Mission

Our Justification

We are here to justly take to task those whose creative energies are left to rot, those whose intellects are tossed aside, those whose potentials are wasted.
We are here to justly chastise those who ignore the rules of good sense and common decency.
We are here to justly upbraid the offender, to defend the blameless, and to humble the unwarrantedly prideful.
We are here, finally, and most specifically, to justly defend High Culture, to raise awareness of High Culture in the mediums that are hosted in the Minitokyo Community, and to promote the creation of High Culture within these Mediums.

Disclaimer/Guarantee

Don't Even Think About Complaining

When you came to Minitokyo, you entered an artistic society. The creation of art is a manifold process, and, while we understand that no two people have the same concept, there is, and must be, a definitive sameness that links all art. By placing your art on Minitokyo, you have exposed it to the common criticism of all, and thereby forfeit the right to complain if it is stripped down to its core and revealed as insufficient.

We are not, however, here to go about arbitrarily tearing down the works of people we happen to dislike. If you feel that you have been treated too harshly, or if one of our members is purposefully defaming you, please bring it to our attention. If the member in question is found to be at fault, he will be severely warned, ridiculed, and, if the behavior continues, dismissed from the group.

Ideals

What the Members Must Strive For

We will not think twice about severely critiquing Wallpapers, Gallery Comments, Posts, and any other form of expression, that do not conform to a high standard of excellence. This said, restraint and moderation in criticism, as in any other field, are necessary. We will not give any submission or expression any more, or less, than it's due.

Likewise, we will not think twice about praising and calling attention to works, submissions, and expressions that do conform to said standard of excellence. As such, a nomination system will exist to weekly display one noteworthy submission--be it Wallpaper, Scan, or Original Art--on the group's page. Gallery Comments should be posted on excellent submissions giving both criticism and recognition where necessary.

System

Our Specifications

Applicants will be carefully considered. An applicant must post a link to what they feel is an excellent submission that is not the weekly highlight, and give an explanation as to why they feel that this submission is excellent, as well as a link to what they feel is an exceptionally poor submission, and give an explanation as to why they feel that this submission is poor. These explanations must be posted as if they were gallery comments, addressing the submitter as personally as the applicant would if this was actually a post in the submitter's gallery. If, from a conference of the administrators, the member seems to display the skills necessary, they will be accepted into the group.

And I cannot stress this enough:
If at any point, a member's conduct is called into question, it will be investigated immediately. If this conduct is deemed unfitting of Minitokyo and Schattenrand standards, he will be warned once through the Private Message system and directly in his Guestbook for purposes of public shaming. Warned members may be displayed on the group page as having been warned at any time while their warning is still in effect at the discretion of the Administrators. If this member goes for thirty days without another warning, his warning will dissolve. If he is warned again in that period of time, he will be banned from the group for a period of no less than three months, though this is subject to lengthening depending on the Administrators' discretion, after which time he will be allowed to reapply. During this period, his name will be displayed in the Schattenrand blacklist. Once his period of banning is over, this inclusion on the blacklist will disappear, even if he should choose not to reapply to the group. A member that is banned twice will never be allowed back to the group, and will remain on the blacklist forever.
We are not here for the purpose of ridiculing other members of Minitokyo.

The Weekly Highlights will be selected from the members' nominations by the administrator(s). Submissions that have been noted as particularly excellent by accepted applicants will automatically be designated as nominations. Nominations will be displayed for the week that they are nominated in small thumbnail form. The weekly submission will appear in the Full-sized Thumbnail. Nominations may not be repeated two weeks in a row.

Though it is not our primary purpose, we encourage those of us with the talent to create artistically excellent wallpapers, as well. We are, secondarily, a "walling" group, promoting artistic and relevant wallpapers. Those of us who enter submissions, however, must expect harsher treatment from their peers than anybody else. This is not a place for encouragement on each other's wallpapers, it is a place to learn the deficiencies of one's own style. Members are expected to criticize fellow members' submissions, and to welcome with open arms the criticisms their fellows make on their submissions. Indeed, for while we may look highly upon criticizing others where it is necessary, we must needs look even more highly upon others' necessary critiques of ourselves.

Affiliation

'Cuz We Just Gotta Share the Love...

Banners

For General Ease of Association