PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING IN ANY FORUM

[webmaster]

Welcome!

I am so pleased to see this forum flourishing. I am very happy to have new members. But please follow these rules in all forums.

1. Part of the signup process for this site involves agreeing to some legalese about NOT posting illegal/objectionable materials. Please follow that.
   
2. This site has a focus: getting published. Expect to be held to common standards that editors, publishers, and other professionals share. Note that the cluster of forums under the "Just For Fun" heading has some exemption to this. We don't appreciate hardcore critiques in the Just For Fun section. On the other end, the forums listed under the "Workshop" category follow this rule very strictly. If you are a sloppy writer and you post to a Workshop forum (such as Poetry, or Fiction), then expect to hear critique.
   
3. Be honest but tactful in all your interactions here. Do not give undeserved praise. Do not be mean-spirited in your critiques; and no more than two posts to express enjoyment of a topic.
   
4. Remember the rule of reciprocation: don't expect high-quality in-depth reviews if you've never given high-quality in-depth reviews.
   
5. Do not "hijack" threads with comments unrelated to the topic at hand.
   
6. Refrain from posting content that would constitute advertising, junk mail, spam, chain letters, or any other form of unauthorized solicitation. Your signature is allowed to contain limited promotional text and/or links.
   
7. While pithy one-liners can be worthwhile if well-done, do not make it a habit to post insubstantial comments.
   
8. Because poetry often requires very detailed formatting, we allow use of the PRE tag. Do not use this tag to force a page to become too wide. Do not otherwise abuse it.
   
9. Be wary of who you give personal data to.
   
10. Although we're all trying to improve our work and get it ready for publication, we're also doing this because we like it. If you're about to post something and you feel unhappy or frustrated, take a step back. No one is making you post. I guess that's not so much a rule as it is advice.
    

One of the members here (haniel45) has provided a link to a good tutorial on how to critique a poem -- which also applies to fiction. As well, please note that I have now created a behind-the-scenes points system to rank people who post the best critiques.

By the way, if you really want to make good-looking posts, you need to read the FAQ on BBCode.

-Tony

[Teresa]

We are allowed to belong to other forum right?

[webmaster]

Right.

[webmaster]

Just a note to all members -- the rules in the original post have been updated.

-Tony

[Cyn]

DId I miss it? Is there a posting limit? re: number of poems one can post a day
Thanks
Cyn

[webmaster]

Yes, but only indirectly. Rule #4 (reciprocation) sets up a system of tit-for-tat. If you post 1 critique and then post 20 of your own poems, odds are good many of the poems will be ignored by the members. So there is a limit of posting, based upon what you can reasonably give back to the community in that same period of time.

And rule #7 makes it clear that short posts count for very little -- so you might go through 30 poems by other authors and post 1-line replies such as, "good job," but that probably isn't going to lure a lot of people into looking at your poetry.

In the end, the limit is whatever your threshold is for balanced interaction in the community -- and whatever threshold naturally arises out of the community itself (law of diminishing returns, and all that).

-Tony

[rjgopal1]

Hi it is nice to be here.
This is my first post. But definitely not the last. I love to post here.

Thanks Tony.

[webmaster]

Welcome rjgopal1!

-Tony

[rjgopal1]

Thanks Tony,

That was quick. What I enjoyed more is the reminder you drop in the mail boxes to check up here.

Bye.

[SouthernBard]

Tony, I don't read anywhere in the rules where it says that you can't post a work in the "for fun" section, then later move said poem to the "critiquing" section to acquire any advice on your work. I've done this three times that I know of in the past. Now, one of your moderators has informed me that this is not policy here. Is this true? Just wanted to know. Thank you.

Brad

[Wordworx]

For any and all who may be wondering, it is not permissable to post the same poem in more than one Poetry forum, as this is a form of "flooding"; and as such, is inconsiderate of all other contributing authors. Those who wish to solicit constructive criticism and advice for the improvement of their verse, are free to make their submissions to the main Poetry forum, in accordance with the rules pertaining thereto. Those who do not wish to receive critiques, may submit their verse in any one of the five For Fun Only forums---where a certain respect for decorum also obtains.

Additionally, any member who might wish her/his topic(s) to be moved from one forum to another, should contact the moderators of the forum where the verse was originally posted: Haniel45, Deborah Lynne, or myself; we will be glad to oblige.

Lastly, any questions of a controversial nature that may arise should be addressed to the moderators, or the Webmaster, by Private Messaging, only.

The great majority of poetry-composing members here on PDB have become a wonderful community of artists, comprising a wide range of genres, and have proven to be quite helpful to one another, in the main. The rules of the forums were promulgated not only to stimulate creativity, and help to hone our contributors' skills, but also to promote Amity among them. Something which most artists here enjoy, if not all.

Thank you for your attention on this matter.

-Roy, aka Wordworx

[webmaster]

Hmm. So while I was composing my reply (and being distracted by American Idol), Roy answered. I'll just post my response anyway. Here it is.

I think that the moderator was having a problem with the duplication, not the moving. I do know that a moderator asked me how to merge two topics that are the same. So I think the issue was that the same poem appeared in two forums at the same time.

In the future, I would be happy to move a topic for you. But you know I go missing now & then, so you could also ask other moderators.

If you have more questions, PM me.

-Tony

[earthbodynsoul]

The link for the tutorial on critiques took me to something different - I couldn't find anything on doing critiques. Is there another link?

Thank you.

[Wordworx]

EBS, I'll check on this. It may have been a server error, which occurs from time to time.

Roy/Wordworx

[Shamil Fattakhov]

Hello Tony, I am Shamil from Russia and I am looking for an advice where to publish a book on history. I work for Paravitta Foundation and we are ready to pay for translation polishing and publishing the book in English.