Fax Celestis
2011-05-16, 07:36 PM
Okay, so, preface: I'm a bit biased on this matter since I just had a thread about this (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=199151) locked, but I wanted to open up some discussion about this for a sec.
The rules make the two following statements about monetary transactions via this forum:
Commercial (For-Profit) Advertising
Posting advertisements for commercial products, services, or events will result in an immediate ban, and all advertisements removed. Note that a suggestion of a product in the course of a related discussion is not considered advertising (unless the poster holds a personal stake in the finances of the company suggested). For example, if you are posting to a thread regarding d20 rules for shipboard combat, feel free to point other posters to a sourcebook on the topic. You can even link to the company that publishes it—as long as you do not work for that company. But do not start a thread whose sole purpose is to trumpet Book X and declare its greatness to the population at large.
(Exception: Representatives of Giant in the Playground and/or its licensees and distributors are permitted to make posts advertising services and products related directly to Giant in the Playground. They are not permitted to make posts advertising other services they might provide.)
If you wish to advertise a non-commercial website, please refer to rules regarding advertising.
Advertising/Linking
As noted above, commercial (for-profit) advertising is not allowed on GiantITP.com. However, you ARE permitted to post about or start threads advertising non-profit websites; either charity events or merely amateur/fan sites that do not sell anything. Please be sure to observe the rules governing Spam and multiple-thread cross-posting, however, and make sure your plug is in the most appropriate forum (usually Friendly Banter).
You may always advertise or link to works of art online, such as other webcomics, fiction sites, music sites, or anything else that generates original artistic content—even if that site also makes a profit off of that work. We don't want the rules against advertising to prevent people from discovering new creative works that they will love, and we don't want to penalize artists for trying to make a living off of their work. However, if a site only resells creative work and does not have any of that work available online, then it is primarily a commercial site and cannot be advertised here.
Now, because of the way this is phrased, a thread for commissioned works (art, game design, or otherwise) does not fall under either of these rules: the first specifically discusses hotlinking to websites specifically designated for pay-only services and large-scale commercial enterprises (and in fact, seems more like an extension of the no spam rule), and the second's intent seems to be that linking to something like, say, a deviantArt artist that offers commissioned work is okay. Neither rule, however, directly discusses what exactly happens in that space between 'corporate enterprise' and 'not penalizing artists for trying to make a living off their work'.
There is a vague gray area also holed up in that you can link to another forum that contains the same text (in your signature, even!) and have it be okay.
All in all, this section of rules requires some revision in my opinion, or at least some clarification. Personally, I see little harm in allowing people to post threads for commissions, even if they are restricted to particular forums (Media, Homebrew, and Arts and Crafts, probably): other forums do it all the time and there is little problem there--aside from a Caveat Emptor addendum to the current rules, very little would have to change.
Also please don't lock this thread after replying: this is a topic that I have follow-up questions for, and I'd like to keep it all in the same place.
The rules make the two following statements about monetary transactions via this forum:
Commercial (For-Profit) Advertising
Posting advertisements for commercial products, services, or events will result in an immediate ban, and all advertisements removed. Note that a suggestion of a product in the course of a related discussion is not considered advertising (unless the poster holds a personal stake in the finances of the company suggested). For example, if you are posting to a thread regarding d20 rules for shipboard combat, feel free to point other posters to a sourcebook on the topic. You can even link to the company that publishes it—as long as you do not work for that company. But do not start a thread whose sole purpose is to trumpet Book X and declare its greatness to the population at large.
(Exception: Representatives of Giant in the Playground and/or its licensees and distributors are permitted to make posts advertising services and products related directly to Giant in the Playground. They are not permitted to make posts advertising other services they might provide.)
If you wish to advertise a non-commercial website, please refer to rules regarding advertising.
Advertising/Linking
As noted above, commercial (for-profit) advertising is not allowed on GiantITP.com. However, you ARE permitted to post about or start threads advertising non-profit websites; either charity events or merely amateur/fan sites that do not sell anything. Please be sure to observe the rules governing Spam and multiple-thread cross-posting, however, and make sure your plug is in the most appropriate forum (usually Friendly Banter).
You may always advertise or link to works of art online, such as other webcomics, fiction sites, music sites, or anything else that generates original artistic content—even if that site also makes a profit off of that work. We don't want the rules against advertising to prevent people from discovering new creative works that they will love, and we don't want to penalize artists for trying to make a living off of their work. However, if a site only resells creative work and does not have any of that work available online, then it is primarily a commercial site and cannot be advertised here.
Now, because of the way this is phrased, a thread for commissioned works (art, game design, or otherwise) does not fall under either of these rules: the first specifically discusses hotlinking to websites specifically designated for pay-only services and large-scale commercial enterprises (and in fact, seems more like an extension of the no spam rule), and the second's intent seems to be that linking to something like, say, a deviantArt artist that offers commissioned work is okay. Neither rule, however, directly discusses what exactly happens in that space between 'corporate enterprise' and 'not penalizing artists for trying to make a living off their work'.
There is a vague gray area also holed up in that you can link to another forum that contains the same text (in your signature, even!) and have it be okay.
All in all, this section of rules requires some revision in my opinion, or at least some clarification. Personally, I see little harm in allowing people to post threads for commissions, even if they are restricted to particular forums (Media, Homebrew, and Arts and Crafts, probably): other forums do it all the time and there is little problem there--aside from a Caveat Emptor addendum to the current rules, very little would have to change.
Also please don't lock this thread after replying: this is a topic that I have follow-up questions for, and I'd like to keep it all in the same place.