Iāve been around for a really long time in various fandoms, and no one ever writes this stuff down. Iāll start. Please add to the list. We canāt expect people to followĀ ārulesā they donāt know exist.Ā
written with the help of @unbreakablejemmasimmons
if you like something, reblog it. Help the artist get their work out there in front of more people. Share the joy that it brought you.Ā
if you want more of it, support it. This can be via commissions, reblogs, recommending the artist to other people, shouting in the tags, or sending the artist asks/messages.Ā
if you hate it, keep scrolling. Keep the hate in a message window with a friend, not in the artistās notes.Ā
if you want to use it, ask permission. Artwork is beautiful and you want to show it off. But please ask the artist before you throw it into your header or your icon.Ā
if you use it, give credit. And not just a post where you sayĀ āDo you like my new icon? X made it!ā. Put it in your blog description, that way when someone rolls around your blog three months from now, they alsoĀ know where your icon/header came from.Ā
if you like something, reblog it. Help the author get their work out there in front of more people. Share the joy that it brought you.
if you want more of it, support it. Kudos are fine, but if you want more of the thing you like, you should comment. Subscribe to the story or the author. Send them a message about how much you like what they wrote.Ā
if you read it, kudos it. Or give it a thumbs up. And this is just if you managed to get all the way to the end. If you finished the story and you actually liked it? Comment and reblog.Ā
donāt demand content. Be patient. Stories take time. You can encourage without being demanding. Show your love for whatās there without telling them to post more often.Ā
be gentle with criticism. Some people want it and some people run away from it. If you donāt know what type of person the author is, itās best not to go there.Ā āIf you canāt say something nice, donāt say anything.ā
ship and let ship. You love your ship and other people love theirs. No one needs toĀ āwinā when weāre all going to end up in tears anyway.Ā
if you hate it, stay out of the tag. This has two meanings: 1) donāt deliberately put hateful commentary in a tag and 2) if youĀ hate a tag, donāt go and read through that tag just to make yourself angry
if someone makes you something, appreciate it. Read and comment the fic. Like and reblog the artwork. Pimp it out and tell them how much you loved it. Itās a gift, treat it like one.Ā
if itās a gift, put some effort into it. You signed up for that exchange three months ago and now itās a week before you have to send the gift and you donāt have the time or the inclination to do the thing. Well too bad. Someone out there has been working hard in your gift, so you should do the same for them.Ā
none of us areĀ ābetterā than anyone else. Weāre all trash for our particular show/film/book/ship/artist/what-have-you. My fave is no better than yours and yours is no better than mine.Ā
actors are not their characters.Ā They are people. Treat them like people.Ā