Questions on acceptable and unacceptable forms of self promotion

[Ixthos]

Hi everyone, hope you are all doing well 

 

This is something I've been wondering about for a while, and I've looked but haven't found any official rules on this - though if anyone knows if and where this is covered please let me know! 

I've been wondering about which forms, if any, of self promotion are acceptable on the forum. At present I myself don't have any plans to do this, though it is something I've been wondering about with regards to future actions if I do establish more of a presence online.

 

For example, on the site there are four general ways one can communicate information to others aside from PMs. They are:

1. Forum posts in the different subforums, which are topic based, so Cosmere stuff in the Cosmere Discussion section, forum games in the Forum Games section, etc.
2. Signatures, which are visible to members who are logged in and not using the mobile version
3. Posts on ones own and other members' profile pages
4. Users own profile page, which has a section for their own website as well as an About Me section, and means of contact

 

Now we've all seen and been annoyed by the random adverts that spambots occasionally post here, and those are rightfully removed when they are found. This site is for fans of Brandon's work, after all. With that said, with regards to members who actually are members, fans of Brandon's work who actually care about engaging with the community outside of attempting to direct traffic to some scammers site, especially those members with interests in eventually becoming authors themselves, is there a form of permissible and mild, passive self promotion?

Here are a few examples of self promotion I can think of:

• Someone has written a book or series and has a link to a site, such as Amazon, where it can be found;
• A personal website where they list their work or hobbies, including any book or books they may have written;
• A social media account mainly used for promoting their work, hobbies, or art, etc. including any book or books they have written (Reddit, YouTube, Deviantart, Twitter, etc.)

 

If someone has one or more of these (Amazon page, personal website for hobbies or work, social media and entertainment) how far are they allowed to go in making their external presence known on the forum? So obviously anyone who goes to the General Brandon Discussion section and posts about their own work, hobbies, or reviews is obviously overstepping themselves and being both arrogant and rude. Someone may post a story and worldbuilding in the Creator's Corner, and that is both acceptable and the entire point of that section. But would making a post in Creator's Corner about ones website where the story can be read for free, be fine? Would posting in the General Discussion section, or the good news thread, about their upcoming book or series, or mentioning they completed a book a year ago and a link on where to find it, be acceptable? Would adding a link to ones website in their signature, along with a brief description of that site's content, be appropriate? If so, could they also include other sites such as their social media or Deviantart, etc.? Can the About Me section of a user's profile page contain any links to personal pages and work, and can one post on one's own profile page updates on what one is working on?

 

Thanks for reading and to anyone who answers. This has just been on my mind for a while now, and while I certainly don't plan on doing anything like this, at least for a while, it is something I've been wondering about and if it is too forwards or rude if I do make a website and want to share information about it here. Anyhow, thanks for reading, and I hope your day or afternoon or evening or night is a blessed on. Take care!

[Thaidakar the Ghostblood]

well it would be in the creators corner. also they c an have it in their page and there is a website thing where you can put a link to your website on it.

[AonEne]

You may advertise anything of your work that you want on your profile and signature, as long as it doesn't go against the Shard's CoC. Status updates of what you are working on are also fine, as long as they don't get too spammy (I don't have a specific rate here, but if you're a genuine member of the community who wants to occasionally post how you're doing on writing something, that's completely fine). 

10 hours ago, Ixthos said:

But would making a post in Creator's Corner about ones website where the story can be read for free be fine? Would posting in the General Discussion section, or the good news thread, about their upcoming book or series, or mentioning they completed a book a year ago and a link on where to find it, be acceptable? 

I think both of these are fine, as long as you're not posting the same thing over and over. 

You clearly are a person who uses the site for its intended purpose and not simply advertising yourself, so it should be alright if you post about this in the proper places (profile, Creator's Corner, etc.). Thank you very much for asking us! 

[Ixthos]

2 hours ago, AonEne said:

You may advertise anything of your work that you want on your profile and signature, as long as it doesn't go against the Shard's CoC. Status updates of what you are working on are also fine, as long as they don't get too spammy (I don't have a specific rate here, but if you're a genuine member of the community who wants to occasionally post how you're doing on writing something, that's completely fine). 

I think both of these are fine, as long as you're not posting the same thing over and over. 

You clearly are a person who uses the site for its intended purpose and not simply advertising yourself, so it should be alright if you post about this in the proper places (profile, Creator's Corner, etc.). Thank you very much for asking us! 

Thank you! That really eases my mind - I hope you have a fantastic day!