Official Kicksnarker FAQ (Part Three: Posting)

Summary:
Don't be a dick.
Don't spam us.
Duplicate happens, try the veal.

What Are The Posting Rules?
I'm glad you asked that question. We don't have any hard-and-fast rules. If your post is just a link without any commentary, however, it'll probably deleted unless it triggers discussion within the community.

If your commentary seems to be deliberately inflammatory or offensive, we'll probably kill your post. Mind you: Linking to inflammatory or offensive material is okay as long as you warn us. If you post a link to something that isn't work-safe, please warn us in your commentary (and make sure that the image Google is using for your post is work-safe).

Do not turn comments off on your posts, unless a moderator requests that you do so. A large part of the point of this community is discussion. When you turn comments off, you are preventing discussion, and your post is likely to be deleted by a moderator.

What Category Does My Post Belong In?
Just pick one that looks relevant to what you are posting about. "The Rules" is reserved for Moderator Use, and "Kicksnarker Approved" is one that we'd ask you not to use.

Do I Have To Post?
Seriously? Is this a real question? No. You don't have to post.

Can I Post In A Language Other Than English?
I ... I suppose. You won't probably get much interaction from the community, though. And if Google Translate makes your post look like spam, we may delete it.

I Really Like This Project, But [ASPECT] Seems Tacked-On Or Stupid. Can I Post About That?
Yep. The tagline for the community is "Mocking things we might be capable of loving." Since most of us stumble across stupid things while looking for something we acually want, it's likely we'll find things to love even in the dumbest of projects.

I Found This Thing On Amazon. Can I Post About It?
Yes. "Stuff Already Available" is a fine category for posting about things you've found on Amazon or elsewhere.

I'm A [WEBSITE] Affiliate. Can I Post Affiliate Links, Here?
If you can somehow make money by sharing stupid things here without voiding coupons/discounts or other deals, then be our guest. But you're not likely to make much money here, because we're not generally in the habit of buying stupid things.

What Can I Call Stupid?
We'd prefer it if you didn't call project creators stupid. You can call the project stupid. You can mock add-ons or stretch goals or the concept itself all you want.  We also ask that you treat other community members as though you respect them, even when disagreeing.

Help! I Posted Something Stupid And Someone Came To Its Defense!
And? Just because you think it's stupid doesn't mean everyone does. As long as we're all treating one another with something resembling respect, disagreement is fine. And you might learn something in the process!

What If A Project Creator Sees What I Said?
Then ... um ... they know what you think? It's not like you scrawled it on a wall in a disused lavatory or something - as mentioned above, we are a public community. Maybe the creator in question will be able to explain their project so it doesn't seem so stupid. Maybe they'll try and will just end up highlighting how stupid it really is. Either way, project creators are welcome here, too.

Potential future Project Creators (and others) have also dropped by to see what we call stupid so they can avoid it - it's like they are using us. Which we're okay with - in and around the snark, we are rapidly becoming an informal source of best-practices (or, as one community member suggests "best-avoided-practices") information (see the next question).

Help! I Snarked And A Serious Discussion Broke Out!
That happens here. While were initially pure snark, we've had a few serious (and educational) discussions on the nature of crowdfunding. Discussions about what to do/what not to do/how to do the same thing differently so that it's not stupid are not uncommon.

Several project creators are members of the community and are paying attention.

Can I Share Cool Things I Found? Or Just Stupid Things?
In general, we frown on "I found this awesome thing" in the community, because we're not a publicity machine and that sort of thing is very vulnerable to abuse.

However we don't generally act when long-standing community members share awesome things they find.

If someone who's never interacted with the community shares a "cool project they just found," it's usually deleted as spam.

What If I Duplicate Someone Else's Post?
You have the option of deleting your own post. Or you can wait and see if discussion takes a different direction from the original post. Or you can just leave it there. We understand that duplication happens, however, and won't delete or ban unless it looks like you are deliberately creating duplicate links just for the sake of creating duplicate links.

