Forum Terms & Rules
By using the Amecon Forum, you are signifying your agreement to the Terms and Conditions as described herein.
All original content and images contained within this site are property of Amecon and may not be reproduced in whole or part without express, written permission from Amecon.
These Terms of Service are subject to change without notification.
The Terms of Service of the Amecon discussion board.
Etiquette
This is mainly common sense, it is to try and keep things as pleasant for everyone as possible.
1.1. No trolling. This includes personal insults, harassment, or posts which serve no purpose other than annoying other members. If you don't like a thread, simply click "back" on your browser.
1.2. If you feel a particular poster is trolling, flaming or posting pointless threads, do not take it upon yourself to let them know they are being an idiot. This often results in arguments starting and threads getting out of hand. Please mark the post or thread in question for moderation using the report button at the bottom of every post. You will then be taken to a page where there is a free text box to explain your reason for marking the post.
2.1. The use of swear words is not permitted on the forums. We consider this a site where younger children may constitute a portion of the user base, and as such we would like users to keep it clean. A swear filter is in place which will mask profanity, but the fact that profanity is masked is not an excuse to swear, and we would prefer if alternative wording were used.
2.2. Bypassing the swear filter is not permitted on any part of the Amecon forum, any user doing this will find their post deleted and they will be warned.
2.3. Do not make entire posts in large text, colour, bold, in italics, etc. Although this makes your post stand out more, it's also very annoying and your presentation often ends up overshadowing your actual message.
3. Do not ask for people to respond to your posts by email. You are unlikely to get a response, and you'll probably get spammed with junk mail. If you want to see people's responses to your posts, come back to the website and check the thread you made. If you can't do that, use the "Subscribe to Thread" option, this will automatically send you an email when someone responds to your thread.
4. Do not make horribly long quote chains. If the post that you're replying to is directly above you, you can skip quoting it at all, except for when you are referring to a specific part of the post. If a quote chain gets too long, snip it down to the last quote in the chain.
5. Please link to larger images using URL links or thumbnails. Various image hosting sites will do this automatically for you. Not everyone has a fast connection so this helps the site run smoothly for those without broadband. If you really must post the picture in its full size please make sure you include "No 56k" or similar at the start or end of the topic title.
6. Do not bump old threads if you have nothing to add to the conversation. New information about a topic is a good reason to bump a thread. "lol yea i agree i saw this on tv yesterday and it was pretty cool" is NOT a good reason, especially when it causes a thread from several months ago to reappear.
Prohibited Material (Up for revision at any time)
7. Posts containing or actively promoting the following are not allowed on Amecon:
7.1. Adult images/context. This is a family-oriented site and such images are not suitable for Amecon.
7.2. Offensive or vulgar images. Again, this is a family site, and so is not the place for things you would not feel comfortable showing to your parents.
7.3. CD images/ISO files/Fansubs. Amecon does not support piracy, nor copyright infringement
8.1. It is not acceptable to bypass the prohibited content rule by linking to material which is located offsite. This includes offensive images and links to forum threads where forbidden content (such as ISO distribution) is being discussed.
8.2. It is also not acceptable to solicit the discussion of prohibited material off the forums. This means it is not acceptable to post things such as:
"I have a fansub of the latest Naruto, PM me if you want the link"
or
"I don't think we can talk about this here. Email someone@email.com and we can discuss it there"
English
9. Extremely unreadable posts will not be tolerated. Amecon does not govern how users should word their posts, but extreme and repeated poor grammar and
spelling may result in your posts being removed or edited at a moderator's discretion. Nobody is going to delete your posts for saying "u" instead of "you", but if most of your posts read "y dun u do dt i dno m8 i thnk ur js stupid u no wtf!! >.<" then you may find yourself needing to shape up.
10.1 DON'T USE "ALL CAPS". HEY LOOK AT ME I AM THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON HERE! It does nothing but look annoying. You can use them normally and to emphasise things but don't go mad. If you want to grab people's attention, use the formatting options that are built-in to the "post reply" or "new thread" pages.
10.2 DoN'T StAgGeR CApS So YoUr pOsT LooK LiKe Dis. It is pointless, annoying, and attention-seeking. Posts like this may be edited or deleted.
11.1 Use semi decent punctuation. Sentences really don't need to end with twenty exclamation marks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and threads asking something you REALLY want to know only need one question mark, not ten, don't they??????????
11.2 Don't fill your post with decorative punctuation. *~!StUfF LiKe This >.< !~* is not suitable for a discussion board. Your posts are to be read, not taken in like a work of art.
12. DON'T MAKE USELESS POSTS. This includes posts that contain a single smiley and nothing else, one or two words, "Nice site", "Woot woot!", I LOVE X ANIME etc, a good guide is that if it contains less than 5 words, it probably isn't worth posting.
13. Before posting a thread, please ask yourself the following question: "Am I making a thread which is either informative, or interesting on any level? Does my thread serve a purpose?" If you can answer "yes" to this, then please post. If you cannot, then refrain from posting.
