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Community: an open letter from your Forum Moderator

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shinsengumi

Retired Moderator

shinsengumi

. . . remember me?

Dear Minitokyo,

This month, membership on Minitokyo surpassed the one hundred twenty-five thousand mark, and thus it's important for us to pause and reflect upon why we are here. Here, as in any group, it is perhaps inevitable that at some point there will be disagreements between members, but one should step back and consider the fact that Minitokyo is community where people from all corners of the globe and of a kaleidoscope of backgrounds and beliefs have come together because of their common love for some element of Japanese popular culture.

Many here are artistically-inclined, while others have talents in other fields, literary or otherwise. Yet regardless of individual strengths or weaknesses, all are entitled to their opinions, as every item and every issue can be viewed from many viewpoints. As a result, all perspectives are entitled the same measure of respect. Likewise, all are entitled to their own opinions on their peers. However, insults have no place here, as they are counterproductive to the very idea of community.

Some of us are newer than others, and therefore many of the questions and concerns they have may seem elementary and puerile to more established members. Even so, we should all respect the individual situation of individual members and be patient with them; after all, we all were once new members before (see, for example, this thread: http://forum.minitokyo.net/showthread/11103/ ). Note that just because some happened to find their way here in their wanderings before others does not make them somehow better than those that followed, or give them the right to be condescending or rude to others.

Therefore I urge everyone to respect and exercise patience with their fellow members regardless of how new they are or what their particular views are, and to do so whether in the forums, in the galleries, in the Shoutbox, or elsewhere. A little understanding goes a long way; after all, there is much we can learn from each other, much we can do to help each other. Indeed, it is only when we all work together that we can continue to make Minitokyo the best community it can possibly be.

With regards,
shinsengumi
Your friendly local Forum Moderator

s h i n s e n g u m i
Minitokyo Policy, Forum, Review, and Category Maintenance Moderator Emeritus

Do not expect to be applauded when you do the right thing, and do not expect to be forgiven when you err, but even your enemies will respect commitment, and a conscience at peace is worth a thousand tainted victories.

akari-chan

akari-chan

59 luv XD

Well said, shin-kun! You is da man! MT is a online community where everybody should get along. Just like at school. some ppl just don't have alot of talent cuz they simply are new that kind of thing. and e should not make fun of each other and tell ppl to stop walling just you don't like it. This should be pinned or somthing. Everybody should read it. let's hope ppl actually read this letter.

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*~Latest Submissions~*:
{Relaxation}{Melancholic Yuki}{Basil}{Potemayo}

Way to go Shinsengumi! I feel the same way, new members should be treated with respect since they are new and doesn't really know how to do things at first. Though I hope that most new members here will at least know the basic rules but then again this could be their first time on a forum and they will as least read the rules. Otherwise learn from their mistakes.

People make mistakes and we have to give them a chance. That's why it's good that we have the three warnings so that we learn from them. Even though we are not all artistically skills, we should put them down, Encourage them, give them pointers and tips. We all share a great passion for anime, manga or simply just to talk about our interest.

Minitokyo is a great global community and I got to meet so many wonderful people from around the world, and in a way I learn to respect different individual's opinions and views. You're doing a great job Shinsengumi, keep it up.

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MadMover

MadMover

The Underside of the Kitties Paw

That is the most enlighten outlook I have seen he. Thank you for reminding us that we are not here simply for our own purposes, but for the betterment of our understandings of each other. We are as diverce as can be here, if we weren't, MT would be very boring. Just imaging if everyone had exactly the same tastes in anime and artwork. We wouldn't be able to send in anything as we would all be doing the exact same work.

When I first logged on to MT over a year ago the first thing I noticed was that everyone here was much friendlier than another sight I use to frequent (which shall remain nameless). That sight everyone was overly critical of others works, to the point of being insulting to anyone who was a nuby at making walls. Here at least (almost) everyone tries to give constuctive critisism and ideas on how to improve their crafts, and for those of you (not me) who have the tallent we see a marked improvement in their works as time passes.

