Well, mechanical_lullaby…I wasn't here for the “old DD” and I “don't know nothin' ‘bout no April Fools”…But, I am totally guilty of allowing someone’s behavior in forums influence whether or not I give them the time of internet.

I know it's silly and childish; but, my memory is long and I tend to simply treat those I have deemed to be snotrags as if they didn't exist. There are so many friendly, intelligent folks here—whose comics I get to read on such rare occassion as it is…why waste time givin' comments (which makes one feel so warm in the tum) to weiners? I don't.

MagickLorelai
I think your public conduct DOES affect your career. Tom Cruise acted crazy everywhere, and now I don't know anyone who takes him seriously.

He… what? Aside from the Oprah thing, he's got a funny religion?

I like Cruise, and I think people just want to tear him down. Before the scientology thing there was the gay rumor thing, blah blah blah. I think he's good in everything he does.

Besides, look at Robert Downey Jr. He actually has real problems and nobody cares. I love the dude. A good example of falling off the map from crazy is Tom Sizemore, in the acting world.

As soon as you start being more active in a forum (as in, you put your opinions out more and more), you'll begin to offend somebody. It doesn't matter if you really don't mean anything bad.. eventually something you say will offend somebody.

It's impossible to please everyone, other than just lurk and never say anything you really feel. Same as only giving 5's and never saying anything besides “Great job good comics!”

mlai
As soon as you start being more active in a forum (as in, you put your opinions out more and more), you'll begin to offend somebody. It doesn't matter if you really don't mean anything bad.. eventually something you say will offend somebody.

It's impossible to please everyone, other than just lurk and never say anything you really feel. Same as only giving 5's and never saying anything besides “Great job good comics!”

Exactly! The only way not offend some people is to do nothing. However even lurkers can offend people by doing nothing. For some people seem to go out of their way to be offended. (I haven't seen that here yet, for the record.)

If a person is a complete jerk then I might be less likely to read their comic, but if they're art is ok, then I'll take a look at it. I'm more drawn (pun not intended) if a person has a really good avatar or banner then I'll probably click and take a look.

I notice that a lot of people like to mention that this forum is pretty well behaved, especially compared to a lot of the internet. I don't know if it's due to good moderation or if comics fans are just really well behaved and polite about their opinions (hah!), but I think a large part of it has to do with the fact that most forum members actually have comics. I don't know about all of you, but I'll admit that I keep myself a bit “in check” sometimes because I know that how I present myself could very well effect my comic's readership. Of course, there are those who prefer to be infamous over famous, and rely on readers coming by because they're such horrible people outside of the comic. I know it's not universal, but I think we can all agree that a fair percentage of users on this site act better than they otherwise would because it could mean more readership down the road.

Which is bull poop. If a person's forum behavior affect how you perceive their comic, congratulation, you are a weak willed shrill!

PARTY TIME FOR YOU!

I haven't seen many rude people, but I usually browse comics before meeting the writers of them on the forum. At any rate; I'm glad I've discovered the secret to getting readers…pretty pages and sparkly banners.

Someone
If I see a total asshole in the forums (which I seriously haven't seen yet in DrunkDuck)

Um, hello! Asshole over here!

Bekefel

Someone
If I see a total asshole in the forums (which I seriously haven't seen yet in DrunkDuck)

Um, hello! Asshole over here!

Agreed.

–although I do have a tendency to be really angry at stupid stuff, this topic was posted towards no one in general. i wasn't angry or annoyed with anyone at the time of writing it nor was i refusing to read anyone's comics. i just wanted to see your opinions on the matter.
i happen to love you all.

mechanical_lullaby
–although I do have a tendency to be really angry at stupid stuff, this topic was posted towards no one in general. i wasn't angry or annoyed with anyone at the time of writing it nor was i refusing to read anyone's comics. i just wanted to see your opinions on the matter.
i happen to love you all.

Awww.. I wuvs you too!! Gimme a hug!!

i dont know but you can check out my comic Dome Busta.ahahahahahahahahahahah ha ha ha
no but really i dont like asses. nice people mean nice comic : )

You don't like asses?!

CorruptComics
I know how to distinguish art from artist.

Though it's a lovely thought, it's as much naive as it is sanctimonious. I would highly doubt that any person on this earth happens to be that “enlightened”.

We all have inherent prejudices, or at the very least preconceived notions, that keep us from consuming “art” in whatever fashion.

Take Mel Gibson. Sure, he's done some great movies, but he's as big an anti-Semite as they come. Is a Jewish person a “weak-minded shrill” if they decide not put money in his pocket to see his movies?

Rush Limbaugh is a jackass. Do I know him in real life? No. Am I perceiving him from his “entertainment” pieces? Yep.

I know plenty of conservatives that would never even watch ANY of Micheal Moore's movies because they hate HIM. I suppose they are “weak-minded shrills” because they can't separate his “art” from the man himself?

My point is, although it's a cliche, sometimes life DOES imitate art, and sometimes it doesn't. You can't just pigeon-hole everything into one, sweeping comment without being a hypocrite yourself.

Now, there's a difference between being strong willed in a debate and being downright insulting. One I will put up with. The other I will not.

I'm sick of the whole “anonymity” thing on the internet, where people are jerks just because there is no real retribution. Well, there should be. You behave like a Jackass to your community, you've lost me as an audience. That's for damn sure. Lucky for me not too many people fall in this category. At least, not here. :)

It takes a lot to make me not like someone. I dont use forum to check out people's comics. I prefer comic search engine to randomly look for good ones or I go to the front page.

