Alright. To keep this subforum from being a gongshow, I'm going to lay down some rules. When it comes to poetry, anything goes. When it comes to Gaia, not everything goes biggrin The rules are pretty simple to follow, but you should read them just in case wink
Submitting Poetry:
Anyone can submit any kind of poetry they want at any time. There are, howver a few rules about submitting poetry:
1)Do not post anything racist, sexist, or anything that involves any form of societal discrimination. If it's possible that someone might be offended by your poem, chances are someone will be. Use your own discression when deciding what to put on Gaia and what not to. It's pretty easy. 3nodding
2)If your poem contains curse words, gore, or anything not suitable for younger members, write a discression notice on the thread's subject. Writing one at the top of the first post in the thread is also an awesome idea. You wouldn't want to be the one responsible for traumatizing a little kid, would you? gonk
3)Pictures are allowed to be included with your poetry, but only if they follow the Gaia ToS. That means no nudity. All sexual parts of the body need to be covered by some sort of clothing. Again, a discression notice should be evident if the picture contains graphic or scary scenes.
4)Please include a footnote stating wether or not you'd like your poem to be critiqued. If there is no footnote and you are critiqued, it is your own fault.
Critiquing Poetry:
Critiquing provides a 3rd party opinion on a piece of artwork that can greatly help the author improve his/her style. But there are some stipulations:
1)If the author asks not to be critiqued, don't. Not everyone wants their poem to be ripped to shreds and spat back at them. Some just want to post what they have written to let others see their style. Before you critique a poem, make sure there is no footnote indicating they do not want to be critiqued.
2)If there is no footnote, you may critique the aothor's work. But only constructive criticism is allowed. Posting 'you suck', 'this is crap', or anything of the like is not allowed and will get you banned. NO WARNING!.
3)If you do critique a poem, tell the author politely what you think should be changed. Saying 'lines 3 and 4 don't flow with the rest of the poem' is absolutely fine. What would be even better is if you included a suggestion on how to fix the problem. Do not get mad at the author if they do not listen to your suggestion- it is their poem, not yours.
Reporting Violations:
Violation reports are a serious matter. Sending a false one will get you a warning. Sending two false reports will get you banned.
If someone breaks one of the above rules, do not click the 'report post' button. That is for breaking Gaia's ToS. To report a Poetry Subforum ToS violation, simple PM the Poetry Subforum moderator (me) with your complaint and I will get back to you ASAP. Quotes and screenshots are lovely and help a great deal with my investigation.
Violation Penalties:
Submitting discriminative poetry- Instant ban
Submitting inappropriate pictures- picture being removed and warning
Critiquing when asked not to- warning
Non-constructive criticism (flaming)- instant ban
Submitting false reports- warning
Your account is allowed one warning in the Poetry Subforum. If you get 2 warnings, you are banned from the subforum. If you are reported for anything after being banned from the subforum, you will be banned from the guild.
Follow these simple rules and everyone, including myself, can be joyous and merry enjoying well-written poetry.
