Pokedorks FAQ
How do I join?
Read the rules and agree to follow them. Then note the club and ask to join. If someone referred you to this club, please give us their username on deviantART and we'll reward them!
Do you hate Pokemon and Pokemon fans since you called yourself Pokedorks?
Nope. We are simply joking at ourselves; many of our members and all of our admins are in their upper teens or early twenties. As Pokemon is seen as a game appealing to grade schoolers, and has been labeled by society as an old fad to be despised (much like boy bands and platform shoes), we decided that we might as well own up to the fact that we are weirdoes and nerds.
What's an exhaustive list of all of the prizes you hand out?
- 1st place in the Contest can win a cheap print, a 3-month sub, or request a piece of art/literature from one of our Contest Artists (featured on the Pokedorks and Elite Four journal).
- Random participants in the contest win art by a Contest Artist (featured on the Pokedorks and Elite Four journal).
- A person who enters into the Contest and doesn't win can be selected for the Honorable Mention one-month sub.
- People who submit art and writing to our gallery are entered into a random drawing. The person who is randomly selected wins a one-month sub!
- If you have a certain amount of EXP, you can earn prizes like subs, prints, Pokemon cards, and art/literature requests from "Artists for Hire" (located in the EXP journal beneath the "Redeem Your EXP" section).
How do I get my comments counted as EXP?
First of all, please type your comments in English or Finnish so Kipinae will know if it's a thoughtful, helpful comment-- we don't give points for one-worders and we want to make sure it's uniform for everyone.
Secondly, you will have to note us with your comment links; it's just too big of a job to search through every members' gallery-- we don't want to miscount, and we don't want to miss anybody who comments later. Important: Please only send us one note pertaining to comments a day, and put multiple comments in one note. Please don't spam us with numerous notes or we'll send the club mascot to drool on you!
How do I get some of my art featured in the club gallery?
You must note the club with "Gallery Submission" as the subject line. Remember to link to the piece of art you want featured!
May I post Pokemon I made up to the gallery?
You may post "fake" Pokemon to our gallery as long as you officially state in the comments or title of the image that it is a Pokemon; make sure that you provide as much information about your special Pokemon as possible (especially type, and perhaps some tidbits on where it lives and what it does).
What are your gallery submission policies?
We will not accept ANYTHING that is out of place in deviantART's rules; for clarification, visit their FAQ. The admins retain the right to reject any art/literature they see as suspicious, distasteful, or illegal beneath DA's guidelines. We will also not accept any art or literature that does not contain at least 80% Pokemon content (i.e., we won't accept your giant crossover that features Pikachu in one scene in the prologue, and then has no further mention of Pokemon in the fanfic at all).
Why won't you accept yaoi, yuri, fetish art, and specific non-canon hetero (like Professor Oak x Misty)?
- Most of the characters in the games and shows are underage and therefore, such pairings are inappropriate.
- Most of the members in our club are underage and therefore, it is inappropriate for them to see. (Think of us as a "safe spot" in the midst of DA depravity.)
- This is an arbitrary moral line. What is morally acceptable differs hugely between different people. StarDragonBlue has simply decided to draw the line at yaoi and yuri; she finds that where yaoi and yuri flourish, other fetishes are not far behind.
- Founder StarDragonBlue avoids yaoi, yuri, and fetish art at all costs and finds it reprehensible and a visual assault. She doesn't want to see it; so she doesn't allow it.
We do not deter gay members from joining, nor do we discriminate against other people's belief systems. That is not the point, and if it is seen as such, it is a misreading of our intentions in this matter. We may as well be honest that we do not like romantic pairings in our pictures as a general rule, hetero or homosexual. However, as romance is such a powerful influence in the human spirit (needless to say), we will not ban all romantically-themed pictures outright.
What do you consider as art theft?
Art Theft means submitting screenshots from your favorite show, using official sprites from the Pokemon games, using anime screencaps to make a banner... basically, using art (of any persuasion-- textile, pottery, drawings, music, literature, etc) by somebody else, and submitting it as your own. That's not acceptable by DA policy, and it's not acceptable to us. We ONLY accept art that's 100% BY YOU. If you submit art to our gallery that is stolen, we will warn you once. If you submit stolen art again, we will kick you out of Pokedorks.
