WARNING: THESE RULES ARE CURRENTLY UNDER RECONSTRUCTION. LARGE SECTIONS ARE MISSING, BUT ALL HEADINGS ARE AVAILABLE FOR A GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE RULES. #

This is a full list of the rules of the ShanniiWrites Forums. It is important that you understand the rules if you would like to keep your account intact and your reputation up. Plus, if you would like to apply to be a staff member at some point, it’s good to keep tabs on these rules, when you can. There are a lot of them, so don’t be afraid if you can’t remember them all! Just look back if and when you need to. That’s why I have a whole doc dedicated to rules! Also, there’s no harm in asking questions! That’s what the staff are here for!

The rules of the ShanniiWrites Forums are here to keep all of our users and our brand safe. Each and every one of them has a good reason to be the way it is! We always take the time to think them through and consider their repercussions. If we think that a rule will hurt our users more than it helps, the Heads will sit down and talk about it. We will consider whether we need to adapt, improve or even remove the rules to reflect the changing nature of the Forums and its users.

Please make sure that you read these rules thoroughly and try your best to understand them as best you can. The future of your account will depend on whether you are following them or not. Staff members have the right to carry out reasonable and fair punishments for breaking these rules, up to and including a complete ban from the Forums. If this happens, you are responsible and you will receive no refunds or compensation.

The Meaning and Enforcement of Rules are At ShanniiWrites’s Discretion #

The English language is fluid. Words can often have more than one definition and mean slightly different things to different people. So, it is natural that there may be confusion from time to time. That is why we have a policy in place for outlining the definitions of the rules and words we use on the ShanniiWrites Forums.

We are aware that we may need to add to, alter or change rules as a response to changes in the Forums, our users and society as a whole. So, we also have a policy in place to allow us to make these changes in a fair, quick and efficient manner. If you have any issues with this, please speak to ShanniiWrites directly, as she has all control over how the rules are made, understood and enforced.

On top of that, we are also aware that the same rules may be understood and enforced differently on other online communities. We do encourage you to point out rules that work well in other communities so that we can try to improve. However, when it comes to the enforcement of our rules, we have our own definitions that we follow. Unfortunately, you cannot use definitions from elsewhere online to shield yourself from punishment.

If you would like to keep your account safe, please make sure that you read and understand the definitions that we use. We are happy to clarify if necessary. However, it is your responsibility to make sure you understand. “I didn’t get what you meant by that” is not a sufficient argument to appeal a punishment on your account.

ShanniiWrites Has Ultimate Say On What the Rules Mean #

To avoid confusion, all definitions are set by ShanniiWrites. This includes definitions that we use to find and deal with hate speech, bullying and harassment among other things. All staff members are expected to understand how we define the rules on the ShanniiWrites Forums. However, we are all human and we can make mistakes or misunderstand the rules. The staff members are not immune to this!

So, if you believe that the staff have unfairly punished you or that there has been a discrepancy with the way the rules are defined, please speak to ShanniiWrites directly. She can look over your case and ask for any extra relevant information. Or, you can also use the appeals process to help you.

Once ShanniiWrites has given you the true definition of the rules, please do not argue with her about what the rule means during your appeal process. If you do, your appeal will be thrown out completely and the punishment will remain on your account. Also, we will ignore all further correspondence from you on the matter. We will not allow our users to bully, harass or pester their way out of a sanction and we will not allow them to intimidate ShanniiWrites into bending the rules for their sake.

That is not to say that you can’t complain about the rules and state what you think that they should mean! If you think a rule should be changed, please make a thread in the Site Feedback category on the Forums and state why you think that we should make the change. We will always do our best to take your thoughts on board and make sure that our rules are as fair as possible.

If In Doubt, Refer to the Docs #

In these docs, we have written what we mean by the rules to the best of our ability. They are the ultimate guide to the rules on the Forums and the staff use them to come to a decision on what will happen to a user when they break the rules. So, you can also get most of the info that you need from here.

