Greetings all,
BAMComix's appropriate censorship applied to his photo of a recently re-colored TBLeague body reminded me to post a couple of already planned friendly reminders regarding (1) proper forum behavior and (2) keeping images in conformity with Forumotion and forum policies. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
1. Proper Forum Behavior/Expectations
I am happy to say that this has very rarely been an issue, but as our little community has grown, developments in recent weeks prompt me to encourage you to keep in mind that this is, in fact, a community and just because we interact through the internet and have had more than a year of relative isolation does not mean reasonably proper interpersonal skills are not important. You cannot go wrong applying the Golden Rule, "do unto others, as you would like them to do unto you." So treat each other respectfully and kindly, and do engage with each other's work or presentation. Thankfully, there have not been instances of abuse or aggression in a very long time, and any such instances would be dealt with, if they occur. There has, however, been over-reaction over well-intentioned (even positive) feedback. We cannot really tell anyone how to feel or what to think in a particular instance, but for the same reason one measures one's comments, one should measure one's reaction and response to those by others. The purpose of this forum is to showcase and to discuss products and customs/kitbashes relevant to our hobby, and we respect members' work and opinions. Constructive criticism is very much an integral part of that, and should be welcome, provided that it is, of course, constructive and civil. Sometimes our investment in a project may make us more defensive of it than necessary in a situation, and it is worth considering whether an opinion that might come across as unwelcome is really intended as an attack before treating it as such. If it is abusive by reasonable standards, we moderators would deal with it (and if we have not noticed it, do bring it to our attention). But like everything else in interpersonal relations, we must allow for some variety and difference of opinion, which is discussion, not abuse. Otherwise, we might as well disable the text response boxes and replace them with a single thumbs up button. This forum is intended to support and inform all who engage in this hobby, but it cannot guarantee instant, massive, and unvaried adulation for each and every post -- the response would depend on who sees it and when, their personal tastes and interests, the time they have to respond, and the mood they happen to be in. I think for the most part this has not been an issue, except in very rare cases of unreasonable expectations. While our tastes and interests need not align completely in each and every instance, I think we are united by a common interest in the things and methods that improve our experience in the hobby. I hope we continue to make this a useful and welcoming place, and thank all of you who do this by sharing your work and technique, commenting on that of others, informing us of developments, and discussing new products.
2. Keeping things proper when sharing Images
For the most part this, too, has not been an issue, but sometimes we tend to forget that forum content is public and can be accessed by everyone, not just adults; and not all adults might agree on what is entirely appropriate (or welcome), either in general or in a particular setting (e.g., when viewing the forum from home, or from work, or on the phone while taking public transit). I think members realize that this is not the place for sexually explicit content or even tasteful nudity. Most of the rare oversights in this respect have come, I think innocently enough, in information and tutorial threads dealing with largely realistic action figure bodies like those made by TBLeague and Jiaou Doll. It may be an extra step and minor hassle, but please remember to censor body parts that should not be visible according to current forum and Forumotion policy with reasonably-sized and opaque "stickers" (digital or otherwise) or to crop photos in a manner that excludes such areas; semi-translucent discreet blurring might be a cool effect but might not be sufficient. For your convenience, I provide a couple of examples of digital censoring (taken from the TBLeague seamless bodies catalog thread) and reproduce the relevant passages from the forum policies below.
Adult themes -- keep your posts "safe for work." If you do want to post something that might be considered a little questionable, please begin with a few clear disclaimers (e.g.: adult content, not safe for work/NSFW, etc) and for anything that might be more explicit and hardcore use a link instead of posting an image on here. That said, this is not really the place for truly explicit material. Inappropriate or irrelevant posts or topics may be deleted at any time. Our host Forumotion's policies include a prohibition of "content of a sexual, obscene, pornographic nature," and lack of compliance with this policy could result in anything from deletion of specific post to the shutting down of the whole forum.
As a basic rule of thumb, content posted in the forum must conform to what is public beach appropriate in Europe and America (since that is where the sites are based); images posted for informational purposes (for example the action figure body modification tutorials) should be digitally censored as necessary (e.g., blacking out genitalia, female nipples, etc). For anything adult-themed, please remember to use disclaimers (e.g., NSFW), as suggested above, and use links for anything more explicit or sensitive. Please do not post or link anything obscene or pornographic, or otherwise violating the Forumotion terms of service (linked above).
