Etiquette Policy
Feb 28, 2012 17:48:53 GMT -8
Post by lyraalluse on Feb 28, 2012 17:48:53 GMT -8
Introduction
Post Your Heart is an expansive, worldwide community of artists of every age, and every nationality who create works spanning every medium, every subject and every level of talent and skill.
It is also an encyclopedia database containing information on fantasy creatures, myths, legends, and other tools for fantasy authors and artists to use.
As the guiding force of this large and vibrant community we have two primary and often conflicting goals in the service we provide for you, the members of the community; the first being to ensure that members are free to express themselves within reason with as few restrictions as possible while nurturing an environment of creativity, learning, and talent and the second is to protect the members of the community, to the best of our abilities, from infringement of copyright, discrimination, harassment, and prejudice.
All members of the Post Your Heart community are expected to be familiar with these rules of etiquette and they will be enforced evenly and without bias in every situation which is brought to the attention of the administration regardless of the membership status of the user in question.
Guidelines for Site Members;
Quality and Placement
It is our policy to welcome artists of all levels from amateur to professional and to that end we do not attach any minimum standards of quality to the content submitted by our membership; all manner of artworks are welcome providing they meet with our etiquette and copyright policies. While we do not impose quality standards we do ask that you practice self-moderation in what you choose to submit and that you submit your works into the most appropriate forum area.
Our community volunteers may elect to move one or more of your submitted pieces from the site categories into a different, more appropriate, section or forum area; we ask that you accept this decision gracefully and with a mature attitude. If you desire a full explanation for this action, or if you feel the administrative action was performed in error, you should submit an inquiry to the official Post Your Heart 'Help Desk' and include a link to the relevant content. Please do not bring these issues into the Forums, User Pages, or other areas of the Post Your Heart website.
Prohibited Commentary
Prohibited commentary is typically considered to be inherently disrespectful, aggressive, or otherwise abusive.
We must insist that you refrain from comments which are racist, bigoted, or which otherwise offensively target a philosophy or religion. In addition we ask that our members avoid making offensive remarks based on gender or sexual preference and that you do not make any remark, comment or critique which is intended to be a direct insult to an individual, group, or genre of artwork. Hate propaganda is met with zero tolerance. Comments which are overly aggressive, personally insulting or needlessly abusive are also prohibited.
If you feel that you have been the target of harassment, personal insults or other severe behavior please notify the staff by using the official Post Your Heart 'Help Desk'. Please be aware that the staff will only directly intervene in cases which are considered severe; minor situations may be dealt with using tools made available to all registered members.
Discouraged Commentary
Discouraged commentary is typically considered to have the potential to escalate into an aggressive or abusive situation.
While not strictly prohibited we must insist that all personal arguments, disagreements, and other volatile "personal" issues within be confined to private communications such as Notes, emails, or Instant Messaging programs. Likewise we discourage public accusations and other similar situations; please bring all issues of this nature to the attention of the staff by notifying the official Post Your Heart 'Help Desk'.
Exploitive Commentary
Exploitive commentary is typically considered to be disruptive due to unusual or unique factors.
Do not 'spam' (send large numbers of identical notes or comments). Spamming is obnoxious and is typically used for self-promotion, or other unwanted advertising.
Do not 'flood' (place large numbers of comments rapidly on a single page or craft a single comment which consumes a large amount of page space) the forums, notes system, user pages or other areas of the site. Flooding usually disrupts page loading times and serves no useful purpose.
Respect Your Fellow Artists
As a vibrant and growing art community Post Your Heart welcomes all kinds of original artworks; but we MUST insist that the artwork which you submit be your own original works.
Your submitted content must be your own original creations and you may only use resources which are considered legitimate and legal. Submissions which make use of works without proper permission or licensing by the original author will be removed as they come to the attention of the staff. This policy applies to all art submissions, individual gallery entries, and the preview images used for written submissions.
If you have reason to believe that a Post Your Heart submission violates this policy you should use the official Report Post link which is available on the upper right-hand corner of every submission page under the settings or gear icon.
