Art: Comment & Critique Rules and Guidelines

[The Admin]

Art: Comment & Critique Forum Rules and Guidelines

Welcome to the Art: Comment & Critique forum! The main Art: Comment & Critique forum is for users to post their own finished or work in progress (WIP) artwork for comments and critiques.

As a member, it is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with the forum's rules before posting. Posting in this forum implies that you read and understand the rules and guidelines and that you accept responsibility for the appropriateness of your thread or post.


Contents:

• Introduction
  
• General Forum Posting Guidelines
  
• Art: Comment & Critique Rules and Guidelines
  
• Commonly Misplaced Threads
  
• Image Posting Guide
  
• Using the Report System

Interested in becoming a Forum Assistant (FA) for the Art: Comment & Critique forum? Learn about joining our team here!

[The Admin]

General Forum Posting Guidelines

Terms of Service Reminder:
Remember to follow the Terms of Service, the Rules and Guidelines, and all applicable extensions of those documents, when posting in this forum and any activity that you engage in across all of Gaia Online.

Common Site Violations:
Here are some common violations in our rules that you should avoid committing while using Gaia Online.

• Abusive Behavior: Abusive behavior is defined as behavior that is either flaming, trolling, or harassing.
  
  
  • Flaming: Posts that are directed at another member which are hateful, abusive, or intentionally inflammatory are considered flaming.
    
    
  • Trolling: Posts that are intentionally inflammatory or provocative that incite negative responses from other members is considered trolling.
    
    
  • Harassment: Consistent, continued abusive behavior to another user or stalking is considered harassment.
  
  
• Spam: Posts that are gibberish, off-topic, contain advertisements or begging, or have low or no content are considered spam. Please ensure that your posts are on topic and contain an appropriate amount of discussable content.
  
  
• Inappropriate Content: Posting, requesting, distributing, or offering inappropriate content is not permitted anywhere on Gaia. Inappropriate content includes, but is not limited to, explicit photographs, text, artwork, video, gory/graphic text or images, or cybersex conversations.

Consequences for Violating the Terms of Service:
Violating the Terms of Service violations may result in a warning or a ban on your account. Some violations will result in more severe punishments than others, such as receiving a permanent ban on the first offense. We encourage all our users to do their best in following the Terms of Service in order to keep their accounts protected.

Reporting:
If you find Terms of Service violations, or threads that may need moved to a different forum, please use an appropriate report. Do not post in these threads as it only keeps the thread active and moves it to the top of the forum. The procedure for reporting can be a found a little later in this rules thread.

Contacting a Moderator:
If you need to directly contact a moderator, then you can find online moderators by following the "View Forum Moderators" link at the top of the forum.

Password Phishing Reminder:
Gaia Staff will NEVER ask for your password! If anyone asks you for your password, report it. You can find more information on identifying password phishing in our thread, Recognizing & Reporting Password Phishing.

[The Admin]

Art: Comment & Critique Rules and Guidelines
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Guidelines for Image Posting

• All art must be 100% your own creation.
  Do not post other people's artwork, pictures that have been copied or traced from other people's artwork, or images created using other people's artwork. This is unfair to those members who are trying to get feedback on art that they have drawn from scratch.
  
  
• Post things that you actually want serious feedback on and have put effort into.
  Art: Comment & Critique is a place for members to get serious comments and critiques on their artwork. Posting art that you don't care about is not fair to users who actually want help with their art and users who are providing critique. A ten-second MSPaint doodle is not considered acceptable to be posted in Art: Comment & Critique. It's not funny, and can be considered spamming or trolling.
  
  
• Posting artwork implies that you want criticism.
  Not everyone will like your art, and many of them will say so bluntly. If you want your art and your posts to be taken seriously, try to understand the feedback that is given you rather than immediately dismissing any critique that you don't like.
  
  
• Artistic photography is allowed, casual snapshots are not.
  Artistic photography is welcome in Art: Comment & Critique, as long as you are looking for comments on the artistic elements of the photo such as theme, lighting, composition, and etc. If you are only posting to have people look at your cute kid/cat/self/other, please use your journal or the Chatterbox.
  
