Rules and Guidelines

[Bossy Zunu]

THESE ARE OUR FORUM RULES!!!

Updated 2017 February 16
What's new? Removed "Vine" from the "Gif Thread" description and amended it to include all "automatically repeating short media clips" (G7). Minor grammar/spelling fixes.

Introduction:
This forum is primarily for the discussion of Hello!Project as well as other related/associated acts produced by Up-Front (occasionally referred to as Shadow H!P) and former members of such groups. Occasionally other idol groups in Jpop or Kpop are given attention but they are not the primary focus of this forum. Before posting for the first time, we ask that you familiarize yourself with the various sections and threads. We encourage you to introduce yourself right away in the JPLOP Member Introduction Thread. Be aware that the first few posts you make will not appear right away. Your first few posts have to be approved by a moderator before they will appear. It helps to keep our forum clear of spam and advertisers. Feel free to ask questions and to discuss any interesting news about H!P/Up-Front acts, but before you do, make sure that you're posting in the right thread and check to see if your questions been answered before. It'll go a long way in making a good first impression. Also, be aware that you don't have to post just to say "thanks" or "I agree." There's a thanks/thumbs up button which serves that purpose. When you start posting, you'll also get access to some Members Only threads. They don't contain any secret downloads or bonus material, but they will allow you to participate in certain more in-depth conversations with other members. Members are also eligible to play "Hello! Project Survivor (H!PS)," a light amusing annual summertime game/contest wherein the forum's favorite H!P idol is selected through a grueling process of merciless elimination voting, name-calling, trash-talking, conspiracy, deception, espionage, cheating and bribery.

Please read the rules below. Joining, posting, or continuing to post on this forum indicates your acknowledgment and acceptance of our rules.

Good manners:
G1) Be reasonably respectful of your fellow members. See here and here for more on this general principle.
G2) Don't keep complaining about the same thing over and over again to the point that your complaints become an annoyance to others.
G3) Trashing of other forums/boards only allowed in the Personal Histories thread.
G4) Don't whin(g)e about getting credit for who posted what first. Nobody cares, and it's disruptive.
G5) Please be VERY SPARING in the use of image macros/memes, if at all. Generally only Jpop related macros are allowed.
G6) We should try, generally to keep posts on topic, however this is not a hard and fast rule. However,
G7) By popular demand, all gifs and other automatically repeating short media clips should be posted in the Gif thread and may be moved or deleted if posted incorrectly.
G8) Please be sure thank your fellow members if they have provided helpful information to you!

Links:
L1) If you are a member in good standing who posts on a regular basis, posts saying "look at the website I just made" are generally allowed, sparingly.
L2) If you are coming to jplop for the sole purpose of spreading information about a site you have created, the mods will use discretion as to whether your post will be allowed to remain.
(Keeping it simple, informative, and non-annoying will increase the chance of it not being deleted.)
L3) Normal hyperlinks to other sites are generally allowed.
L4) Affiliate links (e.g. links which earn you a commission) are not allowed under any circumstances and may result in an immediate ban.
L5) Links that use link shortening services which disguise the true destination are not allowed. For example, youtu.be is allowed, bit.ly is not.
L6) Linking to anything deemed inappropriate by the mods may result in the link transformed into a plain-text non-link or the post being otherwise edited or deleted.
L7) Hotlinking images is not banned but is mildly discouraged. You're encouraged to use imgur or other sharing sites to reupload images. Protected hotlinks may be edited or deleted by a moderator.
L8) Linking to downloads or torrents is not allowed, except for radio/concert audio rips. It's okay to mention the existence of downloads/torrents as long as an actual link is not provided.

