Archive Site Guidelines Feedback

[abhorsen.]

As you know, we've been working on putting together an archive to go alongside our HPFT forums. Serving the community we already have is our utmost concern, so we wanted to give all of you a chance to weigh in on what the archive will look like.

 

I've posted the current draft of the archive's site guidelines below. You have until September 4 to give feedback on it in this thread. If something is unclear, please don't hesitate to ask. Thank you! <3

 

HP Fanfic Talk Archives Site Guidelines

HP Fanfic Talk (or HPFT) is a moderated multi-fandom archive with a dedicated, responsive staff who monitor stories to ensure the archive remains a safe place for people of all ages, genders, races, and sexual orientations. HPFT has a strong culture for author feedback and reviews, including an active forum with dedicated sections for story help and review requests. We also have frequent reviewing events, along with other fandom-centric activities (including movie nights, fic nights, awards, and inter/intra-house competitions). We encourage all readers to give their favorite authors feedback, even if it’s just a couple lines, and we also encourage authors who feel that they’re not getting enough feedback to check out our forums.

 

General Site Use and Guidelines

• All information in open areas of the archive (including story summaries and reviews) must be rated T or lower.
  
• Stories must have the appropriate rating and reader advisories attached to them.
  
• Rude or abusive behavior toward other authors or the staff is not permitted.
  
• Spamming is not permitted, nor is reviewing your own stories.
  
• You are not permitted to include direct links in stories or reviews on the archives. You are, however, allowed to mention other fanfiction sites and supplementary material (e.g., tumblr or pinterest), and you may directly link to them on the HPFT forums or in your user bio.
  
• Use caution in sharing personal information. You are not permitted to share your legal name, phone number, or fine location data in public areas of the archive or forum.
  

 

Ratings on HPFT

A

• Stories rated A should contain content appropriate for all readers, including children - i.e., they should require no reader advisories.
  

T

• Stories rated T should contain content appropriate for teen readers and up. They may include limited swearing, sexual content, violence, and allusions to potentially sensitive material (including eating disorders, self-harm, and abuse) with some restrictions and appropriate reader advisories.
  

M

• Stories rated M should contain content appropriate for mature readers. They may include significant violence, detailed sexual content, extensive profanity, and references to potentially sensitive material (including eating disorders, self-harm, and abuse) with some restrictions and appropriate reader advisories.

 

Posting Stories

All stories posted on HPFT must first be submitted for approval by a staff member, who will ensure that the chapter contains appropriate advisories and does not contain disallowed material. The validation system is in place to ensure that the HPFT archives remain a safe space for people of all ages, genders, races, and sexual orientations. Please see the guidelines below for further details.

 

Submitted stories must adhere to the following content guidelines:

 

[*]Story Length: All submitted stories must be a minimum of 100 words long, not including author’s notes and summaries.

 

[*]Narrative Formats: Submitted stories may be told from first, second, and third person point of views. Allowed narrative formats for submitted stories include traditional narratives; letters; diary entries; newspaper articles; poetry; drabbles; or any combination thereof. If you would like to use a different format to write your story, please check with the staff first.

 

[*]Language and Swearing: While we do not require a specific advisory for swear words, which swear words are allowed in a story is dependent on the rating; please see our [staff tutorial on profanity] for a full list. Please see below for details on slurs, which are treated differently.

 

[*]Violence: The level of violence allowed in a story is dependent on its rating. Broadly speaking, A-rated stories should include minimal mention of violence and the violence should not be described in detail; T-rated stories may mention fatal violence and torture, as well as detailed description of other violence; and M-rated stories may include detailed description of fatal violence and torture. For more clarification regarding violence in stories, see our [link to staff tutorial on violence] for more details. Please see below for details on domestic abuse or sexual assault, which is treated differently.

 

[*]Sexual Content: The level of sexual content allowed in a story is dependent on its rating. Broadly speaking, A-rated stories may include non-detailed accounts of kissing; T-rated stories may include detailed description of above-the-waist activities and non-descriptive mention of sexual acts; and M-rated stories may include detailed description of sex. However, detailed sexual content (i.e., explicit description of below-the-waist activities) should not be the main point of the story, and as such, explicit material can make up no more than 25% of a story’s contents. Please note that while a sexual content advisory should not be added to an A-rated story, it is required for T-rated and M-rated stories which include the relevant content. For more clarification regarding sexual content in stories, see our [staff tutorial on sexual content] for more details. Please see below for details on domestic abuse or sexual assault, which are treated differently.

