Newb 101 -- Everything You Need to Know About the Flying Panda Squad!

Hello everybody! We're super stoked you decided to join us! I bet you might be feeling a bit overwhelmed, right? I can't blame you; our forum has lots of different nooks and crannies that you may not know about. But no worries, we will do everything we can to help you feel comfortable and welcome!

To start things off, how about a little Flying Panda Squad crash course? I'll separate these into little subcategories, so if there's something specific you're looking for, just scroll until you find it!


Now that you're here, you're probably wondering about the reason this site was created. Put simply, we are a bunch of people who love singing, drawing, or other pastimes, and we combine this into choruses together. These often have a Vocaloid or anime background, so many of us will share these common interests as well! We are open to anyone who wants to join from anywhere in the world.

Our goals are to create music that we can all enjoy and have fun making, and to spread this happiness to others. We hope that you will enjoy your time spent with us!


Now, this is quite the little beast! Our forum may seem a bit convoluted at first, and that's okay! It's quite easy to master once you get a bit of experience. I'm going to break this down forum by forum, so hang on tight!


First off, where you are now: Getting Started! This is definitely the first place you need to be. Here we have nifty guides (such as this one, go figure!) detailing everything you need to know about the Flying Panda Squad! Also, please make sure to stop by the Introductions area to get to know everybody! We would love to meet you, so please don't feel shy!

Next is the Announcements! As I'm sure you can guess, this is where we will be posting bulletins and all need-to-know information, so make sure to stop in whenever you see the active symbol! If you have an eagle eye, you might have noticed that we also have a scrolling announcement bar on the main page and an announcement bar on the side of the website. These are places where you can find the TL;DR version of the announcements, though they may not always contain everything, so make sure to check the actual forum!

Our next stop is the core of our website, the Choruses forum! Since you are here, there's a large chance that you wish to participate in a chorus in some way. This is the place to do so. We will host occasional official choruses open to the entire site, usually around holidays or other special occasions. If you are looking for something smaller, we also have plenty of unofficial choruses for you to look into! These are all hosted by individual members of the website, and provide a great opportunity for you to get involved and meet new people. Of course, if you want to join a chorus, you don't just have to sing! Visual artists, mixers, and video builders, along with other jobs, are essential to making these work. So let your talents shine and have a bit of fun!

Another forum that is vitally important to the Flying Panda Squad is the Member Hub. This is where everything community-wise happens. We have the Roleplaying Inn, Art Gallery, Writer's Corner, and other forums. Here's a brief run-down of each one:
   

• Writing Corner: A place for writers and authors to upload your writing! Whether you have short stories, poems, songs, or anything else, this is the place to put them. However, if you have something exceeding five pages, we request that you please host it on another website, such as wattpad.com or fanfiction.net, and post the link instead.
     
  
• The Artists' Gallery: Like the Writing Corner, this is a place for all artists to display their work! Whether you work traditionally, digitally, or create with 3D materials, you can find a place here! It's up to you whether or not you wish to simply post a link to a gallery somewhere else on the net or create one here, but we ask that you please keep all pictures small to cut down on browser stress on older or slower computers. Please also note that you should always watermark your work to keep it safe!
     
  
• The Vocalists' Studio: A place for all singers to showcase their talents! This is different from the Choruses forums in that this is made for individual works! Due to the way that this site is structured, we request that you please post links to work that you upload on another source, such as YouTube or Soundcloud.
     
  
• Roleplaying Inn: A place for all roleplaying fans to come together and have fun together! We host roleplays of all sorts of genres, so please visit here if you have an interest in this sort of thing! It's certainly a good way to form bonds with others, as well!
     
  
• Off Topic: The place for virtually anything else! Forum games, banter, off topic discussions -- this is where you can find it! Though it is not official chorus business, remember that you need to follow Flying Panda Squad rules at all times!
  

Next is the fun and mysterious Shea's Army! This group is rather a mystery, but judging from the newly budding community I can tell it will be interesting! The brainchild of our very own admin Shea, Shea's Army is pledged to help inspire productivity and motivate everyone to do their best! If you wish to join, you can do so by going  here and clicking the subscribe button! Your request will be reviewed as soon as possible.

And last but not least, the Archives! This is where we will store old threads, inactive choruses and roleplays, and basically all of the clutter of the website. If you are searching for ideas for a new chorus or roleplay, this is where you can pick up an old one or start one over -- with the creator's permission of course! Feel free to browse through here. Some of the threads stored here are relics of the Flying Panda Squad before the reboot.


Whew, that was quite a whirlwind tour! I hope you aren't feeling more confused than you came in! I only touched on the basics of each forum, and there are plenty of hidden treasures just waiting for you to find them! So get out there and do some exploring! If you have any questions, the Admins are always standing by to help.


In order to keep the Flying Panda Squad functioning with as little strife as possible, we have created the Three Strikes Rule. This will help the admins and moderators to keep tabs on the website, and will also hopefully create a more positive atmosphere!

Basically how it works is each time a member breaks a rule, it will be counted as a strike against them. We will keep a private record of these strikes, and once three are built up, you can be suspended for a short period of time. Further infraction may result in a longer suspension or even being booted from the forums entirely.

While we will evaluate each case individually, members can submit reports to the admins and moderators if they are bullied or notice a member breaking a rule. This will help us manage the site, so if you notice malcontent, please let us know!

A list of strikeable offenses include:

• Bullying or threatening another member
  
• Spamming
  
• Trolling or flaming
  
• Breaking the forum rules
  
• Cursing or using foul language
  
• Disobeying the admins or moderators
  
• Failure to meet deadlines
  

Now of course there may be some exceptions to these! For example, if we believe a member may be a spambot, we will automatically delete them, possibly without a warning. Please keep in mind that this list may be subject to change, though we will always notify members if there has been a change to the rules. For a better explanation on the deadlines rule, please go here.


Currently, this website is run completely by a five-member team of administrators: Laticat, Suzuka, Nickel, Ren-Kun, and Shea. We handle every aspect of the forum, from structure and navigation to making sure members follow the rules. As the Flying Panda Squad gets bigger and gains more members, we will occasionally add responsible members to be moderators!

If a moderation spot is open, we will create an announcement and mention it in the monthly newsletter. It is unlikely we will add any administrators any time soon, but if we do, they must be a moderator first, and the entire board of administrators must trust and approve of them. Once again, if someone is promoted to be an administrator, we will announce it the the rest of the site!


Each month, we will create and send out a monthly newsletter. This will contain announcements and updates, as well as the progress of current projects. It will always arrive through the email you provided when you signed up, unless announced otherwise. So if you want to see these, please make sure that the email associated with your account is the one you check frequently! If you do not receive the newsletter by the end of the day on the first Saturday of every month, please send a message to an admin and we will try to fix the problem.


If you have any more questions, feel free to comment below or send a message to an admin or moderator! However we ask that you first take a look over our frequently asked questions, which can be found here and along the nav bar at the top of the website. This will be occasionally expanded to include more questions if needed!


We have all upcoming important dates listed on the calendar! If you ever wish to see what we have in the wings, you can visit here of find the calendar in the nav bar along the top of the website. We will keep this up to date and release announcements when new plans and events are announced.