A Query For Clarification On Our Donations Policy

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A Query For Clarification On Our Donations Policy

SoullessSingularity 11 Feb 2020 02:17

There has been some discussion among the SCP Foundation community regarding what may be allowed as an SCP Foundation related project to solicit funding in. Specifically, there are multiple offsite resources in which a user may potentially pay money in exchange for critiques of their works, assistance in their articles, or co-authorship of a posted work on the site itself. It was revealed that there are differing opinions on the status of staff opinion on this behavior and, because it involves all of staff who originally implemented the Donations Policy, should involve a greater discussion amongst staff regarding the pros and cons.

Should the payment of money in exchange for critique of one's own work, assistance in writing their articles, or co-authorship of a posted work be considered an acceptable use of the Donations Policy?

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Living the dream, or dreaming the life?

Re: A Query For Clarification On Our Donations Policy

ProcyonLotor 11 Feb 2020 02:19

It should be flatly forbidden across the board.

Re: A Query For Clarification On Our Donations Policy

AbsentmindedNihilist 11 Feb 2020 02:30

Good fucking lord no.

You do not involve money for anything involving the site's writing itself. If someone wants to accept payment/purchase/involve themselves in a transaction for, say, art of a certain SCP, or physical merchandise, or even a commissioned piece intended to be posted on ao3: sure. Knock yourself out. I'd also be happy to allow for artists putting up works that they drew as part of a commission on their art pages.

The minute money exchanges hands for involvement in writing pieces intended to be posted the site, it should be forbidden. I am willing + able to hear arguments otherwise, but this is a position I feel very strongly about.

Re: A Query For Clarification On Our Donations Policy

DrBleep 11 Feb 2020 03:25

Under no fucking circumstances should we ever allow this. This is the worst of the worst slippery slopes we can go down with money, and if you think people call us elitist now, can you even begin to imagine what they will say when top authors start fucking charging for critique?

I opposed the donations policy at the beginning because I was afraid that something like this might happen, but acquiesced at the understanding that things like this would not be allowed. I will oppose any attempt to make this a legitimate thing, vehemently.

Last edited on 11 Feb 2020 03:31 by DrBleep Show more

Re: A Query For Clarification On Our Donations Policy

RJB_R 11 Feb 2020 03:29

As far as people paying for crit when Zyn and the butterfly squad give solid crit out for free… a saying comes to mind: “A fool and his money are soon parted”

I don’t think that’s within our purview if it all happens off-site.

Paying to co-author, on the other hand, is a combination of ghostwriting and vanity press publishing that our site should have no part of. It’s gross and slimy and is rife with potential for abuse. Like if kaktus was selling off his co-authoring services to fans on Discord and then just writing the article for them. It could basically amount to sock puppetry but the sock is people.

We’re not the crit police if people are dumb enough to pay for it that’s none of our business, but co-authorship is an altogether different and we should have no part in it.

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Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you!

Re: A Query For Clarification On Our Donations Policy

Dexanote 11 Feb 2020 03:41

Big Fat Noper-ino.

I'm with Niles. They've said it better than I could.

Re: A Query For Clarification On Our Donations Policy

Crashington 11 Feb 2020 03:52

Yeah this sounds terrible and like it would only be used to scam new or underage users/offsite fans. Big no from this JS fwiw.

Last edited on 11 Feb 2020 04:04 by Crashington Show more

Re: A Query For Clarification On Our Donations Policy

DrMagnus 11 Feb 2020 04:00

I think I'm with Roget's opinion on this one.

When it comes to paying for crit the problems with not allowing it are twofold:
1) The author is still writing their own work.
2) We have no way to police this behavior, as it will most likely happen offsite.

When it comes to co-authoring? You're selling your name, reputation, and writing to someone. You might as well vanity publish your stuff, which I also strongly oppose.

tl;dr we can't police paying for crit, but I don't think it should be allowed anyway, but co-authoring is right out. We even have a discussion where this isn't a thing we allow, currently by admin fiat: http://05command.wikidot.com/forum/t-4751349#post-3674030

Re: A Query For Clarification On Our Donations Policy

TheMightyMcB 11 Feb 2020 04:21

Magnus said it better than I ever could. We can't control what lengths people go to for crit, but we sure as hell can block any and all attempts at paid coauthorship at every opportunity.

Re: A Query For Clarification On Our Donations Policy

DrEverettMann 11 Feb 2020 05:24

Fully agreed. I don't like people paying for crit, but I don't see the value in forbidding it. Co-authors, though, brings it right onto our site.

Re: A Query For Clarification On Our Donations Policy

Modern_Erasmus 11 Feb 2020 04:06

The paying for crit is scummy, but it only happens off site and I don’t think it’s something we can realistically enforce. Plus we have the crit team and the entire authorial community save from one or two people willing to do it for free. You shouldn’t be allowed to advertise it on site though. (Can you imagine someone replying to a draft critique thread saying they’ll review it if they’re paid? Yikes.)

Paying for co-authorship on the other hand, does effect the site directly and has some very nasty implications. Ultimately, there’s no guarantee that the purchaser contributes much if anything to the article their name is attached to, at which point it becomes simple purchasing of upvotes. Vanity publishing is a problem that should stay far away from our wiki.

Re: A Query For Clarification On Our Donations Policy

AdminBright 11 Feb 2020 04:09

I honestly don't have any problems with any of it. If someone has found a good way to make money off the site, good for them. And if someone wants to sell their virtue, so to speak, and put someone elses name on something they wrote… Well, they are the one who has to live with it.

I'm also not sure how we would police any such thing.

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Admin, SCP Wiki

Re: A Query For Clarification On Our Donations Policy

pxdnbluesoul 11 Feb 2020 14:56

Yeah I am 100% not opposed to people choosing to pay unaffiliated third parties for critique of their work if both sides are agreeable to it. I can't even really form an argument as to why we should disallow it.

Paying for what amounts to a co-write credit (Vanity Publishing) is something I can more readily formulate an argument against in terms of lowering the bar. The gray area here of course is the line between crit and collaboration, and when I look at trying to come up with a definition, I find that I'm arbitrarily splitting hairs.

Right now, I'm leaning more towards allowing both than denying both, because I think realistically the difference between the two is too open to interpretation to allow one but not the other. I think if it was a significant enough issue, the voting userbase will ameliorate the problem.

DISCLOSURE: The Patreon for Cafe has a one-time benefit that could be construed as paying for crit, a deep-dive episode on a work of their choice. That has never been used and wasn't really the intent of it.

Last edited on 11 Feb 2020 15:01 by pxdnbluesoul Show more

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