An Introduction to AHS: Rules & Regulations ver.13 - Ayumi Hamasaki Sekai
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Old 16th August 2013, 10:39 PM
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koumori koumori is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Finland
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An Introduction to AHS: Rules & Regulations ver.13

An Introduction to AHS
Welcome to Ayumi Hamasaki Sekai, a community fan forum for Ayumi Hamasaki that has been running for over 10 years. Please familiarise yourself with the the forum and its rules by reading this introduction. Afterwards, please feel free to introduce yourself in the Chat Room and join in on the discussions!


AHS Structure
AHS has four main sections - the Ayu Section, the Off-Topic section, the Music section and the Board Forums. Each have their own different sub-forums, the descriptions of which are listed on the forum homepage. When wanting to make a thread, read the descriptions carefully and make sure you’re choosing the right one to post in. If you have any suggestions for changes or improvements to the forum structure, feel free to post them in our Suggestions Forum.


Posting Guidelines
  • Be respectful. This goes for everyone on AHS - initiates, moderators and administrators alike. We are a large forum with a varied, international community and to be a part of that is to understand that you will meet people with different opinions, and different ways of expressing them. Personal attacks will not be tolerated. If you disagree with someone, either express it with respect and consideration or stop taking part in the thread. If you feel a post is breaking the rules, report the post to the moderators, who will then discuss the content and action the appropriate consequences. Same goes for when you feel an initiate is not a positive contributor to the community - report your thoughts to the moderation team and they will discuss the matter.
  • We do not entertain posting wars, drama or spam. This includes double-posting, too. Meaningless posts just to up your post count will also be removed at moderator discretion. If you see multiple off-topic posts, report them to the moderating team instead of adding to the issue. There are plenty of threads for more conversational topics in the Chat-Room, so OT posts in other parts of AHS will be either moved or deleted, depending on the subject and how many there are. We have zero tolerance for drama, trouble-makers and trolling.
  • You will accept the final decisions of the moderators. The moderators reserve the right to delete, edit, move, merge and split posts and/or threads at their discretion and are not required to explain every action they take. The same is true of member account suspensions and bans. If you do not agree with or do not understand the motivation behind a moderation action, PM a moderator.
  • Advertising is not allowed on the forum. Links that will be removed from posts, signatures or user profiles include those that contain pornographic, racist or illegal materials. Explicitly “for profit” sites, links to anything containing malicious content and “pay per click” middleman websites are also against our rules - however, linking your own personal shops and websites is allowed. Linking to torrents or torrent websites will also result in your post being removed and the appropriate consequence being actioned. We do not allow excessive advertising, or participating in the forum for the sole purpose of advertising. Spam and bot accounts will be deleted.
  • Do not post sexually explicit, graphic or disturbing material. There are plenty of places on the Internet to search for pornographic or graphically explicit images, but AHS is not one of them. Although we have a large community of adults, the Ayumi Hamasaki and Asian music fandom community we cater to attracts a variety of different ages, and so breaking this rule can lead to a permanent ban very quickly. What is considered explicit is up to the discretion of the moderators, but is usually just common sense. If linking to something that contains nudity but is not sexually explicit, put under a spoiler with an NSFW tag. However, no nudity is allowed in shared initiate photographs.
  • Avatars and signatures must be appropriate. Initiates have the freedom to create and upload their own avatar and signature to represent themselves with on AHS. However, we do have regulations on what content we allow and size restrictions to make sure that those with slower connections can still load forum pages at a reasonable pace. We do not allow sexually explicit or graphic images to be used. Signatures or avatars that directly attack or provoke other initiates are also not allowed. Avatars and signatures that are over our allowed size for the forum will be removed.
  • Common concerns - username changes, multiple accounts and language allowances. Username changes are limited to 3 per person. If you wish to change your username, please contact one of the Guardians or Administrators listed on the forum homepage. Do not create more than one account at AHS. If you wish to change your name, please see the guidelines above. There will be consequences for creating multiple accounts to cheat in voting threads or when subverting a temporary or permanent ban. Although AHS is an international forum, for ease of communication we encourage only speaking English on the boards. A few posts back and forth in other languages is fine, but keep extended chatter to PM’s.
  • Follow our downloading/uploading guidelines. AHS is hosted in the U.S. and therefore must abide by U.S. piracy laws. This means that you CANNOT upload or download any materials that are available for purchase in the U.S. Also, linking downloads that use a pay-per-click middleman site will also result in your post being removed; subsequent breaking of this rule will lead to us following our infraction system. Torrent links also fall into this category. If you download anything uploaded by another initiate, make sure you thank them! They are doing you a free service.

