Protecting Your Innovative Ideas!
  Written By Titmowse

Hey Academy readers! You're here at one of those times I feel the need to explain the unspoken interpersonal guidelines for surviving the quirky and sometimes cruel adult webmaster culture.

Adult webmasters might possibly be the most cynical group of professionals ever known. The anonymity of the Internet and their autonomous lifestyle greatly contribute to the phenomenal amount of posturing and pissing adult webmasters so freely express. They have no boss to answer to. They aren't physically threatened because of cyberspace. They can easily conceal their vocation from public scrutiny and as long as they labor legally, have little to fear from law enforcement. They operate outside the realm of organized crime, which cripples the real life world of porn. They don't cower from hackers because many of them used to be hackers or can hire one to kill a hack dead. The majority of adult webmasters are harmless pussycats in real life but their soft underbellies are hidden by PC monitors and pessimism. In spite of all their faults, adult webmasters work together and share knowledge as well or better than any unionized collection of professionals.

This is the third installment in the series entitled: Miss Titt's Rules of Etiquette for an Unseemly Profession. I won't go into detail about previous rules mentioned in the other two articles, you'll have to read them here. I will restate the rules already declared by your friendly Cozy Academy professor:

1. Ignorance of Spam is no excuse
2. No statement is retractable
3. Judge not lest ye be judged
4. Trust No One
5. Expect No Sympathy
6. Read the TOS

Get in the Game
Adult webmasters can be intimidating, offensive and unrelenting in their attempts to unnerve. Just the same, buck up and grit your teeth because you have to get to know these people. The trade off for self-employment is your success depends greatly on the views of your peers instead of the opinion of one boss. Relationships with other adult Internet professionals can only be formed by actually relating with them. Very few in this industry get anywhere by hiding in the shadows. We may not need employers, but we do need each other for link trades, advice and assorted services. This field is based upon association and cooperation. Join a message board. Enter a webmaster chat. Try your best to attend as many live trade shows and conferences as you can. Not only will you learn something; you'll also create amazing relationships and friendships in the process.

Play the Game
Adult webmasters know that every time they post a topic or reply to another's statement, everyone's watching. Some webmaster message boards get thousands of visits a day. Some webmaster chat rooms and radio shows can have hundreds of industry types observing the festivities. Live trade shows attract the biggest players who are always invaluable to know. The more others see you in these situations, the more you promote yourself. Along with marketing your sites, you need to market yourself to your fellow adult professionals. You don't have to be everyone's favorite webmaster but by exposing yourself to others, you will obtain legitimacy, which is golden.

Understand it's all a Game
If you spend any amount of time in adult webmaster chat rooms and message boards, you'll soon see there's a lot of cyber sparring going on. One guy will say a certain hosting company is a cheat. Twelve more will chime in to defend the host while twenty more post to back up the original accuser. Content providers slam content providers. Graphics designers trash each other's work. Affiliates call sponsors out as cheaters and sponsors reply with proof of affiliate thievery. While accusing anyone of impropriety is serious business, many times these childish tirades are simply that. Adult webmasters spout off at the drop of a hat and the drama is addicting. In fact, some of them invent fake battles to garner publicity. Many is the time that a message board member may be under textual attack by seemingly everyone around yet simultaneously, they are procuring increased business from curious onlookers. Adult webmasters fight for notoriety every day and they use any means possible to achieve it. While I don't recommend picking fights or spewing accusations as a way to shine, keep in mind that being liked is not nearly as important as standing out. In other words, don't be afraid to speak up with legitimate questions and sincere comments around adult webmasters just because they may not be kind. Stand your ground. Keep your sense of humor and you'll be fine.

Adult Internet professionals may seem like a bunch of egotistical pricks when you initially encounter them. You may have to suffer through an uncomfortable "newbie" status for a while when dealing with them. Eventually, you'll settle in and discover your groove and find that most of these folks are intelligent, witty and hide large hearts behind hard facades.

We at Cozy Academy understand how it feels to be the newbie. That's why we host lessons and let you in on the kooky social world of this wacky profession. We know that everyone started out as newbies and everyone got help from some experienced friend. We return the favor to you dear readers.