? Make sure you posts are friendly, helpful and contribute to the site. Report posts that break the rules. Sure there are a lot of users but those that truly want to help the site grow stick out among all the other users.

Become an Annual Supporting Member - Although its not required it shows that you really do wish to help the site grow. All and all its just a good thing to do if you are active on the site since it allows you to search anytime and comes with Gold Ups.

Put in your time. Forum Captains are not picked from new users. It takes months or years of helpful posting to get noticed among the 100's of thousands of registered users. So keep posting and make each count.

Keep your nose clean - Bans and numerous warnings will significantly decrease the chance of a user becoming a Forum Captain.

Know your stuff - New Forum Captains are picked based on how much they can help in a particular area. Again, keep posting on something that you know a lot about. Use the forum report features to help the forum mod see any bad posts in their forum. Don't type like an eleven-year-old. Make sure to take your time when writing out your posts. Taking the time to use proper punctuation and grammar shows us that you are really putting an effort towards helping other people on the site and that you are trying to make sure that they can fully understand what you are trying to say. This also shows that you care about the website, the people on it, and the future of the site.

Generally new Mods are chosen from our pool of active Forum Captains, but occasionally a Mod is selected without ever being a Forum Captain first. Also, not all Forum Captains ever become Mods. Some are too busy with real life while others just don't have what it takes. Often Mods have to put their personal beliefs aside when helping users. We expect a lot out of Forum Captains but we expect even more out of our Mods. You must be over 18 to even be considered as a Moderator or Forum Captain.

Yes. If you'd like to use any of these mods as a third party trader, please contact them directly through their 3rd party threads, PMs or other method of contact listed in their user profile. Their services are not free but they will make sure you don't get ripped off.

3rd Party Trades are when both people involved in the trade ship to a trusted, impartial person not involved in the deal. That person then looks over both products and verifies they are as described before shipping them to their new owners. Moderators are perfect for this type of deal.

Here are the mods currently willing to help you out with 3rd party deals:

• John
  
• Hobbyhorse
  
• Madpooh
  
• kai83
  

Posting Fraud is when a user misrepresents themselves in such a way to deceive other users on the site. All accounts used in the perpetration of posting fraud risk being permanently banned. If a company is involved in posting fraud, they risk their company name being added to the word filter.

We do allow users to post anonymously. We don't allow them to use that cover of anonymity to trick other users. You may not use a 2nd account to feign interest in your own B/S/T items, post feedback for yourself, to carry on a conversation with yourself or to agree with yourself in an attempt to strengthen your position in an argument. These are some of the most common occurrences of posting fraud, but any time you misrepresent yourself on PbNation, you may be committing posting fraud. Please be careful.

If you work for a company, you may not make comments about your own or a competitor's company, product or services without identifying where you work. We recommend employees state in their signatures the company they work for as well as their job title if applicable so there is never any confusion. Company employees should be careful using shared computers and should warn people who use their computer (like family members) that inappropriate posts could get them or even their whole company in real trouble.

Our message boards are meant to be a venue for the exchange of advice and tips, and a place where members can talk about paintball. Third-party recommendations are the lifeblood of our message boards, but when the staff believes those postings are too commercial or promotional in tone, excessive in quantity or if there is reason to suspect that they are disingenuous, or posted under cover of "alias" screen names, those postings will be removed and all users involved can be banned.

Posting Fraud is identified in the PbNation Rules. That is your only warning:
4. PbNation accounts are non-transferable and may not be sold, shared or given away. Do not impersonate someone else or pretend to be an employee of a company you are not affiliated with. Users may not commit Posting Fraud by pretending to be a 2nd user in order to post positive or negative reviews of products or comment on topics as though they were two separate unconnected users. All accounts involved in Posting Fraud will be permanently banned from use.

BOS stands for "banned on sight." It means the user is no longer welcome to post on PbNation and all future accounts will be banned even if that account has not broken any rules.

Usually a user has to have been permanently banned using three different accounts before he/she becomes BOS but occasionally a user proves to be so difficult that they become BOS without losing three accounts.

There is no appeal for users that are BOS.

You must read the PbNation rules before you create a 2nd account. Once you understand why you were banned and agree to follow all the rules for the site, you may sign up for a new account.

We do allow users who have been temp banned or perm banned to create new accounts. Once a user has been permanently banned on three separate accounts, he/she is considered BOS and no longer welcome to post on PbNation.

First, check the Bannage Log Viewer and see if or when your ban expires as well as why you were banned. Then go back and read the rules here in the FAQ or in the forum stickies that pertain to your ban so you understand them. If you were permanently banned, then you may make a new account but you need to follow the rules. No excuses or slip ups. Once you have been permanently banned three times, then you are Baned On Sight (BOS) and no longer welcome on PbNation.

If you are a current Annual Supporting Member (ASM) then you have the ability to request a one-time reactivation of your ASM account that has been banned. This is a single use feature and only works once with each current ASM account. The unban is not automatic. Each account is reviewed before it is unbanned. Users who have been caught perpetrating fraud, posting porn, discussing illegal substances, making racist posts or posting corporate spam will not be unbanned.