Mature Content
When we discuss mature content we are specifically referring to submitted content which contain images, subject matter, or other themes which some viewers may find offensive, distasteful, or otherwise undesirable to view or to read. The most common 'undesired' viewing material may include, but is not limited to, images containing artistic nudity (see details below), large amounts of simulated blood and gore, or generally violent themes.
Post Your Heart strictly prohibits the submission of materials classified as pornographic or obscene. There is no exception to this prohibition.
Certain content may be deemed obscene by the administration and as such the staff reserves the right to remove such content immediately upon discovery. The administration reserves the sole right to review and classify questionable material as obscene or not obscene.
Model release forms
The Post Your Heart administrative staff reserves the right to demand a Model Release form be provided for any photography (nude or otherwise) located within either your Gallery or forum Submission Areas. In the event that you receive such a request an appropriate link will be included in the notification you received. Failure to properly respond to a Model Release form demand within seven (7) days will result in the automatic removal of the associated photograph.
For your own protection it is highly recommended that you have any model who poses for you sign a release form giving you the explicit permission to publish, share, distribute, and otherwise display the associated images. It is highly recommended that you provide this form immediately after submitting your photograph, especially if your subject is depicted nude. Details of this process may be found in the official Post Your Heart FAQ.
Underage Models
We cannot allow any nude works featuring individuals under the age of 18, nor may the works depict these individuals in a 'sexually driven' manner such as posing in lingerie or displaying a sexually suggestive or provocative pose.
This prohibition is for legal reasons; the laws in the United States are the governing laws in regards to all submissions regardless of the website user's country of origin. Photographs which are suspected of depicting a minor in this manner will be temporarily suspended from public view and proper legal documentation (as outlined above) will be demanded while photographs which clearly depict a minor (including toddlers, preteens, and teenagers) in this manner will be removed without notice.
Submissions of a non- photographic nature which clearly depict a minor, fictional character or otherwise, either nude or in a sexually driven manner will be removed and deleted without notice as they come to the attention of the staff.
Forum Posting
In addition to the outlines in the above section entitled Prohibited Commentary and Exploitive Commentary we have a few additional policies regarding comments and posts within the Forum areas of Post Your Heart;
1. All threads started within a specific forum and all comments within those threads should be relevant to the forums Title. This means that, for example, all threads within the Movies forum must relate to a motion picture and the comments within those threads should also remain on the appropriate topic.
2. We encourage interactivity and we allow comments to be either positive or negative in nature providing that they remain constructive and promote a worthwhile dialogue.
3. We insist that forum threads adhere to the same standard set forth for section, gallery, and writing submissions in terms of what is considered acceptable subject matter (i.e. no racist threads, no sexual discussions, etc).
It is important to remember to be as clear in your intent as possible while communicating on the internet. Text communications do not afford a clear representation of sarcasm. Please use common sense when posting to avoid confusion. Threads which are misplaced, which contain inappropriate subject matter (such as sexual discussions), or which contain an undesirable number of insults or other violations of this etiquette policy will be locked and closed to further commentary.
Avatars
This section applies only to avatars which you personally use for your account; avatars submitted into a Post Your Heart Gallery or to a Submission Area must still conform to all official policies without exception but are not subjected to the restrictions below.
Avatars used to represent your account on site are granted more leniency than standard site submissions. You may freely use material and resources with only the restrictions outlined as follows;
1. Your avatar should not contain nudity of any sort.
2. You may not use avatars specifically created by other users without their explicit permission.
3. If your avatar contains a portion of a work made by another artist it will be removed by staff at the request of the original artist.
4. In all other respects your avatar must conform to the guidelines set above in regards to hate propaganda.
Exploits, Vulnerabilities, and Site Abuse
The Post Your Heart staff will not tolerate attempts to exploit or disrupt the layout, navigability, or general use of the site. Such actions disrupt the ability of the community to access and review artwork and are considered Site Abuse.