Please feel free to peruse the docs when you need. Quote them and leave a link to the doc you’re referring to on the Forums when you need to. We expect the staff to do the same! This is so that anyone who gets a flag or a warning can see exactly which rule they’re breaking and how they can avoid any further sanctions on their account.

They’re also there to help you to understand why we chose to make a rule the way it is. As mentioned earlier, every rule has a reason to be there, and we think long and hard about what we choose to punish on the Forums. We understand that it us much easier to follow rules if you get why they’re there in the first place, so you can be sure you will find that here on the docs, for the most part. If something is missing, please reach out on the Site Feedback section of the Forums. Or you can also let us know with the question function here on the docs.

We are always open to creating new docs to clarify things that you are confused about. So, please feel free to get in touch if you would like us to create a new doc. It will help us to turn this website into a definitive guide to the Forums!

If You Have Questions About the Rules, Ask #

It is ok not to understand. We all feel confused from time to time. If that’s you, please feel free to ask! It doesn’t matter if you’ve been on the Forums for a long time or if you’re a staff member. You will never be ridiculed or made to feel as though you’re stupid for asking us.

Just don’t use a lack of understanding as a way to avoid a sanction on your account. It is your responsibility to make sure that you know what the rules mean. So, it is awesome when you ask us what a rule means before you have the chance to break it! We will appreciate it if you take the initiative to avoid breaking the rules and we will do our best to make you understand. If you have already broken the rules, we will clarify how you broke the rules and why it is a problem, but you will still receive the punishment.

No question is ever stupid. We would much rather that you ask us than break the rules without knowing what you have done. Our doors are always open for questions, so reach out to the Forum Staff with any of your queries. Choose the staff member that you feel the most comfortable asking! They can get the information for you!

We Reserve the Right to Add to, Remove and Change Rules #

We are always reviewing the rules of the ShanniiWrites Forums to make sure that they are fair, relevant and helpful. As the Forums and our society change, so must our rules to adapt to new developments.

So, we reserve the right to add to, remove and change rules when we need to. Of course, we will think these rule changes through and make sure that they are fair to all members of our community. Also, we are happy to receive criticism and feedback about our rules at any time. However, resisting these changes will result in a sanction against your account. Please use the Site Feedback category to voice your concerns. Do not break the rules in protest.

If we change the rules in any way, we will release an announcement on the Forums to let you know. On this announcement, as of December 2020, we will make sure to let you know when this change is coming into effect and when you can expect us to enforce this change to the rules. While it may come into effect immediately if the rule change is essential, we will try our best to give you notice. You can also see when a doc was updated at the bottom.

Please make sure to check the announcements on a regular basis to see any of those alterations. We will always tag the @Announcements group, but we can’t individually let people know about the change. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are updated on rule changes. “I didn’t know” is not an acceptable excuse for rule-breaking.

We will never retroactively punish you for a rule that didn’t exist when you broke it. At most, we may need to close, move and/or unlist threads in line with a new rule.

You May Appeal Through the Appeals Email #

If you believe that you have been unfairly punished, we have an appeals process that you can go through.

The appeals are run by our Discipline Advisor, ChaoticDeluge, and give you the opportunity to present your case if you have been silenced, suspended or banned. All appeals will be checked on a regular basis, but we cannot give you a promised date or timeframe to review your appeal.

If you would like to appeal a sanction, please be as thorough as you can. Tell us in detail why you think we came to the wrong decision, making sure that you have a clear grasp of the rules. Quote the rules that you are referring to with quotation marks and link to the doc, if you can. It would be great if you could provide us with evidence, too. Screenshots to prove your claim are extremely helpful in helping us to come to our final decision.

Of course, we do understand that you might not be able to gather evidence on your own if you have lost access to the account. If this is the case, please provide details of where the evidence can be found on your profile. This may, however, slow down the process, as we will need to inform any other parties involved that we will be accessing your PM with them.

If you are appealing because your account was hacked, let us know immediately. We can only find out your most recent and your first ever IP address, so a delay in reporting could prevent us from gathering evidence.