Raising Concerns
If you have concerns about another initiate's post(s), DO NOT provoke the user or discussion. Instead, please use the report button on the lower left corner of the initiate's post (it looks like an exclamation point). After you do this, a text box will appear on-screen asking you to explain your reasons for reporting the post. Be as thorough as possible, so the staff discussing your report know all the information necessary to make an informed and fair decision. The post will then be sent to the entire mod team, at which point they will discuss the issue at hand and decide on an appropriate action or inaction.

If you have a general question about or suggestion for the AHS forum as whole, please search the FAQ/Tech Support/Guidelines first; and if you cannot find an answer to your question or do not see a past conversation about a similar topic, please create a new thread in that forum.

Do not create a thread anywhere on the board if you have concerns about a particular initiate or post. This includes questions about banned initiates or initiates put on moderation. If you have concerns, PM a moderator and they will try to address them. They are not obligated, however, to disclose any information regarding mod decisions made or actions taken with another initiate.


Consequences for Breaking Rules
  • Warnings
    If you break any of the posting rules, the staff may decide to issue you a warning by private message in place of an infraction. This is usually in cases where the offence is borderline infraction worthy and is not typical or to be expected. An initiate may receive an infraction without receiving a warning first. Please try to understand the rules and abide by them so you don’t repeat the mistake.
  • Infractions
    If you make a more serious error in breaking the rules of the forum, you may be issued with an infraction. Infractions stay on your account permanently, and if you are issued with many it may lead to further consequences such as a temporary or permanent ban from the forum.
  • Temporary/Permanent moderation
    If you have repeatedly broken the forum rules, you may be placed on temporary/permanent moderation. This means you can still post on the forum, but before any post is visible to the rest of the forum a moderator will have to approve it.
  • Temporary/Permanent bans
    If you have repeatedly broken the forum rules, you may be given a temporary ban from using the forum. In severe cases you can be permanently banned. Permanent bans will not be reversed, and you cannot return under another account.



Staff Responsibilities

Moderators are AHS initiates who voluntarily help enforce rules and help out other initiates with their troubles or queries about the forum. They are given administrative powers through the boards to be able to edit, move and delete posts. They also discuss forum issues as a group and make collective decisions on warnings, infractions and temporary/permanent bans. You can approach any moderator with questions, suggestions or complaints you may have about the forum or about another user, either through PM or by reporting posts.

Moderators are not allowed to take action on events that have happened through private message. They are also not allowed to give out infractions or bans without first consulting other moderators.They can edit, move and delete posts at their discretion. Initiates are encouraged to discuss moderating issues through private messages and not make threads or posts on the forum.

If you want to know more about our moderators, the duties they have and who to contact with a query, visit their introduction thread.

Becoming a Moderator

What we look for:
We’re always hiring! To be a moderator on AHS it doesn’t take a lot of specialism - we are just looking for people who want to help make AHS a great community. We take into consideration your past behaviour on the board, your perceived professionalism and friendliness, how active you are on the forum, and how long you’ve been active. Years aren’t necessary - 6 months of chatting and getting to know the place is acceptable.

If you want to become a moderator, don’t be shy, nominate yourself! Just PM a moderator, and they will discuss it amongst themselves. You can also nominate other people you think are suitable for the position.


Legal Disclaimer
The authors of original material posted on AHS possess the rights to their own works. When the works of an AHS initiate are reproduced in any form elsewhere, credits must be given to the author. Likewise, you must credit the original author when reposting material belonging to someone else at AHS. AHS staff are not able to investigate every item posted at AHS to determine ownership. Staff will remove or edit posts where plagiarism is found.

This forum does not interfere with nor have anything to do with any other forums' internal affairs. AHS cannot be held responsible for the actions of people who are registered at this forum, whether staff or initiates, outside of this forum. The servers for AHS are located in the United States, and as such AHS must abide by US piracy and privacy laws.
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