Are there any limits to how much I can post in the gallery?
Yes. Brand new members may post two Pokemon-related pieces of literature/art in the gallery for ONE MONTH (think of it as a "thank you gift!") up to 6 months after they've joined. Old members may only post one piece per month. You may post more by earning EXP or winning contests; contest winners may post three Pokemon related pieces up for one month and for every 10 EXP you redeem, you may post another piece in the club gallery.
You may only submit one entry to a contest.
The only three exceptions to this rule are the Holiday-Themed, Quagsire Mascot, and Pokemon of the Month (POM) submissions. A max of 5 Quagsire/POM pieces may be submitted per month, and a max of 5 Holiday Themed Images may be submitted per Holiday period (as outlined on our Shoutbox).
What if I have Pokemon fan art I would like to submit for more than one DA account?
Members may not join with more than one account. However, in the case of a user with multiple usernames, all of your accounts count as one individual account to us (of which your Pokedork-accepted username is head). This means that if you post different Pokemon pieces in all your accounts, we will be fine with accepting them. However, it must state somewhere on the journal, personal info, etc, that you are the owner of the usernames (so we won't partake in art theft).
Club rules still apply: we will only accept one image from you for your monthly submission -- not one piece of art for each account -- and we will post it to our gallery beneath the name of account you originally joined to the club.
I've sent in a joining notification/club affiliation request/PDD suggestion. Why haven't I been answered yet?
StarDragonBlue, who answers these notes, generally deals with them every week/two weeks during school months. Please be patient! She will take care of them as soon as is humanly possible! :)
I've purchased an extra gallery submission with my EXP. Why haven't I received EXP for it?
You won't receive EXP for it. That's paying for a video game, then being given extra money because you bought the video game.
May I combine all sorts of different subjects, regular gallery and Pokemon of the Month submissions, and contest submissions in my notes to the club?
Well, yes and no. Remember that there are three different admins at this club and that we all serve a different function. Peachfuzz posts all of our gallery images, for example, while StarDragonBlue cares for contests and Kipinae counts comments. Now, imagine that you send a combination of subjects in one note... and that one admin looks at it, perhaps replies to it. Now, if there was something else that pertained to the other admins, they won't know it's there unless the other admin tells them, because the note has been "read" and its notification has been removed from the message center. This causes some real train wrecks!
So, what should you do? Well, you can combine Pokemon of the Month entries and regular gallery submissions, but contests and all other subjects should be split into their own notes.
Can I draw Pokemorphs?
Absolutely! :) Pokemorphs (or Pokemon anthros) are completely acceptable and encouraged!
Why don't you fave anything?
This club will never fave any pieces of artwork or literature. This FAQ on deviantART explains why we cannot do this.
How do you link to someone with their icon/username?
For icons, simply type this in without the spaces: :iconpokedorks:
For usernames, type this without the spaces: :devpokedorks:
The admin who posts art to the gallery is gone! What if I want to post a piece of art for the month, and they come back after the month ended?
Your piece of art will be posted to the gallery as long as it is submitted before the last day of the month at 11:59 PM, Pacific time.
What are the Guidelines for Pokedorks Daily Deviation?
Nothing that goes against our rules-- no yaoi or yuri, no pornography, no fetishes, no oversexualization or extreme violence. We also don't show art by our own members since we get to see their art every day. :)
We also host a list of DA artists who we consider to be "Daily Deviation" quality. If you want a lot of Pokemon art that totally kicks butt, consider watching them! :D
You can submit art hosted on other sites-- we'll link to them. We would prefer dA pieces if at all possible so that we can show the thumbnails, though. :)
I noticed you have a chat room. Do you have scheduled chats?
Yes! We hold weekly chats on our own dA chat channel. Use this map to figure out your zone.
The USA Pokedorks chat is at 6:00 pm Pacific time, 7:00 pm Mountain, 8:00 pm Central, 9:00 pm Eastern [GMT -6 (CST)] on Sunday and is hosted by StarDragonBlue.
The European Pokedorks chat is at 8:00 PM GMT+2 on Saturday and is hosted by Kipinae.
The chats will last anywhere from 30 minutes to one hour long (perhaps longer, if we get really into things. XD). We may hold special events (like Trivia Contests) and fun activities on those days, so don't miss out! :D