Quote:RULES FOR GROUPS

while the partnership system is somewhat up to the people involved, when a group is formed from multiple people looking for the same thing out of their development, a small degree of restriction is necessary. its nothing major, and is only in the rules to ensutre Crimson Daggers stays open, positive, and friendly to any newcomers, despite their skill level.

lets say for example that you arent getting enough robots out of the bloodsports challenges, and dont quite know how to incorporate them into your work on your own. you and some friends get together on the forums and decide youll tackle the problem together in a group format, to help one another along the way. this is great, and an awesome idea we totally stand behind, but to ensure a level of quality control, there are some basic rules youll have to follow.

1) ALL GROUPS MUST BE OPEN
Essentially, because crimson daggers is a community routed in equality and fairness, all groups and group challenges must be open. If your group is tackling mecha designs and a beginner wants in to bolster his portfolio and learn with you, he must be let in. but this isnt so much of a problem due to the second group rule, which is-

2) GROUPS WILL NOT HAVE MEMBER LISTS
And why should they need them? the people in the group who are active know who they are, and by posting in the groups work thread they can all see who they are and what each other are doing. when everyone active is posting and discussing, theres no need for lists or rosters, its all right there in your thread, for everyone to see. those who are more active in the thread will (obviously) be more associated with it, and those less active will (obviously) not come to mind when the group is talked about. In this way, by limiting it to a thread for work and productivity, a ned for lists and rosters is effectively deleted. but who mamages the group?

3) ALL GROUPS HAVE A LEADER
of course, when organizing streams, challenges, and development deadlines within a group, someone needs to be in charge in order to make sure everything is done and effective. as such, all groups should have a leader (or leaders)- most likely the person who made the group and started the ball rolling. the duties of the group leader are as follows- to 1) manage and direct the group in a positive way in relation to what the group is supposed to be focused on. essentially, if its a robot group, youd better make some interesting robot topics for the members. 2) to ensure a level of quality control within your group by making sure noone is being made fun of, left out, alienated, or pushed aside. IF there is a legitimate problem with a member, warn them as such. if the problem persists, notify me (Dan Warren) and some action will be taken on the forums if necessary. KEEP IN MIND that group leaders arent better or worse than the people in the group, they are merely the founders of that group- there for a level of wuality control and management to make sure the thread stays positive.

4) ELITISM WILL NOT BE TOLERATED
Need I explain any further? were all students here, with a respect for learning. there will be no tier system, no hierarchys, and no alienation based on skill. Any contests or incentives a group offers must be based on merit alone, much like the goldenboys, and be a level playing field for new members of all skill levels.

5) GROUPS WILL CREATE, AND DESTROY, THEMSELVES
This might sound weird. let me explain. its my final p oint about groups and its a fairly common sense one. if a group is made and it goes good for a while, then dies out, it simply means people are no longer interested in that topic. we vary the bloodsports contests from week to week to prevent this otherwise inevitable fizzle in the entries. but with a focused group setting on a limited variety of topics, some decline in interest may occur over time. dont be offended, and dont get upset. all trends in art have their ups and downs. If you have an incredibly successful group for several months, enjoy it, and if participation drops over time, understand that it is simply due to the topic becoming stale. move on to something else, expand your topics of discussion, or join someone elses group to stay fresh. *note that this is less likely for groups routed in rotating themes, but a serious concern for groups only focused on one particular thing over a long period of time)

AND LASTLY

despite what group youre participating in at the moment, all groups are a part of the collective CRIMSON DAGGERS. any subforum of group here is purely for your benefit as an artist, so feel free to explore and work in anything available. if something doesnt exist yet that you are interested in, make the group for it, and good things will come as a result. lets keep this fun and positive, like this forum should be.

<3

Dan