So therefore, it doesnt matter if someone was being a jerk or a sweetheart. I dont look at someone's comic through their banners (except in rare cases).

I guess I'm odd.

Nicely put, SpANG.

Something to what InkMonkey said, I think a lot of people control their behavior better here because they have comics on here, and at the very least don't want to get banned. More like the real world, I suppose, you have a stake in it. I enjoy the forums for what they are, but I know a side benefit is possible readership (else I wouldn't bother with a banner). Not that I'm ever impolite anywhere else ;)

SpANG
I know plenty of conservatives that would never even watch ANY of Micheal Moore's movies because they hate HIM. I suppose they are “weak-minded shrills” because they can't separate his “art” from the man himself?

Why not? Its no different from people who don't like a man's work because he's gay.

The art IS different from the man. Picasso was a man-whore, Hemingway was a drunk, et cetera et cetera. We constantly ignore the artist when enjoying the art.

TnTComic
The art IS different from the man. Picasso was a man-whore, Hemingway was a drunk, et cetera et cetera. We constantly ignore the artist when enjoying the art.

Hemingway and Picasso's pasts were unknown to millions until their deaths, I believe.

What you say is true enough, though. However, we all also constantly do what I said too, which is ignore the art because of our perceptions of the artists as well.

Is this correct behavior? Probably not. But it won't change. People just feel the way they feel. Some people are more sensitive to things, some are raised differently, etc.

SpANG
What you say is true enough, though. However, we all also constantly do what I said too, which is ignore the art because of our perceptions of the artists as well.

Lord knows we're urged to by people who have that opinion.

Personally, I don't like the tone of Moore's movies, but in interviews I DO like him. Which is an odd twist, kind of like how I like Scott Kurtz, but don't like PvP. Conversely, I love Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr or Mel Gibson movies, because I don't give a shit about their personal lives.

I dunno, I guess you're right. Its not necessarily a character flaw, but I don't really like it when someone holds an artist against their work.

TnTComic
Personally, I don't like the tone of Moore's movies, but in interviews I DO like him. Which is an odd twist, kind of like how I like Scott Kurtz, but don't like PvP. Conversely, I love Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr or Mel Gibson movies, because I don't give a shit about their personal lives.

See, I like Moore because of his movies. He seems like a nice guy in interviews, but hey, he's pushing his movie, why wouldn't he be? I have no idea what kind of guy he is in real life, but I based my opinion of him on his work.

SpANG

CorruptComics
I know how to distinguish art from artist.

Though it's a lovely thought, it's as much naive as it is sanctimonious. I would highly doubt that any person on this earth happens to be that “enlightened”.

That's not enlightenment, that's basic principle.

A good person with a bad comic will not make me suddenly think they have a good comic.

A good comic done by a bad person will not make me suddenly think that they have a bad comic.

It's not hard and I suggest you try it.

Life's not that simple. ;)

Perhaps you wont even bother to check out someone's comic in the first place if you don't like the way they behave in the forums? Then you won't know what sort of work they do! Conversely, if you like the way they act, you may be more likely to see what they've done. That happens.

Although personally, I don't think it matters that much, I really don't. It does happen, but it's not much of a factor in getting or losing readers… But I'd say you'll probably get MORE readers by acting like an arse than you will by being nice. lol!
-people are dumb that way.

Personally, I tend to gravitate towards those that speak eloquently and with (according to my ideology) a ‘sane’ perspective on things. While I can use this to judge only if I'll actually read their posts in their own comics, it does open the door for me to actually take a gander at what their comic looks like. That being said: I pay BIG attention to what a person has in their signature… if it looks intriguing, heck ya I'll check it out.

People and art get me in the door… the story keeps me there ;)

A definite “Yes” to the original forum question
Rudeness doesn't appeal to me anymore, so I gravitate toward writing that lifts up, not tears down.

I guess so… Talking with a person makes ya know him better. =] That's why if he says something weird or totally stupid that makes ya mad, ya just stop having interest in talking with him more… Or ya get bored. xD (Such things happen to me though I'm new here… XD)

It really kind of depends… On the comic and the person. If you're just being an ass all the time going around saying people's comics suck, then yea. I mean, there has to be a nice side to people sometimes… right?

All I know is my readership went up after I started taunting ozoneocean!

I kid!

I have never seen someone whose forum behavior was off putting but his comic was NOT.

That is, if a person is such that I wouldn't want to read their comic, i can tell by either the comic itself (especially because obnoxious people tend to actually put political/social/opinion rants in between their comic pages, or just as very unsubtle undertones).
I am not talking about mean necessarily, pet peeves are also issues. while the comic is slightly milder, you can generally tell.

The catch-22 is that historically, a lot of the best artists (I'm mostly thinking of authors, but I can think of a couple painters too) have been really insufferable people.

I'm as likely as anybody to let my personal impression of someone affect my judgment in re their creation, but I try to keep a barrier there – because if somebody comes up with something really great, who am I punishing by refusing to read/view/listen-to it out of personal spite?

I don't really care how people see me, I just want them to read my damn comic. Don't hurt the feelings of my fictional characters just cos I suck. Have it be cos they suck.

That being said, I now give my stance on how peoples opinions affect my reading. It doesn't. At all. I read based on sheer boredom level alone, not how people act. But you know what really stops me from clicking on a comic?

The avatar.

I'm dead serious. If you have an avatar that makes me go, “BWARG!”, I won't click on it to access your stuff.

“But Boss, the persons banner is the direct link to their comic!”

Thank you Captain Obvious. My rebuttal: I like to take the long way.

Besides, few people choose to respond to me here, so I don't really get to be an ass or a good guy.