Judging from recent submissions into our Media Forums, we need a refresher course on our submission guidelines. Before the recap, however, let's talk about why we have them.
I hear some of y'all bellyachin'. "Aw, Mr. Man," the bellyachers say. "What gives? Other forums don't have such STRICT, PAINFUL, Nazi-like requirements! EPIC FAIL, broheim! It's my vid! I do what I want!" First: Bellyachers are idiots for comparing magic video submission policies to militant, murderous fascist regimes. Second: We all can agree that magic exposure is bad, right? Bottom line: Our media submission guidelines prevent exposure. Because explaining exactly how would constitute a form of exposure, I'll let you figure out how for yourself as you review these key rules:
- Disable your comments. "But Mr. Man! I want feedback! That means I have to keep my comments on!" Think about what kind of feedback you want. Would you rather have insightful critiques from the most supportive, knowledgable and savvy magic forum members on the Internet? Or do you want some nosenugget with bad spelling type that your pass sucks when your video doesn't have a pass? Better yet, how would you like that same nosenugget to post a link to a harmful Web site? Think about what you really want.
- Name your video something that has nothing to do with magic. A Google search for the name of a vid can bring up some other results that you may not want your laymen friends to see.
- Clean your tags and description of all magic-related references. YouTube keeps users on its site by posting related videos. We know this because, like you, we have watched a minute become an hour as we get stuck watching video after video of kittens doing really cute things. You watched every one of those videos, didn't you? Did you see the related videos to the side? With weird things that didn't seem so related, such as the one for the racist mattress company? Weird, right? YouTube finds these "related" videos by searcing for vids with similar tags and descriptions. If you hate exposure, then you want to scrub all those things of magic-related terms.
When moderators make decisions on approving your videos, these three things are checked. A vid that has just one out of the three areas incorrect doesn't get posted. That's why submissions may take a while to show up. So help us help you, and help us fight exposure. Make sure you follow those rules. Cool? Cool.
Oh, one more thing: Scott Baird rocks. He knows why.
“What’s the point of that, I wonder? I mean, I get how they did it. I just ain’t seeing the why.”
~Malcolm Reynolds