Our forums, like our con, are free! We are largely unmoderated, and very rarely will anything ever be closed or deleted.

At the same time, that won't stop us from yelling at you for being a moron! We don't mind bad language or out-there opinions, but we do hate stupidity in all its forms!

Anime Punch is a college level anime convention, which means a lot of things. Sometimes it means we are far more interpretive than literal (for example, we judge cosplay in terms of the spirit of a character, not in exact details). For another, it means we trust you guys to know what you are doing (for example, we don't really have strict guidelines in any of our policy). On the forums, it means we expect you to be respectful and intelligent. We give you guys the benefit of the doubt, and believe me, most cons take the approach of "Fans are STUPID STUPID STUPID". I hate that attitude, and when I hear other convention planners talking that way it makes me sick. I know you guys, I love and respect you guys, and I refuse to treat you like anything other than intelligent, free thinking adults. Call me naive or stupid for thinking it, but hey, being a blind idealist has its perks. At the same time though, that means you have to meet us half way and actually -be- said free thinking, intelligent adults!

What does that mean?
Well, at the con it means don't break shit, but we're not worried about that right now.
On the forums it means don't post if you don't have anything to say, and when you do have something to say, don't say it like a dumbass. NEVER post something like "ZOMFG!! XDDDD!!!!!111one, i so luv teh Su-chan lolz! Yaoi4eva' roflcopter!". Whether you are doing it to be ironic, or because you're actually that lame doesn't matter, because you won't type like that here! ^_^
Of course, smilies are ok, as are modest amounts of "XD"ing and such, but use tricks like that to convey meaning and voice, not to punctuate or to be the post itself!

So, bulletpoints -

-Don't spam. Make your words meaningful!
-Don't use the forums as a chat room
-Don't act like a hyper teenager, even if you are one! We see you as more than that, so rise to our expectations! Together we shall conquer the world (starting with Rome)!!
-Don't be afraid to speak your mind, just do it smartly!
-Think before you speak... or in the internet world... Google before you type, the facts are out there!
-Don't be afraid to have fun, we may act like Nazi's but we're really quite open to insanity!
-Read through a thread to see if someone has said what you were going to.
-Read through the forums to get a feel for the flow of things around here (most threads have a natural life of 1) Intelligent conversation 2) Sidetracking after the purpose of the thread has been served, 3) and then degrading into spam and chaos. This is ok, just don't skip ahead before its time!

I hope this helps our users adjust! If you're used to the Ikasu or Sugoi forums, it will be quite a change, but hopefully a pleasant one!

Rock on!
-Michael