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How to be a contributive FA member
14 years ago
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This message brought to you by The Weighted Companion Cube
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This message brought to you by The Weighted Companion Cube
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How to contribute to the community
aka how to avoid being a deadweight or parasite
I've been considering writing this for a while now. In a big community like this I feel there are certain standards everyone should try to uphold in order to foster a more healthy, friendlier community among us all. Here are some practices I think help encourage the good aspects of our community to keep it growing and antagonism free.
There are far more things I've thought of than I could possibly write here; idle thoughts that have passed my mind and been lost before I could commit them to memory, but I've tried to get as many down as I have been able to recall.
Artists
-Don't only draw in commissions. You need to draw for yourself too, and leave something behind that only you could create. Leave your mark!
-Do not succumb to the temptation of furry paysites. These sites are a black hole for the free expression of creativity and contribute nothing to the furry community, instead leeching off of it. To be popular you need to be accessible, and such sites only appeal to a small number proportionally of total users. You would never have gone anywhere without freely accessible work, and if you disappear behind the closed walls of a furry paysite someone is going to replace you sooner or later who wasn't lured by the promise of less work for more money.
-Don't only write journals or draw things on your own when you are hoping to get commissioners. This makes you look either desperate or like you're only in it for the money.
-don't use cell phone photos to scan your art, especially not dark or blurry ones
Writers
-Learn to write stories more than two or three pages long. Something so short is often only a scene and calling it a story tarnishes the reputation of all writers on FA. No one wants to make the effort to read our works when such low quality writing is all over FA. Don't be a part of the problem!
-Learn to use synonyms, paragraph breaks, character/plot development, and basic grammar.
-Never submit something without proofreading it on the shallow excuse you were tired and it was 'done'. When you finish a story it's called a rough draft, and your work is only just getting started. You must refine and hone it into what you may have the honor of calling a story.
-Don't make an important character in a story seem more like an object pushed by your fetishistic whims; it is a person.
Commissioner
-Always credit the artist who drew your image with at minimum a link to their page and/or a link to the original image. Just typing their name means whoever reads it will quite likely have no idea who it is or where to find them. Make sure to mention where the artist is located as well, as the users are not going to know that artist happens to only be on DA, for example.
-If you've commissioned a particular artists a few times, consider letting some others get a slot for a commission instead if space is often limited.
-Always be on the lookout for new and upcoming artists with talent. With a little risk you might get a great deal on a piece of work and possibly even send more commissioners their way!
Watchers
-Don't make requests to people you don't really even know if they aren't advertising it. Request openings are often indicated in a user's profile info area.
-If you've frequented a particular stream a lot and gotten art before, consider letting some others make requests before making one yourself.
-Favorite things that aren't only art of your own character. You're supposed to be enjoying the site, and through your favorites other can come to know what you like and discover new artists and art which they might otherwise have missed.
-Watch other users. If you have hundreds or thousands of watchers and could count your watching list on two hands, there is a serious problem. It makes you look like you think you're above everyone else and that others are not worthy of your attention, or like you are trying to hoard commissioners and refuse to risk losing them to another user because you watch them.. Personally, I won't commission users like this.
-Don't only pay attention to submissions with red borders. Are you really only on this site to fap and find anything else unworthy of your attention? Don't you ever enjoy furry material simply for being furry material?
-Put up something on your page! Write something in the about you space. Fill in some profile info! Write a journal once in a while! Use an icon! Make it look like you have some investment in the site and are more than a two dimensional account. Leave a mark of your personality behind and maybe you'll eventually find you want to take it one step further and become a contributor too.
Comments
-Try to avoid roleplaying with other random furs in a user's submission somewhere. This can be awkward for the user of the page themselves.
-Don't try to roleplay with a user every time you comment to them, this gives off very serious creepy vibes.
-Don't make roleplay requests to users in their submission comments. Such a thing should be reserved for shouts or notes rather than on a piece of their work.
-Make sure to keep comments within the same rating of the place they have been posted in. If you decide to murry purry it up with someone in a general submission you are creating a potential lawsuit since a minor might read what you wrote.
-If users are commenting in your journals or on your submissions, make an honest effort to at least respond to some of them. I can't be the only one who doesn't bother commenting if I feel like it's going to be ignored or not responded to. What's the point then? If I see a massive difference in the ratio of comments given to comments received it can often be very telling of the user being mostly only interested in receiving attention without bothering to return it, or simply not caring.