Please be aware that your appeal does not guarantee that your account will be restored. Also, failing to understand or disagreeing with the rules will not count as a good reason to restore your account.

Keep the ShanniiWrites Forums Tidy #

We have a number of rules designed to keep the ShanniiWrites Forums tidy and easy to access. They’re there to make sure that every user has the best experience possible, including the staff members. Also, a clean tidy forum makes things easier to find, fun to engage with and more appealing to new users.

All of our users have a duty to keep the Forums tidy. If you fail to do this, you make the Forums worse for everyone! People won’t be able to find the help, advice, tips or conversations that they want. An untidy, unruly forum will prevent people from joining us, or drive them away once they’re here. So, we will need to take your privileges away if you fail to obey these rules.

On the ShanniiWrites Forums, we rely on traffic, donations, affiliate links, subscriptions and ad revenue to keep us afloat. In order to keep us up and running, we need to make sure that all of our users do their bit. This means that we need you to follow these rules and make sure that you are posting your quality content in the right sections, not spamming threads with off-topic replies and not overusing tags. If you would like to help more than this, we appreciate it! Please see the doc on how to help the Forums for more.

However, if you keep the Forums tidy and make sure that things are where they should be, you are helping with the Forums SEO. This will keep us high in search results and keep us relevant. So, please do your bit to make sure the Forums can be awesome.

No Excessive Off-Topic Posting #

Do Not Spam Threads #

Do Not Duplicate Threads #

Improve the Discussion #

Do Not Start a Thread in the Wrong Category #

Check Category Guidelines Before Posting #

Do Not Spam User Tags #

Follow Post-Specific Rules #

Don’t Post Multiple Versions of the Same Thread #

Don’t Cross-Post the Same Thing in Multiple Threads #

Don’t Post No-Content Replies #

Don’t Divert a Thread by Changing It Midstream #

Do Not Use the Forums to Promote Unrelated Goods or Services #

Do Not Create Alt Accounts #

Be Fair And Civil To All Users #

We promote free speech on the ShanniiWrites Forums, and we understand that this comes with the freedom to disagree. You may wish to respond to something by disagreeing with it. That is fine. In fact, we encourage civilised debate and discussion. It is great for us to speak to people with very different opinions from our own. It makes us better writers!

If you do wish to express disagreement with someone on the forums, remember to criticise ideas, not people. Please abide by the following rules:

No Tone Policing #

Tone policing is when you respond to the way someone said something, or their tone, rather than what they actually said. This can simply be a reply such as, “that was rude”, “I didn’t like the way you said that”, or “you could have been nicer about it”. Making a ‘dig’ at another user words like this can be seen as disrespectful, uncivil, and even borderline bullying. We do not allow this as it ignores the other user’s point they’re making, derails the conversation, and promotes an off-topic discussion by deviating away from the thread’s topic.

Here on the ShanniiWrites Forums, we understand that we have diverse users from all around the world. Meaning we’ll naturally have people who speak differently from one another, and different cultures will find different things rude. This is why we ask you to try your best to be civil and understanding of people’s unique ways of speaking. If you dislike the way someone is speaking to you, we advise that you either try to see past it or remove yourself from the situation.

Tone policing is a flaggable offence and we will not tolerate it. It will result in disciplinary action from our moderators.

Do Not Purposefully Misgender Other Users #

We aim for the ShanniiWrites Forums to be a safe space for minority groups, including the LGBTQ+ community. We have members of our community who are transgender, either binary or nonbinary, and we want them to feel just as welcomed, valued, respected and at home as our cisgender users. That is why we have created the “Pronouns” section of the user card. An open box for you to write whichever pronouns you’d prefer users to refer to you as.