  
• Artistic nudity is allowed in Art: Comment & Critique.
  However, if you would like to post such art please include a nudity warning in the topic title and make sure to give a link to the image rather than embedding it in your post. Failure to include a warning or posting the image directly can result in a warning for inappropriate content.
  Images that contain graphic sexual content are not appropriate for posting at all.
  
  
• Do not make excessive amounts of art topics.
  This is unfair to other forum members, because it needlessly pushes their threads off the front page. The maximum number of topics that is considered acceptable to be posted in a day is 2, with different artwork in each.
  
  
• Do not post excessive amounts of artwork in your topics.
  Art: Comment & Critique is not the place to set up a gallery for your art. Daily sketchbook threads should be posted in the Chatterbox forum, and gallery threads for showing off large amounts of finished artwork should be posted in Gaian Art Gallery forum.
  
  
• Do not post your art in other people's art topics.
  This is called "thread hijacking," and it is rude to the thread creator and detracts from the purpose of the thread. If you want to show your art off, please make your own topic for it.
  
  
• Do not post intentionally misleading thread titles in order to get more pageviews.
  In other words, do not post "Naruto pic!" if there is no picture of Naruto in your thread. Or "18+ Mature! NUDITY!" if the character you've drawn is fully clothed.
  
  
• Keep your art posts current.
  You should make new threads when posting new artwork, rather than recycling the same thread over and over for weeks or months. This allows old art to move off the board and makes room for new work to be posted, and makes sure that your art posts remain fresh and representative of your current work.
  
  
• Do not bump your old art topics by posting a reply to an old comment.
  Once a thread stops receiving replies and slips into the bowels of the forum, it's best to leave it there and start a new thread. If you really want to thank people for commenting in a dead thread, PM them and let them know you appreciate their words.

Guidelines for Commenting and General Posting

• Do not bump or spam.
  Bumping and spam are needlessly disruptive to people who are trying to get serious feedback and will be deleted.
  
  
• Stay on topic.
  Please keep off-topic banter to a minimum. If a topic keeps veering off the subject, namely discussion of the posted picture, it will be moved.
  
  
• Do not create "post your art here" threads.
  Since the entire forum is dedicated to this purpose, these kinds of topics are redundant and just spam up the forum.
  
  
• Be considerate when posting comments and critique.
  You are not expected to like every piece you comment on or agree with everything that other members say to you. However, you are expected to keep your posts civil and your feedback constructive.
  
  • Formula for a successful critique:
    - One part praise: find something they did well and comment on it first.
    - One part pain: identify a few of the major flaws and briefly describe them--there is no need to extensively hammer on minor issues, especially if others have already made note of them.
    - One part prescription: give a suggestion or two for how to fix the flaws you pointed out, and/or ideas for future development
  
  
  
• Do not post in topics from the later forum pages.
  If a topic has not been posted in for quite a while, the person who has started it has most likely gotten all the comments they were going to get on that particular piece and moved on. Artists with active threads on the first few pages of the forum will appreciate your comments much more.
  
  
• Avoid posting in misplaced threads and attacking users who violate the forum rules.
  Multiple posts in a topic telling the creator that their thread is in the wrong place does not get the thread moved faster and can be considered spam. Please do not respond to trolling, abuse, or flaming at all. Report the offending thread or post, and the forum moderators will take the appropriate action and tell the user that what they are doing is a violation of the rules.
  

Do you still have questions about rules specific to the Art: Comment & Critique forum? Please reach out to us! You can find a list of Art: Comment & Critique's moderators here, or instead contact someone from the list of all current Gaia Online moderators.

[The Admin]

Commonly Misplaced Threads

These types of topics are sometimes placed in Art: Comment & Critique, but should go elsewhere:

• If you are selling premade works of art that you have created (not adoptables), build-an-item works of art that you have created, custom works of art that you have created using a base or template that you have permission to use, customized art that uses a pre-made base, or multiple different types of art that you have created (such as premade items and custom artwork)...
  Plase your thread in the Mini Shops forum.
  
