BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 / Posting guidelines for the forum

**Posted by TeeJay** February 14, 2014 7:39 am

Just throwing a question out there for the mods and admins: Would it make sense to come up with some kind of high level posting guideline for the forum? Especially for the fanart and fanfic.

It's happened to me a few times that I was told to move a post I made because it was in the "wrong" thread. "Wrong", in this case, was by some kind of unwritten internal forum rules, like a fanfic rec should be posted in the non-slash rec thread rather than the master list thread.

Fanart is also really hard to classify. If it's general fanart, it should go in the fanart thread, but if it's your own fanart, it should go in the... actually, where should this go? And if it's a mockup, it should go in the mockup thread, although I guess a mockup is also fanart. What exactly classifies as a mockup? Is a Photoshop manipulation of a screencap automatically a mockup?

I hope you can see where this gets confusing because the lines are a bit blurry. Of course the universal solution to this is just to open a new thread with every new thing you post, which some people tend to do. I administrate other forums myself, so I understand that a certain amount of policing the members is indicated, because things can get messy when you end up having 15 threads around the same topic or threads completely veer off the original topic they were created for. Especially for a forum with a larger number of members.

It's a fine line trying not to do too much policing and keeping a certain amount of order. I must say I get discouraged in posting more fanart if I'm told every so often that I've posted it in the wrong thread when I've honestly tried to figure out where best to post it first, rather than going the easy route and open a new thread for it. Really sucks the fun out of it, you know? Having some kind of guideline for that would really help.

**Posted by SusiGo** February 14, 2014 7:58 am

So far we have fared quite well without any strict guidelines. Problems could usually be solved in a friendly and amicable way. Personally, I am not a fan of too many rules and I think that most people know about the basic netiquette.
I really do not see the problem in your case. When you wish to post your own fan art you are free to do so and it will be appreciated. But please do not be cross if people ask if it is your own because they have not seen the signature. You may choose to post it in the general thread or start one of your own.
We did not have any problems of this kind so far. Therefore I do not really see the need for making rules. But of course I would like to hear the opinion of Sherlock, Davina, and Wholocked about this.

Last edited by SusiGo (February 14, 2014 7:58 am)

**Posted by Davina** February 14, 2014 8:53 am

We seem to have fared quite well so far. One option is to PM any mod and ask for advice as to where to place a post.

**Posted by TeeJay** February 14, 2014 10:01 am

Just to avoid misunderstandings, I didn't want to imply that I was cross. Like I said, I understand that you'd tell people if they posted things where they didn't belong. If my comment from yesterday in the fanart thread was read as me being annoyed, that wasn't my intention. I should probably have added a smiley.

Asking a mod where to post certain things seem like overkill to me, at least if it's something as simple as a piece of general fanart. I can only speak for myself when I say that if that became necessary, I would just not post the fanart at all, because the extra step seems like we're making a mountain out of a molehill.

I'm perfectly fine with you not wishing to create more specific guidelines, and I certainly understand the notion. We shouldn't make things more complicated that they need to be.

**Posted by saturnR** February 14, 2014 7:58 pm

I'm not involved with fanart so can't comment on that but with fanfiction, wholocked has created masterlists for slash, non-slash & member fics so if you look through the list at the kinds of stories that are put into each list you can tell where a new fic might fit best.

There are also seperate threads for beta requests and plot bunnies. The roundtable thread is the everything-else thread.

**Posted by TeeJay** February 14, 2014 9:04 pm

saturnR wrote:
I'm not involved with fanart so can't comment on that but with fanfiction, wholocked has created masterlists for slash, non-slash & member fics so if you look through the list at the kinds of stories that are put into each list you can tell where a new fic might fit best.

There are also seperate threads for beta requests and plot bunnies. The roundtable thread is the everything-else thread.

Yeah, except you're not supposed to add recs to the master list threads, they're supposed to go in the fanfic recs thread. Unless it's your own fic, then it should go into the "fanfics by members" threads. I think slash vs. non-slash is pretty self-explanatory if you've been round the fanfic block.

But since it's not been a problem before, then it's probably just my inner German who's craving for rules and regulations. I'm fine to leave things as they are.

