MN@ Newsletter

Jan 29, 200910 min read

Deviation Actions

Published: Jan 29, 2009

733 Views

The MN@ Newsletter is posted in an effort to educate and update the community on the Chat Network and the Forums.

Table of Contents
1. MN@ Team Updates
2. Volunteering for the MN@ Team
3. Ban Evasion on dAmn
4. Sexual Roleplay Chatrooms
5. Chat News
6. Senior MN@ & Daily Deviations
7. Wedding Bells
8. Clarification of #devart rules.
9. Other Awesome MN@ News!

MN@ Team Updates

Over the past month or so we've lost a few MN@ souls to RL. Please help me thank mykel, Rendarin, kamizu, sapphiretiger, and Limetastic for all the contributions they have made to dAmn.

The MN@ Volunteer Team is managed by myself, Tachy-on, and currently consists of:

Senior MN@:

Sting1, Narfmaster, leaf-lover, anjules, and sine-out.

MN@:

secondmagpie, XgAD, summaro, homedoggieo, diamond281, Vayde, LenaSkates, Trapiki, OpalMist, rapidograph, Comrade-Kelly, realillusions, KylieKeene, FixMeKnow, karyaazure, quickdraw, ananasjihad, shuttermonkey, yashachan, Little-Vampire, martypunker, paellamagi, and TerraRhapsody.

What do the MN@ Volunteers do? Please refer to the following faq for more information:

FAQ #294: What is dAmn?

Volunteering on the MN@ Team

Are you interested in volunteering on the MN@ Team? Do you have a wicked personality and love to interact with other deviants? Do you have some spare time and think you have what it takes to be part of the best volunteer team on dA?

Feel free to find out how you can apply by reading the following faqs carefully:

:faq83:
FAQ #84: What are the Core Values of the Community Relations Department?
FAQ #85: Can I be a volunteer on DeviantArt?

Please note that you must be 18 years or older to volunteer on deviantART.

Ban Evasion on dAmn

We would like to point out to all users of the Chat Network, that just like all other departments of dA, we take ban evasion very seriously. Users who create an alternative account to evade their ban will have their original ban increased, and the evasion account permanantly banned from dAmn.

If you have been banned from an Official Channel ( FAQ #288: What does the Fella icon by a chatroom name mean? ) , and have any disputes or inquiries relating to your ban, we would encourage you to come to #MNAdmin to discuss this in a calm manner. However, we will not discuss bans with anyone other than the individual concerned. This includes issues relating to channel closure, which will only be discussed with Channel Founders. If you have received a network ban which you dispute, you should contact the Help Desk in order to discuss this further.

Sexual Roleplay Chatrooms

The chatrooms are for everyone, and we welcome you to create a room for almost any reason you like; whether it be for art discussion, to learn more about photoshop, or to share your art with thumbnails. However, there are a few types of rooms that we do not allow. In particular, I'd like to clarify some points regarding sexual discussions.

Sexual Themes: We do not allow deviations of an explicit sexual nature on deviantART, and so we do not allow rooms that are for the discussion of explicit sexual topics. The use of rooms for "cybersex", or the acting out of sexual situations, is also not allowed.

It does not matter in the least if you are two adults (over 18) in a chatroom alone. We do not allow this type of explicit sexual talk in ANY situation ANYWHERE on the chat network. If you are caught having this type of discussion or roleplay, at the very least you will face an immediate 2 week suspension from our website. Repeat offences and blatant disregard for this policy will result in an Indefinite ban on your account.

If you witness explicit sexual roleplay or conversations in any chatroom, please come to #MNAdmin to report it to an MN@ Volunteer or contact the Help Desk.

Got Chatroom News?

Did you know that there was a category of deviantART News just for YOU to advertise/inform people of your chat-related events on dAmn? Spread the word about your next chatroom event by promoting it in the news!

Feel free to note me after posting your event in the news and I'll see what I can do about personally spreading the word about it.

MN@ and Daily Deviations!

Did you know that the Senior MN@ and myself have the option of selecting Daily Deviations?

Please note that even though a Senior MN@ has the option of selecting DDs, not all Senior MN@ accept suggestions. The current Senior MN@ that accept DD suggestions are: anjules, Narfmaster, leaf-lover, and sine-out.

Feel free to contact them directly if you have any questions.

Do I hear Wedding Bells?

February 14'th is Valentine's Day and I'm hearing rumors that there may be a few people getting hitched in #devart!

I can't say much more than that right now, but stay tuned for a news article coming soon...

Clarification of #devart rules

#devart is usually the first dA chat experience for users new to the Chat Network. As such we strive to make #devart a safe, fun, and welcoming place to be. Unfortunately there are always a few deviants who think its better to be rude and unwelcoming to new users especially when they perceive that a new user has broken a #devart rule. First of all that is just plain hypocracy since everyone was once new and had to be told the rules. Secondly, its the MN@ Volunteer's remit to ensure users are made aware of the rules of #devart.

I tell you that when I witness a new user typing all in CAPS and then see 5 people immediately /ignore the user or even worse tell them to "stfu" it makes me sad. Let's try to be more welcoming shall we? I think you'll find that a gentler approach will reap benefits not only for the new user but for yourself.

Now, let's clarify some commonly misunderstood #devart policies:

Stretching Words/Punctuation

This rule is meant to stop page-distorting text (ie, gives you a scrollbar).

Weeeeeeeeeeeee!!! <- Is not stretching.

Hi everyone!!!!!!!!!!11 <- Is not stretching.

hahahahahahahahahhah!!!! <- Is not stretching.

omgggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg <- Would be stretching because it would clearly produce a scrollbar.

Of course if someone were to consistently and repeatedly abuse repeated letters then we may ask you to stop, but really, no one is going stifle you if you type "omg!!!!!!!!!!".

Mass Caps

This rule is meant to stop continual use of the caps lock key.

Someone speaking in mostly lower case and then after hearing a good joke typing "OMG HAHAHAHAHAHA!!" and then going back to lower case, is NOT an example of Mass Caps.

<mykel> HI EVERYONE!
<mykel> OMG HAVE YOU GUYS HERD OF DRAGONS?
<mykel> <Tachy-on> HAVE YOU HERD ABOUT DRAGONS???
<mykel> I HAVE A HERD OF UNICORNS IN MY BACKYARD!!

That is mass caps and we ask that you refrain from it because it disrupts the flow of chat and is annoying to other users.

PS: Yes, mykel really does have a herd of unicorns in his backyard.