We will issue no warnings for violations of this nature. Violators will be banned immediately upon the discovery of the disruption or abuse.
Post Your Heart Credits may not be used to circumvent or interfere with the operations of Post Your Heart and cannot be used as payment for automated services affecting a member's statistical or performance based metrics on Post Your Heart.
Groups
All of the rules and guidelines of this Etiquette Policy apply to activities within a Group or in the management and administration of a Group. All of the policies with respect to content and commentary apply within Groups and any member or watcher of a Group should feel comfortable reporting any activity to which they object on the basis of this Etiquette Policy or otherwise. We are not responsible for the conduct of Group participants or administrators. However, the Group applications permit us to take appropriate action should intervention become necessary as a result of a violation of the Terms of Service in general or of any other of our policies.
Keep in mind that Group administrators may determine their own rules and privileges for deviants who participate in the Group and as a general rule we will not become involved in any disputes between Group members, between Group administrators or between one or another Group unless there is a clear violation of our own policies, rules and terms. We suggest you use good judgment and decency in all of your Group interactions as well as exercising the same cautions you would use in any Internet exchanges with individuals who you may not know. Further helpful information about Groups can be found in the FAQ section and elsewhere on Post Your Heart.
Changes in Etiquette Policy
As new situations come to our attention we may find it necessary to alter or expand upon the policies stated here with little or no notification and any such changes may be enforced in full against previously existing submissions or behavior.
Alterations of policy may be announced through either the Post Your Heart Updates Forum or through other Announcements and News Topics.
Appeals and Inquiries
Appeals, inquiries, or questions concerning content removals, violation notices, account suspensions, or other administrative actions should be addressed to the official Post Your Heart Help Desk where they will be forwarded to the appropriate department for review.
Please refrain from using the Post Your Heart Forums, the Post Your Heart Private Message system or personal email to staff members for these concerns. You are unlikely to receive a proper response and will be redirected to use the official Help Desk.
Petitions and other forms of public outcry are discouraged and will have no affect on Managerial Reviews of staff actions and may in fact be detrimental to the case in question.
Post Your Heart is an expansive, worldwide community of artists of every age, and every nationality who create works spanning every medium, every subject and every level of talent and skill.
It is also an encyclopedia database containing information on fantasy creatures, myths, legends, and other tools for fantasy authors and artists to use.
As the guiding force of this large and vibrant community we have two primary and often conflicting goals in the service we provide for you, the members of the community; the first being to ensure that members are free to express themselves within reason with as few restrictions as possible while nurturing an environment of creativity, learning, and talent and the second is to protect the members of the community, to the best of our abilities, from infringement of copyright, discrimination, harassment, and prejudice.
All members of the Post Your Heart community are expected to be familiar with these rules of etiquette and they will be enforced evenly and without bias in every situation which is brought to the attention of the administration regardless of the membership status of the user in question.
Guidelines for Site Members;
Quality and Placement
It is our policy to welcome artists of all levels from amateur to professional and to that end we do not attach any minimum standards of quality to the content submitted by our membership; all manner of artworks are welcome providing they meet with our etiquette and copyright policies. While we do not impose quality standards we do ask that you practice self-moderation in what you choose to submit and that you submit your works into the most appropriate forum area.
Our community volunteers may elect to move one or more of your submitted pieces from the site categories into a different, more appropriate, section or forum area; we ask that you accept this decision gracefully and with a mature attitude. If you desire a full explanation for this action, or if you feel the administrative action was performed in error, you should submit an inquiry to the official Post Your Heart 'Help Desk' and include a link to the relevant content. Please do not bring these issues into the Forums, User Pages, or other areas of the Post Your Heart website.
Prohibited Commentary
Prohibited commentary is typically considered to be inherently disrespectful, aggressive, or otherwise abusive.
