Post by Bilbo on Mar 5, 2019 10:03:45 GMT
About
I created the Crafty Hobbit because I wanted a place where people could come together if they enjoyed two things and combined them - Science Fiction and Fantasy related things (i.e. nerdy/geeky stuff) and crafting. I found that there wasn't really a place on the internet that satisfactorily combined the two. There is a community out there called Spritestitch and although I do like the idea of it, most of it is centered around computer games like Sonic the Hedgehog and Mairo, among others. I am not really a gamer, even if I do like the idea of a gaming based craft forum, and none of the other cross stitch forums seemed to cater to someone like me, as they never have anyone else on them who did science fiction and fantasy related subjects or, if someone was on them that did that, it was considered an oddity and in social media groups it didn't seem to go down very well. In addition to my Sci-Fi and Fantasy related crafting subjects, I also love to stitch realistic animal and nature based subjects, and as a result, I found Spritestich a bit too limiting. So, I decided creating my own space for like minded people was the way to go! In addition to cross stitch, there are some other crafts that I dabble in from time to time, and created boards for those to. So, if you enjoy stitching more unusual subjects like the Starship Enterprise, Bag-End, a realistic dinosaur, or the Solar System, I hope that you will find a home for your work here.
Rules
General Conduct
1. Flaming and Trolling: Be respectful of each other - no flaming and trolling. A definition of flaming is where users are either insulting or abusive in their attitudes towards other users and this will not be tolerated. Trolling can include members deliberately post topics to cause offense to other members, bashing the forum itself, the admins and moderators (without constructive criticism). Repeated and consistent flaming and trolling will result in users being banned.
2. Spamming is not allowed - Spamming can include anything from repeatedly upping threads when there's no relevant new information, repeatedly leaving the same message on different forums and just generally posting off-site links and threads which have nothing to do with the subject of the forum. Common sense will be applied to the former - i.e. if someone has a link to an image hosting site that will help someone out, or if they come across a new Tolkien site etc then that's OK. Just don't post links to your site and then leave, etc. Links to commercial sites which are irreverent to the board will be removed. Consistent spamming will lead to being banned from the site. The playing of word games can also be considered to be spam, as these neither promote discussion (which is the main goal of a forum, is it not?) nor do they really contribute anything to the site.
3. When introducing yourself in the welcome forum please don't just write "Hi, I'm new here" and leave it at that. Make the post meaningful such as telling the community why you are here, how you came across the site, what your interests are, etc. We want discussion.
4. There are likely to be children visiting the site, so please keep discussions civil and no swearing. Content of an adult nature etc is NOT allowed on the board.
5. Do not belittle users when asking for help on something, be sensible and point them in the right direction. We were all new once.
6. The use of derogatory terms to describe groups of people based on gender, race, religion, nationality, disability etc is not allowed on the forums. It does not create a nice environment to be in.
7. Respect the beliefs and opinions of other users, even if they are contrary to your own. It's OK to discuss things, but refrain from doing so in a way that could be considered to be bullying or harassment. Remember, if you can't be civil about a certain subject, then don't reply to it.
Avatars and Signatures
1. There are no restrictions on what an avatar may be as long as it contains no nudity, profanity or artwork/photography where the creator does not want you to use it. It is recommended that avatars made from the work of artists (unless the art was created by you) that credit is given to them and if possible, a link to their website in your user profile.
2. Signature images should be no larger than 500 pixels in length and 200 pixels in height. Other than size, the same rules that apply to avatars apply to signatures.
3. Flashing/animated avatars and signatures are not allowed. They generally don't look good and can cause loading and navigation of the forum to slow down. They also present problems to people who suffer from epilepsy.
4. Long signatures are not allowed on the forum - users and visitors get tired of having to scroll down through a lot of posts when reading threads and if most of the individual post space is taken up by signatures rather than post content it makes the problem worse. It can also slow down the loading and general navigation of the forum. A lot of users also use netbooks and this means that screen sizes are really small. What may look great on your supermassive PC monitor may not look so great on a netbook screen. Users with overly large signatures will be asked to make them smaller.
Patterns
Members are allowed to share patterns that they have created themselves as long as they have no plans to sell them.
Members may not, however:
- Swap, post, or link to copyrighted protected patterns from books, magazines or pdfs sold on etsy, ebay and other sites where they are sold.
- Post photos of their work with the patterns clearly in it.
- Post links to sites that share illegal copies of copyrighted patterns, and this includes pinterest boards that contain photographs of charts from magazines, books, etc.
- Sharing patterns made from photographs, art, etc, that the member did not create themselves is also forbidden on this forum. In addition to it being unfair to distribute work you did not make yourself, most patterns made in this way are usually too large to stitch, or haven't been designed with cross stitch in mind and may not come out right once stitched, causing people to waste materials and money in the process of making them. Member created patterns must be designed specifically for cross stitch and other needle-work and nothing else.
Protecting the copyright of designs for cross stitch and needle work is a big problem on the internet. Sharing copyrighted patterns illegally stops the designer from being paid for their work and can cause them hardship, or to stop designing if the theft of their work is extreme enough.
Outside Links
In general, outside links are not allowed on the forum unless they are links to sites that are informative to help members discover new crafts, or new techniques that they are unsure about, or to non-commercial members blogs, tumblr sites, etc. The staff of the forum will be creating a directory of links to sites that sell supplies, magazine publishers, designers, etc, so there is no need for individual members to do this themselves. If you encounter a shop or magazine or a designer website that you like and wish to share with the forum that we've not included it in the directory, please pm us and it will be added. This is to prevent sellers from joining just to advertise their site and leave. Forum spam of this nature is a huge problem for forums and it is unpleasant for members to find the forum having more adverts than discussion on it. E-bay/auction site links will be treated as spam and removed from the forum.
Buying, Selling and Exchanges
Just as we don't allow links to commercial websites outside of the directory maintained by the forum's staff, we do not allow buying and selling on the forum. The forum cannot be held responsible if anything goes wrong with a transaction so not allowing it at all solves that problem. You are not allowed to contact members directly try to buy or sell from them in pms, and anyone doing so should be reported to a member of staff so that it can be dealt with.
It is quite common for sites of this nature to hold exchanges, giveaways and competitions. Such things can put a financial burden on site members and cause friction if people fail to send anything, or it gets lost in the post. Although it may seem friendly, those who cannot or do not wish to take part can feel excluded from them and it is in the best interest of the forum and its members to not allow exchanges, competitions and giveaways to take place.[/font][/font][/div]