All analytical claims made in the Analysis, Methodologies, and Papers subforums must be accompanied by either: (a) a formal citation, (b) reproducible data, or (c) clearly labeled personal observation tagged with [ANECDOTAL].
Posts that assert facts without evidence will receive a mod note requesting sourcing within 48 hours. Failure to comply results in post removal.
When presenting original analysis, clearly distinguish between your hypothesis, your methodology, and your conclusions. Posts that present speculative frameworks as established findings will be tagged [UNVERIFIED] by moderators and pinned with a corrective notice.
If your post involves statistical analysis, behavioral modeling, or any formal computational methodology, you must disclose your analytical framework, sample size (where applicable), and any known limitations or confounds. Reproducibility is strongly encouraged — if you can share your dataset or code, please do so using the Shared Datasets thread.
CGPA operates as an academic-adjacent community. Constructive criticism of posted analyses is not only permitted but encouraged. Critiques must be substantive — pointing to specific methodological flaws, alternative interpretations, or counter-evidence. Dismissals like "this is dumb" with no elaboration are not technical critique; they fall under the conduct rules (see §7).
CGPA accepts the following citation formats for academic sources:
Using [citation needed] as a placeholder is acceptable in draft posts tagged [WIP]. Completed posts must have all citations filled in.
If citing a paywalled paper or journal article, you must include a brief, original summary of the relevant passage in your own words. Do not paste copyrighted text. Do not link to illegal PDF mirrors. Use DOI links where available so other members can access through their institutional affiliations.
Original observational data posted in 🌿 Fieldwork Reports must follow the CGPA Field Log format (see Field Log Template). This includes: date/time, environmental conditions, subject count, observed behaviors, and any equipment used. Undocumented anecdotes posted as evidence in analytical threads will be moved to 💬 Off-Topic.
Any code, pseudocode, command-line output, configuration snippets, regex patterns, or formal notation MUST be wrapped in [code]...[/code] BBCode tags. Posting raw code as plain text makes it unreadable, breaks formatting, and will get your post edited or removed without warning.
Use the lang="" attribute on code blocks where applicable. Supported values include: python, r, matlab, julia, sql, bash, pseudocode, latex, json, csv. Unlabeled code blocks may be re-labeled by moderators or editors with posting history.
Do not post code that is obfuscated, minified without explanation, or designed to perform unauthorized actions. Any code shared must be readable, annotated, and clearly purposed toward analysis. Suspicious posts will be quarantined pending review. This is a zero-tolerance rule — a single violation results in immediate temporary suspension (see §10).
CGPA supports inline LaTeX via [math]...[/math] tags (rendered server-side by KaTeX). For complex equations, use display-mode via [mathblock]...[/mathblock]. Please do not use Unicode math characters as substitutes — render your equations properly so they are accessible and copy-pasteable.
Before posting, consult the subforum descriptions. The primary subforums are:
Do not post the same thread in multiple subforums. Cross-posts will be merged and you will receive a formal warning. If you believe your topic bridges two subforums, post in the most relevant one and note the cross-relevance in your post body. Moderators may add cross-reference links as appropriate.
CGPA is a peer discussion community, not a tutoring service. Posts that consist solely of an assignment, problem set, or project spec with no original effort, framing, or attempt will be deleted without notice. These are colloquially called "homework dumps" and are one of the most disrespectful things you can do to a community of volunteers.
Help requests are welcome when framed properly: state what you are trying to do, what you have tried, what you expected to happen, and what actually happened. Posts that demonstrate genuine effort will receive genuine help. Repeat offenders of §5.1 will be restricted to read-only mode in technical subforums.
Do not post unsolicited advertisements, affiliate links, referral codes, or promotional content anywhere on CGPA. This includes embedding promotional links in your forum signature beyond what is permitted. The only place self-promotion is tolerated is in the 🎉 Project Showcase subforum, and only for work directly relevant to cat girl program analysis.
