Forum Rules

[seigaku]

Respect the mods.
Don't be afraid of us. The mods are here to keep order and enforce the rules. If you happen to be contacted by a mod, it's probably for a rule or conduct issue, and we expect to be treated with respect when an issue arises. Mods will also issue warnings in addition to contacting you via PM, which will not be removed. The mods have the absolute right to remove and/or edit any questionable content in this forum. The mods also have the right to post rules specific to forums and topics if the need should arise. If you have an issue with a mod decision, you may take it up with the mods via PM. Do not publicly taunt/flame the mods in the forum, as this will get you a warning, or even banned from the forum. Feedback, questions and constructive comments are always welcome.

Set up your signature. Attach signature to posts.
Please make sure to set up your signature BEFORE you post to the forums.
How to set up your signature is here. Your signature must include your first name that you submitted on the membership form.

Why?
We are about meeting real people here, not Internet aliases.
This should be obvious, but some don't seem to understand this basic formality. When you are on a forum such as this, with a lot of members, it is not always easy to identify people by user. Not all members here are familiar with who you are, especially those whom have not yet met up with the group in person.

Signature Rules:
Your signature must include your first name that you submitted on the membership form. All signatures are automatically limited to no more than 350 characters. Use this handy tool to check your character count! Please limit your signature to no more than 4 or 5 lines. Images in signatures are disabled. This does not include smilies. You may use up to 4 smilies in your signature. Links to off-site pages are allowed, however any links to x-rated sites or sites of otherwise questionable adult content are STRICTLY PROHIBITED. You may not link to warez, porn, racist or other similar hate sites. Links are included in signature size limits.
Excessively long sigs will be reviewed by the mods and may result in your being asked to decrease the length of your sigs. THIS IS AT THE MODS' DISCRETION. Deliberately making your signature long in order to antagonize the mods will result in a warning, and in the worst case, being banned from the group.

Promotions
If you are a club, retail outlet, or other media organization and would like to post your events/promotions (films, concerts, social events, sales, etc.) to the JAPC forums, please email your event information to japc@kisekinohana.net and the group admin/moderators will pass it along to our members. We do not allow membership to our forums or mailing groups if you are not interested in the associating with the group other than event promotion.

Post on topic
The Forums intent is to share and discuss common interests regarding Japanese Anime, Manga, J-pop, J-rock, Console games and related topics to this community in the Chicago area. Posts are to be made in the relevant forum. Members are asked to read the forum descriptions before posting. Members consistently posting to the wrong forum may be given a warning Keep your subject lines in context to what you write about.

Quoting Text
When replying to a specific post, please click on the "quote" button on the upper right hand side of the post. Please delete all excess quoted text from the previous post; only quote the text that pertains to what you are replying to. The key words here people are CUT, COPY, and PASTE. Please keep in mind that not all of your replies will appear directly under the post that you are replying to, so it's important to indicate what you are replying to. Try to limit one line replies and posts, unless it is a specific answer to a question, and quoted text is not the bulk of the post.

Posting Spoilers
For consideration that not everyone has seen everything that's out there, we would respectfully ask that you place anything that could be considered spoilers between the spoiler tags. We have provided a neat little button for this the top of the message post box! A "spoiler" is any element of any summary or description of any piece of fiction that reveals any plot element which will give away the outcome of a dramatic episode within the work of fiction, or the conclusion of the entire work. Because enjoyment of fiction sometimes depends upon the dramatic tension and suspense which arising within it, the external revelation of such plot elements can "spoil" the enjoyment that some consumers of the narrative would otherwise have experienced.

Posting Links and images
When posting a link, post a brief description of the content of the link. It's a courtesy so people know if the link that they are opening is "work safe", or appropriate to where they are on the computer, or their age group. ABSOLUTELY NO HENTAI, SHOTA, LOLICON, OR ECCHI images allowed for any reason. That includes your user avatar. You may post Yaoi/Yuri images, but they have to be PG13 and cannot contain nudity. The mods have the right to remove anything questionable.

POST IN ENGLISH, AND CHOOSE YOUR WORDS CAREFULLY.
The primary language of this group and forum is English. It's okay to post in Japanese, however it must be understood that there are members on this forum who do not speak nor can read and understand Japanese, and you are required to translate all Japanese text that you post into English. Everyone can better understand you when you write complete sentences using proper grammar and complete words, thus preventing mis-communication and preventing you from giving a bad impression of yourself. Members should post in a way which is consistent with "normal writing". That is members should not post excessive letter-number combos, emoticons, large, small or colored text, etc. I know we are not all the best spellers in the world, but there is spell check on Firefox, and other popular browsers, and other ways to check your spelling. Our advice, use it. I know we are not all the best spellers in the world, but do your best. JAPC is a group is for all ages, so be decent and try to not use profanity and/or abusive language. There are many other ways to get your point across without using obscene language.

Know Thy Netiquette.
Please take a look at this and keep in mind when posting to these forums:
http://www.dtcc.edu/cs/rfc1855.html

Check the FAQ
Please check this post before posting your questions to the forum, as you may be able to get your question answered there.

NO SPAM! (Only post it in the JAPC Bazaar Forum)
We all get it; we all hate it, so don't post it! This will immediately rule out all chain letters, commercial ads, postings on how to make money fast, sociology surveys, hot international news (except if relating to Japanese Anime and culture), repetitive web site advertisements/plugs and so on.

Disagreements and conflict.
Everyone has his or her own opinions and ideas. From time to time, people will disagree. It's OK to disagree! All we ask is that you please try to act in a civil mature manner. If you feel you have been flamed or insulted, your best bet would be to contact that person directly, instead of involving the whole group. As much as people try to be politically correct, we do unintentionally insult people on occasion. We are human and make mistakes. If you post an "I hate _insert anime here_" be prepared to back up your reasoning. An open-minded person is the best company. Some people may know something that others do not, so listen carefully! Life is a learning experience and so are people. (Repeated, I know, but no less important)

As with any group, there may be personal issues or conflicts that develop among group members. As much as we try, we do not try to mix group and personal business. This creates unnecessary conflict among group members, and will turn people off to the group. Any personal issues or conflicts are not to be included on this forum and are to be handled personally between the persons involved in Private Messages(PM) or email. If there are any issues concerning the way the group functions, however, or other group concerns, we prefer that they should be addressed to a moderator via PM or direct email rather than posting them in your web site, blog, or other online social networking website. Slander regarding our group will not be tolerated and will get you banned from the group. Please take up all issues with the only parties involved via PM, email, phone, or better yet, in person.

Violations of these rules will result in warnings, moderation, and in the worst case, being banned.

We have a three strike policy. Members will be warned a maximum of three times for any and all offences. On the third warning, you will be put on moderation until the issue is resolved. Permanent banning is used for the most severe cases, and as a last option.

If there are any questions regarding these rules for posting here, please send me a private message.

These rules are subject to change at any time, for any reason. Last update was 2/1/2010.