FAQ

Have you registered? Seriously, you must register in order to log in. Have you been banned from the board? (A message will be displayed if you have.) If so, you should contact the webmaster or board administrator to find out why. If you have registered and are not banned and you still cannot log in then check and double-check your username and password. Usually this is the problem; if not, contact the board administrator -- they may have incorrect configuration settings for the board.
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You may not have to -- it is up to the administrator of the board as to whether you need to register in order to post messages. However, registration will give you access to additional features not available to guest users such as definable avatar images, private messaging, emailing to fellow users, usergroup subscription, etc. It only takes a few minutes to register so it is recommended you do so.
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If you do not check the Log me in automatically box when you log in, the board will only keep you logged in for a preset time. This prevents misuse of your account by anyone else. To stay logged in, check the box during login. This is not recommended if you access the board from a shared computer, e.g. library, internet cafe, university cluster, etc.
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In your profile you will find an option Hide your online status; if you switch this on you'll only appear to board administrators or to yourself. You will be counted as a hidden user.
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Don't panic! While your password cannot be retrieved it can be reset. To do this go to the login page and click I've forgotten my password. Follow the instructions and you should be back online in no time.
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First check that you are entering the correct username and password. If they are okay then one of two things may have happened: if COPPA support is enabled and you clicked the I am under 13 years old link while registering then you will have to follow the instructions you received. If this is not the case then maybe your account need activating. Some boards will require all new registrations be activated, either by yourself or by the administrator before you can log on. When you registered it would have told you whether activation was required. If you were sent an email then follow the instructions; if you did not receive the email then check that your email address is valid. One reason activation is used is to reduce the possibility of rogue users abusing the board anonymously. If you are sure the email address you used is valid then try contacting the board administrator.
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The most likely reasons for this are: you entered an incorrect username or password (check the email you were sent when you first registered) or the administrator has deleted your account for some reason. If it is the latter case then perhaps you did not post anything? It is usual for boards to periodically remove users who have not posted anything so as to reduce the size of the database. Try registering again and get involved in discussions.
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All your settings (if you are registered) are stored in the database. To alter them click the Profile link (generally shown at the top of pages but this may not be the case). This will allow you to change all your settings.
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The times are almost certainly correct; however, what you may be seeing are times displayed in a timezone different from the one you are in. If this is the case, you should change your profile setting for the timezone to match your particular area, e.g. London, Paris, New York, Sydney, etc. Please note that changing the timezone, like most settings, can only be done by registered users. So if you are not registered, this is a good time to do so, if you pardon the pun!
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If you are sure you have set the timezone correctly and the time is still different, the most likely answer is daylight savings time (or summer time as it is known in the UK and other places). The board is not designed to handle the changeovers between standard and daylight time so during summer months the time may be an hour different from the real local time.
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The most likely reasons for this are either the administrator did not install your language or someone has not translated this board into your language. Try asking the board administrator if they can install the language pack you need or if it does not exist, please feel free to create a new translation. More information can be found at the phpBB Group website (see link at bottom of pages)
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Only English and French, the two official languages of the forum, are supported. Please write your messages in one of these two languages only.
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There may be two images below a username when viewing posts. The first is an image associated with your rank; generally these take the form of stars or blocks indicating how many posts you have made or your status on the forums. Below this may be a larger image known as an avatar; this is generally unique or personal to each user. It is up to the board administrator to enable avatars and they have a choice over the way in which avatars can be made available. If you are unable to use avatars then this is the decision of the board admin and you should ask them their reasons (we're sure they'll be good!)
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Sorry, but only registered users can send email to people via the built-in email form (if the admin has enabled this feature). This is to prevent malicious use of the email system by anonymous users.
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Easy -- click the relevant button on either the forum or topic screens. You may need to register before you can post a message. The facilities available to you are listed at the bottom of the forum and topic screens (the You can post new topics, You can vote in polls, etc. list)
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To keep a clean structure, and allow visitors to find the information they are searching for, it is important to post in the relevant forum.
There are three categories of forums:
- Guides: Travel guides and logs of specific areas of Japan. No discussion will be made in those forums, as only comprehensive posts, if possible with pictures and practical information, are accepted. The goal is to provide tools for travelers who will visit those areas in the future. For this section only, pictures can be uploaded in one of the photo albums of this site, and integrated in the posts.
- Discussions: classical forums where members can discuss about travels in Japan.
- Administration: annoncements and discussions on our forums are made there. There are also topics to introduce yourself.
Most of the posts will probably be published in the second section. If your message is comprehensive, you might want to post it rather in the Guides section. In all case, please select the forum relevant to the specific area of Japan your are talking about.
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Please write your messages either in English or in French. Japanese names can be included, as kanji will be properly displayed..
It is possible to mix those two languages in the same topic, but if possible, please answer in the language used by the person who started the topic...
