initial reply test

this is a test topic to check if user systems, topic creation, sorting and replies is working as intended. The content of the posts is not important.

Lots of changes since last update. I've redesigned the front page and the styles for the entire site including all sections. Spending a great deal of time setting up the CSS (style sheets) has allowed me to change the basic colours on the fly and therefore have themes. Eventually, I'd like to allow users to have custom themes. I the created a secure user authentication system with proper encryption and all that. I've streamlined site architecture and built stable foundations to ensure efficiency for good performance. I've finally added the ability to submit messages to the site, hence this update. Oh and I've finally written a privacy policy.

I've created a new messages system to replace the Snitz forum software. I intent to work on this bit by bit, adding user login systems and message posting ability. I need to figure out security and spam filters first though.

To aid in connectivity and ease of access, I am thinking it would be good to make this activitypub/fediverse compatible wherever possible. I believe it is good to have a federated internet where people are free to move amongst different services as they like. I also believe it is good to be able to stay connected to your friends when doing so. fediverse would allow a user on mastodon, for example, to reply to articles and posts with their own account on their own platform, and that would be reflected here. I can use hashtags to aid categorisation. I can create top level categories, for example for #fanart and then any new message with that hashtag would be placed inside that category, thereby presenting it like a traditional forum. This would then mean that users familiar with social media can remain connected to the site and their peers by using existing apps designed to view mastodon servers or similar.

Perhaps the ability to have pre-crafted message replies, so any creators can more easily share their work?

Sites like Deviantart used to be a fantastic way for creators to interact and share their work. I've sorely missed that site since it changed. There hasn't been anything to take it's place. Fanworx could support that type of community to some degree.

What sort of features would visitors require and appreciate? I'm thinking just now, people can enjoy having a collection, so perhaps a personal 'shelf' for users to store their favourites? For creators of fan works, the ability to have showcases may be useful. The ability to have reviews has already been covered and is part of the fundamentals. The ability to write articles in the same way as a blog should be good. The ability to upvote articles could determine what is on the front page. The ability to submit new content, new properties and franchises should be possible. There needs to be restrictions to deter bad actors. I would like to have the ability to dynamically alter the look and feel of the site, changing contrast and switching between light mode and dark mode? What other features do you think would be useful or desirable?

I think this is a good point. At the end of the day, we all want to get along.

Fanworx is intended to complement other sites. I want to approach this as a way to enhance what is already available on the net and hopefully enliven the creative community more than it already is. I feel this needs to be said as I can imagine some people may view this site as a form of competitiveness. I want to work together with others wherever possible.

For a forum to work, it must be organised. What sections should it have?

If I'm going to make a database for fan works, then I need some idea of what it will need to contain, how it will display it and how to organise it. Categories is needed. every fan work must be categorised according to it's type, what the original is, who the creator is. There may need to be other categories too. Each fan work needs it's own page where it will have particular sets of information, according to the type of media. These informations would need to be in a form that can be edited by users or where users can suggest edits and submit new items. These pages need to be capable of supporting media such as photos and videos. Each creator of a fan work needs an individual page with various details. Each intellectual property that fan works are based on needs it's own page with various information that can be user submitted. It must include where to buy it and support the creator. must have review functionality so people can give props or report bad experiences. needs some further thought to figure out how to prevent abuse and resolve disputes. potential to include user submitted journalistic articles. There needs to be a search function with various ways to filter and sort the search results. There needs to be a 'front-end' that can collate new reviews and new submissions and possibly news items or articles. I think that's it....

So there are fanedits, fanart, fanfiction, cosplay, models... what else is there? what can count as a 'category' of fan productions?

I think it needs to be addressed, is it 'advertising' to state that a thing exists and allow people to tell others what they thought about it? Where is the line drawn here?

This is the elephant in the room when it comes to fan works. Obviously when we use other people's intellectual property, we need to ensure we aren't violating their rights and hurting them. At the end of the day, as fans our intent is to celebrate their works with our works, so this site needs to work to support ip holders. here we can discuss ways and means we can do that. I think first and foremost we must ensure that none of the fan works that are effectively advertised(?) by this site, are inhibiting an ip holder's ability to profit from their work. Secondly, we should ensure that the fan works we effectively advertise(?) are not aiming to profit from somebody else's ip. I don't think anyone can argue with these tenets.

These rules are disclosed to clarify the various responsibilities of all community members here on FanWorx. They shall be adhered to by everyone to ensure that our board runs smoothly and provides a fun and productive experience for all of our community members and visitors. Main Guidelines Respect is key. It is very important that you treat your peers with respect in all situations. Respect is fundamental, it does not need to be earned. Site staff will be able to see if members or other staff are not being respectful and it will be dealt with. Please use the report features if necessary. Intellectual property law exists to protect us and other creators. Piracy is forbidden, any fan works rely on the doctrine of fair-use and the good graces of copyright holders, allowing us to celebrate what they create. Please use all due caution. Any works which include significant portions of the work it is based on, could be seen as damaging to the original work, so sharing is restricted. For example, a fan-edit of a movie will naturally include a significant portion of the movie. It must not be shared or linked to publicly. Anyone producing such works must take their own steps to verify that people own the original before sharing their works. Works that are significantly original such as fan-art, would generally be fine to share publicly. If in doubt, ask. This set of guidelines is certainly going to evolve over time. Non profit. Profits will not be made off of other people's intellectual property, no exceptions. Justifiable costs may be acceptable, for example, if a model maker paints a model for another person, shipping costs and cost of materials is justifiable. Anyone found to be adding extra charges and profiting will be in violation of site guidelines and appropriate action will be taken. Discretion. This means general public decency. Try not to talk about lewd things or violent behaviours or use excessive foul language. These things are offensive to some people and we want a pleasant environment. Obviously some media that we base fan works on will be horror themed or have some adult themes and elements. It may be necessary to refer to various aspects of them, but we can take care how we talk and if it's not necessary to use graphic descriptions, then it's best not to. please try to use content warnings. No adult materials. No pornography or illegal materials. No spoilers. A lot of people gain delight from discovering stories in the originally intended way. Use appropriate spoiler warnings. A spoiler is anything that somebody could feasibly gain pleasure from discovering organically. The age of a thing is not an excuse. It is very common for people to discover franchises quite late.

Welcome to the basic forums I set up. This forum should be perfectly compatible with the main site code, so all user data should be safe. I think it's safe to consider this 'permanent' to some degree.