Mod Post.

[shukivengeance.livejournal.com]

This is a reminder that if someone is posted here, that is not your cue to harass them nor should you be contacting them in any way unless you yourself have pending business with them. Doing so will lead to at minimum a warning, maximum a ban.
Our community exists to give advice, seek resolution with regards to bad transactions and warn other potential consumers when resolution is not possible.
We are not here to give you a target to mob, so if you are not one of their current customers it would be much appreciated if our members could refrain from contacting people featured here. This also includes offering to 'get in touch with the person' on OP's behalf. Keep any mention of this out of the community.

Regarding Bazeel, A_B's contact on the FA mod team, I'd like to clarify that users are not to take A_B issues to him unless instructed by a moderator or Bazeel himself. FurAffinity staff only respond to problems sent in via Trouble Ticket, with the exception of Bazeel, who moderators may contact. Sending a note or a message to Bazeel without the okay of a moderator will do nothing, as he doesn't respond to private messages about either site.

Comments offering to "finish up" another person's owed art will be screened. While the gesture is made with good intentions, it is a violation of the original artist's copyright to their work. If a customer wishes to go this route, they should get written permission from the artist first, and after receiving that permission, look outside the community for an artist to finish the piece.
Related is offering to pay off the debt left from a scammer, or offer free art. Again, while done with good intentions, it is not the point of the community. Community members are free to politely contact the OP in private and offer their services, but not on the Artists_Beware post itself.

Linking to your own gallery/business is considered "self promotion", and inappropriate for the mission of Artists_Beware. There are plenty of communities, forums and other venues to advertise yourself on. Any self promoting comments will be screened. The only exceptions to this are pricing posts and in an advice post that asks for a business/person who does a specific thing, like specialty printing.

Asking for names or speculating on identities in advice posts is inappropriate and such comments will be frozen or screened. It is fine to encourage the person to post a beware, but names are to be kept out of advice posts as they do not require the same evidence that bewares do.

Private information like real names or email addresses in a beware is also off-limits unless the person does business under this identity or the email can be found publicly. It is not acceptable to have these in a beware otherwise, or to request them in comments.

Things that do not belong on Artists_Beware:
- Tracing posts, unless the person is doing traced commissions for money. General tracing posts should be made to the Art-Theft community.
- Similar to the above, art theft that is not for profit does not belong on A_B and should be reported to Art-Theft.
- Character theft except for impersonation, as in cases where someone plays/impersonates an artist's character in order to scam people or when there are other transaction-related issues.
- Individuals who lie in order to receive gift art.
- Personal drama or disputes with no business-related aspect.
- Artists who politely decline taking your commission.

Comments

[kasune.livejournal.com]

- Artists who politely decline taking your commission.

Oh my goodness, thank you. Seriously.
And thank you for this entire post.

[thaily.livejournal.com]

"- Character theft except for impersonation, as in cases where someone plays/impersonates an artist's character in order to scam people or when there are other transaction-related issues."

I'm assuming this includes people who get (porn) art of characters they don't own and don't have permission from the owners to include in said art?

"- Artists who politely decline taking your commission."

Or rudely declines a commission.
Not to say I approve of rudeness, I just don't think it's at all relevant to this community unless the artist is actually scamming people. I'd hate to see posts being made about artists being rude outside of a business transaction.

[epiceternity.livejournal.com]

"- Individuals who lie in order to receive gift art."

Does this mean cases where a scammer has tried to get free art by not paying after work is done, asking for a lot of re-draws or pulling paypal disputes to get money back after work has been finished/received?

[pandadally.livejournal.com]

Question-- I have recently had what I consider to be a very crappy experience with an artist, but the item has been shipped, and is apparently in transit. If I receive the item, may I still make a post warning other potential commissioners?