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A clear and comprehensive title renders the topic more attractive.
Furthermore, for the "Guides" section, the following notation whould be used :
[F or E (first letter of the language used)] Title of the place (prefecture)
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Posts published in those sections have to be guides or mini-guides, travel logs or photographic albums of specific areas of Japan. We are hoping for comprehensive and well written posts, if possible with pictures and practical information. The goal is to provide tools for travelers who will visit those areas in the future.
If a post is lacking information or is not properly written, we will ask the author to improve it. Simple discussions will be moved to the relevant section.
If you want to post a guide on a destination which was already presented, please add it in the same topic; this will help to locate the information.
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Posting in the "Guides" forums can require extensive work. For this reason, we believe that authors should be able to modify or even delete their own posts if they want, for example, to use them for another publication. Same goes for the images uploaded on the site.
Of course, we hope that no message will be deleted, as this would remove some valuable information from the site...
On the other hand, the administrators of the site retains the right to reformat and redistribute the material published on this site, for example for advertisement purposes.
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Unless you are the board admin or forum moderator you can only edit or delete your own posts. You can edit a post (sometimes for only a limited time after it was made) by clicking the edit button for the relevant post. If someone has already replied to the post, you will find a small piece of text output below the post when you return to the topic that lists the number of times you edited it. This will only appear if no one has replied; it also will not appear if moderators or administrators edit the post (they should leave a message saying what they altered and why). Please note that normal users cannot delete a post once someone has replied.
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To add a signature to a post you must first create one; this is done via your profile. Once created you can check the Add Signature box on the posting form to add your signature. You can also add a signature by default to all your posts by checking the appropriate radio box in your profile. You can still prevent a signature being added to individual posts by un-checking the add signature box on the posting form.

Some basic rules regarding the signatures: 256 characters maximum, without any image. Links are acceptable. Signatures should not be disturbing for the readers (do not use color nor larger font).
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Creating a poll is easy -- when you post a new topic (or edit the first post of a topic, if you have permission) you should see a Add Poll form below the main posting box. If you cannot see this then you probably do not have rights to create polls. You should enter a title for the poll and then at least two options -- to set an option type in the poll question and click the Add option button. You can also set a time limit for the poll, 0 being an infinite amount. There will be a limit to the number of options you can list, which is set by the board administrator
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As with posts, polls can only be edited by the original poster, a moderator, or board administrator. To edit a poll, click the first post in the topic, which always has the poll associated with it. If no one has cast a vote then users can delete the poll or edit any poll option. However, if people have already placed votes only moderators or administrators can edit or delete it; this is to prevent people rigging polls by changing options mid-way through a poll
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Some forums may be limited to certain users or groups. To view, read, post, etc. you may need special authorization which only the forum moderator and board administrator can grant, so you should contact them.
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Only registered users can vote in polls so as to prevent spoofing of results. If you have registered and still cannot vote then you probably do not have appropriate access rights.
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BBCode is a special implementation of HTML. Whether you can use BBCode is determined by the administrator. You can also disable it on a per post basis from the posting form. BBCode itself is similar in style to HTML: tags are enclosed in square braces [ and ] rather than < and > and it offers greater control over what and how something is displayed. For more information on BBCode see the guide which can be accessed from the posting page.
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That depends on whether the administrator allows you to; they have complete control over it. If you are allowed to use it, you will probably find only certain tags work. This is a safety feature to prevent people from abusing the board by using tags which may destroy the layout or cause other problems. If HTML is enabled you can disable it on a per post basis from the posting form.
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Smileys, or Emoticons, are small graphical images which can be used to express some feeling using a short code, e.g. :) means happy, :( means sad. The full list of emoticons can be seen via the posting form. Try not to overuse smileys, though, as they can quickly render a post unreadable and a moderator may decide to edit them out or remove the post altogether.
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Images can indeed be shown in your posts. However, there is no facility at present for uploading images directly to this board. Therefore you must link to an image stored on a publicly accessible web server, e.g. http://www.some-unknown-place.net/my-picture.gif. You cannot link to pictures stored on your own PC (unless it is a publicly accessible server) nor to images stored behind authentication mechanisms such as Hotmail or Yahoo mailboxes, password-protected sites, etc. To display the image use either the BBCode [img] tag or appropriate HTML (if allowed).
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If you want to publish a post in the "Guides" section, you have the possibility to upload to the Album the pictures you would like to insert in your post (which is eaasier than upload your pictures on another server).
Use the Album link in the menu, select the relevant area and upload the pictures you would like to use. You can upload up to 6 files at a time. Size and weight are limited.
Write down the ID of the pictures who want to insert in your post, and use the Insert Image icon; follow the instructions.
Please note that only pictures that will be published in a guide are allowed, as our server space is limited.