 

[*]Potentially Sensitive Material: Due to the sensitive nature of some content, the following themes can only be included in T-rated and M-rated stories. They cannot be depicted to or alluded to in A-rated stories. They must also be labeled with the relevant reader advisory; failure to rate and label them appropriately will lead to your story being rejected.

• Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault - Domestic abuse and sexual assault (including both overt force and use of drugs/threats to incapacitate the victim) of characters who were at least 16 at the time of the abuse/assault may be mentioned in T-rated stories and directly described in M-rated stories. Any reference to or depiction of child abuse may only occur in M-rated stories, and explicit depiction of pedophilia is not permitted under any circumstances. In addition, portrayal of any abuse/assault cannot be glorified, and stories which explore these themes in a tantalizing way will be rejected. Decisions about whether the theme is glorified or presented in a gratuitous way lie with the staff. Please see our [staff tutorial on abuse] for further details.
   
  
• Eating Disorders, Self-Harm, and Suicide - These themes may be mentioned in T-rated stories and directly described in M-rated stories. However, these themes cannot be glorified, and stories which include extensive description or promotion of the physical acts and effects of self-harm, eating disorders, or the act of suicide may be rejected. Decisions on whether the theme is glorified lie with the staff. Please see our [staff tutorials on self-harm and eating disorders] for further details.
   
  
• Hate Speech and Slurs - Hate speech and slurs may only be used in M-rated stories. While authors are encouraged to explore identity, prejudice, and discrimination, casual use of slurs or blatant hate speech (including, but not limited to, those relating to race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability) without that broader picture may lead to a story being rejected. Decisions on whether the story warrants the use of slurs or hate speech lies with the staff. Please review our [staff tutorial on hate speech] for further details.
   
  
• Incest - Incest (defined here as a romantic or sexual relationship between an individual and their parent, child, sibling, aunt/uncle, niece/nephew, grandparent, grandchild, great-grandparent, or great-grandchild by blood, adoption, or marriage) is only permitted in a story if the relationship in question explicitly happened in canon. No depiction of pedophilia is permitted under any circumstances, and non-consensual incest cannot be directly depicted, only mentioned.
   
  
• Other Consent Issues - Sexual slavery and bestiality are not permitted on the HPFT archive under any circumstances. Forced marriage is only allowed if the forced marriage in question explicitly happened in canon. Adult-minor (i.e., 17 or younger) relationships are allowed only if the minor is at least 16, and the adult is neither older than 22 nor in a position of authority over the minor (e.g., their teacher or their employer). Decisions on whether the adult is in a position of authority over the minor lies with the staff. Please see our [staff tutorial on consent] for further details.
   
  
• Slavery - Slavery may be depicted in T-rated stories and M-rated stories. However, no sexual relationships between an owner and an enslaved person or formerly enslaved person is permitted on the HPFT archive under any circumstances, and slavery cannot be glorified. Decisions on whether the theme is glorified lie with the staff. Please see our [staff tutorials on slavery] for further details.
   
  
• Substance Abuse - Repeated use of common (i.e., alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes, or similar fictional drugs) substances that alter judgment/substantially impact behavior or any use of such substances by minors in a T-rated story requires this advisory. Dependence on those common substances or detailed/repeated use of any other substances (including prescription drugs) in an M-rated story requires this advisory. Depictions cannot be glorified, and stories which include extensive direct depiction of addiction may be rejected. Please see our [staff tutorial on substance abuse] for further details.

[*]Endnotes: You may use your endnotes to communicate with your readers, including (but not limited to) providing further information, thanking them for their support, and asking for feedback. However, you cannot use your endnotes to share personal information (including legal name, phone number, or fine location data), to be abusive to either readers or staff members, or to threaten not to update until you receive a certain number of reviews.

 

[*]Coauthors and Multiple Accounts: Authors are welcome to write stories together; should they choose to do so, all contributing authors must be included as co-authors. Authors are also permitted to have multiple accounts, but they must inform a staff member by archive PM or by emailing [staff email] upon creating each additional account. Regardless of the circumstances, content may not be published in multiple stories on the archive.

