Doller Etiquette & Criticism-MUST READ FOR EVERYONE!

[Silver_Wolf_Kitty]

There seem to be many dollers on here these days who don't quite understand the concepts of etiquette and constructive criticism, so we felt a crash course was needed in it for all members. THIS IS A MUST READ FOR ALL DOLLERS, REGARDLESS OF THEIR TIME HERE OR DOLLING! We are tired of the rudeness and this will now be your only warning.

Doller Etiquette
A lot of people don't think of etiquette when they are posting in here, but there are in fact some special things that need to be taken in consideration for dollers.

1. BASIC ETIQUETTE: First off, all basic board etiquette rules apply. This means:
-Do not post hateful replies to anyone, regardless of whatever they did to you, including doll theft(which is a situation where a moderator should be contacted).
-Do not spam, even in your own threads. I know you think it's fine there, but it really could result in your thread being deleted. So, use chat or IM folks.
-Do not repeatedly point out someone's mistakes. This will be elaborated in criticism.

2. DOLLING IS AN ART!: Because dolling is considered an art form, it should be respected like one. You wouldn't steal the Mona Lisa and claim you made it, what makes it any different for a person's dolls? Thus, all copyright laws are to be respected, as well as user set down rules on here INCLUDING if they indicate a doll is not adoptable.

2. BASE CREDIT: All sites have their own different rules for base credit and base usage, which must be followed. You should post credit with every doll you make, but that doesn't mean other members should flame you for not doing it since its possible you lost the site or even that the site has long been gone. Just leave a little, polite note in your post to the other person with the site if it was forgotten though. It should be noted that some bases are unavailable for use, but this will be covered more in another topic.

3. FRANKENDOLLING: This isn't something often seen on here, but it deserves a mentioning too. this is when a member takes another's doll or base and removes pieces to add to other dolls. This NEVER is allowed and if it occurs, a moderator should be contacted instead of you trying to take care of it yourself. It should be noted, however, that this is allowed on YOUR own dolls because they are yours to do so with.

4. COPYING: This is when a person traces of copying another doll pixel for pixel. They may think it's their work because they did it on their own, but it really is just another version of frankendolling. This is not allowed and a oderator should be contacted if it occurs.


Criticism
Most people don't understand that there is a fine line between helpful advice and simply being spiteful. I will give an example post of what is something you should not do.

That doll is terrible! Not only did you pillow shade, but you forgot to give base credit!

I know that wasn't long, but it was enough to hurt not only the doller's feeling, but to convince them they shouldn't continue dolling. Here is the way it should've been.

That looks good for just starting out! The only thing I might suggest is you look into some tutorials on shading because you are doing something called pillow shading. Here is a great site to find them: examplesite. Also, you forgot base credit. In the future, try to remember that, but here it is: examplesite2.

Can you see the improvement? The criticism was polite, gave links where the person could find extra help, and also gently pointed out the little mistake they had made. This would encourage them to continue dolling and improving their skills.

Criticism in general should always be helpful and polite. It is meant to point out mistakes in a kind way with the intention of helping the person in question, not of running them out. People who repeatedly give cruel, hateful criticism will find themselves at the mercy of our punishment procedures. This is a serious issue that all dollers should consider looking at in themselves because I can barely name even one at the moment who isn't giving bad criticism.

Note: If you have nothing useful to add to a topic, then don't post. Especially if the doller is asking specifically for CC; please don't waste their time by just adding a vacuous comment, or a remark on the base. Most dollers would prefer it if people commented on the clothes, hair and shading; after all, that is what they have worked on.

[Elanorea]

Thank you!

*sticky'd*