Send an email using this link with your ASM username that was banned for a one-time reactivation of the account.

Again, the unban feature is a one time use and only for existing ASM accounts. You may not purchase ASM to unban a previously banned account.

If you paid for Gold Ups or ASM and they didn't show, most likely you paid with an echeck. They won't become active until the echeck clears. You can check your paypal account to see when that will be.

If your payment has cleared but not taken effect on the site or you are having another problem with a Gold Up or ASM payment, please contact Customer Service. Please keep the message short and to the point. Make sure you include the problem as well as the your paypal email address and the transaction ID from paypal.

• Please write helpful, accurate and informative reviews about products you have direct experience with using.
• State your opinions but back them up with facts.
• Nothing deserves a perfect score. Point out weaknesses and strengths.
• Specifically state why you gave each rating and back up your rating.
• Normal PbNation Rules and Advertising and Business Posting Guidelines apply.
• You may only submit one review for each product, so put thought into it.
• Do not post any contact information.
• Post questions in the appropriate forum, not here.
• Do not post B/S/T links or information here. Post them in the appropriate B/S/T forum.
• Do not spam what stores carry this product.
• Watch your grammar, spelling, punctuation and capitalization.
• Use the formating tools sparingly.
• Do not spam the review section in any way.
• If you or your team is sponsored by the manufacturer who makes this product or a distributor that sells this product, please state your connection. You may leave a review, but you must clearly state your association.
• Anyone who works, owns or is associated with the manufacturer/distributor or is a competitor of the manufacturer/distributor of this product may not leave a review.

  If you have a question about if you are allowed to leave a review, please ask in the Talk to Mods forum.

Please do not conduct inappropriate drug related discussions here. This includes all "illegal drugs are good" type posts or threads. This also includes discussions or bragging about illegally or inappropriately using legal or illegal drugs. This can also include pictures. Discussions about medicinal marijuana are prohibited. Any discussion about using substances with the intent of getting high (Salvia, etc) is prohibited.

This applies to all of the site. Inappropriate posts can earn an infraction or ban and will be removed.

We want to welcome people to the single best place on the web to read and post paintball news, so we developed these simple rules to help you post in the News forum. If you are more of a visual person, check out our chart that explains what can and can't be posted in this section by clicking here.

Replying to Threads:

• 1. No Upping threads. If you have something to say, please do, but don't post in the thread just to take it to the top of the forum.

• 2. Do not post "1st post", "1st", "First post" or anything similar (or with any other number) at any point in a thread, even if you post a comment too. It is really annoying and it will result in a ban.

• 3. If you don't like something, say why instead of just calling it ugly, lame, gay or any other name. If it is old, simply post a link or report the post with a link to the older News thread.

• 4. Please don't post links for places to buy items. That encourages stores, sponsored players and other people to do it and spam the site.

• 5. Occasionally an admin may post something that does break the rules. Please don't report it or post in the thread pointing out that it breaks the rules. If it really bothers you that they are breaking their own rules, just don't visit the thread.

What Not to post when starting a new thread here:

• 1. Please do not post Questions. Asking questions belong in other forums.

• 2. Please do not post Rumors.

• 3. Do not post Online Petitions. Please keep in mind that online petitions aren't only useless, they're not news.

• 4. Do not post "news" about other websites, especially about sites being hacked. It is NOT news and we at PbN have no interest in publicizing such events.

• 5. Do not post just a link to somewhere else. That's not news. Post the story.

• 6. Do not post pre-orders here on Pbnation.

Following these rules will keep your post from being deleted, your user name from being banned or your company from making it on the dreaded swear filter.

This forum is for our members to share news. If you're a new member, we encourage you to read news here and consider becoming a Annual Supporting Member (ASM) so you can search and we can keep the site growing, but start by posting in other places on the site. You will quickly be unwelcome if you spam a company across these boards, but you will be banned if you do it here in News so please take caution. Once you are familiar with the site and you are an active part of the community here then read and follow the rules below before posting in the News section. If you are a new company and you have News to share, consider purchasing a News Up to get the word out quickly by clicking the after you've made your News post.

• 1. Just post news. If it is paintball related and it's news, we want to hear about it.

• 2. New Products are the most common type of post in News. We do want to see new products posted here once they are released. If you want to post about a product that has not yet been released or post an ad you must buy a News Up. We do occasionally make exceptions and allow sneak peaks of markers that have not been released.

• 3. If you are posting about a new item, please post about it and show pictures. A new color for an existing product does not count as a new item. If you want to post about new colors , you must buy a News Up.

• 4. Always post pictures. Most news can be made more clear with a picture, especially new products. Copies of Ads are not considered news and will be deleted unless you have purchased a News Up.

• 5. Please do not post prices on PbNation unless the post is a News Up.

• 6. Please do not post links to points of purchase or prices on PbNation unless the post is a News Up.

• 7. Links are not news. Links aren't news, even if they are to Myspace or other sites which aren't actively selling something. Post the info here and whenever possible, leave out the links all together unless the post is a News Up.

• 8. Please do not post contact information here. Your customers will find you. You may post complete contact info if you have paid for a News Up.