  
• If you are selling adoptables...
  Place your thread in the Adoptables subforum.
  
  
• If you are selling ONLY custom avatar art and other customized art commissions (not including avatar edits)...
  Place your thread in the Art Shops subforum.
  
  
• If you are looking to buy custom avatar art and other customized art commissions (not including avatar edits)...
  Place your thread in the Art Requests subforum.
  
  
• If you want to auction your art skills to the highest bidder...
  Place your thread in the Art Auctions subrofum.
  
  
• If you want to hold an art contest that gives rewards to the best entries...
  Place your thread in the Art Contests subforum.
  
  
• If you want free art or wish to give away free art or wish to do an art trade...
  Place your thread in the Art Freebies subforum.
  
  
• If you are selling pets that grow and/or reproduce...
  Place your thread in the Breedable/Changing Pets subforum.
  
  
• If you are offering a service like bumping, fortune-telling, CSS coding, dream avatar creation services, etc....
  Place your thread in the Services subforum.
  
  
• If you are selling original works of writing or you wish to commission an original piece...
  Place your thread in the Services subforum.
  
  
• If you are selling, requesting or holding contests for signs made from photographs taken of a person, pet, toys, etc. with words written on or next to them...
  Place your thread in the Services subforum.
  
  
• If you are selling graphics personalized for an individual or group, including bump signs, banners, layouts, profiles, ID cards, and the like...
  Place your thread in the Personalized Graphics subforum.
  
  
• If you are looking to sell any of the art or services mentioned above for real money (RLC)...
  Place your thread in the RLC Shops forum.
  
  
• If you are looking to buy any of the art or services mentioned above for real money (RLC)...
  Place your thread in the RLC Requests subforum.
  
  
• If you are gathering people for an event, looking to hire new artists or staff members, looking for suggestions for an existing shop, looking to gauge interest in a new shop, or looking for pricing suggestions for your artwork...
  Place your thread in the Pricing and Suggestions subforum.
  
  
• If you are creating a gallery to showcase your own art for others to view, admire, discuss, and possibly critique....
  Place your thread in the Gaian Art Gallery forum.

[The Admin]

Image Posting Guide

Ready to post your artwork? Before you can show off your art to the other forum visitors, you have to make sure that it is hosted online. There are a number of sites that will do this for you for free, such as:

• PhotoBucket
  
• ImageShack
• TinyPic

Follow the instructions of your image host of choice to upload your artwork.

Once you have gotten your art hosted, you can display it in your post by using the BBCode IMG tags. Just click on the little IMG button in the row of buttons that appear right above the window where you type your post. Enter the link to your picture when prompted. The final code for displaying your picture should look something like this:

[img]http://www.thisismyimagehost.com/andthisismymasterpiece.jpg[/img]

You can also use gallery sites like DeviantArt, but keep in mind that these usually do not allow direct-linking, so if you use one of these you will have to post the link to your work rather than putting the actual image in a post.

Make sure that your picture is in a web-friendly format.
Due to the relatively small file-size that results from saving images in these formats, the most commonly used formats for posting images are .JPG , .GIF, and .PNG. Keep the images that you post in one of these formats to prevent people who try to look at your artwork from having to wait to download gigantic image files.

Make sure that your picture is a reasonable size.
Large pictures not only take needlessly long to load, but are also difficult to take in at once and cause horizontal forum scrolling. Please try to keep the width of the picture you are embedding in your post at around 500 pixels or less, and if you absolutely must post a large version, add a separate link to it.

The ideal format for a Art: Comment & Critique art topic is one picture per topic, with a description/comments that you may have on it/list of picture elements that you especially want critiqued. It's not a hard-and-fast, set in stone rule, but it is the most convenient way to display your work.

[The Admin]

Using the Report System

This post explains how you can file a report for various areas across Gaia Online, and when using the report system in these spaces is appropriate. Confused about when to report or unsure if you need to directly contact a moderator? Please visit this thread for additional information.

Report System Abuse Warning:
Abuse of the report system will result in a warning or ban of your account. Report system abuse is defined as the act of maliciously reporting a user. It is acceptable to report something you may not be sure is a violation or that you think may need moderator attention. It is not acceptable to randomly report a user for no reason.