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Announcements often contain important information and you should read them as soon as possible. Announcements appear at the top of every page in the forum to which they are posted. Whether or not you can post an announcement depends on the permissions required, which are set by the administrator.
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Sticky topics appear below any announcements in viewforum and only on the first page. They are often quite important so you should read them where possible. As with announcements the board administrator determines what permissions are required to post sticky topics in each forum.
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Locked topics are set this way by either the forum moderator or board administrator. You cannot reply to locked topics and any poll contained inside is automatically ended. Topics may be locked for many reasons.
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Administrators are people assigned the highest level of control over the entire board. These people can control all facets of board operation which include setting permissions, banning users, creating usergroups or moderators, etc. They also have full moderator capabilities in all the forums.
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Moderators are individuals (or groups of individuals) whose job it is to look after the running of the forums from day to day. They have the power to edit or delete posts and lock, unlock, move, delete and split topics in the forum they moderate. Generally moderators are there to prevent people going off-topic or posting abusive or offensive material.
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Guides are members who significantly contributed to the "Guides" section. Those members are choosen by Administrators or Moderators.
Guides also have their own forum, where management of this site is discussed. Suggestions to improve our site are welcomed. Moderators are choosen among Guides.
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Simply write a couple of good posts in the "Guides" section.
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Usergroups are a way in which board administrators can group users. Each user can belong to several groups (this differs from most other boards) and each group can be assigned individual access rights. This makes it easy for administrators to set up several users as moderators of a forum, or to give them access to a private forum, etc.
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To join a usergroup click the usergroup link on the page header (dependent on template design) and you can then view all usergroups. Not all groups are open access -- some are closed and some may even have hidden memberships. If the board is open then you can request to join it by clicking the appropriate button. The user group moderator will need to approve your request; they may ask why you want to join the group. Please do not pester a group moderator if they turn your request down -- they will have their reasons.
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Usergroups are initially created by the board administrator who also assigns a board moderator. If you are interested in creating a usergroup then your first point of contact should be the administrator, so try dropping them a private message.
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By clicking on this button you can locally remove the board's fixed pagination for the current topic to help your web browser do the proper pagination for printing based on actual line spacing, rather than the forum-wide limit for number of messages per page.
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There are two boxes on top of the page and a tape-recorder-like button Show. They allow to select a range of messages. Note that every message in the printable view has a number. Use those numbers to fill out the boxes on top to set up the first and the last message you want to be printed, and press the Show button to rearrange the messages. Another way to set a range is to put a negative number in the second box, which will mean that you want -n of messages to be printed. For example, 4 7 will output messages 4, 5, 6, 7. However if you enter values 4 -7 in first and second box respectively, messages 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 will be shown after you press the rewind button.
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First, go to the printable view of the topic by pressing the Printer button in the topic view. Find your message and note the number in the left of it. Type that number into the first box in the top left of the printable view. In the second box put value -1 and press the Show button. This will tell the database to output only one message starting from the given one. Another way of getting this result is by putting the same number in both boxes. Let's say you want to print only the message number 16. Fill out the boxes in the top as such: 16 -1 and press the go button Show. Instead of 16 and -1 you could as well enter 16 and 16. The result will be the same. This example will work only if there are at least sixteen messages in the current topic, of course.
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Detailed documentation and support forums are here
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There are three reasons for this; you are not registered and/or not logged on, the board administrator has disabled private messaging for the entire board, or the board administrator has prevented you individually from sending messages. If it is the latter case you should try asking the administrator why.
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In the future we will be adding an ignore list to the private messaging system. For now, though, if you keep receiving unwanted private messages from someone, inform the board administrator -- they have the power to prevent a user from sending private messages at all.
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We are sorry to hear that. The email form feature of this board includes safeguards to try to track users who send such posts. You should email the board administrator with a full copy of the email you received and it is very important this include the headers (these list details of the user that sent the email). They can then take action.
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This software (in its unmodified form) is produced, released and is copyrighted phpBB Group. It is made available under the GNU General Public License and may be freely distributed; see link for more details
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This software was written by and licensed through phpBB Group. If you believe a feature needs to be added then please visit the phpbb.com website and see what the phpBB Group has to say. Please do not post feature requests to the board at phpbb.com, as the Group uses sourceforge to handle tasking of new features. Please read through the forums and see what, if any, our position may already be for features and then follow the procedure given there.
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You should contact the administrator of this board. If you cannot find who that is, you should first contact one of the forum moderators and ask them who you should in turn contact. If still get no response you should contact the owner of the domain (do a whois lookup) or, if this is running on a free service (e.g. yahoo, free.fr, f2s.com, etc.), the management or abuse department of that service. Please note that phpBB Group has absolutely no control and cannot in any way be held liable over how, where or by whom this board is used. It is absolutely pointless contacting phpBB Group in relation to any legal (cease and desist, liable, defamatory comment, etc.) matter not directly related to the phpbb.com website or the discrete software of phpBB itself. If you do email phpBB Group about any third party use of this software then you should expect a terse response or no response at all.
