Art Discussion: Rules and Guidelines

[The Admin]

Art Discussion Forum Rules and Guidelines

Welcome to the Art Discussion Forum! Topics appropriate to this forum include discussion on specific artists and art techniques, materials, and history.

• If you would like to post your own artwork, please use the Art: Comment & Critique forum.
  
  
• If you would like to sell custom avatar art and other customized art commissions (not including avatar edits) for Gaia gold and items, please use the Art Shops forum.
  
  
• If you would like to buy custom avatar art and other customized art commissions (not including avatar edits) for Gaia gold and items or as an art trade, please use the Art Requests forum.
  
  
• If you are looking to sell custom avatar art and other customized art commissions (not including avatar edits) for real money (RLC), please use the RLC Art Shops forum.
  
  
• If you are looking to buy custom avatar art and other customized art commissions (not including avatar edits) for real money (RLC), please use the RLC Art Requests subforum.

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 Posting Guidelines
  
• Art Discussion Rules & Guidelines
  
• Commonly Misplaced Threads
  
• Helpful Links and Other Info
  
• How to Report

[The Admin]

General Posting Guidelines

Please be sure to follow the Terms of Service and Rules and Guidelines here, as in all forums.

Common violations to avoid:

• 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.
  
  
• Flaming & trolling: Posts directed at another member which are hateful, abusive, or intentionally inflammatory are considered flaming. Making intentionally inflammatory or provocative posts to incite responses from other members is considered trolling.
  
  
• Art theft: Claiming another person's work as your own or posting artwork that has been copied or traced from other people's artwork, or images created using other people's artwork without permission and credit is considered art theft. Art theft should be reported with a link to the original work.
  

Terms of Service violations may result in a warning or a ban on your account.

If you find Terms of Service violations, or threads that may need moved to a different forum, please use an appropriate report. The procedures for doing so can be found here.

You can find online moderators by following the [View Forum Moderators] link at the top of the forum.


Gaia Staff will NEVER ask for your password! If anyone asks you for your password, report it.

[The Admin]

Art Discussion Rules & Guidelines

Threads that Belong in This Forum

• Discussion of specific artists and their work
  
• Art history
  
• Techniques
  
• Art materials and media, including art software
  
• General art questions and advice
  
• Art-related experiences
  
• Info on portfolios and art schools/professions
  
• Photography discussion

General Posting Guidelines

• Do not bump or spam.
  This is a discussion-oriented forum. Posts should be on-topic and contribute in some way to the discussion at hand. Threads/posts that lack discussable content will be removed.
  
  
• Stay on topic.
  Please keep off-topic banter to a minimum. If a topic keeps veering off the subject it will be moved.
  
  
• Do not post in old threads.
  This practice is often called "thread necromancy" and is not permitted in this forum. If you would like to revisit a subject covered in a thread that is several months old and there are not currently any active threads on the topic, please make a new thread rather than replying to an old one.
  
  
• Avoid creating multiple threads on a single topic.
  If there are currently threads discussing a subject you would also like to discuss, please use the existing active threads rather than creating a new one. Similarly, avoid creating multiple threads with the same content. If you have a question and it is not immediately answered, be patient. Making a new thread to ask the same question can be considered spam and the duplicate threads will be removed.
  
  
• Make sure your thread contains discussable content.
  Topics that are too general or can be answered by a simple "yes" or "no" lack discussable content. When asking a question please include enough specific detail to enable others to respond accurately. Finally, please remember that Art Discussion is not a search engine. If you are looking for general information better suited to Google, your thread is not a discussion.
  
  
• Avoid posting in misplaced threads and attacking users who violate the forum rules.
  Posting to say that a thread is misplaced and/or has been reported is off-topic 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.

List of Tired Topics

This list contains topics that have been "done to death" so to speak. If you would like to discuss one of these topics, please check at least five pages back and make sure a thread has not been made on the subject recently.

• Jhonen Vasquez
  
• Amy Brown
  
• Picasso/Monet/DaVinci/Michaelangelo/Dali/a good number of other time-established artists
  
• artist A versus artist B
  
• mangaka A versus mangaka B
  
• "What's your favorite artist?"
  
• CG vs. traditional
  
• "Help me find information on _______."
  
• "I can't draw!"

Discussion on a Tired Topic should be substantial and bring something new to the forum. If a thread lacks significant discussable content, it will likely be removed.



If you have a question about these rules or feel that there is something that needs to be addressed here that isn't, feel free to contact any Art Discussion moderator regarding your question or suggestion.

[The Admin]

Commonly Misplaced Threads

These types of topics are sometimes placed in Art Discussion, but should go elsewhere:

• I would like to post my own artwork for comments and critique.
  These topics belong in Art: Comment & Critique.
  
  
• I would like to post a link to my personal art site or gallery rather than a single piece, or I want to show off my Art Arena gallery.
  These topics belong in Promotions or the Chatterbox.
  
  
• I would like to sell artistic services, like making signature banners or custom pixel art, in exchange for Gaia Gold or items.
  These topics belong in Mini-Shops.
  
  
• I am taking commissions in exchange for Gaia Gold or items.
  These topics belong in Art Shops.
  
  
• I am taking commissions in exchange for for real money (RLC)...
  These topics belong in RLC Art Shops.
  
  
• I would like to commission an artist in exchange for Gaia Gold or items.
  These topics belong in Art Requests.
  
  
• I would like to commission an artist in exchange for real money (RLC)...
  These topics belong in RLC Art Requests.
  
  
  
• I am willing to draw for people, or I am looking for someone to draw for me for free.
  These topics belong in Art Freebies.
  
  
• I need help pricing my art, or would like to recruit people to work in my art shop.
  These topics belong in Pricing, Assistance, and Suggestions.
  
  
• I would like to talk about a comic/manga that I am writing, or recruit people to help with my comic/manga.
  These topics belong in Comic Creators.
  
  
• I would like to talk about sewing, weaving or other textile arts, or discuss scrapbooking, woodworking, or another craft.
  These topics belong in Hobbies & Crafts.
  
  
• I would just like to chat to people about no topic in particular, or make posts solely for the gold.
  These topics belong in the Chatterbox.

[The Admin]

Helpful Links and Other Info

Sticky Directory

• The Art Infringement Report
  
• Art Arena Rules & Information
  
• Art Arena - 5 Common Reasons for Disapprovals
  
• The Copy FAQ
  
• Art Resource - **[TUTORIALS, PROGRAMS, & TABLETS]**

Helpful Threads

These are regular discussion threads created by members of the Art Discussion forum that contain helpful information that can benefit all members of the AD community.

• Tablet Discussion Thread - Everything You Need to Know!
  
• Artists Alley Information Compilation
  
• Art games

If you are aware of a helpful thread that could be added to this list, you may PM any Art Discussion moderator with a link to the thread and briefly describe why it benefits the AD community.

[The Admin]

How to Report

Abuse of the report system will result in a warning or ban of your account.

Report a Post

Use the button when an individual post in a topic contains inappropriate content.

Reasons to Report a Post:


• The content of the post violates the Terms of Service or forum rules.
  
  
• The content of the post is off-topic.
  
  
• The member who made the post has a signature which violates the rules.

Report a Topic

Use the Report this Topic button at the bottom of the page when a topic is not appropriate for the forum.

Reasons to Report a Topic:


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

If you need to contact a moderator via Private Message, please use the "View Forum Moderator" link at the top of this forum to find a moderator.



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.

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 or 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.