-Don't be paranoid or let your negative emotions show in your posts. Nobody likes a wet blanket and hearing you moan and whine about your problems while everybody else likely has equally pressing life issues they keep quiet about is annoying. I've stopped watching people for this because I don't need such negative examples of human beings constantly irritating me.
-Additionally, don't ever assume someone is out to get you, or that you are always right. Assuming you are always right is pure, undiluted ignorance and elitism. You should welcome criticism and opposing logic, for they are the tools to hone your argument into an unassailable point. They are necessary to find your weak points and refine them, or if you truly are wrong, to discover your error and become a better person for realizing it.
aka how to avoid being a deadweight or parasite
I've been considering writing this for a while now. In a big community like this I feel there are certain standards everyone should try to uphold in order to foster a more healthy, friendlier community among us all. Here are some practices I think help encourage the good aspects of our community to keep it growing and antagonism free.
There are far more things I've thought of than I could possibly write here; idle thoughts that have passed my mind and been lost before I could commit them to memory, but I've tried to get as many down as I have been able to recall.
Artists
-Don't only draw in commissions. You need to draw for yourself too, and leave something behind that only you could create. Leave your mark!
-Do not succumb to the temptation of furry paysites. These sites are a black hole for the free expression of creativity and contribute nothing to the furry community, instead leeching off of it. To be popular you need to be accessible, and such sites only appeal to a small number proportionally of total users. You would never have gone anywhere without freely accessible work, and if you disappear behind the closed walls of a furry paysite someone is going to replace you sooner or later who wasn't lured by the promise of less work for more money.
-Don't only write journals or draw things on your own when you are hoping to get commissioners. This makes you look either desperate or like you're only in it for the money.
-don't use cell phone photos to scan your art, especially not dark or blurry ones
Writers
-Learn to write stories more than two or three pages long. Something so short is often only a scene and calling it a story tarnishes the reputation of all writers on FA. No one wants to make the effort to read our works when such low quality writing is all over FA. Don't be a part of the problem!
-Learn to use synonyms, paragraph breaks, character/plot development, and basic grammar.
-Never submit something without proofreading it on the shallow excuse you were tired and it was 'done'. When you finish a story it's called a rough draft, and your work is only just getting started. You must refine and hone it into what you may have the honor of calling a story.
-Don't make an important character in a story seem more like an object pushed by your fetishistic whims; it is a person.
Commissioner
-Always credit the artist who drew your image with at minimum a link to their page and/or a link to the original image. Just typing their name means whoever reads it will quite likely have no idea who it is or where to find them. Make sure to mention where the artist is located as well, as the users are not going to know that artist happens to only be on DA, for example.
-If you've commissioned a particular artists a few times, consider letting some others get a slot for a commission instead if space is often limited.
-Always be on the lookout for new and upcoming artists with talent. With a little risk you might get a great deal on a piece of work and possibly even send more commissioners their way!
Watchers
-Don't make requests to people you don't really even know if they aren't advertising it. Request openings are often indicated in a user's profile info area.
-If you've frequented a particular stream a lot and gotten art before, consider letting some others make requests before making one yourself.
-Favorite things that aren't only art of your own character. You're supposed to be enjoying the site, and through your favorites other can come to know what you like and discover new artists and art which they might otherwise have missed.
-Watch other users. If you have hundreds or thousands of watchers and could count your watching list on two hands, there is a serious problem. It makes you look like you think you're above everyone else and that others are not worthy of your attention, or like you are trying to hoard commissioners and refuse to risk losing them to another user because you watch them.. Personally, I won't commission users like this.
-Don't only pay attention to submissions with red borders. Are you really only on this site to fap and find anything else unworthy of your attention? Don't you ever enjoy furry material simply for being furry material?
-Put up something on your page! Write something in the about you space. Fill in some profile info! Write a journal once in a while! Use an icon! Make it look like you have some investment in the site and are more than a two dimensional account. Leave a mark of your personality behind and maybe you'll eventually find you want to take it one step further and become a contributor too.
Comments
-Try to avoid roleplaying with other random furs in a user's submission somewhere. This can be awkward for the user of the page themselves.
-Don't try to roleplay with a user every time you comment to them, this gives off very serious creepy vibes.
-Don't make roleplay requests to users in their submission comments. Such a thing should be reserved for shouts or notes rather than on a piece of their work.
-Make sure to keep comments within the same rating of the place they have been posted in. If you decide to murry purry it up with someone in a general submission you are creating a potential lawsuit since a minor might read what you wrote.