In short I"d like to thank everyone here for all tyhe work that they have done in the past and future on their wallpapers and scans. ^_^

Believe in the freedom of music!

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AngelKate

AngelKate

~*Lady Sweetness*~

Bravo Shinsengumi! You are exactly right. ^_^ People need to respect each other a lot more, which for the most part I think we do, but I've been hearing of people being rude to other members and telling them their walls are bad or something, and not just offering constructive criticizm. That's not right, and shouldn't be allowed to fly here. This is a community of wonderful people from all over the world, with many different talents and abilities. For example, I'm not a good waller, but I am good with my poetry, and there is a group here on MT where I can share my poetry with other poets, and I know it will be appreciated.

There's something for everyone here, besides the obvious common love of anime. And that's part of what makes MT such a wonderful place. Hopefully everyone will read this letter, and we can all work together to help keep it wonderful. :)

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Not really walling much anymore D: Feel free to browse my gallery, though!
Thank you for the siggy and avy, Kitten! ^_^

Celessa

Retired Moderator

Celessa

Okaerinasai - Welcome Home

In respects to the topic at hand, I would also like to present the fact that pretty much basically in terms of the community as a whole, I've also felt at times that certain veterans who have stayed obviously longer than many of the other members all across MT, tend to "bully" or "shove" their ways aside from the newcomers, believing that their word is often and always the one with the upper hand over others.

There is a news flash I'd have to say to those who are quite narrow-minded in such a department, of course. We all were new members at one point within this community. Just because someone clearly has seniority over the others doesn't mean that they should act as an elitest just to make themselves feel better, while necessary placing out new members who could potentially be good or even better down the road, along the way. As much as I've been around for, I realize that some members should use their veteran experience in order to help others out, and of course lead them to the right direction, as well. Aside from all the problems that could arise from the table from newcomers around, least we forget, sometimes its better not to turn a blind eye on them, of course. We've all made faults one time during our stay. It happens. So therefore, the best solution isn't always to bring the worst out of every situation, but to fix it, you know. That's just my insight, and does not clearly represent everyone else's over here.

"No matter where you go, no matter how tough life may be, just remember that always in your heart, you will still be loved."

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This is the best review of what Minitoyo has been and hopefully will remain being I have ever read. It's true Minitokyo has always seemed to be a very respectful place where all of the most amazing people have gathered and hopefully will continue gathering. That's why I'm very happy that we have that three strikes rule here instead of just kicking everybody out just as many other places have done.

i also completely agree with you and also with what Celessa said, we all have been new at one point and we can't forget that we were just as unknowing as all the other new members. Hopefully everyone here will learn to help out their fellow members to make this a better community, and hopefully a lot cleaner.
Anyways, there are so many more things to say on this topic but I just have to go right now but I honestly thank you for posting such a great letter.
~Narutofan

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Odysseus

Odysseus

Still searching...

Bravo, bravo.

I'm still kind of new here I would say. I have never been treated with disresepect I would say, but I've seen such things happen around me on so many other boards. It's nice to see such reasonable and respectful boards somewhere on the Internet. This letter is an excellent example of that. And it represents Minitokyo perfectly. I stand in awe of what some of the artists and wallers on this site can do. My work doesn't match up to them in my opinon but when I did get around to posting it, I was pleased to see how kindly it was criticised and accepted by members. It was... pleasent.

I hope I can continue to do my part to contribute to the community and I hope everyone else can as well. An excellent letter, I agree with akari-chan, this should be pinned. There is probably more I would like to say, but it is quite late and I must sleep.

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Suki!
{Full-Metal-Alchemist-FC}

IlikeCheez

IlikeCheez

Settling Pollen

^ . ^ awesome! i totally feel welcomed here.. thanks to every one of you people who are so appreciative and accepting! my stay thus far has been quite pleasant.. i give it 4 stars!! :nya:

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The energy which lights my fire ignites my soul, fuels my inspiration.