Being a user on the ShanniiWrites Forums, you are expected to respect user’s pronouns and use them when you are addressing them. As we are all online, it can sometimes be difficult to tell someone’s gender based on their profile picture and username. So, the pronouns feature can help to avoid mistakes and make life easier for us all. More importantly, though, it can be extremely distressing and detrimental to their mental health to misgender someone. It also just makes you seem like a horrible person. If you are found to be deliberately misgendering someone or mocking their pronouns or gender identity, you will be subject to disciplinary actions.

If in doubt about another user’s pronouns, please check their profile and follow what they have listed. Also, please make sure to fill out your own pronouns so that other people can refer to you properly, too. If you are unsure on what pronouns to use then simply ask them rather leaving it and accidentally misgendering them later. If we all make it a habit to add pronouns and check other user’s profiles for them, we can normalise the process of using the correct gendered pronouns. This will help to make forums an inclusive, trans-friendly space.

Accidents happen, though, and we understand that! If you have misgendered someone in the past, don’t make a big deal out of it in public, as this can cause them to become uncomfortable. You may want to speak to them privately to apologise, which is completely up to you. We just ask that you use the correct pronouns in the future. It may also be nice to edit any of your posts in which you misgender them when you come across them, as this will prevent other people from making the same mistake. We aren’t asking you to scour through your activity on the forums, but to be sensitive and respectful.

We do not expect you to agree with our stance on the LGBTQ+ community. You are allowed to have your opinions. However, there is a big difference between saying you disagree with our stance and picking on our LGBTQ+ users. Remember: criticise ideas, not people. This extends to making individuals feel uncomfortable by misgendering them. We will not tolerate it. Don’t let your disagreement with the idea become personal. Plus, save all discussions about your views on the LGBTQ+ community for relevant topics and threads.

Do Not Harass Other Users #

Here on the ShanniiWrites Forums, harassment is when a user pressures or intimidates another user, usually repeatedly, to gain their attention or get them to do something. It is irrelevant for the reason they are do warrant your attention. Harassment can even become violent or sexual in nature.

Some examples of harassment are:

• Constantly tagging them with their username, whether they’ve asked you to stop or not. This can be conducted privately, on a thread, or over multiple threads in a short time frame.
• Adding a user back into a Private Message after they’ve left or sending multiple replies one after the other to gain their attention.
• Watching/Stalking a user around the forums in order to reply to every post that they make after the’ve made it clear they do not want to talk to you.
• Creating a new account to talk to someone who has blocked you. We also have a rule of only one account per user too, so if you’re caught, there will be double the consequences.
• Continuing an action directed towards a specific user that they have asked you to stop. This is especially the case if it upsets or distresses them in any way.
• Sending any user NSFW or 18+ content in their private messages, regardless of age, without their consent.
• Constantly and repeatedly misgendering users when they have made their pronouns very clear.
• Messaging a user on another platform once they have made it clear that they do not want to talk.

These examples are only a guide and don’t cover everything, but it’s a start. The @Heads will always have the ultimate say in what is considered harassment. If in doubt, please DM one of the @Mods with any questions or specific cases.

Harassment can be annoying, stressful or even scary. It can significantly affect other users’ experiences on the forums and cause them to become stressed or on edge. Furthermore, it can make them feel unsafe with expressing their opinions and sharing their ideas, or cause them to leave the forums completely.

We would like the ShanniiWrites Forums to be a place where everyone feels welcome to express their ideas, share their work, and make friends. Harassment leaves people feeling unsafe and prevents them from being able to experience the forums at their best.

This is why it is not tolerated on the ShanniiWrites Forums and we deal with it very harshly. Harassment is a flaggable offence and will result in strict disciplinary actions.

If someone tells you to leave them alone, listen and do it.

No Dogpiling #

Here on the ShanniiWrites Forums, we define dogpiling as any of the following things:

• Ganging up on a user and not letting them make their point or discuss it.
• Mass-flagging a post simply because you dislike it or the user.
• Dragging someone into a DM/PM and using your friends or other users to gang up on them.
• Dragging friends and other users onto a thread or DM/PM where you are having a disagreement with a user to make them feel intimidated, uncomfortable, or invalidated.
• Multiple staff members dealing with the same offence and stepping on each other’s toes.

