The Writer's Group Rules! (Revised July 9, 2016) - The Writers' Group

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SweetAI Belle #1 · Jul 9th, 2016 · 17 · ·

Okay, so here is the long awaited rules update thread! Yay!

It’s actually so long awaited that Flint Sparks did a version of it quite a while back, though I’ve totally rewritten it since there. You might notice old rules that aren’t still in there, or aren’t as prominent. This mostly means that we kinda figured they were covered by the other rules. We don’t explicitly have a no bloggy posts rule any more, but it’s kinda covered by rules 0 - 3, depending on the post.

And just ‘cause we don’t say not to post about Cosmic Afro not being the best admin ever…

The Writer’s Group Rules:

0) Don’t forget your common sense!
There are a lot of things that should be common sense. You might actually catch most of them yourself if you take a moment to review everything you wrote and think about it before posting, but not everypony really thinks about it before clicking that post button.

So, what is common sense? For starters don’t pick fights and attack other members, don’t post links to possible scams or spam the group, don’t post a bunch of annoying, off-topic stuff, and certainly don’t join in when everypony else starts breaking the rules... There are plenty of other things, but those are a couple that come to mind.

This may seem straightforward, but remember; this is our number one enforced rule!

1) We don’t like spam.
This could be considered part of rule 0, but really, most of ‘em could be if you think about it. A lot of rules are common sense.

Keep in mind that spam doesn’t just include advertisements, too.

There’s posting a bunch of stuff over and over, posting nothing but reaction images, doing long off-topic conversations in existing threads, adding new 'me too!" type posts in long dead threads. Even posts that really belong more in your blog then on TWG could be considered spam.

So let’s just avoid posting spam, okay?

2) Keep on topic for the group!
Going right along with that last bit, let’s keep our posts on topic. This group is about writing, reading, and ponies, so that’s really what you should be posting about.

This tends to be kinda the default place for talking on the site, so we'll let you talk about the site itself a bit, too, but it shouldn't really overwhelm everything else.

You can also post games, but label them [Game], and let's try not to have more than a couple going at once.

Also, there's the official free chat thread, where anything is fair game!

Don't forget the group IRC Channel, either, and the group Discord server.

3) Don’t self promote.
This isn't a place for promoting yourself or your stories, so don't post self-promotion here. There are groups for that.
This doesn't mean you can't post anything about your stories, but it should be relevant to the discussion. Even if you are trying to be subtle, if we think it's a promotion, you may be asked to remove it.

If there’s a thread going on about stories involving cuddly bat pony hugs, and you wrote one, you’re probably okay mentioning your story, though.

4) No spoilers!
Maybe you like spoilers. You just found out that Fluttershy has butter, and you want to share it with everyone!

Well, you know, not everyone wants to find out ahead of time. Sometimes people like to have surprises in the episodes. So, if the episode is less than a week old, here's what you should do:

First, no spoilers in the thread title. You can't escape 'em if they are right there staring at you!

Second, put spoiler tags around 'em, so they aren't in plain sight. Anything in the first dozen lines of the first post shows up in the feed, where anybody browsing by will see it.

And if it's within a week after a new episode, post in the official thread, rather than making a bunch of new ones.

Remember, we might delete threads with spoilers out in the open!

5) Don’t ask people to do your work for you.
This group isn't for advertising services or asking for them, so please don't post asking for an editor or prereader or such here. If you can see someone needs help, you can offer, but that should be a side thing, not the whole point of the thread.

If you are having trouble writing something, you can post a thread asking how to deal with your issue in general, but what we're really looking for here is for the thread to benefit everyone, not just you.

So a thread about how to write characters in character would be fine, where "Everybody says I'm writing Apple Jack wrong! Help me pleez!" wouldn't. It's at our discretion to say which is which, though.

6) Don’t break site rules.
This is kinda common sense, but I thought I'd mention a few that might trip you up.

First, you can't post links to mature stories in groups that aren't NSFW, like this one, though you can talk about them, and link to your story list. You can't post NSFW pictures at all.

Posting full episodes or movies isn't allowed either. I know you might want to post a youtube video of the current episode in the episode thread, and we’d love to too! But it’s against site rules, and the site admins enforce this.

Oh, and you can't sign posts with more than just a name. And it should be your name, too, or at least what you want to be called on fimfiction.

Examples of things not to post:
Has X been done before? Is X a good idea? - These threads happen all too often. The answers are “Yes, it’s been done before.” and “It depends on how it’s written.”. Don’t post more of these. You can post about it in this thread.

My story needs an editor! - It probably does! This isn’t the place to post asking for one, though.

The government’s going to ban fanfiction in the Free Trade and Dolphin-Clubbing Agreement! - The latest rumors about politics aren’t really something you should be posting here anyways, and a lot of times they aren’t that accurate. Please don’t post them.

ImportantBronyYouveNeverHeardOf has thumb cancer, and needs your help! - You know, we feel sad when things like this happen, but it’s hard to tell if it’s actually true, and even if it is, this isn’t really the place for it.

Why does my story have so many downvotes? - This usually is actually a call for more upvotes on a story and a promotion, disguised as a question, and generally the author ignores the answers. We're on to you!

In fact, I'd really like to discourage threads about the voting system and downvotes in general. There have been a lot of threads about voting, and the same things always get said. We already really know all the opinions on voting, and so do the site staff, I think.

Exceptions:
Sometimes there might be times when there's a good exception to the rule, like maybe promoting a contest that's of interest to everyone.

If you have a thread you want to post that’s borderline, ask an admin if it’s okay, and mention in the thread that you got permission and from whom. They might even have ideas on how to make your thread idea fall into the rules or make it a better thread!

Also, if you spot a thread that has gotten out of control, feel free to pm an admin about it. Just make sure that admin has been on sometime recently, and keep in mind that we might not have the same ideas about what out of control is.

--Sweetie Belle
The old rules are here.

Sparkletop Rainbows

Sparkletop Rainbows #2 · Jul 9th, 2016 · 1 · ·

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