Burble Net

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Forum: Rules of Conduct

The Burble Net Forum has been set up as a launching pad for discussion among artists and art consumers. These guidelines are in place to ensure the maintenance of this purpose within the context of mature and civilized discussion. Violation of any rule will result in a warning, deletion and/or editing of the offensive post. Any poster who repeatedly shows disregard for the guidelines will be banned. By posting here, one agrees to abide by the following regulations.

I. General Rules

1) Absolutely no inflammatory posts will be tolerated. If you want to insult someone, find a support group; please do not post here. All derogatory, sneering, or otherwise insulting posts will be deleted and the poster will be warned of his offense. Should a user violate this rule more than twice, he will be permanently banned from the site.

2) If you really foul up a post, ask a moderator to delete it. It appears that the software does not support post deletion by non-moderators. If you don't want your post to be seen: view it, click "edit" on the left-hand side, delete the contents of the message, and replace it with something like "I would like this post to be deleted."

3) Don’t Double-Post.  If you make a post, then realize you forgot to add something, don’t just make a new post underneath it.  This forum supports an “Edit” feature which allows you to go back and rewrite your posts.

4) Don’t be off-topic.  Use the forums as they are intended.  Don’t talk about your trip to Disney World unless you somehow manage to make it relevant to the board’s topic or it is in the General Discussion board.

II. Critique Forum Guidelines

1) Specify what you want, and only give what is asked.  It is a good idea to tell people what type of critique you expect when you post a work, whether it is harsh or gentle.  Critics should respect these desires and post only what is asked of them (this goes both ways: don’t post a rough critique for an artist who only wants a few tips or pointers and don’t give light critiques to someone who really feels that they want something more).

2) Artists shall receive critique gracefully. This means that any user who posts a work should thank any other user who takes his time to respond. A critic takes time from his life to do something beneficial for you; he deserves thanks. If you do not agree with him, thank him, ignore him, and move on. Artists who do not thank their critics are at risk of having their posting privileges suspended or removed.

3) Critique shall be instructive and tactful. Do not "put down" the artists. They have come to the site because they have an interest in learning about their craft. It is the purpose of this site to encourage that interest and to further their knowledge of the craft. It is expected that critics not only poke and prod, but also provide reasons for their statements. For example, it is not enough to say "this part didn't make sense" to a poem.  A good critic will suggest possible points of confusion and his own guesses as to what was intended and how he reached them.  It is also inappropriate to say, “This piece is perfect; don’t change it.”  It’s okay if you think so, but again, tell the artist what he is doing right.  This is as important as telling him what he is doing wrong.

4) Users will be restricted to posting only one new piece in a forum within a three-day period. This is to lighten the load on the critics as well as allow you to gain more benefit from the critique you receive, and fewer art posts will mean that you have a greater chance of receiving a reply to your piece. In addition, only one work should be in place in each of the critical forums at once. You can, however, have pieces of art posted in as many of the critical forums as you wish.  In these forums it is expected that you work with the critics through a series of revisions before you post another piece. In all of the non-critique forums there is no limit to the number of posts a user may make.

5) For every work a user posts, he is encouraged to respond to at least three other works. At the Burble Net Forum, you cannot take without giving. If you expect others to give you their time, you must be willing to give some of yours in return. You will find that you learn as much from critiquing other artists as you do from reading what they say about your work.

6) Post revisions in the same topic.  You can either edit your original post to include your revision or you may post it as a reply to your original post.  It is recommended that you make at least one revision on each piece you have critiqued or provide reasons for not doing so to ensure your critics that their effort has not been wasted.

III. Artist Forum Guidelines

1) This is not a personal message board.  The artists at Burble Net all maintain “Contact” pages on their sites.  If you have a personal (non-art related) message contact via the information provided therein.  The purpose of these forums is to inspire dialogue between the artists and their audience and among the audience about artwork.

2) No hate-posts.  I know sounds like a repeat of the first rule on this page, but bear with me.  It is OK to be critical, but be tactful and back up your arguments with reasons.  Make sure that you sound helpful not hateful.

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