SHADO Writers' Guild Forum Guidelines

Participation in the SHADO Writers' Guild Forum constitutes agreement to the following guidelines, which apply to posts, profile information, avatars, signatures, any other content on this site and participation in general. This includes personal messages. We do have the ability to access them, but will only do so when a violation is reported to us or if we have a legitimate cause for concern. Although rare, it does happen. You cannot initiate any conversations via personal message or send any e-mails via the site until you have reached 10 posts.

Because of the live nature of the discussions on this community, it is not possible for us to review and/or confirm the accuracy or validity of a message before it is posted. If you believe that someone has violated our User Guidelines or you have spotted content that may otherwise require attention, please send a personal message to me (SHADO Librarian) or a staff member with a link to the content and a brief description of what you believe is wrong (or use the 'Alert Moderator' button on the post in question). Notification is voluntary, but in no case should a user respond to a situation personally, thereby aggravating the situation further. Responding to a violation in an inflammatory manner is a violation in itself and will result in appropriate action.

Any content that violates our User Guidelines will be removed. Interpretation of our guidelines is at the discretion of the staff.

1. This is an English speaking community, as such we require that posted content be in English, so that it can be well received and properly monitored.
2. While this should be obvious: do not post personal, real life information such as home addresses and home phone numbers.
3. Cross posting is defined as posting the same information in two or more locations. This is not permitted. When posting your topic, please try to post it in the most appropriate place within the organizational structure of our community. Identical topics posted in the same or different boards will be removed.
4. While member post count has meaning, it should not be taken too seriously. Attempts to artificially increase your post count are prohibited. This includes the creation of short or meaningless posts.
5. Vulgar language and inappropriate material is not allowed and will be removed. Note that we DO allow posting of adult oriented stories on the NFic Board. However, vulgar language will not be tolerated outside of those stories or direct quotes from those stories.
   We try to maintain a family friendly atmosphere whenever it is possible within the main subject matter of this community. Please keep this in mind when participating.
6. When linking to outside websites, you must ensure that the content of the link is appropriate for our community, in line with the guidelines laid out here. This includes mentioning or referencing a site, even if the mention is not hyperlinked.
7. Advertisements are not allowed. Generally speaking, posts made specifically to promote a website, product or service are considered advertising - this includes posts made that unnecessarily send people to a website that you are in some way affiliated with. It does not matter if it is a commercial website, a personal website, a non-profit website, etc. While we may choose to authorize some advertisements, this will be done on a case by case basis. If you are interested in utilizing this option, please contact us.
   The exceptions to this rule:
   1. If you have finished a story or article and wish to link directly to the final version of that work on your own website, that is a permissible link.
   2. Links to articles, blogs, etc. that may be of interest to other members are also permitted, so long as it has a obvious bearing on the subject of UFO and/or writing UFO fan fiction.
   3. Simply for fun links belong on the 'Off-Topic' board in the 'Fun and Interesting links to other places' thread or related threads. Links in this thread must adhere to the rules above and be family friendly.
   All signature links must be kept in your signature in your profile. General and unnecessary links will be tagged as advertising.
8. Posts that discuss illegal activities, transactions or websites such as warez, cracks, etc. will be removed. This includes the posting of information that you have illegally obtained.
9. Political and religious discussions are not allowed on this website. If it is believed that the end result of a discussion will be political or religious, the post may be removed. Likewise, strong political and religious sentiments should be kept out of profiles, signatures and other content.
   Note that posted stories MAY include religious and/or political content. Please bear in mind that this content is (or should be) in a fictional context and may or may not reflect the writer's opinions. Discussions concerning the story the religious or political content is in is permissible so long as the discussion remains respectful. Extending the discussion to real world religion and/or politics is not.
10. Do not post copyrighted materials (articles, videos, audio, etc.) that you do not have permission to reproduce or distribute. For text articles, most of the time you may quote a small portion of the article (usually no more than 1/5 or 1/6) and you must link to the source (if online) or provide the source information (if offline). This is not the place to illegally trade or distribute copyrighted (or those with questionable copyright status) video or audio clips.
