Every forum, apparently needs rules to ensure civil behavior. I lament this necessity, as I think people should be capable of exhibiting self-restraint and acceptable comportment without compulsory means. I have no desire to be a dictator and even less to be a nanny, so with some reluctance, I pen the following rules:
1) Be Kind. If you can't be kind, at least be civil. If you can't do that, don't post.
2) Keep the foul language to a minimum. Sometimes a gentle expletive may be called for, but please keep it fit for humans to read.
3) Try to keep posts on topic.
4) No Spam. Want to put a small link to your homepage or blog in your signature? No problem. If, however, the purpose of your post is to sell viagra, penny stocks or generally spam our members, the post will be dropped.
4a) We may have people come in who don't post but do send out PMs with spam (or who have already come in). If you get something like that, please forward it to Patti L., Elle, or Mike Briggs promptly so we can delete the blighter. You don't need to put up with it.
5) No fanfic. Sorry, but no fanfic on this site: no posts, no emails or PMs of it to Patty or Mike; they will not read it. There will be no sharing of this universe with other writers, particularly with fan writers. If in doubt, don't post it. This also includes ANY fanfic, of any author or fictional world, not just Patricia Briggs. This also includes RPG's of any variety. We have nothing against them, but this is not the right place for them. Any fanfic or RPG's posted will be immediately deleted.
5a) Do NOT PM or email any of your story ideas or collaboration suggestions to Patty or Mike. Original or based on Patty's work. There are legal tangles involved here. More simply; if Patty is dealing with this, she can't write the new books we're lusting after.
6) This isn't a political or religious forum. If your post pertains to that it may be edited or removed at the discretion of the moderators/administrators.
That's it. Everyone play nice and have fun.
Note: Critiques of any author, (including Patty!) are perfectly acceptable. Part of a healthy discussion is pointing out flaws, mistakes, or shortcomings of a work. However, a critique should focus on the work, not the person. Let me give you some examples:
The following is perfectly acceptable critique:
"I found the use of a first-person narrative made it difficult to visualize the main character.
This viewpoint has become increasingly less-common, and sounds stuffy and self-indulgent. In addition, descriptions of key locations in the story were vague, I would have appreciated more concrete details to anchor the events of the story more firmly. Finally, I found the dialog to be overly effusive -- the characters speaking as though they were characters in an Edwarian theatre rather than real people."
And this is a personal attack, which would be unacceptable:
"This author is so dumb she ought to have her fingers broken. Everyone knows that first-person stories were abandoned years ago because they're difficult to read. Everyone, that is, except this stupid, inept, amateur.
Her descriptions are nearly nonexistent. I couldn't tell if the action was in Mars or Manhattan, let alone what time of year it might be. Didn't she ever take writing 101? My goodness, setting is a critical element of a story, and only a flatulent cow like this one would write drivel without a well-defined setting. Finally, dialog: O.M.G. what a complete loser! Saturday morning cartoons have better dialog. I've read more creative prose on my shampoo bottle. Not only did this book stink, the author stinks, and so does her dog, cat and everything around her!"
If you can't tell the difference between these two posts, err on the side of caution!
EDIT: added rule about fanfic - charmed, board global mod
EDIT: added rule about PM spam - Patti L., from the admin group
EDIT: added rule about religion and politics - Patti L., from the admin group
Topic: Rules: (Read 25292 times)