Guidelines or Anarchy

[Pixieguts]

Some public and private discussion has recently been happening about whether the network should have some guidelines on how best to participate.

For example, the possibility has arisen of laying down some principles about what is considered spam on the network.

What do you think of this? Guidelines or anarchy?

[northcape]

The problem is defining exactly what is spam, there is a vague dividing line between what is normal for independent artists and what is blatant advertising... I do think some clarification on what the network is actually for might be useful for some people though. As I see it its for networking (rather than promotion), collaboration and knowledge sharing primarily (as Voide just said in a pm). I think the best advice to people planning to post multiple threads advertising their albums/ releases, huge banner sigs (LOL) etc is that this is an artists network and that sort of self promotion is pretty much pointless- it will not work here! Of course everyone also has their own ning page and its fine to do unlimited promotion on your own page but not all over the forums. btw this is not an implicit criticism of any one member in particular, and tbh the problem is not nearly as bad here as on some other ning networks but it can still be annoying. just my own thoughts on the discussion ;-)

[HealeyIsland]

Does this count as Spam?

I'm not sure..... I'm mean Hawaii Spam..... It's ok for big celebs, like my Britney, but is it really spam?

[Pixieguts]

Mmm, delicious spam, we know we all want it... both of you are now officially palace cens0rs and are duly required to report to your leader with any suspicious non-spam activity... as cens0r healey has suggested to me privately, feel free to just call me m'aam in all future missives...

(genuine spam alternatives are genuinely welcome too, thanks north0r!)

[HealeyIsland]

Some essential Spam facts.

Ingredients:
Chopped pork shoulder meat with ham meat added.
Salt (for binding, flavour, and firmness)
Water (to help in mixing)
Sugar (for flavour)
Sodium Nitrite (for colour and as a preservative)
Yum yum!
Nutrition Information For SPAM (original style):
Calories Per Serving: 170
Calories Per Serving From Fat: 140
Serving Size: 2 oz.
Servings Per Container: 6 (large) or 3.5 (small)
Total Fat: 16g
Saturated Fat: 6g
Cholesterol: 40mg
Sodium: 750mg
Total Carbohydrates: 0g
Fiber: 0g
Sugars: 0g
Proteins: 7g
Vitamin A: 0%
Vitamin C: 0%
Calcium: 0%
Iron: 2%

[Pixieguts]

The vote tally so far...

Guidelines: 1
Anarchy: 1
Undecided: 1

[Voide]

My thoughts on the Palace Network purpose:

The Palace Network is a social network with independent artists and music listeners from around the world.

Here are some bullets that I think helps define the purpose:
-socialize and generally have a great time with fellow artists and fans =)
-moderately announce new works in appropriate forums like for example the Announce your latest work here thread or upload new tracks to your profile that will automatically be displayed in the Palace player.
-Artists are encouraged to promote their art/music on their profile page
-discuss topics that relate to the Palace network or the artists works and share thoughts
-invite and participate in collaboration opportunities
-share experiences and help others in their independent artist struggle
-help each other spreading the word about music that we like, because I promise if someone likes your music they most likely will share it with a friend or two.

As a result, my definition of spam (not the edible version) on the palace network is: Anything that does not relate to this social networks purpose as suggested above is spam.

Some examples of what I consider to be spam:
-Posting widgets in comments
-Promoting music in discussions with links, images or a mix of both to the artist profile (on the Palace network or not)

We are fellow artists and most likely many of us will connect and find talent that inspires or appeals to us. This is why we have the artist profile pages here. If one is curious all they have to do is click on your profile picture and they will automagically be taken to your artist page here on the network. I think I speak for all of us when I say that this is not the place to market your music actively - there are PLENTY of sites that have that as their sole purpose and specialty.

The Palace Network is a melting pot for artists to be creative and have fun together regardless of where we are located on this little blue planet of ours. It will be what we make it be!

[Angus Maiden]

i agree 100% with Void0r.

[baskyl]

100% agree to Voides guidelines of anarchy.
Void0r rulez!
:)

[Pixieguts]

So far we have a strong leaning towards having some guidelines. I'm making notes and am in the process of summarising suggestions to present back here soon. Will wait to see if there's more responses before doing that. Thanks to everyone participating so far in drawing up our first 'charter'.

[Bran]

Have read through the postings. Seems like general sense.

Admin Viewpoint
I do admin for other sites and eventually somewhere along the line things can go awry and these discussions ensue. In the end a Network usually has a core few people running the show - The Creator and a group of friends - lots of members who are active and a few who are not. I have observed that the most effective way is to just let the core people do the thing that needs doing, just put the message out. Or if it is a few people "offending" just do individual messages. I have not seen any objections. I think people kind of know when they are over-stepping or they see if they can get away with it. So there is seldom any kickback.

Admin does have wipe buttons in bad cases - "set to STUN!" So basically I'd vote for organized anarchy - you guys seem to have a great sense of fairness. I would trust you to make the right decisions. I have personally had to deal with difficult cases, and found that if there is any "argument" upholding a common-sense issue - red cards are the final word. I do not think you will need that here. Maybe few emails and a few wipes will do the job? Then we can get on making that music and promoting Pixies Palace Music !

General
To be fair I have seen a lot worse on other Ning Sites, ones I joined and promptly left - scented gif animated greetings etc.

I am fairly quiet here - fairly new to electronic stuff so yeah a little out of my depth, learning - great music here and great respect for members - seem like a nice crew. I don't think you have problems here, maybe I missed it.

A Question
Just as a guideline to me . . . I recently followed threads in the video collaboration groups and posted an idea on there. Now I posted a video I had made to show my intentions. Did I do wrong? Is there a guideline for comments, forums and group discussions?

[Pixieguts]

Hey Bran

Thanks for the contribution to this discussion. We are just interested in keeping the network as great as possible for all members and there has been no real major issue or argument that has given rise to this, just a couple of things that seem out of step with what we are doing really. Because the network continues to grow over time, it seems like we are in agreement here that it would be a good idea to just have some guidelines for members so that things are clear. :)

No problem at all with what you posted in the video thread! It was an appropriate forum and also it's a really ace new collaborative project - it's what we all love to see here, thanks heaps, your energy is well appreciated by me that's for sure! =D

[Pixieguts]

Okay, the following post is what I've come up with as a possible new introduction to the network to be posted in the 'Welcome to the Palace Network' discussion thread. Let me know what you all think!