We must insist that you refrain from comments which are racist, bigoted, or which otherwise offensively target a philosophy or religion. In addition we ask that our members avoid making offensive remarks based on gender or sexual preference and that you do not make any remark, comment or critique which is intended to be a direct insult to an individual, group, or genre of artwork. Hate propaganda is met with zero tolerance. Comments which are overly aggressive, personally insulting or needlessly abusive are also prohibited.
If you feel that you have been the target of harassment, personal insults or other severe behavior please notify the staff by using the official Post Your Heart 'Help Desk'. Please be aware that the staff will only directly intervene in cases which are considered severe; minor situations may be dealt with using tools made available to all registered members.
Discouraged Commentary
Discouraged commentary is typically considered to have the potential to escalate into an aggressive or abusive situation.
While not strictly prohibited we must insist that all personal arguments, disagreements, and other volatile "personal" issues within be confined to private communications such as Notes, emails, or Instant Messaging programs. Likewise we discourage public accusations and other similar situations; please bring all issues of this nature to the attention of the staff by notifying the official Post Your Heart 'Help Desk'.
Exploitive Commentary
Exploitive commentary is typically considered to be disruptive due to unusual or unique factors.
Do not 'spam' (send large numbers of identical notes or comments). Spamming is obnoxious and is typically used for self-promotion, or other unwanted advertising.
Do not 'flood' (place large numbers of comments rapidly on a single page or craft a single comment which consumes a large amount of page space) the forums, notes system, user pages or other areas of the site. Flooding usually disrupts page loading times and serves no useful purpose.
Respect Your Fellow Artists
As a vibrant and growing art community Post Your Heart welcomes all kinds of original artworks; but we MUST insist that the artwork which you submit be your own original works.
Your submitted content must be your own original creations and you may only use resources which are considered legitimate and legal. Submissions which make use of works without proper permission or licensing by the original author will be removed as they come to the attention of the staff. This policy applies to all art submissions, individual gallery entries, and the preview images used for written submissions.
If you have reason to believe that a Post Your Heart submission violates this policy you should use the official Report Post link which is available on the upper right-hand corner of every submission page under the settings or gear icon.
Mature Content
When we discuss mature content we are specifically referring to submitted content which contain images, subject matter, or other themes which some viewers may find offensive, distasteful, or otherwise undesirable to view or to read. The most common 'undesired' viewing material may include, but is not limited to, images containing artistic nudity (see details below), large amounts of simulated blood and gore, or generally violent themes.
Post Your Heart strictly prohibits the submission of materials classified as pornographic or obscene. There is no exception to this prohibition.
Certain content may be deemed obscene by the administration and as such the staff reserves the right to remove such content immediately upon discovery. The administration reserves the sole right to review and classify questionable material as obscene or not obscene.
Model release forms
The Post Your Heart administrative staff reserves the right to demand a Model Release form be provided for any photography (nude or otherwise) located within either your Gallery or forum Submission Areas. In the event that you receive such a request an appropriate link will be included in the notification you received. Failure to properly respond to a Model Release form demand within seven (7) days will result in the automatic removal of the associated photograph.
For your own protection it is highly recommended that you have any model who poses for you sign a release form giving you the explicit permission to publish, share, distribute, and otherwise display the associated images. It is highly recommended that you provide this form immediately after submitting your photograph, especially if your subject is depicted nude. Details of this process may be found in the official Post Your Heart FAQ.
Underage Models
We cannot allow any nude works featuring individuals under the age of 18, nor may the works depict these individuals in a 'sexually driven' manner such as posing in lingerie or displaying a sexually suggestive or provocative pose.
This prohibition is for legal reasons; the laws in the United States are the governing laws in regards to all submissions regardless of the website user's country of origin. Photographs which are suspected of depicting a minor in this manner will be temporarily suspended from public view and proper legal documentation (as outlined above) will be demanded while photographs which clearly depict a minor (including toddlers, preteens, and teenagers) in this manner will be removed without notice.
Submissions of a non- photographic nature which clearly depict a minor, fictional character or otherwise, either nude or in a sexually driven manner will be removed and deleted without notice as they come to the attention of the staff.
