Mini Shops Rules and Regulations
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These rules will be updated as necessary. All rules are retroactive and apply to all existing shops. If you find that your shop no longer complies with the rules, it is your responsibility to make any necessary changes in a timely fashion.
Spirit of Mini Shops
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You should not try to make a profit on Gaia by exploiting the hard work of other artists, whether they are Gaia users or people off site. Therefore, all images must be properly credited and with courtesy links back to your benefactors. They were kind enough to grant you permission, so return the favor! biggrin
The Mini Shops Rules and Guidelines exist alongside other independent sets of rules, such as Copyright laws and Artists' Terms of Use. Always go with the most conservative rule, and you can hardly go wrong. You should understand the spirit of these guidelines, as a protective measure for artists. The rights of an artist will always be honored over the right of a Gaian to pursue gold. If you try to exploit loopholes in the wording, break the rules in spirit and/or blatantly disrespect the rights of artists for Gaia Gold, you are breaking the rules.
If you wish to open a Mini Shop, you must read and understand these rules in their entirety. It is your responsibility to make sure your shop is legal.
~ Mini Shops moderators
Artist's Rights
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- If someone in Minishops samples your image without permission, is in violation of your stated terms, uses a whole image without permission, or is in violation of another agreement, you have the right to request the removal or editing of that whole image regardless of any work done by the other party. If necessary, a moderator will remove it.
Anyone claiming to be the creator should contact a moderator or the person in question. They should be prepared to prove ownership, if it is disputed. This could involve emailing the moderator from the address listed on the site the image came from, or placing a note on the site, etc. Proof doesn't have to be given to the general public in order to protect the privacy of the artist. It will be enough for the moderator to say 'I have been shown sufficient proof to believe this is the creator'.
Maliciously impersonating a creator will result in action against your account.
If you should find someone who is stealing art from you, please report them. Posting accusations, "GTFO" or "Reported" can be seen as harassment or spam. More information on reporting is contained in the 7th post.
Mini Shops Conduct and Etiquette~
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Bumping
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Bumps are posts made, with little content, for the purpose of moving the shop to the first page of the forum.
A bump may be plain text, the simple word: Bump, or a fancy picture.
Advertising bumps are not allowed. These annoy many shopkeepers, and take away their business. It is very rude to advertise your store/thread in another user's shop.
You may link bumps to your store, but the content of the image should not be a gratuitous advertisement. The largest text must be the word 'bump', and no slogans or encouragement to leave the current store may be posted.
Even if you think that your advertisement is tasteful, the shop owner has a right to have the bump deleted.
You should also not bump shops that are still on the first page.
Post Deletion
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A shop owner may ask a moderator to delete any posts in a thread that are extraneous, if
- The posts are in between the shop owner 'setting up posts'
IE:
Owner: Placeholder, need 3 posts.
Owner: Owner's list.
Person: What's this? A shop?
Owner: Darn.
The number of bumps or extraneous posts makes the thread hard to read (such as images that are so wide that they stretch the screen), or of unwieldily size.
The shop owner is offended by the content.
The post or bump is an advertisement, or otherwise encourages the patrons to leave the shop.
Thank you and please enjoy. ONLY OPEN TO QUESTIONS and those who ask for ASSISTANCE.
