I think I remember reading something, when I first joined, that anime avatars are not allowed. I remember some debate about it but cannot remember the outcome. Just want to know the Admins' policy on this.
Thanks.

As far as I know you are allowed to have anime avatars. Back when the 'rule' was implemented, hikiulture was overrun with anime avatars and people did not want this site to be an attraction to anime 'only' people. Later on I believed it was loosened, but the general idea of the 'rule' is to prevent hikiculture form looking like a hangout for anime people only, thereby isolating people who are not as into anime.

This is as far as I understand it, if anyone wants to correct me feel free.

Yeah, I've noticed the anime avatar thing has been more relaxed recently, so I decided to take a chance with my Osaka gif and make it my avatar because I liked it so much.

SoullessHuman has pretty much summarised what happened and why it was implemented really well, so I don't think I can add anything further. There was the eventual squabbling and "How can you do this!" reaction from some, but that was to be expected.

It really didn't bother me to be honest, if I had to change it again I don't think I would loose sleep over it. Might be a tiny bit aggrieved because I actually found one I like, but I have afew other different avatars that I choose from so it's not that bad - to me anyway.
Looking back, my original anime avatar that I had when I first joined HC was rubbish anyway.

Let's not forget the Lizzie incident

The rule was implemented a week or so after I joined the forum. I appreciated it because it got my creativity going on what I should use as an avatar because I used to just stick to anime. Anime avatars are safe and easy But cute and lovely nonetheless.

I'll stick to my Andy Warhol for now, thank you very much.

I agree, anime avatars are quick and easy but I think they are kind of boring and generic. Speaking of, Keanu needs to take a trip to the hat store.

LoL. I knew I recognized your guy from somewhere! He's only familiar to me in a black trench coat and shades.

I hope my avatars aren't a too much of a bother. I try to make sure that they look not as anime-ish as possible, some even have a surreal look to them. I even go as far as editing them to changing them as often as possible so that they don't get logged in google and classified as an anime pic when searched up.

Thanks for the replies. I can understand the admins concern with the place deteriotating into an otaku forum.
Thankfully, it looks like that has not happened. It seems anime is a fav' passtime among hikis so I can also understand how some might be a tad miffed not being able to use an anime avatar. It would be pretty easy to get around though. For example:



Technically not anime but it has pretty much the same properties and effect as my current avatar. Regardless, I am glad Rei can seen in all her cel shaded glory now.

Anime avatars are fine, but at one point I'd say that 85% or more of the users here were using anime avatars. I didn't want to convey the image that this was an otaku-related forum since 99.9% of sites out there which mention the term "hikikomori" are anime/manga related. In addition to that, I'll admit that it seemed pretty cliche and intimidating to have so many people using anime avatars. Despite the fact that hardly any of the discussion here is anime or manga-related, I'm sure that quite a few non-otakus, upon seeing the large amount of anime avatars/sigs, would label this place as being an otaku board, especially if stumbling across a thread rather than the main page where all the topics are displayed.

I fully understand that lots of people discovered this site through their love of anime/manga, but take note that this forum isn't solely for hikikomori. In fact, quite a few people, upon joining this site, never even heard of the term "hikikomori".