SilentMasamune

SilentMasamune

I'm all washed up. . .

I must admit that I've made many mistakes with the way I arrange my words, but trust me, I mean no harm to anyone. For all who have been hurt because of my posts, my efforts to try to help out in the forums, and/or my opinions on what may or may not work with regards to the way Minitokyo is ran, please forgive me. I will do my best to respect everyone in the community, and I will also do my best to assess everything before I post.

Each day, I think about the member I once was and the member I've evolved into today. It's very true that many of us asked questions when we were first noobs and some Minitokyo veterans didn't like that. It's true that many of us did some insubordinate things or things that were seemingly right but were not right in the end when we were first noobs and now we have picked up from our mistakes. It's all a matter of helping out those who need help and not making them feel bad because they are asking such questions. I find it much more valuable to help members out or even mediate situations between members than to insult or flame them because one day, those members may look back and thank me for what I have done.

Though each of us learns about Minitokyo in many different ways, we use those experiences to shape our beliefs, and we even use knowledge from the Noob Bibles and the FAQ to further shape our beliefs. So for some of us, because of our experiences and knowledge, we may have an idea of what works, what doesn't work, what may work, and what may not work. Sure we may disagree with what other members say, but that shouldn't give an intention to flame or insult them. Remaining cool and collective in certain negative situations is always the best way to go because you wouldn't get yourself in trouble and you wouldn't have to worry about seemingly harming any other members. After all, even some members' feelings are triggered by the words they see. Out of all of this, I have learned a very valuable lesson...all members here at MT should be treated equally, no matter what kind of personality they may have or no matter what kind of opinion they have.

shinsengumi, I can't thank you enough for making the forums a wonderful place. I also like to thank all the wonderful members of Minitokyo for a wonderful experience. If I could give a favorite to this thread, I would do it. :D

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euna

Retired Moderator

euna

nice thread shin ^_^
yes, i admit that MT gets so many new members everyday @_@
and everyone is different so they have different views and ideas. Like you said, it is important to respect everyone's perspectives.
Indeed, we've no room for bullying here on MT, after all, it IS the best community there it ^__^

Shin, like others have said above, I thank you too for all the work you do for MT (especially the forum sections! =D)

DakX

DakX

Inactivity strikes again

Nicely spoken shinsengumi.
I am happy that this is a community where new people are accepted without any yelling or things of that kind. I had other forums where if a new one would ask something they would just shout newbie and n00b at him sometimes without even awsering the questioin.
In a community that grows so fast as MT it shows of good behavior that people here can interact with each other wihtout yelling, caps and spamming.

Please excuse but my english isn't very wel but I am still learning.

MistressPookyChan

MistressPookyChan

I bwee, therefore I am.

Nice letter and very well put. I think that often people forget why they are here and forget the meaning of "community"; members, elites, and mods alike.

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Lenne

Lenne

Warrior Girl

Well said there my friend ,I agree all the way*shaking my head in agreeable way* .I completely agree that we should encourage others not scold them.
About rudeness and insults,i saw some people complaining about that they got some very rude insults from others about their own walls.And i also saw that some people because of that stopped walling,which is a real shame -_- .Still it's their own decision ,so you can't do anything about that.
I'm so glad that someone made this thread.
See you my friend! ;)

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My latest work:Best Friends

hiddensnakehands

hiddensnakehands

Captain Obvious

Shinsengumi Sama, Thanks for starting this thread
I feel the same too, I signed up well like 10 wks now, but didnt actively participate in it till like three 3 weeks ago. I feel we should understand that there are more serious things going on in the REAL world. So, put a smile in your face when you browse forums, XP.It is okay to disagree with some points other people might have, if that is the case, feel free to say so, but do so in the manner of respect to the other members, remember it is okay to disagree with what others say, but it is not okay to harass other members because of that

This signature violates the signature guidelines, thus it has been removed.

belmikry

Retired Moderator

belmikry

belly-button

[applause]