We understand that you may want to help your friends out in an argument to back them up. This is fair. However, we do not tolerate or condone dogpiling! If one person finds themselves in a position where they are being attacked by multiple people at once, unless the circumstances are very specific, we will usually give the single person the benefit of the doubt.

This does not mean you cannot back your friends up, though. We simply expect you to remain civil and courteous and give the other person a chance to respond. This is more important than ever when the situation can quickly and easily devolve into dogpiling, so make sure you are aware of that when you are defending your friends.

No Bullying #

In our ShanniiWrites Forums community, we consider bullying to be any behaviour that seeks to harm, intimidate, or coerce another user. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Name-calling
• Trolling
• Humiliating other users
• Attacking users through Anonymous threads

We have many amazing anonymous threads on the ShanniiWrites Forums. They are for everyone’s enjoyment and they give people a chance to express themselves in ways that they may not feel comfortable to, elsewhere on the forums.

Do not spoil this for other users by using the threads to bully people. Any user running an anonymous thread must make an effort to stop this from happening, at least, by redacting any names mentioned or by not posting it at all. If you are using the anonymous threads to attack on other users behind anonymity, then you know that what you are doing is wrong. If you did not know it was wrong, you would not feel the need to hide. As such, anyone found to be bullying users on anonymous threads will receive an instant, permanent ban of your account. Warnings are for people who may not realise that what they are doing is wrong. You will not get the benefit of the doubt if you are bullying people anonymously.

If you cannot express your point without being insulting and calling people names, it’s probably not a very strong opinion. Name-calling is completely unnecessary and hurtful, which is what makes it a flaggable offence on the ShanniiWrites Forums. We are trying to create an environment in which people feel as though they can express their ideas and be themselves. When you call someone hurtful names, you ruin that atmosphere and make them feel uncomfortable.

We are not completely unreasonable, though. We understand that some friends express themselves by endearingly calling each other names. If that’s the case with you and your friends, please leave it for the DMs and make sure that everyone present knows that you are not serious. Plus, it needs to be clear enough for the Moderators to understand that it is a joke, as they ultimately have the final say in whether it is against the rules or not.

You must not bully any other user. This rule applies throughout the forums, on threads or private messages, as all users should be able to use the forums however they want to without the fear of bullying.

If you are a victim of bullying within the ShanniiWrites Forums community, you can block, flag, and/or report the user directly to a moderator. Blocking a user means that neither of you will be able to communicate or see each other’s updates, comments, or Forums posts. You can do this to any user (but not mods) without any negative repercussions to your account. Flagging them if they broken any of these forums rules is the best way to let the mods know, so that they can fairly keep track of that user. If you choose to report them, on the other hand, the mod you speak to will review their content and come to a conclusion.

If you are found to be bullying a user in the ShanniiWrites Forums community, you will be subject to certain punishments as stated in the Disciplinary table.

No Ad-Hominem Attacks #

An ad-hominem attack is when, in a discussion or debate, you choose to insult a person or talk about their character instead of making points against their argument. This can include insulting their name, personality, looks or anything else about them that has nothing to do with the argument. This can simply be a reply such as, “I wouldn’t expect a woman to understand” and “you’re ugly/stupid, so what do you know?” This also extends to include off-topic tone-policing-type of attacks on user’s typos, grammar mistakes, and word choices. We encourage helping others with their English, but there is a time and place for it. It is not in the middle of a completely unrelated discussion.

That is why we say criticise ideas, not people. We allow debate here. In fact, we love and encourage it! However, if you are unable to address someone’s arguments without insulting or commenting on their person, you aren’t really debating at all. In fact, it actually goes against productive and civil discussions and promotes toxicity. It may even incite a hostile argument/fight, which we do not tolerate.

If your argument revolves around you insulting a person’s character, then this is a flaggable offence and this will result in disciplinary action from our moderators.