-If users are commenting in your journals or on your submissions, make an honest effort to at least respond to some of them. I can't be the only one who doesn't bother commenting if I feel like it's going to be ignored or not responded to. What's the point then? If I see a massive difference in the ratio of comments given to comments received it can often be very telling of the user being mostly only interested in receiving attention without bothering to return it, or simply not caring.
-Don't be paranoid or let your negative emotions show in your posts. Nobody likes a wet blanket and hearing you moan and whine about your problems while everybody else likely has equally pressing life issues they keep quiet about is annoying. I've stopped watching people for this because I don't need such negative examples of human beings constantly irritating me.
-Additionally, don't ever assume someone is out to get you, or that you are always right. Assuming you are always right is pure, undiluted ignorance and elitism. You should welcome criticism and opposing logic, for they are the tools to hone your argument into an unassailable point. They are necessary to find your weak points and refine them, or if you truly are wrong, to discover your error and become a better person for realizing it.
If I were to add anything to your guidelines above, it would be for those who use the journal like a myspacefacebooktwitter thing. Don't.
*snuggles Ave's belly button just to break a few rules*
*plans to stalk an otter later*
I assume this is what you're talking about. You're asking people to change their art, not their upload or method of delivery. There's artistic value in short stories whether you're an English teacher or not.
Reminder: This isn't English class, you're free to hold people to the standards you want, but don't expect them to change for you.
Even a short story has an exposition, buildup to some sort of climax, and a conclusion. If it's missing too much of those pieces it's really only a scene rather than a story. Many writers don't seem to understand that readers need to learn about the developing or ongoing connections between characters for them to have any meaning to them. It makes whatever part they wrote as the main event of the story that much more gripping to the reader. It gives the characters time to express their personalities and actions and lets the reader have time to remember what their names are.
I'm not forcing anyone to change. I'm merely writing what could be considered a self help guide.
and then he lists guidelines on how people should create their art. It's wrong and pretentious of him to say things like that.
pretentious or not doesn't matter since it's not the site's standards. and given the country the site, himself, myself are al centrally focused in...freedom of speech thus stands still.
Guidelines on how to write. format and proofread may as well be guidelines on how to pose and use perspective.
Guidelines placed upon art KILLS EXPRESSION DEAD.
If I wanted write a story, I could write "There was this baby! And then it DIED LOLOL"
If I tried to turn that in to an english teacher, I'd expect it to be graded and corrected. If I uploaded it to a site dedicated to stories and free expression, I don't want some jack to grade it as though I had been in an English class.
And yes, you were being pretentious. Basically, your journal said "This way is better." Assuming your way is better, especially when it comes to art, is the very definition of pretentious.
I never said artists didn't need money, but an artist only producing content when cash is waved in front of them, to the point they don't do anything just for themselves, is not as contributive as someone who takes the time to draw something just because they want to draw it once in a while.
The guidelines I have posted have done absolutely nothing to impede the expression of creativity. How is spelling correctly and knowing the appropriate uses of words or subtleties of grammar impeding creativity. If anything, those things give a writer the tools to express their creativity in ways they never could before.
You're being pretentious to raise the worst examples of the art of writing up onto a pedestal and claim I'm destroying their expression giving pointers on how to make their writing more presentable. You try to force the view that I have absolutely no right whatsoever to seek to show them how to do what they do better, as if you prefer they never progress because having a higher calibur of writing is apparently of little importance. Writing is made of both creativity and knowing how to best channel that creativity, and a weakness in one category will ultimately drag down the other one as they build on one another not unlike a simple multiplication problem. The greatest idea in the world will be pitiful if the writer cannot understand how to get it adequately onto paper, and the most perfect grammar nazi will go nowhere if they have the creativity of a cardboard box.
My way is better. I haven't tried to limit what they write about in any way. I have told them how to go about it if they want what they write to be really good. And [b]that[/i] in no way limits expression and is undoubtedly better as a result. The idea half expressed can never outshine the idea fully expanded upon.
You keep saying I'm killing expression and keep defending low quality writing, but you have yet to attempt to present a viable reason for me to believe you. If you cannot express more than flat opinions without building them up with specific reasonings and examples you will not get anywhere changing my mind.
Your way IS better? Prove it.
Grammar is the penstrokes of the textual medium, when you regulate the penstrokes, you stifle the artist.
That and maybe I can school you in how to go through and find places to add details. I know you can do it...I've seen you roleplay!
but yeah, i just can't pinpoint that kinda stuff on my own because it always sounds perfect to my view point. oddly; writing is the ONLY time i can't see from another's eyes XD