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Digests are email messages sent to you periodically with summary of postings made here.
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It makes your life easier. You don't have to explicitly visit this site to see what conversations are going on around here. Just read your digest and if there is some topic that seems of interest, click on it in your email program and start participating! Unsubscribe at any time.
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You pick how often they are sent. You can enter an number of hours between digests when you set it up. So if its a busy forum, and you always want to be on top setup the digest to be sent every hour. If its a slow forum, and you just want to keep a lazy eye, use something like 24 (daily) or 168 (weekly).
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Yes. You can pick the forum or forums that interest you. By default you will get messages for all forums that you are allowed to access.
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We can send you HTML or text. Unless your email program can't handle HTML (very unusual these days) we suggest HTML. Frankly, text digests look pretty plain and are harder to use. That's the nature of plain text.
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By default you get the first 150 characters of the text, or you can elect not to see any of the message text and just see the topic subject instead. You can select message excerpts including the first 50, 100, 150, 300 or 600 characters, or the full text of the message (up to 32,000 characters). Anything beyond the limit you set will be truncated. We recommend keeping the default message length because otherwise your digests may get so big as to be unusable. We have also heard that very large digests may be rejected by your ISP or put you over your server storage quota. An excerpt reduces bandwidth and is usually all that is needed. Why? Because each message has a convenient link that will take you to the topic or message of interest.
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Just click on the Digests link near the top right part of any page. Or if you prefer click here.
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Of course! Just go to the same page and select 0 for digest frequency. Then submit the form. Your subscription will end immediately.
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Of course. There are no annoying ads nor will there ever be any on our site.
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Yes, your digest is sent to you at the email address you gave us in your profile. Think of the digest as a special edition newspaper customized just for you. Someone else is likely getting a completely different digest.
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You can add attachments when you post a new post. You should see a Add an Attachment form below the main posting box. When you click the Browse... button the standard Open dialogue window for your computer will open. Browse to the file you want to attach, select it and click OK, Open or doubleclick according to your liking and/or the correct procedure for your computer. If you choose to add a comment in the File Comment field this comment will be used as a link to the attached file. If you haven't added a comment the filename itself will be used to link to the attachment. If the board administrator has allowed it you will be able to upload multiple attachements by following the same procedure as described above until you reach the max allowed number of attachments for each post.

The board administrator sets an upper limit for filesize, defined file extensions and other things for attachments on the board. Be aware that it's your responsiblity that your attachments comply with the boards acceptance of use policy, and that they may be deleted without warning.

Please note that the boards owner, webmaster, administrator or moderators can not and will not take responsibility for any loss of data.
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To add an attachment after the initial posting you'll need to edit your post and follow the description above. The new attachment will be added when you click Submit to add the edited post.
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To delete attachments you'll need to edit your post and click on the Delete Attachment next to the attachment you want to delete in the Posted Attachments box. The attachment will be deleted when you click Submit to add the edited post.
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To update a file comment you'll need to edit your post, edit the text in the File Comment field and click on the Update Comment button next to the file comment you want to update in the Posted Attachments box. The file comment will be updated when you click Submit to add the edited post.
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Most probably the file or Extension is no longer allowed on the forum, or a moderator or administrator has deleted it for being in conflict with the boards acceptance of use policy.
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On some forums adding attachments may be limited to certain users or groups. To add attachments you may need special authorisation, only the forum moderator and board admin can grant this access, you should contact them.
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The board administrator sets an upper limit for filesize, file extensions and other things for attachments on the board. A moderator or administrator may have altered your permissions, or discontinued attachments in the specific forum. You should get an explanation in the error message when trying to add an attachment, if not you might consider contacting the moderator or administrator.
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On some forums deleting attachments may be limited to certain users or groups. To delete attachments you may need special authorisation, only the forum moderator and board admin can grant this access, you should contact them.
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On some viewing/downloading forums attachments may be limited to certain users or groups. To view/download attachments you may need special authorisation, only the forum moderator and board admin can grant this access, you should contact them.
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You should contact the administrator of this board. If you cannot find who this is you should first contact one of the forum moderators and ask them who you should in turn contact. If you still get no response you should contact the owner of the domain (do a whois lookup) or, if this is running on a free service (e.g. yahoo, free.fr, f2s.com, etc.), the management or abuse department of that service. Please note that phpBB Group has absolutely no control and cannot in any way be held liable over how, where or by whom this board is used. It is absolutely pointless contacting phpBB Group in relation to any legal (cease and desist, liable, defamatory comment, etc.) matter not directly related to the phpbb.com website or the discrete software of phpBB itself. If you do email phpBB Group about any third party use of this software then you should expect a terse response or no response at all.
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