 

[*]Graphics: Authors are permitted to include up to one graphic in their story summaries (no larger than 700px x 150px). Authors are also permitted to include either one picspam (500px x 750px or smaller) OR up to two additional graphics in each chapter (each 400px x 300px or smaller). Authors may only use graphics that they have made themselves or graphics that they have express permission from the artist to use, and must credit each graphic, even those which they make themselves. Use of an artist’s work without their permission or failure to credit an artist’s work may lead to consequences including suspension from the site and/or removal of Certified Author status (if applicable).

 

[*]Plagiarism and Copyright Violations: Authors are only permitted to publish stories that they have personally contributed to. Submitting a story you have not contributed to or failing to obtain permission from and credit all other authors (if a collaboration) will lead to the story being removed from our archive and may lead to your account being banned.

 

While authors are allowed to quote and paraphrase non-original material, that material must be clearly cited in your author’s note, and at least 90% of the content in any given chapter must be original material. Characters, quotes, and plots owned by Disney are not permitted under any circumstances. In addition, living people (e.g., J. K. Rowling, Kit Harington, or Barack Obama) cannot be included as characters in stories. However, they can be mentioned.

 

The validation process works as follows:

 

[*]Submitting chapters: You may only submit one new chapter for review by a staff member at a time. However, you may submit an unlimited number of edits to existing chapters.

 

[*]Wait time: Each new chapter must be approved by a staff member before it appears on the archive for public viewing. While the staff will try to keep your wait time short, be aware that staff are volunteers and are sometimes either busy or dealing with a high volume of submissions, and in those situations, approval may take up to a week.

 

[*]Rejection: Occasionally, you may find that a chapter you submitted has been rejected. This usually occurs for one of the following reasons:

• The submission violated our content guidelines, as listed above.
  
• The submission did not include the appropriate rating and/or reader advisories.
  
• The submission contained significant formatting errors - e.g., text was too small to read.
  
• The submission included a graphic that was larger than the specified size and/or was not credited.

The staff will always tell you why your submission was rejected and what you have to do to fix it. If you need further clarification, please check the [staff Tutorials]. If they don’t answer your question, we encourage you to reach out to the staff for help. If you have the same chapter rejected more than three times for the same reason without making the required changes, your account will be suspended for one week.

[*]Certified Authors: Authors who have consistently shown that they can follow the archive guidelines may be granted Certified Author status, which allows them to bypass the queue. Not being granted Certified Author status should in no way be taken as a punishment; bumping an author to CA status is a decision based on a wide variety of factors, and it is not one that the staff takes lightly.

 

Reviewing Stories

Please see the following guidelines around our rules for reviews:

 

[*]Rating: All reviews must be rated no higher than T.

 

[*]Respect: All reviewers must remain respectful of the author. Constructive criticism is welcome, but flaming and name-calling is not. If you see an abusive review on your own or someone else’s story, please report it to the staff.

 

[*]Reviewing your own story: Authors are not permitted to review their own stories, either from their own accounts or anonymously. Any author found to be doing so may face a suspension from the site and/or have their reviewing privileges suspended.

 

[*]Multiple reviews per chapter: Reviewers are typically limited to one review per chapter. However, if an author substantially edits or revamps a story such that at least a third of the chapter is new material, reviewers are permitted to leave a new review. Multiple reviews on a chapter that do not meet this requirement will be deleted, and the reviewer will be contacted. Repeated failure to follow this rule may lead to suspension of the member’s review privileges. Should a reviewer and an author choose to have a more extended conversation than the initial review and the author’s response, they are encouraged to do so on our forums.

 

[*]Spamming: Members are permitted to leave either a review, a like, or both on a chapter. There is no minimum word count for reviews. However, all reviews must be related to the chapter they are attached to; any reviewer found to be leaving reviews that are unrelated to the story they’re reviewing (including, but not limited to, requests for reviews, invitations to join unrelated sites, or product advertising) will be contacted and have the offended reviews deleted. They may also face suspension from the site and/or suspension of reviewing privileges.

 

Contacting the Staff

If you are ever confused about a rule or have any other questions about HPFT, please feel free to contact a staff member in the relevant topic on the forums or at [archive@hpfanfictalk.com]. We will be happy to help.

[Stella Blue]

*cries with excitement* This is beautiful.