11. When posting and linking to images, videos, files, etc., please refrain from hotlinking. This is the direct linking to of images (.jpg, .jpeg, .gif, .png, etc.), video (.avi, .mov, .mpg, .mpeg, .wmv, etc.), audio (.mp3, .wav, etc.), archives (.zip, .rar, etc.) or otherwise downloadable or streamable files, on servers that you do not have permission to link to. Instead, please link to the page where the item can be found, not to the item itself.
12. Respect is essential. You must respect your fellow members. Please refrain from inflammatory and defamatory comments as well as flaming, taunting and general disrespect. Do not simply disrespect or 'put down' the opinion or advice given by others. If you don't agree with it, say why - respectfully. Don't just tell them they're wrong. Do not make uninvited remarks about typos, duplicate posts, posting styles, etc. While some posters may appreciate being told they have a typo, such 'constructive criticism' is best done privately. A poster's acceptance of such criticism should not be construed as a license for you to become their 'Beta reader' or editor.
    When an opinion-based discussion is occurring, do not make statements such as "there is no argument" as if your opinion is the only one or the only one that matters. When someone has clearly stated their opinion, do not say things like "Are you serious?" and "Are you kidding me?" Remember, this is not a debate club. This is a friendly discussion community devoted to the television series UFO and the writing of UFO fanfiction. Allow people to have their opinion. No one is to act as some sort of opinion judge, responding to each one to say whether they agree with it or not or whether or not it is a valid, well thought out opinion.
13. Signatures are limited to 200 characters. The text in the signature may be customized by the BBCode in use on the forums. It is recommended that you stick with readable fonts and colors and that the size is not too large. You may mention websites and ventures that you are in some way related to, as long as they are otherwise appropriate for this community. Focus on things that you like, not things that you don't.
14. Each user is allowed to create one account. User IDs cannot be changed but are encrypted to keep them from being seen. Screen names can be changed by the user.
15. Automated account creation, participation and content scraping is not permitted.
16. We know that people will have to leave our community (of their own free will or otherwise) from time to time and to that end, we do not delete accounts, posts or other content posted on our community. All content is granted to us with perpetual electronic publishing rights because any content posted on this community becomes a part of the community, even if you no longer are. You may request an item to be removed at any time, but we will decide when and if to remove content from our community. If you wish to no longer be identified with our community, we will be glad to close your account and alter your profile information to remove all identifying characteristics. After account closure, you will no longer be able to participate in this community and this action is not reversible.
17. Moderators and the administrator have the final say on anything. If you have a problem, you may make a complaint to them directly and not publicly on the website. Creating threads or posts that question or reference administrative decisions or potential administrative decisions, such as post removals and thread closures, is not permitted. We are not perfect and if you feel that we have made a mistake, please privately contact a staff member and we will review the situation. If you would like a copy of your removed post so that you can adjust it and repost, please contact us. As long as we don't prefer that you simply start over, we'll be glad to send you a copy.
18. If you ever need clarification on any part of our User Guidelines or have a question, suggestion, a bit of feedback or a problem with the site, please feel free to contact me directly to ensure that it receives the proper attention. Please do not post it in the forums as it will be removed.
19. Whenever you are participating in this community, please keep in mind that we strive to create a fun, friendly and inviting atmosphere. So, please have fun and enjoy the forum!

Note: Freedom of speech rights do not extend to privately owned websites, such as this one. These guidelines detail the types of behavior and activities that are allowed here.

If a user violates our guidelines and shows a disregard for them, our staff and our community, they run the risk of losing their account. We reserve the right to deactivate any account and to edit or remove any content without warning. These guidelines are subject to change at any time without notice.

Do you have a question about our User Guidelines or anything else? Do you have a suggestion? Do you want to offer some feedback? Or are you experiencing some trouble with the site? Well, no matter what it is, please do not hesitate to contact me and I will be glad to help in any way that I can.

Thank you for visiting the SHADO Writers' Guild forum.

Revision date: Oct 18, 2018

Guidelines adapted from Managing Online Forums by Patrick O'Keefe