That said, please do scroll down a bit to make sure it hasn't been recently snarked. Because seven different threads about the same project within a week is more than a little silly (with occasional exceptions).

Can I Re-Share Community Posts To My Personal Plus (Or Elsewhere)?
Yes, if you want to be banned immediately.

Just kidding.

Again: This is a public community. Nothing said here is hidden. If you see some awesome discussion that deserves more eyeballs, share away. It's not like you're sharing peoples' private information or credit card numbers or anything like that.

Can I Dox People Here?
No. If you share folks' private information or credit card numbers or anything like that, we'll kill the post and ban you (and report it to Google).

I'm A Backer. Can I Share Backer-Only Posts With The Community?
Yes, but please keep in mind that the project creator made it backer-only for a reason. Please include a link back to the project if you do this, too.

We would prefer it if you paraphrased or quoted relevant portions rather than a bulk cut-and-paste of the whole update - but that's up to you.

What we don't want from backer-only posts are download links or ways to give non-backers access to backer-only benefits of some sort (without the explicit permission of the project creator). Posts with download links from backer-only updates will be deleted, and the poster will likely be demoted to "limited" status.

I'm A Project Creator And Someone In Your Group Said My Project Was Stupid.
And? We're here to highlight things that we think are stupid. If you have a Google Plus account, feel free to join the community and chime in on the discussion. Just don't expect sympathy because we're being mean to your project. And don't attack the poster or other commenters or you will be banned.

Feel free to spend your time refuting their claims - but we try to treat one another with respect, here.  Other than +Eric Franklin. Because fuck that guy.

I'm A Project Creator And Someone In Your Group Reposted A Backer-Only Post.
That's nice. If it gives away trade secrets or gives us a download link or something, let us know and we'll take it down. If it doesn't otherwise break the rules you can get the direct link to the post and request a DMCA takedown from Google - but keep in mind that our posts here are explicitly for criticism, commentary, and/or parody, which is covered under Fair Use in the United States. It's also worth noting that the group contains a number of people who are social media savvy, and a takedown here will be discussed in the community (and possibly elsewhere). So it may not have exactly the result you were hoping for.

I'm A Project Creator - Can I Ask You To Look At My Project?
If you do this, please be sure to use the correct category ("Help Me Snarkerwan Kenobi! You're My Only Hope!").  It's best to make this post before your project is live on Kickstarter (or wherever).

Just be aware that we will give you honest opinions, and we may disagree with each other. It's also possible that you'll get no reaction/result because we are busy people with active lives.

It's equally possible that we will probably also spiral off into some sort of RFID-blocking bottle opener tangent. And, if you're obviously just posting it to get more attention, we will report you to Kickstarter for spamming. And then we'll probably delete your post and ban you and salt the earth. Unless the community is already off on an amusing tangent. Then we'll just ban you and leave your post alone.

We'd also prefer that you not join the community for the sole purpose of asking us to check your project out. In fact, if you join and then immediately ask for feedback, your post will probably be deleted, and you may be banned.

I'm A Community Member - Can I Ask  You To Look At A Buddy's Project?

Sure. Just don't spam us.  Look at the guidelines in the previous question for a few tips and guidelines.

I'm A Community Member - Can I Advertise My Project Here?

Sure. Just don't spam us. One post to announce it going live, another post a few days before it closes is probably enough. But we're not backers. We don't need regular updates on the progress of your project.

If you need advice mid-stream, feel free to ask - but please don't come up with questions for us just to get more eyes on your project again. If we feel like you're doing that, we'll kill the post unless someone makes us laugh in the comments.

I'm A Project Creator - Can I Share Backer-Only Information With You?

Yes. And, unlike backers sharing backer-only posts, we'll even accept download links and any other free things you want to give us. Because it's your content to give away.

I'm A Project Creator - Can I Bribe You To Say Good Things About My Project?

You can bribe us all you want. We like free swag. Unless your project is stupid, because free things that are stupid are kind of a pathetic bribe. So don't expect free swag to change our opinions. Especially stupid free swag.