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As for the content itself, whatever. I don't think it's neccessary for it to be in the rules forum, where barely any new users who join for levels actually check. Make it an announcement in every subforum/forum in the portal. (why we didn't discuss that but are discussing this after it's already in the rules forum is odd)

I second this for now. With Raz confirming that announcements on the LDP work, this is a better solution to make new designers see this topic.

the shadow topic in Rules could maybe still stay, though ...

I think leaving a shadow topic may be a good idea because newbies don't always go to the News forum, but a few do, I did when I first joined. So just in case they happen to look there, they'll see it and come here. But ultimately this should be in the level portal where all designers can see.

Now, the announcement-on-the-LDP thing actually failed because it gave me two extra levels and it was possible to rate it with stars.

Instead, there could be some more of the vine red "Forum rules" bars, saying "If you're new and posting your very first levels, make sure to read the Level Posting Rules! [give link] Thank you."

Hopefully this doesn't belong to the things that Doram would also have to crack open

That is possible to do, and it's fair enough. I forgot that all topics posted in the level portal count as levels for some reason.

Oh, I just noticed this.

I think this gets better noticed when in the fancy announcements section (where it is right now). Do you think this could be linked to multiple forums though, since it's going to be such an important starting point for many people getting into level designing?

If the level is disapproved, is there any message sending in for telling reasons? If there isn't, I suggest that please send a message to tell the designers when the level is disapproved, this helps the level designers to make better levels.

There is a text field where the person who disapproves the level can expand on the reasoning behind it. I don't think it's mandatory, but rest assured that it's in the staff's best interest to tell you why a level was disapproved- if you're not aware that the code was missing, or the level was impossible, you'll probably just try resubmitting once it doesn't appear on the portal, right?

That being said, if your level isn't appearing immediately, it's probably just because our staff can't be around all the time. If a day or two have passed, though, you can always PM the Moderator usergroup to ask what's going on by composing a new private message, selecting the Moderator option from the menu in the top right, and clicking add. Hope this helps <3

Yes, it is mandatory that moderators elaborate on the log about their reasons for not allowing a level into the Portal - however simple they may be. However, as of now, we have no means to automatically forward said messages to the authors.

Here's a short resume of what goes on in there:

• Thread duplicates and missing codes are by far the most recurring reasons for a thread to be disapproved.
• Every now and then, some levels are also disapproved for making the game lag. This happens because the game is unable to handle too many objects in a single transition while keeping the frame rate steady (limited computers aside, keep in mind that Flash is a rather limited platform).
• Lastly, levels are also filtered based on whether the difficulty is too high (or if they can't be finished at all) and whether there wasn't enough effort in their making. New threads rarely fall under that criteria (even with the mods being rather lax with the latter).

e.g. Your level Bully World didn't make it - despite being a level solid in effort and possible to complete, it was filtered since frame rate was kept steadily under 10 FPS because of the sheer number of enemies in it.