Forum Posting
In addition to the outlines in the above section entitled Prohibited Commentary and Exploitive Commentary we have a few additional policies regarding comments and posts within the Forum areas of Post Your Heart;
1. All threads started within a specific forum and all comments within those threads should be relevant to the forums Title. This means that, for example, all threads within the Movies forum must relate to a motion picture and the comments within those threads should also remain on the appropriate topic.
2. We encourage interactivity and we allow comments to be either positive or negative in nature providing that they remain constructive and promote a worthwhile dialogue.
3. We insist that forum threads adhere to the same standard set forth for section, gallery, and writing submissions in terms of what is considered acceptable subject matter (i.e. no racist threads, no sexual discussions, etc).
It is important to remember to be as clear in your intent as possible while communicating on the internet. Text communications do not afford a clear representation of sarcasm. Please use common sense when posting to avoid confusion. Threads which are misplaced, which contain inappropriate subject matter (such as sexual discussions), or which contain an undesirable number of insults or other violations of this etiquette policy will be locked and closed to further commentary.
Avatars
This section applies only to avatars which you personally use for your account; avatars submitted into a Post Your Heart Gallery or to a Submission Area must still conform to all official policies without exception but are not subjected to the restrictions below.
Avatars used to represent your account on site are granted more leniency than standard site submissions. You may freely use material and resources with only the restrictions outlined as follows;
1. Your avatar should not contain nudity of any sort.
2. You may not use avatars specifically created by other users without their explicit permission.
3. If your avatar contains a portion of a work made by another artist it will be removed by staff at the request of the original artist.
4. In all other respects your avatar must conform to the guidelines set above in regards to hate propaganda.
Exploits, Vulnerabilities, and Site Abuse
The Post Your Heart staff will not tolerate attempts to exploit or disrupt the layout, navigability, or general use of the site. Such actions disrupt the ability of the community to access and review artwork and are considered Site Abuse.
We will issue no warnings for violations of this nature. Violators will be banned immediately upon the discovery of the disruption or abuse.
Post Your Heart Credits may not be used to circumvent or interfere with the operations of Post Your Heart and cannot be used as payment for automated services affecting a member's statistical or performance based metrics on Post Your Heart.
Groups
All of the rules and guidelines of this Etiquette Policy apply to activities within a Group or in the management and administration of a Group. All of the policies with respect to content and commentary apply within Groups and any member or watcher of a Group should feel comfortable reporting any activity to which they object on the basis of this Etiquette Policy or otherwise. We are not responsible for the conduct of Group participants or administrators. However, the Group applications permit us to take appropriate action should intervention become necessary as a result of a violation of the Terms of Service in general or of any other of our policies.
Keep in mind that Group administrators may determine their own rules and privileges for deviants who participate in the Group and as a general rule we will not become involved in any disputes between Group members, between Group administrators or between one or another Group unless there is a clear violation of our own policies, rules and terms. We suggest you use good judgment and decency in all of your Group interactions as well as exercising the same cautions you would use in any Internet exchanges with individuals who you may not know. Further helpful information about Groups can be found in the FAQ section and elsewhere on Post Your Heart.
Changes in Etiquette Policy
As new situations come to our attention we may find it necessary to alter or expand upon the policies stated here with little or no notification and any such changes may be enforced in full against previously existing submissions or behavior.
Alterations of policy may be announced through either the Post Your Heart Updates Forum or through other Announcements and News Topics.
Appeals and Inquiries
Appeals, inquiries, or questions concerning content removals, violation notices, account suspensions, or other administrative actions should be addressed to the official Post Your Heart Help Desk where they will be forwarded to the appropriate department for review.
Please refrain from using the Post Your Heart Forums, the Post Your Heart Private Message system or personal email to staff members for these concerns. You are unlikely to receive a proper response and will be redirected to use the official Help Desk.
Petitions and other forms of public outcry are discouraged and will have no affect on Managerial Reviews of staff actions and may in fact be detrimental to the case in question.