Report a Post:
Within each post there will be numerous options that allow you to work with that post. You can use the “Report Post” link to report any post within the thread. The “Report Post” link is highlighted in the image below:

Reasons to Report a Post:


• The post violates the Terms of Service, Rules and Guidelines, or the rules of the forum.
  
  
• The content of the post is off-topic.

Report a Thread:
At the top and bottom of every thread there will be numerous options that allow you to work with that thread. You can use the “Report This Topic” link to report any thread. The “Report This Topic” link is highlighted in the image below:

Reasons to Report a Topic:


• The thread violates the Terms of Service, Rules and Guidelines, or the rules of the forum.
  
  
• The thread is in the wrong forum and should be moved to a more appropriate forum.

Report a Private Message:
Within a private message there will be numerous options that allow you to work with that private message. You can use the “Report This PM” button to report any private message you have received. The “Report This PM” button is highlighted in the image below:

Reasons to Report a Private Message:


• The private message violates the Terms of Service or Rules and Guidelines.

Report a Profile:
Every user's profile includes a, "Report this Profile" link that allows you to report any violating content found on a user's profile. You can use this link to report the profile and specify which section of their profile is a violation. The "Report this Profile" link is highlighted in the image below:

Reasons to Report a Profile:


• The user's signature is over-sized.
  
  
• Content on the profile violates Terms of Service, Rules and Guidelines.
  
  
• Unacceptable alternation to the navigation bar: The navigation bar is in place at the top of the profile so that users who visit a profile know they are still on Gaia, and can navigate away from the profile easily without having to try to figure out how. Users may change the background color, and the color of the links for the navigation bar. However, users may not alter the Gaia logo, reposition the navigation bar, or remove the navigation bar all together, or change the color/transparency of the navigation bar & links so that it appears to be gone. Altering the Gaia logo includes removing it all together, as well as making it semi-transparent to the point that it is hard to see or nearly invisible. Users may alter the Gaia logo image to remove the black background, or change the black background to a different color, but the logo itself must remain as is.
  
  
• Flashing/Harmful Images: Certain types of graphic images may contribute to or otherwise cause viewers to experience an adverse physical reaction, such as migraine headaches or seizures. Images that may cause such reactions are not permitted on Gaia.

Report Hacking, Scamming or Abuse & Harassment:
The Hacking, Scamming and Abuse or Harassment report forms can be found at the bottom of the forum index. When submitting a report, ensure that you fill out all fields and include as much relevant information as possible. Failure to fill out these fields means the report will not be submitted and, instead, the report page will refresh. A successfully filed report will provide you a report ID.

Report A Hacking
Use this form to report a Hacking. Hacking, on Gaia Online, refers to the unauthorized access of an account by someone other than the account owner. In most typical hacking cases, an unauthorized person enters an account which does not belong to him or her and takes items or gold from the account, often changing the account information so that the original owner can no longer access his or her account.

Report A Scamming
Use this form to report a Scamming. Scamming is when another member of Gaia takes your gold or items, or tries to take your gold or items, by making false promises of giving you rare items, get-rich-quick schemes, or by any other deceptive means. Scamming generally involves a situation in which two members of Gaia make an arrangement to trade gold, items, or a Gaia approved service (e.g. avatar art commission) with each other and then one of the parties involved in the arrangement fails to live up to his or her promise of an exchange.

Report Abuse/Harassment
Use this form to report ongoing Abuse or Harassment. If you are reporting harassment or abuse that is occurring directly in a thread, please use the "Report This Post" button instead.

Importance of Evidence:
Before filing any report, it is important to have any and all evidence prepared beforehand. With regards to a thread or post, ensure that the offending content is still there before filing the report. Our report system will take a snapshot of whatever you report at the time of it being filed. For instances of Abuse/Harassment reports, please include any evidence of the continued abusive behavior and report any threads, posts, or private messages that will help justify the report. Finally, for scamming reports, include evidence that supports the scamming behavior.