A Word on Forum Decorum

By Demand Studios Review Editorial

Posted on 9/8/10:

The Demand Studios forums can be a great resource for information, helping you navigate the ever changing Demand landscape.

You can find out about special assignments, get feedback on title issues or just run a quick question by the community. Or you can use it as a break space to talk about your favorite hobby or that movie you saw last night on TBS when you probably should have been writing.

Unfortunately, the Demand Studios forums can also get you into trouble if you don’t mind some basic P’s and Q’s.

Picture the Forums as a Water Cooler

You need to think of the forums as a virtual water cooler. Remember, you are at work. You are surrounded by your coworkers and within earshot of your bosses. There are community moderators who are authorized to report threads (some of whom seem more quick to do this than others) and before you know it your comments are being read by the powers that be.

 Even if a thread you commented on isn’t reported, the top brass sometimes monitor the forums. They want to be aware of what’s going on so they can sort out any issues their freelancers are having. But if they see you violating the guidelines, they won’t hesitate to ban you from the forums. You may even risk losing your spot as a Demand Studios freelancer. Not good.

So how do you avoid that?

By following the guidelines, of course, and not posting anything you wouldn’t want your bosses to read. Imagine you are in a real workplace, not a virtual one.

Sometimes the Internet, that false sense of anonymity and not having to say something to a person’s face, loosens a tongue more than it would in the real world. But the truth of the matter is the Internet IS the real world.

Of course you never want to threaten or verbally attack anyone on the forums. Use a courteous tone even when disagreeing. Name calling and profanity are never acceptable or accepted.

Do not spam. If you just published a book or you just started a website that you want to share with the community, that’s fine, but don’t make a habit of posting a link to it every other day. This is not only annoying, it violates the forum rules.

Hey, Jesus Freak, There IS No God!

It’s also a good idea to steer clear of topics likely to cause flame wars. You’re never going to convince an atheist that Jesus saves on an online forum, or convince a religious person that they're wasting their time in that pew on Sunday.

You’re never going to convince a pro-lifer that they should go pro-choice, and vice versa.

You won’t get an Obama supporter to admit that George W. Bush was, in the end, one of our greatest Presidents.

Give it up. That’s not what the forums were created for and you’re not doing yourself any good.

You should also remember that copy editors participate on the forums. While they are not supposed to allow personal bias into the editing process, and I’m sure the vast majority do not, we’re all only human.

Do you really want the person you called a commie socialist pig or a money grubbing fascist editing your next article?

So, bottom line, keep it civil. Pretend you’re at an actual office with coworkers you can see and interact with face to face in real time.

If you wouldn’t say what you’re about to type, then refrain and either get back to work, step away from the computer or post a link to the latest cute cat video on YouTube (if you must). 

< Previous Post: Demand Media To Partner With Getty Images?

 Next Post: ICANN Places Demand Media Under Investigation >

Demand Studios Review Home

Tweet