Firstly, this suggestion constitutes not so much a forum edit, but more a change in the mindset of the people here. It's pretty ambitious, but I think we can do it.
I've always had the impression that any "art/GFX/writing" section in any forum acted nearly as a separate entity from the main forum itself. People just post galleries there, add to it every few days, and most of the people who comment just offer monosyllabic remarks such as "Nice", or "Cool". Other than that, there is seldom mention of the section anywhere else on the forums. I would like to suggest that we integrate the Soul Section further into the main forum itself.
Here's how it's done: We need to encourage other people from different sections to turn to the Soul section for artistic needs, such as a nice banner image, artwork for an RP, or a short story for an AG, amongst others. It's been done before, like on MF where the AG section requested some banners from the art section, but I feel that we can take this a step further. What I'm asking for is a large awareness that the Soul section IS there, that the Soul section DOES accept requests and will help you in your endeavours. On the part of the people, I ask for a larger openness to ask for artistic help from the Soul section. I've seen this in action, but it's mostly limited to PMs here and there to certain people whom you think can help you. Why the secrecy? Open it up to all! Contrary to popular belief, people DO want to help others here. Instead of asking the same person over and over again for banners/artwork/stories, pitch your request to everyone! Who knows, you may even find a better piece. This not only further integrates the Soul section with the other sections, but also creates an atmosphere of cooperation in this forum, something which I would like to see someday.
Of course, this is hard to achieve as of now, with such a limited number of regular contributors to the Soul section. However, as the forum grows, I am confident that contributors will increase, and among them the desire to have their pieces of art exposed to a larger audience than the few who visit their galleries from time to time. The only avenue for this is if their works are used elsewhere on the forum. Coupled with other people requiring artistic talent, I would call this a win-win situation.
However, in no way am I suggesting that we officialize and formalize this process. Nothing irks me more than having to follow ridiculous protocol just to request something, and I don't think anyone else enjoys it either. Requesting should be free, up to the needs of the requester and up to the jurisdiction of the contributors who choose whether or not they will give the request a shot. Even though this may result in some people's requests not getting used, it's still free publicity, and part of the atmosphere of helping each other that I want to foster in this forum.
For those tl;dr people, here's the essence of it:
1. Increase willingness of forum members to help and ask for help.
2. This will lead to an increase in requests of art/GFX/writings from the Soul Section.
3. ??????????????????
4. PROFIT.
Any comments?
I've always had the impression that any "art/GFX/writing" section in any forum acted nearly as a separate entity from the main forum itself. People just post galleries there, add to it every few days, and most of the people who comment just offer monosyllabic remarks such as "Nice", or "Cool". Other than that, there is seldom mention of the section anywhere else on the forums. I would like to suggest that we integrate the Soul Section further into the main forum itself.
Here's how it's done: We need to encourage other people from different sections to turn to the Soul section for artistic needs, such as a nice banner image, artwork for an RP, or a short story for an AG, amongst others. It's been done before, like on MF where the AG section requested some banners from the art section, but I feel that we can take this a step further. What I'm asking for is a large awareness that the Soul section IS there, that the Soul section DOES accept requests and will help you in your endeavours. On the part of the people, I ask for a larger openness to ask for artistic help from the Soul section. I've seen this in action, but it's mostly limited to PMs here and there to certain people whom you think can help you. Why the secrecy? Open it up to all! Contrary to popular belief, people DO want to help others here. Instead of asking the same person over and over again for banners/artwork/stories, pitch your request to everyone! Who knows, you may even find a better piece. This not only further integrates the Soul section with the other sections, but also creates an atmosphere of cooperation in this forum, something which I would like to see someday.
Of course, this is hard to achieve as of now, with such a limited number of regular contributors to the Soul section. However, as the forum grows, I am confident that contributors will increase, and among them the desire to have their pieces of art exposed to a larger audience than the few who visit their galleries from time to time. The only avenue for this is if their works are used elsewhere on the forum. Coupled with other people requiring artistic talent, I would call this a win-win situation.
However, in no way am I suggesting that we officialize and formalize this process. Nothing irks me more than having to follow ridiculous protocol just to request something, and I don't think anyone else enjoys it either. Requesting should be free, up to the needs of the requester and up to the jurisdiction of the contributors who choose whether or not they will give the request a shot. Even though this may result in some people's requests not getting used, it's still free publicity, and part of the atmosphere of helping each other that I want to foster in this forum.
For those tl;dr people, here's the essence of it:
1. Increase willingness of forum members to help and ask for help.
2. This will lead to an increase in requests of art/GFX/writings from the Soul Section.
3. ??????????????????
4. PROFIT.
Any comments?