 

Sorry that's not very useful feedback, but... alalsdfkja! SO EXCITING. Thank you for all the work you've been doing to make this archive happen! ♥

[MegGonagall]

This is fantastic! I feel like it's totally fair and gives a lot more freedom than some other sites. I really can't think of anything to add or suggest, I think this was all perfect. I'm really excited for the archives to open!

[crowsb4bros]

I'm internally squeeing (it's a word). I think all of the rules/guidelines seem to be fair and thorough. It seems like there will be staff tutorials too and I always look those up if I have something sensitive so that'll be brilliant.

 

I like the new story length too. It'll make every word counts even more exciting.

 

I'm also really, really excited about the graphics!

[Alexis Black]

Several questions:

 

You are not permitted to include direct links in stories or reviews. You are, however, allowed to mention other fanfiction sites and supplementary material (e.g., tumblr or pinterest).

 

Is there a limitation to the rating of said supplementary material? For instance, if you wrote a sequel to one of your stories, and it included something not permitted here (for whatever reason), could you still mention it's on your tumblr account (or wherever)?

 

 

HP Fanfic Talk (or HPFT) is a moderated multi-fandom archive

 

Are cross-overs allowed? (It wasn't explicitly mentioned).

 

 

Rejection: Occasionally, you may find that a chapter you submitted has been rejected. This usually occurs for one of the following reasons:

The submission violated our content guidelines, as listed above.

The submission did not include the appropriate rating and/or reader advisories.

The submission contained significant formatting errors - e.g., text was too small to read.

The submission included a graphic that was larger than the specified size and/or was not credited.

 

Spelling errors, problems with grammar, OOC ... none of that counts against a submission?

 

 

Incest - Incest (defined here as a romantic or sexual relationship between an individual and their parent, child, sibling, aunt/uncle, niece/nephew, grandparent, grandchild, great-grandparent, or great-grandchild by blood, adoption, or marriage) is only permitted in a story if the relationship in question explicitly happened in canon. No depiction of pedophilia is permitted under any circumstances, and non-consensual incest cannot be directly depicted, only mentioned.

 

Is marriage between first cousins acceptable? I know for some folks it's unpalatable, but it is allowed in many countries including the UK and the US. If not, would it be ok to just mention an engagement? (One of my stories mentions a broken-off engagement between a teenaged Sirius and one of the Black sisters).

 

 

Coauthors and Multiple Accounts: Authors are welcome to write stories together; should they choose to do so, all contributing authors must be included as co-authors. Authors are also permitted to have multiple accounts, but they must inform a staff member by archive PM or by emailing [staff email] upon creating each additional account. Regardless of the circumstances, content may not be published in multiple stories on the archive.

 

What if the co-author doesn't have an account on the archive, or cannot be reached otherwise?

 

 

Edit: Forgot a few questions - will the archive have it's own name or will it just be HPFT Archive? If the former, will we have a naming contest? What platform will the archive be on (will it be like HPFF)?

 

 

I know that's a lot of questions, but honestly I'm excited for us to have our own archive!

[sunshinedaisieswindmills]

I had no idea we were this close to an archive! I'm so excited!!!!

 

Okay as with anytime I see rules about anything, my anxiety is running rampant. I think you'll probably clarify some of these questions in the staff tutorials but I'm gonna ask them anyway.

• Will staff have final say in what is/is not considered a slur? There are some that are obvious, but words like "bitch," "slut," "whore," etc. are also considered to be slurs by some. is there a more specific guideline we can use, or will these things be determined on a case by case basis?
  
• Does the term minor refer to 18 and under in all instances? Thinking mainly in reference to alcohol/cigarette use where legal age differs by country and has changed over time.
  
• Is glorifying all substance use prohibited, or only substance dependence?
  

[LooneyLizzie]

Only responding to some of these, as I want to double check on a few of the others.

 

Are cross-overs allowed? (It wasn't explicitly mentioned).

 

YES! Absolutely!

Do you think it would be helpful if we mentioned it?

 

Spelling errors, problems with grammar, OOC ... none of that counts against a submission?

 

Also a yes.

 

Will staff have final say in what is/is not considered a slur? There are some that are obvious, but words like "bitch," "slut," "whore," etc. are also considered to be slurs by some. is there a more specific guideline we can use, or will these things be determined on a case by case basis?

 

The tutorials on Hate Speech/Slurs and Profanity will definitely clarify this as they're much more specific.

