Definitely read the forum guidelines ^
Some other good general guidelines are:
If you're angry at Tapas, the company, don't take it out on the forum mods, who have no power over company-level decisions and are all creators themselves so might even feel sympathetic. You can talk about decisions or practices you don't like, but be polite to the mods, even if you feel like the statements they might have been given to pass on sound like empty, Corporate ones. They're probably just passing info on, and may be limited by contracts and stuff in what they can say while keeping their livelihood. The mods are decent folk, so be polite to them.
Don't give critique if somebody didn't ask for it. If you're desperate to give feedback to somebody who hasn't asked, ask politely if somebody is open to feedback on their work, and include the option to do it privately in DMs.
Don't make posts promoting your comic/novel in non-promo threads. It's tacky. People might even flag it as spam.
If somebody pisses you off on the forums...don't complain about it on the Tapas discord. The same people are there! They'll probably see you! (You'd think this would go without saying, but..)
Promoting your comic/novel in every sub-for-sub and promo thread you can find in a short space of time isn't against any rules, but it is an extremely ineffective form of promo and also a little annoying. Most senior forumites have muted the entire promo category. There's no rule against promo threads or sub-for-sub, just be aware, they don't really help much, and you might be better participating in more general discussions while having a link to your comic or novel in your bio.
Have a link to your stuff in your bio! It's just a general good idea!
Threads that are almost guaranteed to spiral into awful arguments that you probably shouldn't start:
- "Who should get paid more in a collab, the Writer or the Artist?"
- Anything about NFTs
- Anything about J K Rowling
- "Why does everything have to be gay on Tapas?"
- Complaining about not being eligible for the Tapas promos for BHM, Pride or similar due to being cishet and white
These arguments have all already been had and probably won't lead anywhere constructive.
