A number of Social Groups have been deleted...a few other members and I would like to know why. Also, if there was a specific reason as to why the groups were deleted, is it possible that those rules be added to the FAQ? For example, a while back, several groups were deleted for having an RP discussion. Could rules of what not to do in a Social Group in order for the group to not be deleted(unless the group itself has no purpose...), be posted in the FAQ?

I was the one that deleted them, because they were either inactive, pointless, or were so generalized that a forum already existed for them. I understand that there are some users that are not happy with the removal of their group, but please read on to understand why I chose to delete their particular groups.

Social groups with similar topics as the major forums of Ichigos (e.g. anime/manga and sheet music) serves as a deterrent from the rest of the forum. A social group should only be established about very specific topics or on topics which fall outside the scope of the main forums. I noticed that there were several of these redundant groups established under the names of "Anime Fans" and "Music Fans" and similar which had vast enough scope to be centralized in the main forums, and not specific enough to justify their purpose.

In addition, groups which simply had elements such as "this is weird", "lol", or other pointless and needless discussion were also removed. If you wish to have scatterbrained chatter, there is IRC and even the General Chat. There is no point in creating a group which serves no purpose but a cluster of three or four friends just looking for someplace to chit-chat. Share the love! After all, a forum, by definition, is a public discussion between several people with great differences and expertise; not a place for privatized discussion.

What the main issue was that the Social Groups were being used more like the forum itself, rather than an extension of what already exists on the forums. For instance, the winners of a composition competition decide to start a project on transcribing, say, all of the music found in Type MOON productions, I could see a social group being established. Or I could see someone deciding that they would want to work on archiving the drama and flames here at Ichigos could establish a Social Group. But I do not see someone starting a social group like the aforementioned groups.

In basic, social groups here should be treated as clubs which form from within the community and have a specific purpose or idea that cannot be done within the scope of the forum. This is why groups such as the Shounen Fans, IRC Crew, and similar were left, and the others were deleted.


As for the rules pertaining the Social Groups, they don't exist. In fact, most of the staff was surprised that a recent update suddenly created social groups and photo galleries.

The general philosophy of the rules here at Ichigos is let things run themselves until a problem occurs, at which point we work out a solution for the community. If the community would like, we can write rules pertaining to social groups.

I figured the deletion of most of the groups I participated in where for the lack of activity or being off topic...:/ I never thought about the groups being used more as the forum itself.

Anyways, thank you for explaining why they were deleted. If I ever decide to make a group again in the future, I'll remember this and try to create something where more people will gather and socialize with a purpose. And if rules are written, I'll be sure to take a look at them, and if not, that's fine too.

M really kept IRC crew because it's his group <____<
*but you didn't hear that from me*:ninja:

...XD ROFLZ.

IRC group is active.

I just took a look at all the social groups and to be honest, I don't see a valid reason to keep any of them.

i want to create a shuffle group but i need so many posts. does anyone happen to know how many are needed? also i agree that some of the groups are useless because of their inactivity.

New Members actions are restricted indefinitely. Stay around and be active around the forums for a while and you'll eventually change status.

so the member status doesn't change by the number of post but the activity?

No, that's not true. I noticed that my friend and I joined around the same time and although she was more active with looking around I got the "Member" status first because I posted more. :)
In my opinion, I dont think there is a point to the social groups.

activity does not mean looking around the forums
activity means actively participating in forum....

Trust me, there's more to the cocktail than post count and total time logged in. Just be a good member and you'll eventually become a full fledged member.

I am confused then because i thought active was like getting involved and adding on to what others say. So what determins how you become a member and a full fledged member?

you'll know and understand, in time, and that's when you become a member

Right, I've disabled social groups for the time being, this is a forum, not freakin' Myspace. If you want to discuss things that's what the forums are for.