Etiquette Guidelines

Etiquette Guideline

All members of the 123Greetings Studio community are expected to be familiar and comply 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.

Quality and Placement

It is 123Greetings Studio’s 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 Content submitted by our members; all manner of artworks are welcome providing they meet with our etiquette and copyright policies. While we do not impose quality standards we do require that you practice self-moderation in what you choose to submit and that you submit your works into the most appropriate category.

Prohibited Commentary

Prohibited commentary is typically considered to be inherently disrespectful, aggressive, or otherwise abusive.

We insist that you refrain from comments which are racist, bigoted, or which otherwise offensively target a philosophy or religion, culture, ethnicity and/or group of people. 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. Defamatory content is strictly prohibited. Defamatory content includes but is not limited to words and graphic depictions. Defamation may be expressed or implied. If you feel that you have been the target of harassment, personal insults or other severe behavior that violates the prohibited commentary and/or exploitive behavior as defined herein, then please notify the staff by using the official 123Greetings Studio helpdesk. 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 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 123Greetings Studio [helpdesk][1]helpdesk.

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, userpages 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 123Greetings Studio welcomes all kinds of original cards; but we MUST insist that the card which you submit be your own original works. Your 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 Content submissions, Scrapbook entries, and the preview images used for written submissions.

Mature Content

When we discuss mature content we are specifically referring to 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, large amounts of simulated blood and gore, or generally violent themes. 123Greetings Studio 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.

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 123Greetings Studio;

• All threads started within a specific forum and all comments within those threads should be relevant to the forums Title.
• 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.
• We insist that forum threads adhere to the same standard set forth for deviation 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 123Greetings Studio 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:

• Your avatar should not contain nudity or sexual content of any sort.
• You may not use avatars specifically created by other users without their explicit permission.
• 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.
• In all other respects your avatar must conform to the guidelines set above in regards to hate propaganda.

Exploits, Vulnerabilities, and Site Abuse

The 123Greetings Studio 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.

Changes in Etiquette Policy

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 123Greetings Studio Status 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 123Greetings Support where they will be forwarded to the appropriate department for review. Please refrain from using the 123Greetings Studio Forums, the 123Greetings Studio Wiki 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 Helpdesk. 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.