Do Not Challenge Another User’s Right to Have An Opinion #

One of the best things about the ShanniiWrites Forums is that we have a community of unique people who all have different opinions. We love that! Listening to other people’s arguments and responding with reasonable counter-arguments makes us better debaters, creators and people. We can refine and improve on our own opinions and understand people who are different from us.

So it is extremely important to us that you avoid challenging someone’s right to have an opinion. It does nothing but harm discussion and breed hostility. This includes saying things like “how dare you say something like that” or “if you think that, you are evil”. This is against the rules and will result in disciplinary action.

If you believe someone’s opinion is really that bad or indefensible, it should be easy enough for you to counter it and come up with reasons why they are wrong. You may not change their opinion, but you are much more likely to than when you are attempting to challenge their right to have it. Plus, you may even change someone else’s mind!

However, this works both ways. Do not resort to defending your right to have an opinion simply because you are losing a debate or discussion. This is also a flaggable offence. Plus, the moment you stop defending your opinion and start defending your right to have it, you have already lost, to paraphrase HBomberGuy.

No Knee-Jerk Contradictions #

A knee-jerk contradiction is when you disagree with a person simply for the sake of disagreeing or to annoy or frustrate them. This can cause the forums to become very toxic very quickly and cause hostile arguments to break out. It can derail discussions very quickly and frustrate other users, taking their enjoyment out of using the forums.

We understand that you may joke with your friends in which you pretend to contradict them. However, if a reasonable person cannot see that you are joking, then we will consider it to be a knee-jerk contradiction. Also, if your friend expresses discomfort or asks you to stop, please stop immediately.

No Hate Speech #

In our forum community, hate speech is seen as anything that attacks, mocks, ridicules, or generalises anyone for the following things:

• Sex, Gender, and Gender Identity
• Race, Ethnicity, and Skin colour
• Nationality, Religion, and Culture
• Sexuality, or lack thereof
• Physical disabilities and Disorders
• Mental health illnesses, disabilities and disorders
• Neurodivergence
• Social status and Appearance (size, looks, body shape)
• Language
• Dialect
• Accent
• Grammar and Typos

This is not a full list, so we ask you just be aware of people. You’re not going to be in trouble if you accidentally attack someone once. Just be aware of what you say and to whom.

However, do not purposefully attack users or outside groups for any of those things. We do take using hate speech very seriously and it will result in very strict disciplinary actions. This includes slurs, pejorative terms and any other derogatory words or phrases. However, warnings will be given first and you are given a chance to redeem yourself. The Disciplinary table is always followed, no one is exempt from the rules.

Of course, there are some situations where threads are created to discuss certain things containing hate speech. In this situation, you may not need to censor parts of your post. When discussing parts of hate speech, you may be wanting to quote bigotry that someone else someone else wrote/said. This is fine, just be sure to use quotation marks and cite the quote properly to avoid being scolded, flagged, or triggering others.

Our community on the forums is inclusive and tolerant of everyone. To make sure we achieve this, we need to be intolerant towards intolerance. If you’re unsure, then just remember to not attack someone for something that they cannot change or control. If you still aren’t sure then feel free to message a staff member or moderator of the forums to ask.

Do Not Defame Other Users #

Defamation is when you deliberately lie in order to ruin a person’s reputation. This includes:

• Spreading rumours that you know are untrue.
• Starting false rumours in an attempt to ruin a user’s reputation.
• Accusing users of things you have no proof of publicly or to other people.

We love our tea here on the ShanniiWrites Forums. However, accusing users of doing something they did not do can cause a lot of distress and may even cause them to be abused by other users.

That is why it is against the rules to intentionally defame any user. We all make mistakes, but if the moderators are convinced that you have deliberately spread a rumour in an effort to distress a user or hurt their reputation on the forums or elsewhere, we will not take this lightly.

The best way to avoid this is to make a public retraction once you discover that the rumour is untrue. Better yet: we suggest not spreading rumours publicly at all! As this may be classed as harassment or dogpiling dependent on the situation.

