Welcome to ICV! To give you a brief history, the "i" in "i code viruses" does not refer to any one particular person, it is simply a courageous statement like "no fear" or the "i read your e-mail" bumper sticker. The slogan "underground blasphemy" best describes the nature of this site. The internet gives us the power to be everywhere at once, create our own worlds/plagues, to be anybody or nobody, etc... It is very godlike, hence, blasphemy. This is a hacker/geek community, and we do not condone malicious activity, 1337 5p34k, nor do we share or often talk about viruses. Sorry.

ICV was started and is maintained by tapeworm.

Probably the most unique feature about our site is the forums, which lets you vote for (give props) or against (flame) the quality of each topic or comment. Our implementation of this "reputation system" can be thought of somewhat like a video game, in that the more people who send you props, the more points you earn; and the more points you earn, the more privileges you get on the website.

As your point level increases you will earn:

• 0-100: you're still a n00b
• 1000+: captcha code disappears on forms
• 101-10000: voting seniority (your votes will do more damage than lesser point users)
• 15000: the ability to make file attachments of limited size
• 25000: the ability to edit/delete posts and move threads to their appropriate categories
• 30000: the ability to ban troublesome users and approve/deny anonymous posts
• 50000: the ability to publish news and use HTML in your posts

So how do you earn points? Easy: Make intelligent, interesting posts and comments. If you're reading this then you're already off to a good start. How do you lose points? Also easy: being a spamwhore, any attempt at cheating the point system, asking stupid questions or making lame/redundant comments, abusing your privileges, etc. Ya know, common sense stuff. Read the rules. In addition to the community-based points, the website itself is programmed to evaluate your activity and automatically award you bonus points based on whether you appear to be "contributing" to or "abusing" the site.

The most important thing to remember is that this is NOT a contest. How many points you have doesn't determine in any way, shape or form your status within the community; it only determines which privileges you are allowed to have, and which privileges you are not. The fact of the matter is that if you want more privileges, then chances are you would probably abuse them. Don't go out of your way to try and earn points or you will only end up losing them. Just be yourself, have fun while you're here, and you WILL be rewarded in the long run.

Overall we believe that everyone deserves something for being part of the community, therefore we don't limit "special" privileges to a select few but rather anyone & everyone who contributes on a frequent basis. By interacting, you (the users) ultimately decide who gets promoted and who doesn't. You can view your current point status in your personal profile.