Shinsengumi, I can always count on you to make inspiring threads- thank you :)

Nothing bothers me more than when a member is rude to another member, when senority somehow adds power and ignorance to a member it is truly sad. I am so glad you brought this up to attention, because as well all were once new members, we have all been there. It seems older members like to disregard that fact, thank you for mentioning your previous thread :)
http://forum.minitokyo.net/showthread/8066/ -
http://forum.minitokyo.net/showthread/8238/ -

we've all been there, n'est pas? ;)
i was new, and everyone was very polite and considerate, which made me enjoy MT all that much more.
I recall feeling stupid and incompetent before posting that thread, worried that since I was new older, more senior members would make fun of me or bash my thread in some sense. Although I'm sure answering another n00b thread may be annoying to some, I enjoy helping out in a polite friendly manner, just because I remember how it felt to be new.

I even recall members who had nothing to do with me until I reached level 50 :P ...

Quote by hiddensnakehandsShinsengumi Sama, Thanks for starting this thread I feel the same too,
I signed up well like 10 wks now, but didnt actively participate in it
till like three 3 weeks ago. I feel we should understand that there are
more serious things going on in the REAL world. So, put a smile in your
face when you browse forums, it is okay to disagree, if you disagree
with some points, feel free to say so, but do so with respect to the
other members, remember it is okay to disagree with what others say,
but it is not okay to harass with other members


nicely said as well. Disagreeing and harassing are two very different things, and members should re-read their forum posts before hitting submit sometimes. I just had a beef with a member who would post awful thread posts on submissions, calling them hurtful words and such. I discusses this with the member and we both came to realize he/she didn't mean it THAT way, it was really just their annoyance with new submissions lately... It's like we forget that new members need to make mistakes before they learn- it's like growing people! no one gets things perfectly the first time around, that why we allow for comments on our submissions, to allow critiques so we can grow as designers/artists/writers, not to write "woo woo! me favey!" :P ...

Great topic shin, and truly needed in the forums :)

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Anime wallpaper/Female Scans/Group Scans Moderator - rippers and duplicates beware of belly's button! XD [ermmm... o_o]

That is true shinsengumi-kun. Extremly true, perhaps you are the most hard working moderator on MT. And that is much appreciated..you do such hard work along with Belmikry...

Though, many times it is difficult to speak to new members, for sometimes they do not know the rules and just 'lash' out at you...though...i do appreciate that shinsengumi has written this letter to Minitokyo^.^

We will continue to behave well, and help others who are struggling on MT^,^

*shakes shinsengumi's hand*
cookie? or yaoi? hahahah<---joking shinsen XD

lapuk

lapuk

spidey is gay

i agree with you shinsengumi, i've also seen someone so rude here in mt, with toxictea as their target.. i do think you should sticky this thread so that it won't die..

shinsengumi

Retired Moderator

shinsengumi

. . . remember me?

As an addendum, urging more established members to exercise more patience with newer members does not give newer members free licence to do what they want. There is a limit to the patience members can exercise, and therefore new members have to do their part and make sure to read all of the rules and guidelines at their earliest convenience.

That the policy is fairly long is no excuse for ignorance; breaking a rule is breaking a rule, whether one does it voluntarily or not.

s h i n s e n g u m i
Minitokyo Policy, Forum, Review, and Category Maintenance Moderator Emeritus

Do not expect to be applauded when you do the right thing, and do not expect to be forgiven when you err, but even your enemies will respect commitment, and a conscience at peace is worth a thousand tainted victories.

Quote by heavens-DragonWay to go Shinsengumi! I feel the same way, new members should be treated with respect since they are new and doesn't really know how to do things at first. Though I hope that most new members here will at least know the basic rules but then again this could be their first time on a forum and they will as least read the rules. Otherwise learn from their mistakes...