Do not post "bump," "+1," or content-free replies solely to push a thread to the top of the listing. If you want to revive an old thread, contribute meaningfully to it. The Rabbithole Engine enforces a 72-hour cooldown before a member may reply to their own thread if no other replies have been made.
Each user may maintain exactly one registered account. Duplicate accounts (sockpuppets) used to evade bans, pad post counts, or manipulate votes/polls will result in permanent banning of all associated accounts. IP range bans may be applied at moderator discretion.
Disagreement is healthy and integral to scientific discourse. Personal attacks are not. You may critique an analysis, a methodology, or a conclusion as harshly as the evidence warrants. You may not insult, demean, or harass the person who posted it. Violating this rule on a first offense results in a formal warning; repeated violations escalate per the ban policy in §10.
Private messages are not exempt from CGPA rules. Harassment, threats, or sustained unwelcome contact via PM will be treated with the same severity as public violations. Members can report PM harassment using the Report PM function; mod team members have access to reported PM logs for review.
Assume that other community members are acting in good faith unless you have clear evidence otherwise. If a post seems inflammatory, consider that tone is hard to convey in text. If you're genuinely unsure about someone's intent, ask for clarification before reacting negatively. Mod reports for posts made in evident good faith will be dismissed.
In CGPA community parlance, "ear flattening" refers to a specific class of hostile behavior in which a member uses condescension, sustained sarcasm, deliberate misrepresentation of another's argument (strawmanning), or weaponized technical jargon to intimidate or silence another member, particularly newer or less experienced participants.
The term derives from observational field data: flattened ears signal displeasure and defensive aggression. We do not replicate this dynamic in our forum.
The following behaviors are explicitly prohibited under the no ear-flattening rule:
New members (those with fewer than 25 posts or account age under 30 days) receive elevated protection under this rule. If a new member posts something incorrect, the correct response is a kind correction with sources — not ridicule. CGPA was all of our first forum at some point. We are building something, not gatekeeping it.
Moderators at CGPA have the following powers, which they are authorized to exercise without prior notice:
[UNVERIFIED], [WIP], [MOVED], or [ANECDOTAL]Moderators may NOT: ban a user for disagreeing with them personally; edit post content to change meaning without marking the edit; use their moderator powers in disputes where they are personally involved (conflict of interest must be disclosed and the matter handed to another moderator); or issue indefinite bans without admin approval.
If you believe a moderator has acted improperly, you may appeal to the admin team via Admin Contact. Do not make public callout posts — these will be deleted and the poster warned.
When a moderator issues a note or warning on your post, do not edit the post to remove the mod note or publicly argue about it in the thread. If you disagree with a moderator action, use the Appeals Process. Editing mod notes is treated as obstruction and escalates the matter immediately.
CGPA uses a tiered disciplinary system for most rule violations:
| Tier | Action | Duration | Example Violations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Formal Warning | Logged indefinitely | Minor conduct issue, mis-routing, citation slip |
| 2 | Posting Restriction | 24–72 hours | Second conduct violation, homework dump, bump spam |
| 3 | Temporary Ban | 3–30 days | Harassment, repeated ear-flattening, crossposting abuse |
| 4 | Permanent Ban | Indefinite | Sockpuppeting, malicious code, sustained harassment, ban evasion |
Some violations (malicious code, threats, doxxing) skip directly to Tier 4 with no prior tiers.
Temporary bans (Tier 3) may be appealed once after 7 days via the Appeals Form. Your appeal must include: (a) which rule you are alleged to have violated, (b) your account of what happened, and (c) why you believe the ban is disproportionate or mistaken. Appeals are reviewed by a panel of at least two moderators not involved in the original action.
Permanent bans (Tier 4) may be appealed after 90 days, once, and only with demonstrated change of circumstances. The appeal must go to admin level.
Tier 1 warnings expire after 180 days of clean conduct. Tier 2 posting restrictions are noted in your record but do not stack toward Tier 3 if separated by 90+ days of clean conduct. Your full warning history is viewable in your member profile under the "Conduct Record" tab (visible only to you and moderators).