Elfwood Review Board

PLEASE NOTE:
The date is now April 1st in many parts of the world. This means that April Fool's jokes are already in full swing. Rest assured that any prank pulled by the ERB would be posted HERE and not anywhere else.

Accordingly, we would like to state that we are not in any way whatsoever affiliated with the prank that was recently pulled in various Elfwood LiveJournals. In particular, the portion of the post (quoted below) is not and will NEVER be true:

"As well, the ERB will begin reviewing existing pictures on members sites, and will begin to systematically removing all Anime-based artwork there as well. It would not be fair to decline new artwork when existing ones remain."

THIS IS NOT TRUE. We will NOT be removing any anime-based artwork unless it is copied from an existing source, as we have always done and will always do.

We would like to remind you all again that the ERB are not in any way affiliated with the Moderators. Complaints regarding rejected pictures should not be directed to us, nor should complaints about removed pictures be directed to the Moderators.

Regards,
The Elfwood Review Board

Recently the backlog of suspensions has been cleared. This used to be an automated process, but the changes in the back-end of Elfwood managed to knock that system off-kilter. As a result many suspensions may have been processed in error, even if they were valid at the time when they were entered.

In addition, many users have been suspended for being underage when they are not. This is as a result of incorrect information in the Extranet. If you have not updated your bio information with your actual age then your gallery may be suspended, as the system then reads your age as below 13.

If this has happened to you, please correct the information in the Extranet and re-apply to have your gallery published at Elfwood.

We are the ERB. We are not the Moderators. As an organization of anonymous Elfwood members we are not affiliated with ANY public member of Elfwood except for Thomas himself, who is the head of the ERB.

We are meant to carry out our duties in enforcing Thomas' vision of Elfwood - not anyone else's.

Scary words, those are. Quality control.

We're sure it makes a lot of people think of elitism. We're sure it makes a lot of people worry that Elfwood may become a place where amateurs are no longer welcome. We're sure that no matter what is done in Elfwood we will be unable to please everyone.. however, we hope that people understand that in this case we are trying to please most of the members of Elfwood most of the time.

A while ago Thomas created a survey - you may recall the notice on the main page. There was an overwhelming response, and one of the strongest pieces of feedback we received is that people like Elfwood. We also learned that most people that view Elfwood would like to see higher quality art in the gallery. So we sat back and thought over our options for a while, and then a solution was suggested. This new solution can be read about on the Elfwood Rules page, if you need to be reminded.

The Elfwood Review Board will be supporting the new minimum quality standard for Elfwood that the Moderators are imposing upon new artwork. HOWEVER, we will not be actively seeking out already-existing artwork that falls below the standards. Instead we ask that artists look over their own galleries and remove any pieces on lined paper, any poor scans, and other works that are not currently suitable. In three months time we will begin removing such pieces as we come across them, so we are giving artists the chance to remove these works on their own now.

For a limited time we will be allowing comments upon this post. Please let us know what you think in a non-hostile manner, if you do have an opinion upon one (or more) of the following topics:

1 - Is the new minimum quality standard for Elfwood fair?
2 - Should the ERB begin policing this standard immediately, after a three-month grace period, or not at all?
3 - Should the ERB Livejournal be used in this manner in the future, as a forum for mediated conversation between members of Elfwood and members of the ERB?

We would like to make an announcement relating to a change in the official Elfwood rules. You can also see this announcement on the main Elfwood page.

Elfwood is not intended to be a place for you to put up every image you create. While we are happy for you to put up pictures of your "works in progress" to obtain suggestions and fair criticism, we also ask that you don't crowd Elfwood with pictures that have taken little or no effort. Please keep your random doodles and scribbles on your line school book paper for your refrigerator door, and not on Elfwood.

We have also introduced a new level for joining Elfwood. While it is important to know the rules, it is equally important, if not more so, to consider yourself an "artist" before you join an "art community". If you do not consider yourself an artist you can still join the Elftown community and be a part of Elfwood in that way.

Also, by popular demand the Moderators Dictionary is now public, and is linked from the rules in detail page on Elfwood for any members to refer to. We would like to remind you (again) that the ERB has NOTHING to do with the Moderators

So what does this new rule mean to the ERB and their actions? Not much, yet. We're not going to go around deleting art just because it is 'below standards' or anything. However, if we are already cleaning a gallery and find that there are pieces drawn on lined paper (for example) we will remove it as well.

Hey there! We know that there's a bunch of you that have been watching this place looking for updates, so we just wanted to remind you all that we are not dead! That's right, the ERB is still around (despite rumours to the contrary) and we're still hard at work keeping Elfwood clean.

There have been a few misconceptions recently, since the new moderator system has been placed into effect, and we'd like to take this opportunity to clarfy a few things.

1. The ERB are NOT the moderators.
The moderators are NOT the ERB. We are two separate entities with our own governing bodies, rules, and agendas. The moderators look over the updates to Elfwood and reject inappropriate material. The ERB remove material that is already on Elfwood. In a few rare situations the ERB may handle the update tickets of certain problem users, but in general we have absolutely NOTHING to do with the moderators.

2. Copying is NEVER okay!
We don't know where people got the idea that copying existing art is fanart, and thus okay in the FanQuarter, but it's not! Unfortunately, the moderators are only human and cannot be reasonably expected to catch every copy before it is uploaded. This makes our job rather difficult indeed, as some members have estimated the proportion of copies in FanQuarter to number 50-75% or more! So please, folks, DO NOT upload copies. Copying is bad.

There are also a few important things to remember if you have received an email from the ERB:
( But it gets a bit long, so...Collapse )

Also, please remember... There are no rights on Elfwood, only privileges. These privileges will be taken away if they are abused. Elfwood is not free general webspace. Put simply, it is a privately owned and run, online gallery for fantasy and science-fiction works. The only person who has any rights on Elfwood is Thomas Abrahamsson. It is his site and he has the power to decide what goes in and what stays out.

It is YOUR responsibility as a member to be updated on the Elfwood Rules and Regulations at all times! Ignorance of the rules is no excuse - whether you have read them or not, you are still required to follow them - so it is in your best interest to read them! And with that in mind, please go here and refresh your memory.