The new rules

[Carolyn]

So I just saw the new rules, and I was wondering about the first one. It says that the images on the layout must accurately reflect the subject they are approved for. What does this mean about fanart? I personally love to use fanart for some of my  layouts because it's so gorgeous, and sometimes they reflect situations that haven't happened (for instance, two people kissing that haven't kissed in the anime/manga). Will this get me on troubles? And by layouts, I mean non-fanstuff approved subjects, like the relationship between two people.

Please let me know, because I just finished a fanart layout and I don't want to code it if I'll just get on troubles for it. Thanks!

[Mura]

No, using fanart won't mean your fanlisting will be placed in troubles. What the rule means is that the layout has to clearly convey what you are approved for... in other words, if you are approved for a particular character or relationship, the layout (if you choose to use a graphic layout of course) should reflect that it is for THAT character or THAT relationship. It also means that if you are approved for the anime version of Reno but not the game version, your layouts should use images from the anime and NOT the game version. It also means that if you are approved for the Utena movie, your layout should use movie art, and NOT art from the manga or the TV anime series.

As long as the subject is clear, we aren't going to monitor whether you use official art or fanart. That said, please remember that it is very very very impolite to use fanart without express permission from the artist... and this a particularly touchy subject for japanese fanartists. I know plenty of cases where artists have closed their sites or restricted the IPs that can access them because of western fans taking art without permission.

/steps of soapbox