 

Is glorifying all substance use prohibited, or only substance dependence?

 

Just substance abuse.

[1917farmgirl]

Very excited to see this happening!!  I know how hard all of you have been working!!

 

One thing I just wanted to point out.  Just realizing that under these rules the Harry Potter books are rated M.  Because there is blatant child abuse, right from book one.

 

And in the same manner, basic children's stories that all kids grow up with would also be rated M.  Cinderella, Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel...

 

I totally agree with never, ever glorifying abuse and violence and sad things, but I also kinda think that sometimes we shield our kids from stuff too much.  They need to encounter bad people (within reason) and sad things in stories, so they learn what is right and what is wrong.

 

A rated stories that don't even allow a whiff of this kind of subject to come into them might be doing more harm than good.

 

Anyway, that's my two cents!  Everything looks really good!!

[CambAngst]

Wow. You have all been very busy!

 

A few questions/suggestions come to mind:

• I think the range of things that could be considered "glorifying" substance abuse is pretty broad. A lot of stories set in the 70's, for instance, would tend to "glorify" smoking based on modern standards. You could also argue that Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which is arguably one of the most influential books written in the past 50 years, is one long glorification of substance abuse.
  

• Will the process of achieving CA status be better defined here than it was at HPFF? Let's be candid for a moment: at HPFF, it was often more about who you were friendly with than any objective measure of how well your writing complied with the rules. There were also those 40-slot cattle calls where if you picked the wrong week to be away from the forums, well, too bad.
  

• I really think there should be a defined, documented appeals process for chapter rejections. I fully understand that it will be a pain to administer and a lot of people will appeal even when they don't have a ghost of a chance of being right, but I also remember at least two situations where I had a chapter rejected for what the validator later admitted was an invalid reason or a bad interpretation of the rules. Since a lot of the rules involve judgment calls on the part of the validators, I feel like authors should have a chance to make their case to a second set of ears.
  

Awesome job!

 

[Alexis Black]

Building off of what Dan mentioned above, can an author request a particular Mod/Validator work with them on their rejected chapter/story? Consistency would be helpful.

 

How many chapters/stories can an author submit simultaneously?

 

Will those who currently have TA status at HPFF be given a shorter review period before gaining CA status here?

 

Will we be advertising our archive at other sites? Do we have a target date for when it will open?

[MegGonagall]

Will those who currently have TA status at HPFF be given a shorter review period before gaining CA status here?

 

I was actually going to ask the same thing.

[sunshinedaisieswindmills]

Potentially Sensitive Material: Due to the sensitive nature of some content, the following themes can only be included in T-rated and M-rated stories. They cannot be depicted to or alluded to in A-rated stories. They must also be labeled with the relevant reader advisory; failure to rate and label them appropriately will lead to your story being rejected.

 

How will rating and labeling work? Will there be specific labels for the different Sensitive Topics? Or will stories just be marked as "contains sensitive material?" I know I would really appreciate an additional level of specificity, as certain topics are extremely triggering for me, others aren't. Having a warning that there's sensitive material isn't really helpful without knowing what kind of sensitive material it is.

[toomanycurls]

A rated stories that don't even allow a whiff of this kind of subject to come into them might be doing more harm than good.

Our direction so far is that A rating has a pretty high bar for allowed content but we can discuss this further.

 

I think the range of things that could be considered "glorifying" substance abuse is pretty broad. A lot of stories set in the 70's, for instance, would tend to "glorify" smoking based on modern standards. You could also argue that Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which is arguably one of the most influential books written in the past 50 years, is one long glorification of substance abuse.

We do have a tutorial which elaborates on this further but you're right that it's a broad term. We're airing on the side of permissiveness but (to your point below) we will have items that come down to the person reviewing content.

 

Will the process of achieving CA status be better defined here than it was at HPFF? Let's be candid for a moment: at HPFF, it was often more about who you were friendly with than any objective measure of how well your writing complied with the rules. There were also those 40-slot cattle calls where if you picked the wrong week to be away from the forums, well, too bad.

We can work on an outline for how CA status will granted. The software doesn't have a great way to track author track records so while we can say what we want to see in a CA (e.g. x successfully validated chapters in y months), there isn't a systematic way to bump people.

