The PurplePort Guide to Etiquette in the Groups

Everyone loves good banter, and online communities can thrive with lively discussion (often perceived as their lifeblood). But things can quickly get out of hand, resulting in bad feelings, someone getting suspended, or worse. 

The advice in this guide outlines things to avoid (and things to do more of!) when participating in the Groups. You can apply this to practically every website with forums or groups.

Summary

• More people read than post. The opinions you read are often the minority (and remember, they are just opinions).
• Be nice. It's easier than being nasty, reduces your stress levels, and makes you feel good.
• Arguing is pointless.
• We're a community and should be helping one another.
• Don't fall foul of the rules (otherwise, bad things may happen).

Post in the right place

On PurplePort, we have various groups, and our members can leave groups they don't like. Take time to find (and join) the correct group so your new post is in the right place.

When you participate in the groups:

• Don't post casting calls in the groups
• Don't post events in the groups
• Don't name and shame

Who's reading, and who's contributing

There are fundamentally two types of people in online communities:

• Those that post and read
• Those that only read (in the old days of the Internet, they were affectionately known as 'lurkers')

The Pareto principle suggests that the ratio between lurkers and posters is 80/20, and our stats back that up. So for every person that posts in the groups, four people don't. And that is only those that look or post. We don't have stats (but could) to say what portion of our thriving community completely disregards the groups.

Many people on websites like PurplePort don't bother with the forums/groups because they have had a bad experience elsewhere or are too afraid to put themselves in a position where they might get attacked. We wanted to change this and make our groups welcoming and friendly.

We can all do things to help those who have either had a bad experience elsewhere or are too shy to post on PurplePort.

Realise that opinions vary

Opinions vary and can be based on facts. They can also be based on facts-as-you-know-it, rumours, or whatever has been drunk that night. It's still just an opinion.

No one is charged with changing the opinions of others. It's not a God-given duty to correct the wrongs posted online. Often it will result in arguments.

If someone posts an opinion that you disagree with, by all means, post your alternative view and leave it at that. When you start arguing, you have already lost.

Arguing on the Internet

Generally speaking, arguing online is a useless pastime left only to those who have way too much time on their hands. 

If you feel compelled to argue, use the messaging system. Don't air your laundry in public. We don't want to see it, no one does, and it can make you look terrible. You don't want that, and you don't want readers to form negative opinions of you based on a group post from four years ago.

The Futility of Arguing

Arguing is generally a waste of time in real life or online. The best thing that will happen is that you might convince others that you are right, but you will also disenfranchise them and won't win a new friend.

It's rare to find a situation where you will win a new friend by publicly correcting their errors or mistakes. Instead, send them a message saying they are wrong and you don’t want to embarrass them publicly. They may correct their error and even thank you for pointing it out. This approach is less painful, and you may win new friends.

We are a community (so let's act like it)

We didn’t start PurplePort to duplicate our rivals (which were disappointing in many ways). It was designed to be a better system by embracing ideas and influence from hundreds of real and virtual places.

One of the things particularly disliked by others from some of our rivals was the behaviour in their forums. Even the name 'forum' can send shivers down your spine (as it does many people). We named our forums the 'Groups' to convey better what we wanted - for us to be a community (a group).

We help, encourage and support each other. We don't attack each other. Individuals within a group don't attack each other in the real world, so why would they do so in our groups? It makes no sense.

There is nothing to gain by attacking our neighbours. We don't get more land on PurplePort by winning an argument. We are not perceived as more of an alpha male or dominant female because we have trounced someone else's opinion. It's often the opposite, despite our best efforts. Take that into account when you post your rebuttals.

We have rules

We do have rules, but these are not draconian. They are there to help, but not to restrict. Honestly, if your mouse is hovering over the reply button while you deliberate your response, then no amount of rules are going to stop you. If you are pondering, then you shouldn't post.

If you need a refresher, check out our Terms of use for PurplePort (don't worry, it's written in plain English).

Suspensions happen, but they are different on PurplePort

Sometimes, we will be forced to suspend someone from doing something (either temporarily for a time or permanently). 

On PurplePort, many things differ from our rivals, and getting suspended is no exception. Here, the punishment fits the crime. If you abuse the groups, you lose the ability to post in the groups. Simple as that. 

For information about suspensions from the groups, see How does getting suspended work on PurplePort and Group participation suspension and ban policy.

Removed posts and replies 

Deleted group posts end up in 'The Sin Bin', where they languish for all eternity to contemplate what they did wrong. Replies of group posts that need to be removed are buried instead of being deleted entirely. 

We will delete posts at the drop of a hat if we don't think it belongs on PurplePort or has headed so far south that it is offensive.

We will routinely delete posts that are (or look like) casting calls/events. By all means, moan on Facebook when we inevitably delete your well-crafted casting call in the groups. However, repeatedly doing this will result in a period away from the groups and may even lead to losing group post privileges altogether.

The same goes for your replies to posts. We will bury them, and if you get into a habit of writing stuff that gets buried, we'll reduce our workload by suspending your ability to cause work for us.

Let's work together (it's the only way)

We're a community. We need to act like it and work together.

Help each other, don't attack each other. Support each other, and be the change that you want to see. A community needs to be supportive to blossom because anything else attenuates our combined ability to grow - both as a community and individually.

Think about how good things could be if we mentor the newcomers and show them what we only discovered after years of effort. Think about what they will share with us once they find their feet and what we could learn from them.

This is not the only way and may not be the best either

We don't claim the only workable view; better ways may exist. PurplePort is about helping people to create incredible images. It's always been more than just a portfolio hosting service. It runs deeper than that and needs to be because it's what we all want.

Bringing like-minded and creative people together will always cause some friction, and that's fine. What's not okay is to attack one another, regardless of the disagreement.

Play nice, and be kind. Make awesome images, learn, help, explore and socialise. Anything else should go on another site (or, more likely, in your deleted items).