• 9. A new logo, changes to a company website, a new website or new packaging is generally not news. A new color for an existing marker or product is also usually not news. If you think it qualifies as newsworthy, please purchase a News Up.

• 10. Please do not post about sponsorship programs in News. That is an advertisement and you would need to pay for a News Up.

• 11. Stores and Fields - please post openings, closings and events in the appropriate regional forums. Please only post once. If you you think your store or field has broader appeal than just your region, feel free to post here but you must purchase a News Up.

• 12. Events - please post in the appropriate regional or tournament forum. (National scenarios can go in Scenario/Big Game). Please only post once. This includes the PSP and NPPL. Field layouts can go in your respective forums. If you want to also post a thread News, please post it and buy a News Up.

• 13. Do not impersonate another person, please post as yourself. This is a very serious offense here and can lead to accounts being banned and your company being swear filtered..

• 14. No contests of any kind without written permission from PbNation.

• 15. One thread per topic. If there is already a post about it, please post in that thread. If you want to post a News Up thread about an existing topic, you may. We will close the existing thread.

• 16. Paintball related job listings are permissible in the Paintball News forum or the Regional Forums depending on the job. Job listings need to be about the job and not the company and/or products that the company may produce. Do not post web addresses to the company making the listing unless you've purchased a News Up and please keep all potential employee contact in private via the private messaging system or other private medium.

  This forum is not for free advertising so you can promote a company, team or product. If you want to advertise, please buy a News Up or contact us and we can work something out. If you have a press release, please use the contact us page. Please do not ask a mod to post news for you. They will refer you to the above email address.

Advertising and Business Posting Guidelines:

These rules apply to anyone who is on a team, sponsored, works, owns or wishes to promote a company, product or service on PbNation®:

Please read the Terms of Service rules first and keep those in mind at all times when posting on PbNation. Violating these rules can lead to you or your company not being welcome on PbNation and can even lead to your company name being filtered so it can't even be read on our forums. Three of the most important rules are repeated below:

4. PbNation accounts are non-transferable and may not be sold, shared or given away. Do not impersonate someone else or pretend to be an employee of a company you are not affiliated with. Users may not commit Posting Fraud by pretending to be a 2nd user in order to post positive or negative reviews of products or comment on topics as though they were two separate unconnected users. All accounts involved in Posting Fraud will be permanently banned from use.

5. Do not spam PbNation in any way. We sell ads if you want to promote your product, team or website. Businesses are not allowed to start threads regarding their own products or services for sale except in the News Forum. Please read and follow the Industry News rules when making such a post. Pre-order posts are not allowed on PbNation.

6. No non-sanctioned contests, money making schemes, lottery contests or referral games are permitted. Pyramid schemes are scams, don't work, and nobody here wants to hear about them. They are considered spam.

PbNation has strict guidelines prohibiting advertising, commercial sales and solicitation posts on our entire message boards. Our message boards are meant to be a venue for the exchange of advice and tips, and a place where members can talk about paintball. There are thousands of Paintball stores and vendors online so if we didn't insist on a non-solicitation policy, PbNation would be very quickly overrun with advertisements and spam.

PbNation defines advertising as an individual or company's attempt to generate business or other commercial enterprise, either directly or indirectly, by using our forums. Solicitation includes, but is not limited to, requests to be e-mailed, soliciting through Private Messages or e-mails, posting of phone numbers for your business, referring to or posting of one's own Web site address or asking to be contacted in any way.

Third-party recommendations are the lifeblood of our message boards, but when the staff believes those postings are too commercial or promotional in tone, excessive in quantity or if there is reason to suspect that they are disingenuous, or posted by a vendor under cover of "alias" screen names, those postings will be removed and the user will be banned.

While we welcome the third-party recommendations and the advice of our active vendor members, they must be in response to a request for such information, and they must not contain contact information of any kind. This includes responding with the name of a specific store, or commercial enterprise, the web site address, the phone number or location, or fax number.

PbNation reserves the right to approve or deny links which lead directly to or link to any-related material or message boards that is not located within PbNation. This does not mean all links will be removed, but rather that they will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Press Releases
Any and all press releases must be first approved by PbNation marketing and sales prior to posting on the message boards. Please submit them through the Contact Us page at least two business days before they need to be posted. Please include links to hosted pictures and verify there is no contact information in the body of the message.

PbNation welcomes commercial paintball enterprises to support the Nation by purchasing banner ads on the web site. Please see the advertising page for more information.

Please read our Buy/Sell/Trade Rules as well.

Please also read our Industry Rules for Posting News. If you have any questions, please contact us here.

We now have a dedicated forum for VS posts. This is the place to go for any type of comparison between two or more pieces of paintball equipment. The forum is listed as a subforum of the New Player section and under Paintball Talk. Or click here: https://www.pbnation.com/forumdisplay.php?f=828

Please remember that everyone has their own personal preference so don't let these threads turn into flame wars. Respect that other people will have a difference of opinion and understand that they take these kinds of decisions very seriously. You can also start by checking out the reviews on the guns you are interested in that are within your price range.