Thank you.
BAMComix's appropriate censorship applied to his photo of a recently re-colored TBLeague body reminded me to post a couple of already planned friendly reminders regarding (1) proper forum behavior and (2) keeping images in conformity with Forumotion and forum policies. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
1. Proper Forum Behavior/Expectations
I am happy to say that this has very rarely been an issue, but as our little community has grown, developments in recent weeks prompt me to encourage you to keep in mind that this is, in fact, a community and just because we interact through the internet and have had more than a year of relative isolation does not mean reasonably proper interpersonal skills are not important. You cannot go wrong applying the Golden Rule, "do unto others, as you would like them to do unto you." So treat each other respectfully and kindly, and do engage with each other's work or presentation. Thankfully, there have not been instances of abuse or aggression in a very long time, and any such instances would be dealt with, if they occur. There has, however, been over-reaction over well-intentioned (even positive) feedback. We cannot really tell anyone how to feel or what to think in a particular instance, but for the same reason one measures one's comments, one should measure one's reaction and response to those by others. The purpose of this forum is to showcase and to discuss products and customs/kitbashes relevant to our hobby, and we respect members' work and opinions. Constructive criticism is very much an integral part of that, and should be welcome, provided that it is, of course, constructive and civil. Sometimes our investment in a project may make us more defensive of it than necessary in a situation, and it is worth considering whether an opinion that might come across as unwelcome is really intended as an attack before treating it as such. If it is abusive by reasonable standards, we moderators would deal with it (and if we have not noticed it, do bring it to our attention). But like everything else in interpersonal relations, we must allow for some variety and difference of opinion, which is discussion, not abuse. Otherwise, we might as well disable the text response boxes and replace them with a single thumbs up button. This forum is intended to support and inform all who engage in this hobby, but it cannot guarantee instant, massive, and unvaried adulation for each and every post -- the response would depend on who sees it and when, their personal tastes and interests, the time they have to respond, and the mood they happen to be in. I think for the most part this has not been an issue, except in very rare cases of unreasonable expectations. While our tastes and interests need not align completely in each and every instance, I think we are united by a common interest in the things and methods that improve our experience in the hobby. I hope we continue to make this a useful and welcoming place, and thank all of you who do this by sharing your work and technique, commenting on that of others, informing us of developments, and discussing new products.
2. Keeping things proper when sharing Images
For the most part this, too, has not been an issue, but sometimes we tend to forget that forum content is public and can be accessed by everyone, not just adults; and not all adults might agree on what is entirely appropriate (or welcome), either in general or in a particular setting (e.g., when viewing the forum from home, or from work, or on the phone while taking public transit). I think members realize that this is not the place for sexually explicit content or even tasteful nudity. Most of the rare oversights in this respect have come, I think innocently enough, in information and tutorial threads dealing with largely realistic action figure bodies like those made by TBLeague and Jiaou Doll. It may be an extra step and minor hassle, but please remember to censor body parts that should not be visible according to current forum and Forumotion policy with reasonably-sized and opaque "stickers" (digital or otherwise) or to crop photos in a manner that excludes such areas; semi-translucent discreet blurring might be a cool effect but might not be sufficient. For your convenience, I provide a couple of examples of digital censoring (taken from the TBLeague seamless bodies catalog thread) and reproduce the relevant passages from the forum policies below.
Adult themes -- keep your posts "safe for work." If you do want to post something that might be considered a little questionable, please begin with a few clear disclaimers (e.g.: adult content, not safe for work/NSFW, etc) and for anything that might be more explicit and hardcore use a link instead of posting an image on here. That said, this is not really the place for truly explicit material. Inappropriate or irrelevant posts or topics may be deleted at any time. Our host Forumotion's policies include a prohibition of "content of a sexual, obscene, pornographic nature," and lack of compliance with this policy could result in anything from deletion of specific post to the shutting down of the whole forum.
As a basic rule of thumb, content posted in the forum must conform to what is public beach appropriate in Europe and America (since that is where the sites are based); images posted for informational purposes (for example the action figure body modification tutorials) should be digitally censored as necessary (e.g., blacking out genitalia, female nipples, etc). For anything adult-themed, please remember to use disclaimers (e.g., NSFW), as suggested above, and use links for anything more explicit or sensitive. Please do not post or link anything obscene or pornographic, or otherwise violating the Forumotion terms of service (linked above).
Thank you.
