RULES// Forums Topic/ Graphics/ Please Be Aware


1. STEALING

A stolen graphic pertains only to those stolen from Marapets members. A graphic stolen from a site outside of Marapets should be reported to that site. We will only be dealing with member to member theft. Please remember ideas cannot be stolen.

If someone has stolen your graphic then send in a support ticket. If there is someone regularly stealing and/or repeatedly buying graphics to sell on please mail me and I will deal with it.

PUNISHMENT FOR STEALING
1. Minimum-graphic removed, fine and profits removed
2. Minimum-graphic removed, larger fine and profits removed, forum ban over a few hours
3. Minimum-graphic removed and profits removed, one day underaged
4. Minimum-graphic removed and profits removed, 1 week underaged
5. Minimum-graphic removed and profits removed, underaged indefinitely

2. KEEPING YOUR WORK SAFE

We need evidence before we can stop graphics theft. Times and dates are important. Please use one of the following to protect your work:

* Watermark it
* Upload it to another site and send the link to yourself in mail at the end of sale
* Mail yourself daily with a list of who you have sold to and describe the graphic

There will be NO paid protection teams of any sort from this point onwards to chase after stealers or to defend you if you are being harassed. Report to staff instead as that's what we are here for. The report button is there for a reason.

3. RATING/CRITICISM OF OTHERS WORK

If someone is asking for a rating and/or critiques:

Please be polite when offering opinons on others' work. There are people behind these monitors! Whenever possible, try to offer something positive as well. People are more likely to pay attention to someone who makes them feel like they have a chance. A good example is something along the lines of "Good effort but..." A bad example is someone who only says, "You suck." We will NOT tolerate members being persistently spiteful to others about their work.

If you are asking for a rating and/or critiques:

If someone gives you constructive criticism and you don't agree with it, that is not a reason to report them. If you do not wish to have comments then please state it in your first post.

We ask that members make only one rating topic per day. You can edit the topic to add a new graphic if you need to. If people post more than one please politely remind them of the limit.If they create a third then report the second and third posts.

4. WORKING TOGETHER

We have a lot of newcomers to the Graphics forum who are being ignored because they aren't well-known. We ask that while browsing the forum you add a post to someone's topic that might be near the bottom or doesn't have many replies. Even if you just give them a boost or tell them "Good luck" it will help. Everyone appreciates a little acknowledgment. If you believe someone's topic has been ignored because their work isn't very good, a passing comment to encourage and tell them how they could improve would be a friendly gesture. [The only exception to this is a topic where the person specifically asked for no feedback.]

We are not asking people to do this constantly, just when you have the time while browsing.

No groups or Queens/Gods/Rulers of the Graphics Forum are allowed. We want the forum to be one big community for everyone that posts. We are aware some people have felt the need to take it upon themselves to try to improve the forum but with these guidelines and a bigger staff presence that should hopefully be unnecessary now.

5. THE FUTURE

We have heard your requests for sub-forums and are considering the possibilities. What happens in the future is largely dependent on how things work out with these guidelines.

Pass around