Moderation:
M1) Moderators may deem a post inappropriate for any reason, even reasons not specifically discussed in these rules. An inappropriate post may be edited, deleted or the poster may be given a warning in the thread or via PM. Frequent or egregious inappropriate posts/behavior may result in a temporary or permanent ban.
M2) A rule which is broken is not always enforced. Enforcement of the rules is generally lax and at the discretion of the moderators. The moderator may discuss the offending post with the poster without notifying the forum at large.
M3) Please do not argue with specific instances of moderation or lack of moderation on the forum. If you feel believe that in a specific instance, a post was inappropriately moderated, you may PM that mod or any mod. Be aware that generally a moderator will not override another mod's call.
M4) Do not insist that a post that you find objectionable be moderated, or complain that someone else's post was allowed to stand.
M5) General issues with moderation or forum policy should be discussed in the METAplop thread. If you had a problem about a specific post and can generalize the issue to be a METAplop issue, that is fine.
M6) Issues of a personal nature can be PM'ed to a mod, for example, bullying or even a request to update your username.
M7) Please note, we do not allow multiple user accounts for one user, so if for some reason you have forgotten your password and need to temporarily create a new username to log in, please PM a mod immediately so we can reset your primary account's password and delete the temporary username you created. Attempting to maintain multiple "sock puppet" accounts may result in a penalty, up to and including a permanent ban of the user.

Naughty stuff:
N1) NSFW content is generally not allowed "in the clear" but may be permitted on an ad hoc basis if spoilered, and if not deemed inappropriate by a mod.
N2) Overtly prurient comments about idols or other board members are not allowed.
N3) Remarks of a prurient nature regarding underage idols may result in a strong warning or immediate banning.
N4) Referring to idols in intensely derogatory terms (such as skank or slut) is not allowed.
N5) Don't be creepy. Nobody wants to hear your naughty fantasies.

Signatures:
S1) Maximum signature height, 225 pixels. That includes all lettering and graphics.
S2) No hidden elements are allowed in the signature (no "spoilered" content).
S3) Maximum signature + avatar size = 500kb combined.
S4) Linking to your own personal site or favorite site in your signature generally allowed, but...
S5) If your signature/avatar is offensive, annoying or otherwise inappropriate it might get deleted anyway at moderator discretion.

Thank you and have fun!


thank you for coming to this forum
the purpose of this forum is to preserve some of the old spirit of jpopmusic.com, once a great place, that has now met its end.

please register using THE SAME USERNAME YOU USED ON JPOPMUSIC.
if you want to change it after that, you can PM me.

[Bossy Zunu]

CLARIFICATION REGARDING THE ABOVE RULE:

"Be reasonably respectful of your fellow members."

This has been mentioned before in a subforum, but just to reiterate, it's not appropriate here to bully other members, particularly in third-party-fashion where they are being callously referred to as if they're not there.

This is not a zero tolerance policy -- people should have thick skins and not "report" every bit of ribbing, but when things gets to the point where multiple people start piling on, and dragging things out, then it may be considered oppressive. If deemed necessary, posts may be deleted.

However, being respectful of your fellow members works both ways. Part of it is to refrain from consistently making yourself an annoyance to the group. If you choose to be a pain to others, the mods may in their discretion choose to not immediately jump to your defense when the backlash occurs.

[Bossy Zunu]

Just a little additional reading material.

This is a forum, not a fight club. Even so, occasional heated disputes between people are inevitable. But ask yourself these questions before hitting "Submit."

a) Are you criticizing specific behavior or voicing a specific disagreement? b) Or are you making a personal insult?
a) Are you defending yourself? b) Or are you the one who started the whole thing?
a) Are you infrequently in personal disputes? b) Or are you constantly getting into fights, often with the same person?
a) Are you posting to stop a fight? b) Or are you posting just to take sides one against the other?
a) Are you the voice of reason? b) Or are you trying to stir up the pot?
a) Is your complaint necessary? b) Or are you nitpicking over inconsequential matters?
a) Is it something everyone should see? b) Or would it have been better to discreetly PM the intended recipient?
a) Is your intent helpful? b) Or is it malicious or vindictive?
a) If someone addressed you in the manner of your intended post, would you a) think the person was being reasonable or b) get majorly pissed?

"a" is generally ok. "b" is generally discouraged, and may result in your post being deleted depending on the situation.
This is a 99.4% self-moderating environment. The mods aren't going to step in every time a dispute occurs, because everyone here is mature enough to resolve matters on their own, most of the time. If it does become necessary for an out-of-control situation to be "report"-ed, or if we otherwise need to intervene, be aware that the outcome will not be pleasing to some. And may not be pleasing to you. So let's all try our best to get along even though we (thankfully) don't always agree.