But the problem is, most newcomers DON'T read the rules or policy. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of all our work? Anyways, geez. MT is getting WAY too big. Sheqel already spend far too much on Minitokyo (not to say I don't appreciate it) but I think Sheqel should use his moeny for...more fruitful things such as for personal gain rather than for a whole bunch of ppl around the world who beg for high bandwidth and speed for their own purposes. *cough cough* leechers.

And also, I might remind many of you reading this that many more ppl (who are active) aren't going to read it. Somehow, we need a more efficient way of communication. With the new spout of threads lately (which is your forte XD ) many threads that deserve recognition do not get the attention it needs. Plus, many ppl lately say "sorry if this is a dupe thread" just so the blow on them will be softer. Total BS. When they say stuff like this, 95% of the time, they are far too lazy to search for a thread. Sure...browsing through 100 pages to find one fricking thread. So what? They brought it upon themselves. XD Apparently, I believe that 30% (at most) even see this box. Meet the search function. One of the most useful tools in MT. Anyhow...

MT wall/scan/any gallery associated quality is going WAY down. Somehow, we need to shelve certain walls where they belong. And I might add that this is a really big community. I suggest that there actually be more mods, being for one thing that half the mods are still students and are very busy with schoolwork and social life. Second, Keltosh has left for some time now. Third, I don't even see one mod logged in 90% of the time I log into MT (which is kinda rare now). And plus, I think that mainly MT needs something bigger. I don't know what but right now things are looking kinda funny.

Eheheh...I kinda went overboard. I could vent out more for you guys to listen but right now I think this is enough.

EternalParadox

Retired Moderator

EternalParadox

.:Enigma Mod:.

That certain members do not read the rules is nothing new. I think we all have seen some one repeatedly create duplicate threads despite having been suggested to search many times. Be it laziness or be it a wanton disregard for the rules, the problems has become quite severe. I still stand by my belief that there should be more consequences for creating duplicate threads, such as the temporary inability to post or create new threads.

Quote by shinsengumiThat the policy is fairly long is no excuse for ignorance; breaking a rule is breaking a rule, whether one does it voluntarily or not.

Most definitely. And thus there should be consequences for such violation of rules. Rules will have no meaning if there is no strong enforcement mechanism that provides proper punishment for the violation of the rules.

Though one suggestion already made and which I am sure will have a good deal of support would be to separate the search for forums from that for the galleries. Oftentimes forum threads are pushed back into the shadows by submissions containing the same phrase. That would at least make the search process easier when looking up existing threads.

A thriving, friendly, and welcoming community requires that both older members and new members shoulder their respective responsibilities. While it is only natural that in a system of seniority be in place for certain privileges such as the skins and the shoutbox, with respect to refraining from offensive comments, bullying of others, reading the rules, etc, I feel that any offender must be punished on a equal footing. Here, seniority has no place. Neither having been a member since MT's founding nor the ignorance of just joining excuses one from not obeying the rules.

EternalParadox
Previously the Forum, Vector Art, and Policy Moderator

angelrhea

angelrhea

<"Little Hime">

very well said forum mod. i guess you are a friendly moderator to all of us here in MT. yeah, sometimes long members tend to bully the new ones and they are exercising their authority and superiority here. sometimes being just that aint good specially if you are hurting other person's feelings. after all we are but equal in terms of the eyes of God though we are separated by culture and races. Respect is but all we need. let us not develop a sort of misunderstanding here because MT tends to develop a friendly community bind with a common core. old members should tend to help noobs in here and somehow support them in any one and clarifications. gallery directors and moderators too should be nicer to other members and should be clarified with the essence of why their wallpapers or threads are deleted. after all we all understand pure English here. a simple explanation would do for us.

and for that forum mod, i salute you for the enlightenement that you had given us. its nice to step back and think of things beforehand and let us all be reminded of the essence of this site.

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Already that much...guess I missed lot of stuff since this week...darn it....lol...anyway...all I hope is they could read the rule first...seriously....I am so tire of reading chii's letters...sigh....hope they can stop duping and ripping...

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UnknownFact

UnknownFact

Silent Thunder

Ok, I agree.

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Fun.

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