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Courtesy Goes Both Ways
15 years ago
On the one hand, it seems that courtesy is marginalized on the Internet, and in furry not least of all. Every so often, people will step up to defend artists or other content producers, demanding that other people be patient, wait for material to appear in its own time, because they haven't paid for it etc. Or they will step up to the defense of a website that's suffering downtime - saying, again, "it's free, stop complaining".
The world doesn't work that way.
It's true that the people hoping for updates should be courteous about it - don't pester over-frequently; keep a polite tone in their queries; etc. However, courtesy is not one-sided. A free web site still carries some expectation regarding its quality of service; its users have a right to expect that major issues will be resolved in a reasonably timely fashion, and a right to be irritated if the site goes down for an extended period of time without word.
The last bit is the important part, and the part that's often neglected by providers in furry. Communicate. If you've said something will be done in a week, and ten days go by without further word, people have every right to be irritated. If you're going to be delayed, say so. It doesn't take long, and would avoid a lot of irritation.
"It's free" is not a free ticket to breaking promises. It's understandable if you need to put something down and can't get to it in the timeframe you initially expected - but in that case, you should say so as soon as possible. And if it's at all possible, you shouldn't let deadlines go by without a word.
The people who are viewing your content for free can't demand repayment for the nothing they paid. They can't insist that you stick to a deadline when there are more urgent matters - actual jobs, family or medical crises, whatever - demanding your attention. But if you're not going to do them the courtesy of keeping them updated on why things are behind(and ideally, when you might expect to catch again), you have no reason to expect courtesy from them in turn; you have forfeited that right.
The world doesn't work that way.
It's true that the people hoping for updates should be courteous about it - don't pester over-frequently; keep a polite tone in their queries; etc. However, courtesy is not one-sided. A free web site still carries some expectation regarding its quality of service; its users have a right to expect that major issues will be resolved in a reasonably timely fashion, and a right to be irritated if the site goes down for an extended period of time without word.
The last bit is the important part, and the part that's often neglected by providers in furry. Communicate. If you've said something will be done in a week, and ten days go by without further word, people have every right to be irritated. If you're going to be delayed, say so. It doesn't take long, and would avoid a lot of irritation.
"It's free" is not a free ticket to breaking promises. It's understandable if you need to put something down and can't get to it in the timeframe you initially expected - but in that case, you should say so as soon as possible. And if it's at all possible, you shouldn't let deadlines go by without a word.
The people who are viewing your content for free can't demand repayment for the nothing they paid. They can't insist that you stick to a deadline when there are more urgent matters - actual jobs, family or medical crises, whatever - demanding your attention. But if you're not going to do them the courtesy of keeping them updated on why things are behind(and ideally, when you might expect to catch again), you have no reason to expect courtesy from them in turn; you have forfeited that right.
And this is where I'm guilty as charged, this last week. I'm arguably not missing deadlines since I do make sure my updates go up on the right day, but I should probably make mention of the issues causing it. I just feel like a total whinypants when I have issues cropping up one after the other like this.
But then I'd probably tell anyone who went and said "it's free, stop complaining" about it to shush. I'm trying, but I'm well aware I'm keeping up by the skin of my teeth some days, and the only person allowed to make excuses for me for that is me (or someone who knows what's going on and has permission to share, which doesn't tend to be the case in such situations).
And it can go beyond that. I'll admit I'm not the best at updating on my stuff either(scant as it is). But I also try to respond courteously when prompted about it, and when I got a few such prompts, put up a general statement.
We are all of us only human(whatever some of the zanier ones out there think). Some slips will happen. It's a matter of the trend, and the tone behind it, that concerns me.
After all, when it starts to seem like many you are working for to serve expect the world of you in return for little appreciation the will to do it to begin with starts to fade!
I've never been in charge of a web site, but I've seen this kind of attitude directed at my fellow guild leaders, and like I said it can be withering, because there are times you will do everything you can and things will not work out perfectly. Then when you do communicate, people pounce on you anyway.
As I said, the key is being courteous (and not with sarcastic hints build into said "courtesy."
You bring up an interesting point though. It's important to communicate even when providing a free service. When it comes to promises though, I've found it's best not to make them. Things are too uncertain and it's better to give time estimates and such.