Crotale
Power User
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Hi everyone.
I have been a member here at PSG for some months now. I know that I my words have no weight in regards to authoritative speech, so my appeal here is not to admonish anyone or instruct anyone on how to operate this website or conduct their business as a member. What I am going to do is to voice a few complaints and hopefully pose some useful and valuable suggestions. I make these complaints having no expectations that any action will be taken and that my suggestions are nothing more than suggestions. I am not an eloquent speaker or writer, and may not best articulate my position, but I will try not to offend or step on anyone’s toes in the process.
Note: if the admins feel that my post is unnecessary, please feel free to delete it and I will be glad to refrain from future discussion regarding these points.
My general complaint encompasses that of the Photoshop Freelance Work (Fee for service section). I have been noting that not all freelancers, including myself, adhere to that sub-forum’s rules. One such violation, albeit likely not intentional, is posting sample images without requesting admin approval via the Report function. I know I totally overlooked that requirement on accident, but I feel it is a key point.
This brings me to the next issue: watermarks. I know this has been discussed ad nauseum here, so I won’t open discussion about whether they should be used, but I do wish to address the actual use of them. If members are going to admonish another member on the effective use of watermarks, there should be a forum approved standard. Deviantart, as an example, offers up a watermark, but does not make it a requirement. I know the PSG rules require use of a watermark in the Freelance for Fee forums; I am not debating that requirement here. That being said, the watermark should be effective enough to prevent use of the image inconsistent with the wishes of the author, as stated in so many words in the sub-forum’s rules.
Photoshop Gurus could offer up a psd template that includes a standard opacity and fill layer of a PSG watermark graphic and disclaimer text. A second layer may include sample text that may be changed to the designer’s online or real name, but should be set to the same level of opacity and fill. This entire watermark, when added to a sample freelance image, can be scaled to meet the image’s dimensions. Use of this watermark as intended shall greatly increase a designer’s opportunity to pass admin/mod approval. This action also should preclude the need to discussion of watermark application in the client’s request thread.
Tailgating the aforementioned complaint, my next one is about unnecessary discussion in client request threads in the Freelance for Fee sub-forums. As I stated earlier, I know it isn’t my authority to comment on or question how PSG members conduct themselves, but I do see a lot of unnecessary discussion in these threads. In my very humble opinion, we should not be discussing potential misconduct by other members, debating watermark effectiveness or any other off-topic items in client request threads. We have Off Topic and Site Suggestions sub-forums for those purposes. Clients should be made aware that they have the Freelance Designer Reviews sub-forums to voice a complaint, or they can PM an admin. I know we cannot expect these sub-forums to remain totally clutter free, but we should strive to stay on topic as much as possible.
Since the overall forum is vBulletin-based, and I have administrated some vBulletin-based forums in the past, I know that sub-sections of the forums can be instrumented to work differently than the main forums. What I mean to say is the Freelance Fee for Service section should be set up to allow only approved members to post. This helps enhance client’s experience and it gives the admins greater flexibility in insuring that enhancement is not impeded.
Any member can have read privileges in this sub-forum, but posting should be limited to pre-approved members. Here are my suggestions:
Hopefully, I have made my case in a way that promotes my suggestions in a positive manner. If I have offended anyone or overstepped by boundaries, I do apologize.
Thanks for your time.
Sincerely,
Cliff
I have been a member here at PSG for some months now. I know that I my words have no weight in regards to authoritative speech, so my appeal here is not to admonish anyone or instruct anyone on how to operate this website or conduct their business as a member. What I am going to do is to voice a few complaints and hopefully pose some useful and valuable suggestions. I make these complaints having no expectations that any action will be taken and that my suggestions are nothing more than suggestions. I am not an eloquent speaker or writer, and may not best articulate my position, but I will try not to offend or step on anyone’s toes in the process.
Note: if the admins feel that my post is unnecessary, please feel free to delete it and I will be glad to refrain from future discussion regarding these points.
My general complaint encompasses that of the Photoshop Freelance Work (Fee for service section). I have been noting that not all freelancers, including myself, adhere to that sub-forum’s rules. One such violation, albeit likely not intentional, is posting sample images without requesting admin approval via the Report function. I know I totally overlooked that requirement on accident, but I feel it is a key point.
This brings me to the next issue: watermarks. I know this has been discussed ad nauseum here, so I won’t open discussion about whether they should be used, but I do wish to address the actual use of them. If members are going to admonish another member on the effective use of watermarks, there should be a forum approved standard. Deviantart, as an example, offers up a watermark, but does not make it a requirement. I know the PSG rules require use of a watermark in the Freelance for Fee forums; I am not debating that requirement here. That being said, the watermark should be effective enough to prevent use of the image inconsistent with the wishes of the author, as stated in so many words in the sub-forum’s rules.
Photoshop Gurus could offer up a psd template that includes a standard opacity and fill layer of a PSG watermark graphic and disclaimer text. A second layer may include sample text that may be changed to the designer’s online or real name, but should be set to the same level of opacity and fill. This entire watermark, when added to a sample freelance image, can be scaled to meet the image’s dimensions. Use of this watermark as intended shall greatly increase a designer’s opportunity to pass admin/mod approval. This action also should preclude the need to discussion of watermark application in the client’s request thread.
Tailgating the aforementioned complaint, my next one is about unnecessary discussion in client request threads in the Freelance for Fee sub-forums. As I stated earlier, I know it isn’t my authority to comment on or question how PSG members conduct themselves, but I do see a lot of unnecessary discussion in these threads. In my very humble opinion, we should not be discussing potential misconduct by other members, debating watermark effectiveness or any other off-topic items in client request threads. We have Off Topic and Site Suggestions sub-forums for those purposes. Clients should be made aware that they have the Freelance Designer Reviews sub-forums to voice a complaint, or they can PM an admin. I know we cannot expect these sub-forums to remain totally clutter free, but we should strive to stay on topic as much as possible.
Since the overall forum is vBulletin-based, and I have administrated some vBulletin-based forums in the past, I know that sub-sections of the forums can be instrumented to work differently than the main forums. What I mean to say is the Freelance Fee for Service section should be set up to allow only approved members to post. This helps enhance client’s experience and it gives the admins greater flexibility in insuring that enhancement is not impeded.
Any member can have read privileges in this sub-forum, but posting should be limited to pre-approved members. Here are my suggestions:
- Clients should be required to acknowledge via PM that they have read, understand and agree to the applicable forum rules before being granted posting privileges in this sub-forum. This requirement should preclude admins/mods from moving requests to this forum until they verify the client has permission to post in this sub-forum.
- Freelancers (PSG members) should not be granted posting access until they have been validated as authorized freelancers. Freelancers should be required to acknowledge via PM that they have read, understand and agree to the applicable forum rules before being granted posting privileges in this sub-forum. This mechanism affords admins/mods greater flexibility controlling access in case a freelancer has shown that he or she, as one example, should not be representing PSG in this capacity but has not committed a serious enough infraction to warrant a total or permanent ban from the main forums.
Hopefully, I have made my case in a way that promotes my suggestions in a positive manner. If I have offended anyone or overstepped by boundaries, I do apologize.
Thanks for your time.
Sincerely,
Cliff