Hi everyone,
There has been an increasing amount of junk threads lately (by 'junk threads' I mean threads that don't really 'show off' anything that could even remotely be called 'work'). I did not think it would have to come to this, but I have decided to come up with a few guidelines for posting in this section, which hopefully will make browsing this section of the forum a more pleasant experience for all.
[color=#ff0033][b]SECTION 1: Rules for posting [u]NEW THREADS[/u]:[/b]
1. [b]You are the #1 judge[/b] of whether your product is satisfying enough to [u]you[/u] to bother sharing. If you don't think it's worth your own time, it probably isn't worth ours, so refrain from posting it until your opinion changes favourably. Failure to comply will result in your thread being [u]locked[/u].
2.a) Accept the fact that when you post here, [b]you will receive criticism[/b]. If you are not prepared to that eventuality, again, refrain from submitting your work to our community. Responding personally to constructive criticism by insulting, flaming etc. will result in your thread being [u]locked[/u]. Repeated violations of this rule will result in your account being [u]banned[/u].
b) Be prepared to put said constructive criticism to use. If you are repeatedly given the same advice, yet you continue ignoring it, then you aren't doing anybody a favour. This isn't really a rule so much as common sense; though you will be [u]warned[/u] if you are found to do this repeatedly.
3. [b]Post your own stuff[/b]. Did your friend make that FTM/NSF/whatever? Oh cool. Let [b]them[/b] post it with their [b]own[/b] account. Failure to do so will result in the FTM being taken down and the thread being [u]locked[/u]. This includes files generated with automatic converters, "remixes" of other peoples work etc. Post only files you made yourself.
Needless to say, you should never, ever post anything someone else made and subsequently claim it as your own. This constitutes violation of the copyright law and will result in the offending thread being [u]deleted[/u] and your account being [u]banned[/u].
4. If you plan to post files more often than once in a while, please stick to [b]one single thread[/b] and keep new files there. The reason for this request is to keep the thread activity down and avoid having new threads pushed down faster than necessary.
5. When posting FTM files, please only upload files that are compatible with the most recent version of Famitracker.
[color=#ff0033][b]SECTION 2: Rules for posting in [u]EXISTING THREADS[/u]:[/b]
1. [b]Offer constructive criticism[/b] as much as possible. It's okay not to have anything constructive to offer, but hey, no one is forcing you to respond. Just saying "it's bad" or "you suck" doesn't really make anyone a better composer, artist or anything else in life really. So make sure you do your best to point out flaws, specific points to improve upon, and of course applaud anything positive you think is worth mentioning.
Unconstructive posters will be formally [u]warned[/u]; repeat offenders will have their posts deleted. Any attempt to restore deleted posts will result in your account being [u]ban[/u].
Another thing that might be worth pointing out is that this is [b]not a place for 100% accurate covers[/b]. Perhaps it's not necessary to include this in the guidelines anymore, but I wanted to mention it nonetheless. Nitpicking is fine, as long as you don't make a rule for other people follow lest they be flamed for 'not being accurate'. Because that's not constructive criticism.
2. Do your best to [b]stay on topic[/b]. Of course any discussion is prone to go off-topic, just try and use common sense. Whenever possible, off-topic discussion that has gone on for too long will be [u]split[/u] from the original thread.
3.a) Do your best not to bump old topics (say, older than a month) unless you have something [b]substantial[/b] and [b]important[/b] to add. Again, this is more a guideline than an actual forum rule, but as a rule of thumb, if a thread is below 2/3 of the first page, you should probably check the date on the last post before posting in it.
This does [b]not[/b] apply if the thread you are posting it is [b]your own[/b], provided that you are contributing something new to the thread.
b) Similarly, do your best not to post twice in a row. As the saying goes: [b]post less, say more.[/b] That is, of course, unless you are bumping your old thread or have something important to add (see above). Of course, accidental double posts happen; I usually take care of those as soon as I see them.
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Lastly, [b]keep it clean[/b], folks. This applies to everything from language quality, appropriate thread title, proper use of tags (such as quotation tags), your attitude, everything. This rule isn't so much a rule as a guideline. Just use common sense really.
I am locking this thread, but it's important to know why: [b]I am absolutely open for suggestions[/b], but because the forum software is wonky and broken and will revert this thread to a normal one the instant I edit it, which I do not want, I have decided to lock the thread instead and, if you have any suggestions, just send them to me via private message (or MSN, email, Facebook, Skype or whichever you prefer), and I will delete this thread and make a new one (since that's the only way I can keep this an announcement until we get our new forum software).
So there we go. Happy showing off! :)
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