14. Before replying to an existing thread, please ask yourself the following question: "Does my reply offer any significant advice or help contribute to the conversation. Is my reply informative, or interesting in any fashion? Does it add anything to the thread?" If you can answer "yes" to this, then please reply. If you cannot, then refrain from replying.
Advertising
15.1. No "FREE PSP" "FREE IPOD" or other similar referral scheme links. Amecon is not a free ads paper.
15.2. It is OK to mention your site or link to it if you are a contributing community member, but please don't use Amecon as an advertising place for your forum/website/shop/whatever unless in the designated threads.
Graphical Content
16. Signatures must obey the following guidelines:
16.1. Signature area should not exceed 150 pix tall, enough space for an image of 100pix tall and two lines of text. If you want to have more text I suggest you use your profile page.
16.2. Signatures should not be overly attention grabbing or otherwise obnoxious. This includes use of over the top transition effects and rapidly flashing banners.
16.3. Signatures must not be used as a way of attacking other members or teams. This must be stressed especially more than posts since not only are signatures visible on every post a user makes, but other users can freely copy the same "attack sig" and mount mockery upon other users.
16.4. Images and text used in signatures must be kept to a reasonable amount of screen space. Excessively large sigs with many lines of text will be trimmed at a moderator's discretion.
16.5. Please do not use quote text in signatures. This spaces out the signature too much. The format: Quote from AUser; "Haha, I am on the internet" is suggested instead.
16.6. No referral links are to be used. (free ipods etc)
16.7. These rules are not exhaustive and are subject to change. Signature content which is deemed otherwise inappropriate may be brought into question by a moderator.
If you continue to break the above subset of rules it will result in your signature privileges being removed.
Organization
17. Post your threads in the correct forum. This allows people who want to read your thread to find it easier, and stops people are not interested from having to see it. For example, do not post "I need help with an event" in the Cosplay or Websites forum, or "Who here wants to do a cosplay group" in the Events forum.
18. Use correct, informative thread titles. An informative thread title is one that lets other users know what the thread is about before they click on it.
For example: "Has anyone done this before?" would be a bad title. The thread could be about a cosplay group, a new event, or a new idea for a website. "Event Idea: Sake Testing, anyone interested?" would be an example of an acceptable title. "Does anyone know..." and similar thread titles are also useless for the same reason.
19. Similar to the above, threads asking a question should ALWAYS have a question mark in the title. This is so people know you are asking for information as opposed to giving it. Consider "Guide to creating a wig that stays in shape" versus "Guide to creating a wig that stays in shape?" or "List of people wanting to meet at the station" versus "List of people wanting to meet at the station?". This is especially problematic when the question is about information large numbers of Amecon members would like to know. Intentionally misrepresenting thread titles in order to draw more people into clicking your thread will not be tolerated.
20. USE THE SEARCH ENGINE BEFORE POSTING A NEW THREAD. Some topics have been posted several times already, and regular posters tend to get irate when they see the fifth "Who is doing a FFX cosplay group?" thread in a month. If a thread is really old, feel free to start a fresh thread, but otherwise it is preferred that you use existing threads.
21. If the answer to your thread can be found within seconds of searching on Google, your thread will also be locked. A good tip is to try typing your intended thread title into Google. A thread entitled "Who is the leader of the Labour Party" takes longer to post than Google takes to dig up the information you want.
Catch-All Rule
22.1. This list is not exhaustive, and users should use their common sense while posting. The rules are followed based on their intent, not to the letter, and clever attempts to circumvent the rules will not be tolerated.
22.2. You are responsible for your own actions, Amecon will not be made libel for any defamatory remarks or potentially libellous material posted on this forum.
Newbie Clause READ THIS
23. Ignorance is not an excuse for new members who do not follow the rules. All users are expected to have read and understood the forum rules, and pleading "I am new and didn't know 'WHO LIKES NEY-ROO-TOE!!!!!!!' was a bad thread" will not make you exempt from the same treatment as other member. If you aren't sure what does and does not go down well, read the forums without posting for a while.
24. Repeated violations of the forum rules will lead to users being given warnings. Newer users who clearly have no regard for the rules may find this happens faster.
Repeated and insistent violation of the forum rules will result in your removal from the forum.
Amecon exists for its users to have fun. The above rules are there to ensure that everyone is welcome and that the Amecon forum contains a friendly atmosphere for all. Don't post in fear of being banned for breaking the rules, our moderators would much rather ensure you are aware of the rules in the future than instantly ban you for stepping out of line.
We welcome everyone to our community no matter their age, gender, religion, sexual preference, etc. We do ask, however, that if you wish to participate that you please follow these simple rules and guidelines. We want this to be a quality discussion board, something which only you, the user, can make happen.
If you do not agree with any of these Terms and Conditions, please do not use the site.
Amecon reserves the right to modify these Terms and Conditions at any time.
Thanks for reading!
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