**Posted by Wholocked** February 15, 2014 12:08 am

Fanfic is mostly my playpen. The 'rule' about posting in the rec thread is really just to keep things together and to not confuse me! hehe. Most people who follow these threads check for new posts to the rec threads. The Masterlists are generally only the first two or three posts and I keep them updated based on what's in the rec threads. There aren't really rules, but the first post in each thread should indicate what the posts in that thread should be.

Mostly in fanfic it's just about people knowing where to find things. To keep that simple, I'll close the Masterlists so no comments can be added. That might make it easier.

The other one you mentioned being the fan forum's own works was mostly to separate between "I've read this fic and I think it's great you should read it" and "I wrote this fic and I'd love you to read it and tell me what you think". I don't know maybe that doesn't make sense to anyone except me

I don't think we need 'rules' necessarily. Threads should be self explanatory. If they're not we can look at fixing that.

As for fanart, I don't go in there much so I can't comment. I guess just post where it seems most appropriate, and if you're asked to post it elsewhere, just take that with grace and if you like, ask for an explanation as to why the mod didn't think the thread you posted it in was appropriate.

As Susi said, there's no harm in starting new threads if you don't think an existing thread is appropriate. We do try to keep the subject matter together, not to be difficult but so that members can easily follow conversations and discussions stay in one place. When it comes to fan works, that probably doesn't apply as much as comments will be made on each new piece of work so which thread it's in doesn't matter much.

Having said that, I only maintain the Masterlists in fanfic for the three rec threads, so items posted elsewhere won't be included. That's not a rule, that's just me being realistic about what I can manage to monitor and keep an eye on

**Posted by Sherlock Holmes** February 17, 2014 9:46 am

Rules...on a Sherlock forum? *gasp*

Rules are the one thing that would put me off joining any kind of forum...I'd just look at them and be all "Who the hell are you to tell me what to do?!" I'm sure others feel the same...

I don't really post much in the fan fic/fan art section so I wasn't aware any problems existed there. I guess it makes sense to have Slash & Non Slash topics but other than that I shouldn't think it really matters...

**Posted by SusiGo** February 17, 2014 9:49 am

I am happy we agree on that, SH.

**Posted by Wholocked** March 18, 2014 11:22 pm

I see in other threads that the issue of rules has come up again.

Unfortunately the situation that has arisen would not be resolved by any rules. As long as people are cognisant of the purpose of the threads they're posting in, keep those threads on topic, and take suggestions that their post is off-topic in the way it is intended (ie as a means of keeping the forum somewhat logical) rather than a personal attack then that's all we would ask for.

Threads are like conversations. Sometimes people participate from the very beginning. Sometimes people dive in half-way through and sometimes those people get the wrong end of the stick in terms of what is being discussed. Being advised that their contribution to a thread is not actually on topic and should maybe be posted elsewhere is not a personal attack. It is a request to keep the conversation going in the way it has been.

If a member is going to enter a thread belatedly, then they are taking the risk that they do not have the whole picture. Some of our threads are very VERY long and have been going for a long time. I am not suggesting that everyone should read every post in a thread before participating.

I am, however, asking that members be patient and understanding when they are advised that their posts in a thread are offtopic.

I have seen some example of members becoming belligerent and argumentative with both members and mods who have advised them that they are posting something off topic. If we were to have rules, I would like to think that behaviour like that would be something those rules would address.

This is what I would like to see exemplified by our members:
* Common sense
* an awareness that in a text-based medium sometimes messages are misunderstood
* an awareness that for some members English is not their first language
* recognition that being asked to clarify or post elsewhere is not a personal attack
* a willingness to work with the mods and members to ensure everyone has an enjoyable forum experience (not just oneself)
* Most of all, remembering that we are here to celebrate Sherlock, in all his adaptations; and also the work of those who have brought his stories to life for us.

If anyone is concerned or confused about any experience they have had on the forum, I encourage them to discuss it with the relevant members via PM, rather than turning it into an off-topic drama. Should that not resolve the problem, please feel free to contact any of the mods, or the boss.

