[Charles]

Writers' Hangout Rules

Posting in Writers' Hangout

Plagiarism is not allowed, and all works that you post have to be your own. Do not post links to works outside of IF; that’s considered advertising and isn’t allowed outside of the Advertisement Hut.

You are entitled to one thread per story in every section except for the Poetry Café (where you're allowed one thread for all of your poetry). All updates should be posted in the original thread created for the story. Make sure you post your stories in the right subforum (what belongs in each subforum is stated under the subforum title).

Note:
1) Do NOT post a thread saying something like, "Story will be up soon!" These threads are pointless, and you should only post a thread about a story if you have included part of the story in the thread.
2) Stories with multiple authors or "Round-Robins" are allowed to be put up, but while these kinds of collaboration projects are permissible, bickering between authors, spamming, or breaking any of the normal conduct rules for IF will not be tolerated.
3) If you are unsure which subforum to post your story in, PM a staff member. Stories that contain out-of-copyright characters or settings (e.g. Robin Hood) are considered original writing rather than fanfiction.

Posting in Threads

All posts must contribute to the story in a constructive matter. Any sort of spamming will not be tolerated. Spamming includes (but is not restricted to) begging for updates and in general making posts that have nothing to do with the posted story. Any sort of spamming will result in a warning or a possible posting suspension.

Posts in the Writer's Hangout subforums should ONLY INCLUDE constructive criticism, praise, story ideas, and suggestions for improvement. Low-content posts (e.g. only posting something like "Great story!") don't help the writer improve in any way. Short explanations for why you did (or did not) like it, etc., are expected as a minimum.

If you wish to have a conversation that steers off-topic with any of the members, use the PM system.

Bumping your work isn’t allowed unless you’re posting a new chapter, or if the story hasn’t been posted in for 30 days. Any work with nudity or pornographic material MUST be rated (you will find more about the rating system at the bottom of the page).

Conduct

Please offer constructive criticism, and accept the offered critique in a civil way. Read more about critiquing here. Any sort of flaming, trolling, or slamming will not be tolerated. If you see anyone breaking any of the rules, make sure to report the post.
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Tips and Guidelines

If you double-space your works, it will be much easier to read on the computer. Unfortunately, MS Word's and other word processors' formatting (e.g. italics) doesn’t carry over onto the board script, so you have to do it manually (e.g. [ i ] [ / i ] for italics).

Since our board-script filters out curse words, you should asterisk any curses you may have.

We encourage you to critique other people's work. This contributes to an active forum and fosters more critique for your own works. Remember that it's helpful (and smart) to write how harsh a critique you want and what you want other members to focus on when critiquing your story.

To make sure that no one gets offended by your stories, you can add ratings to your posts if they contain content not suitable for anyone younger than 13 years of age. If your story contains explicit content, you may use one of these labels to notify potential readers:


Overt or explicit sexual content.*
Overt or explicit violence.
Other overt or explicit mature content, e.g. alcohol use, drug use, strong cursing, etc.
Overt or explicit sexual content and violence.
Contains all of the above and more. Read at your own risk.

*Regardless of warning tags, explicit (detailed) sexual content is not allowed. The line between what is allowed and what is too explicit is left up to the staff's discretion. If you are unsure about whether a piece you have written is allowed or not, PM an Arts moderator with the material for confirmation.

This post has been edited by Rinion: 09 July 2009 - 12:45 AM