ModelBase Etiquette Policy

Guidelines for ModelBase Users

Quality and Placement

It is our policy is to welcome artists of all levels from amateur to professional and to that end we do not attach any minimum standards of quality to artworks submitted by our membership; all manner of artworks are welcome providing they meet with our etiquette and copyright policies. While we do not impose quality standards we do ask that you practice self-moderation in what you choose to submit.

Prohibited Commentary

Prohibited commentary is typically considered to be inherently disrespectful, aggressive, or otherwise abusive.

We must insist that you refrain from comments which are racist, bigoted, or which otherwise offensively target a philosophy or religion. In addition we ask that our members avoid making offensive remarks based on gender or sexual preference and that you do not make any remark, comment or critique which is intended to be a direct insult to an individual, group, or genre of artwork. Hate propaganda is met with zero tolerance. Comments which are overly aggressive, personally insulting or needlessly abusive are also prohibited.

If you feel that you have been the target of harassment, personal insults or other severe behavior please notify the staff by using the contact us page. Please be aware that the staff will only directly intervene in cases which are considered severe; minor situations may be dealt with using tools made available to all registered members.

Discouraged Commentary

Discouraged commentary is typically considered to have the potential to escalate into an aggressive or abusive situation.

While not strictly prohibited we must insist that all personal arguments, disagreements, and other volatile “personal” issues within be confined to private communications such as emails or Instant Messaging programs. Likewise we discourage public accusations and other similar situations; please bring all issues of this nature to the attention of the staff using the contact us page.

Exploitive Commentary

Exploitive commentary is typically considered to be disruptive due to unusual or unique factors.

Do not ‘spam’ (send large numbers of identical comments or emails). Spamming is obnoxious and is typically used for self-promotion, or other unwanted advertising.

Do not ‘flood’ (place large numbers of comments rapidly on a single page or craft a single comment which consumes a large amount of page space) the forums, tag system or other areas of the site. Flooding usually disrupts page loading times and serves no useful purpose.

Respect Your Fellow Artists

As a vibrant and growing community ModelBase welcomes all kinds of original artworks; but we MUST insist that the artwork which you submit be your own original works.

Your work must be your own original creations and you may only use resources which are considered legitimate and legal. Submissions which make use of works without proper permission or licensing by the original author will be removed as they come to the attention of the staff. This policy applies to all ModelBase submissions.

Posting of any ModelBase member's personal information (i.e. addresses, phone numbers, passwords, personal identification numbers, images) or any other information considered private without the express permission of the individual is prohibited.

In addition to the outlines in the above section entitled Prohibited Commentary and Exploitive Commentary we have a few additional policies regarding comments and posts within the Modelbase Bulletin area ; The ModelBase: Bulletins area on the front page may not be used for full conversations, there are messaging and forum facilities for this purpose.
The administration reserves the sole right to delete bulletins.

Mature Content

When we discuss mature content we are specifically referring to submitions which contain images, subject matter, or other themes which some viewers may find offensive, distasteful, or otherwise undesirable to view or to read. The most common ‘undesired’ viewing material may include, but is not limited to, images containing artistic nudity (see details below), large amounts of simulated blood and gore, or generally violent themes.

Mature content must be marked as censored.

ModelBase strictly prohibits the submission of materials classified as pornographic or obscene. There is no exception to this prohibition.
Pornography: Any depiction of any explicit sexual activity, involving one or more people, where genitalia are manipulated or used in any way, manually or orally. The explicit representation of the human body with the goal of sexual arousal and/or sexual relief.

Certain content may be deemed obscene by the administration and as such the staff reserves the right to remove such content immediately upon discovery. The administration reserves the sole right to review and classify questionable material as obscene or not obscene.

Model release forms

The ModelBase administrative staff reserves the right to demand a Model Release form be provided for any photography (nude or otherwise) located within your Portfolio areas. In the event that you receive such a request an appropriate link will be included in the notification you received. Failure to properly respond to a Model Release form demand within seven (7) days will result in the automatic removal of the associated photograph.

For your own protection it is highly recommended that you have any model who poses for you sign a release form giving you the explicit permission to publish, share, distribute, and otherwise display the associated images. It is highly recommended that you provide this form immediately after submitting your photograph, especially if your subject is depicted nude.

Underage models

We cannot allow any nude works featuring individuals under the age of 21, nor may the works depict these individuals in a ‘sexually driven’ manner such as posing in lingerie or displaying a sexually suggestive or provocative pose.

This prohibition is for legal reasons; the laws in the Republic of South Africa are the governing laws in regards to all submissions regardless of the members ’s country of origin. Photographs which are suspected of depicting a minor in this manner will be temporarily suspended from public view and proper legal documentation (as outlined above) will be demanded while photographs which clearly depict a minor (including toddlers, preteens, and teenagers) in this manner will be removed without notice.

Submissions of a non- photographic nature which clearly depict a minor, fictional character or otherwise, either nude or in a sexually driven manner will be removed and deleted without notice as they come to the attention of the staff.

Forum Posting

All threads started within a specific forum and all comments within those threads should be relevant to the forums Title. This means that, for example, all threads within the Movies forum must relate to a motion picture and the comments within those threads should also remain on the appropriate topic.
We encourage interactivity and we allow comments to be either positive or negative in nature providing that they remain constructive and promote a worthwhile dialogue.
We insist that forum threads adhere to the same standard set forth for writing submissions in terms of what is considered acceptable subject matter (i.e. no racist threads, no sexual discussions, etc).

It is important to remember to be as clear in your intent as possible while communicating on the internet. Text communications do not afford a clear representation of sarcasm. Please use common sense when posting to avoid confusion. Threads which are misplaced, which contain inappropriate subject matter (such as sexual discussions), or which contain an undesirable number of insults or other violations of this etiquette policy will be locked and closed to further commentary.

Avatars / Default pictures

This section applies only to avatars which you personally use for your account; avatars submitted must still conform to all official policies without exception but are not subjected to the restrictions below.

Avatars used to represent your account on site are granted more leniency than standard site submissions. You may freely use material and resources with only the restrictions outlined as follows;

Your avatar should not contain nudity of any sort.
You may not use avatars specifically created by other users without their explicit permission.
If your avatar contains a portion of a work made by another artist it will be removed by staff at the request of the original artist.
In all other respects your avatar must conform to the guidelines set above in regards to hate propaganda.

Exploits, Vulnerabilities, and Site Abuse

The ModelBase staff will not tolerate attempts to exploit or disrupt the layout, navigability, or general use of the site. Such actions disrupt the ability of the community to access and review artwork and are considered Site Abuse.

We will issue no warnings for violations of this nature. Violators will be banned immediately upon the discovery of the disruption or abuse.

Changes in Etiquette Policy

As new situations come to our attention we may find it necessary to alter or expand upon the policies stated here with little or no notification and any such changes may be enforced in full against previously existing submissions or behavior.

Alterations of policy may be announced through either the ModelBase Website Forum or through other Announcements and Email.

Appeals and Inquiries

Appeals, inquiries, or questions concerning removals, violation notices, account suspensions, or other administrative actions should be addressed admin@modelbase.co.za where they will be forwarded to the appropriate department for review.

Petitions and other forms of public outcry are discouraged and will have no affect on Managerial Reviews of staff actions and may in fact be detrimental to the case in question.