(Please note that this post is my own thoughts and opinions and may not necessarily reflect the thoughts and opinions of the other mods or SH)

**Posted by Sherlock Holmes** March 18, 2014 11:29 pm

Wholocked wrote:
I see in other threads that the issue of rules has come up again.

Unfortunately the situation that has arisen would not be resolved by any rules. As long as people are cognisant of the purpose of the threads they're posting in, keep those threads on topic, and take suggestions that their post is off-topic in the way it is intended (ie as a means of keeping the forum somewhat logical) rather than a personal attack then that's all we would ask for.

Threads are like conversations. Sometimes people participate from the very beginning. Sometimes people dive in half-way through and sometimes those people get the wrong end of the stick in terms of what is being discussed. Being advised that their contribution to a thread is not actually on topic and should maybe be posted elsewhere is not a personal attack. It is a request to keep the conversation going in the way it has been.

If a member is going to enter a thread belatedly, then they are taking the risk that they do not have the whole picture. Some of our threads are very VERY long and have been going for a long time. I am not suggesting that everyone should read every post in a thread before participating.

I am, however, asking that members be patient and understanding when they are advised that their posts in a thread are offtopic.

I have seen some example of members becoming belligerent and argumentative with both members and mods who have advised them that they are posting something off topic. If we were to have rules, I would like to think that behaviour like that would be something those rules would address.

This is what I would like to see exemplified by our members:
* Common sense
* an awareness that in a text-based medium sometimes messages are misunderstood
* an awareness that for some members English is not their first language
* recognition that being asked to clarify or post elsewhere is not a personal attack
* a willingness to work with the mods and members to ensure everyone has an enjoyable forum experience (not just oneself)
* Most of all, remembering that we are here to celebrate Sherlock, in all his adaptations; and also the work of those who have brought his stories to life for us.

If anyone is concerned or confused about any experience they have had on the forum, I encourage them to discuss it with the relevant members via PM, rather than turning it into an off-topic drama. Should that not resolve the problem, please feel free to contact any of the mods, or the boss.

(Please note that this post is my own thoughts and opinions and may not necessarily reflect the thoughts and opinions of the other mods or SH)

I like those guidelines. They seem sensible and not too "rulesy".

Could you PM me the threads this has been happening in and maybe I could post a sticky thread in those particular forums with a few general guidelines like these (nothing too serious or bossy - just to help new people out more than anything).

**Posted by Schmiezi** February 11, 2015 7:44 pm

After following the upcoming discussion on the fanfic thread, I would like to guide everyone's attention to two things Wholocked has written nearly one year ago:

First this:

Wholocked wrote:
This is what I would like to see exemplified by our members:
* Common sense

and second, this:

Wholocked wrote:
If anyone is concerned or confused about any experience they have had on the forum, I encourage them to discuss it with the relevant members via PM, rather than turning it into an off-topic drama.

The idea behind both points is that people should act with more self responsibility. On one hand, you should just THINK before posting, on the other hand, if one member writes something that doesn't fit into the thread you are in, just contact her or tell her publicly that she (or he) is writing off-topic. We need neither mods nor rules to solve those little things that always happen on forums.

**Posted by tonnaree** February 11, 2015 7:49 pm

Can we make it a rule that new memebers have to dance naked around a bonfire humming the Sherlock theme before they can start posting?

**Posted by Schmiezi** February 11, 2015 7:50 pm

Agreed.

**Posted by tonnaree** February 11, 2015 7:53 pm

As a matter of fact could we make the whole forum "clothing optional"?

**Posted by SolarSystem** February 11, 2015 8:03 pm

Who says anyone's ever wearing clothes while being here...?

**Posted by Whisky** February 11, 2015 8:13 pm

I'm in my nightie!!

:-P

Also, topic, I don't like loads of rules in forums, it makes them boring. I rather have the occasional clash with someone and smooth it over.

**Posted by tonnaree** February 11, 2015 8:32 pm

SolarSystem wrote:
Who says anyone's ever wearing clothes while being here...?

Silly me. I should've thought of that.

**Posted by SolarSystem** February 11, 2015 8:56 pm

You should have indeed.

**Posted by SusiGo** February 11, 2015 9:13 pm

I agree with everything. Common sense, responsibility, naked humming, and bonfires. Count me in.