If you have a genuine, serious concern about a user but you are not sure if it is true or false, please contact a moderator or head with the information. We will investigate the situation. If you are wrong and you have not spread it publicly, we will not punish you. Speaking to us about concerns will not affect your position on the forums, provided you are not breaking any rules yourself.

Do Not Dox Other Users #

Doxing is when you search for and share private information about another user that they have not shared publicly themselves.

Though the users of the forum love to make friends and trade information amongst themselves, some users prefer not to make it public. In fact, some users prefer to keep their private life/real-life private and separate from the life they have on the forums. Try not to share information about a user unless they have given you permission. Although, it is best to not share information at all unless it is about you, let others share their own information if they choose to.

If you find out or suspect that someone has done this to you or another user, do not dox or defame them back. This will only lead to you being flagged punished as well. The best and the only option should be to come to a moderator or head with the information and we will investigate the situation. Speaking to us about concerns will not affect your position on the forums, provided you are not breaking any rules yourself.

Do Not Use Other Languages to Alienate, Exclude or Insult Users #

Understand That You Might Get Criticism #

When you post anywhere online, you are going to be subject to criticism. The ShanniiWrites Forums are no different. If you post a story, opinions, art piece or anything on the forums, you can expect others to express their opinions on it. These opinions are often positive, but can also be critical.

On the ShanniiWrites Forums, we love criticism! It makes you a better creator and person, as it gives you the opportunity to grow and learn new things. We encourage it and expect our users to engage with it in a productive manner. You may not always agree with the criticism you receive, but we do expect you to be polite to the people who give it to you. You don’t need to take any of it on board if you don’t want to.

However, we understand that it can be tiring to be criticised all the time when you are just trying to relax and have fun. Therefore, we ask that you make it clear when you are not asking for opinions and just want to share. Just remember that you can’t expect the praise without the criticism! You can’t ask for one without the other! If you make it clear that you aren’t looking for opinions in the OP, the ForumStaff will uphold that for you.

We do agree that there is a difference between constructive criticism and hate, though. We allow criticism, but frown upon hate. On the ShanniiWrites Forums, we have our own way to classify the difference:

Criticism is when you are given clear ways to improve; hate is when someone trashes your work without giving any hints on how to get better.

So saying “the dialogue is a little flat” is criticism because it makes it very clear that the dialogue is the thing that needs to be improved. Saying “this story is terrible” is hate because there is no indication on what can be done better next time.

We understand that this can be confusing, though, so please feel free to DM a @ForumStaff member with the link to a thread you are unsure about. They will discuss with the rest of the staff and let you know. This will save you from getting too many disagreed flags and help us to keep the forums tidy.

Remember that while it is your free speech to have an opinion, it is another person’s free speech to disagree.

Keep Content Quality High #

Do Not Spread False Information #

No Plagiarism or Copyright Infringement #

Do Not Sell Other Creators’ Work #

Give Credit Where It Is Due #

If in Doubt About Copyright, Ask #

No Illegal Activity #

Do Not Engage in Illegal Activity on the Forums #

Do Not Promote or Encourage Others to Engage in Illegal Activity #

Some Mention of Illegal Activity in Artistic Content is Fine #

Follow the Forums Content Guidelines #

The Main Forum Must Be PG-13 #

Underage Users Must Not Engage with 18+ Content #

No User Under 18 May Join the Restricted Section #

No Underage Users in Mature PMs/DMs #

Help the Staff Out #

If You See Something Wrong, Flag It #

Do Not Abuse the Flagging System #

You Can Remind Others to Obey the Rules #

Be Clear When Giving Information to the Staff #

Do Not Exploit the Discipline Table #

Help to Improve the ShanniiWrites Forums #

Do Not Promote Rival Forums or Services #

Do Not Bring Drama From Other Communities #

If You Have a Problem, Talk to Us! #

Commission Prices Must be Clear and Transparent #

The ShanniiWrites Team is Not Involved in Commissions Between Users #