 

I really think there should be a defined, documented appeals process for chapter rejections. I fully understand that it will be a pain to administer and a lot of people will appeal even when they don't have a ghost of a chance of being right, but I also remember at least two situations where I had a chapter rejected for what the validator later admitted was an invalid reason or a bad interpretation of the rules. Since a lot of the rules involve judgment calls on the part of the validators, I feel like authors should have a chance to make their case to a second set of ears.

We can definitely kick around some ideas for how that'd work out.

 

Building off of what Dan mentioned above, can an author request a particular Mod/Validator work with them on their rejected chapter/story? Consistency would be helpful.

No. The queue is based on a FIFO model where whoever is around takes whatever is there. I'd actively like to avoid validators cherry-picking authors so that there's less of a chance for people to turn a blind eye to content others might not accept.

 

How many chapters/stories can an author submit simultaneously?

I believe we're going with 1 new chapter at a time with unlimited edits at a time.

 

Will those who currently have TA status at HPFF be given a shorter review period before gaining CA status here?

No. Our rules are significantly different in tone and spirit so everyone starts with the same level of review and scrutiny. Also, having a story up on another site doesn't guarantee it'll be posted here.

 

Will we be advertising our archive at other sites? Do we have a target date for when it will open?

We haven't discussed our advertising strategy. We have a target launch but aren't ready to share that yet.

 

How will rating and labeling work? Will there be specific labels for the different Sensitive Topics? Or will stories just be marked as "contains sensitive material?" I know I would really appreciate an additional level of specificity, as certain topics are extremely triggering for me, others aren't. Having a warning that there's sensitive material isn't really helpful without knowing what kind of sensitive material it is.

 

We're breaking them down into specific categories listed under #6 in the guidelines.

 

Does the term minor refer to 18 and under in all instances? Thinking mainly in reference to alcohol/cigarette use where legal age differs by country and has changed over time.

For simplicity, yes.

 

Forgot a few questions - will the archive have it's own name or will it just be HPFT Archive? If the former, will we have a naming contest? What platform will the archive be on (will it be like HPFF)?

We haven't discussed a name but will likely let members think of and decide on a name if we go that route. The software we've installed in efiction.

[1917farmgirl]

Thanks for such swift and thorough answers!  You guys are the best!

[toomanycurls]

Is there a limitation to the rating of said supplementary material? For instance, if you wrote a sequel to one of your stories, and it included something not permitted here (for whatever reason), could you still mention it's on your tumblr account (or wherever)?

 

Yes. I'll cite the site guidelines.

Links to strictly NC-17 (e.g. explicitly sexual or violent material) content (stories, author pages, and other content) is not allowed. Longer stories that contain the occasional sex scene may be linked to -- HPFT does accept some links to sexual content, we do not accept blatant smut or sexually abusive content. Approval of links including sexual content is left to the discretion of the moderators. If the story/content is mostly graphic sexual or violent content, check with a member of staff before sharing it.

 

While that explanation focuses on stories, it holds true for any linked content on our site/domain. If you're directing people to content that's mostly not allowed on the site then that is against the rules.

[TreacleTart]

So a lot of this isn't necessarily rule/guideline specific, but I'll ask anyway because it's archive related.

 

Is it possible to have a prologue and epilogue option in terms of chapters?

 

Will you be opening up applications for validators at some point or will you be sticking with just the three people already involved with the archives for now?

 

I agree with Katie and think specific warnings on content would be a great idea. I always worry when I write about sexual assault, violence, abuse, and/or struggles with mental issues that someone might be triggered. Maybe with the Sensitive Comment warning it could have a box  where you could type in the specific warning?

 

 

[Alexis Black]

Thanks for the clarification, Rose.

 

While the software for the archives (and our lovely forums) are free, hosting is not. Will we be having a fundraiser now that we're launching an archive?

 

And I second Kaitlin's question about staffing of the archive.

[WriteYourHeartOut]

Just answering a couple! ^.^

 

Is it possible to have a prologue and epilogue option in terms of chapters?

 

Um. I love this. So hopefully yes.

 

Will you be opening up applications for validators at some point or will you be sticking with just the three people already involved with the archives for now?

 

We will definitely be staffing more than just the three heading the project right now! We want as quick and efficient a queue as possible, which will require more hands on deck for sure, to keep the queue time low! As for how we choose those people, I believe it will end up being a mix of asking some current staff to move from Mod to Validator and then probably applications for members to fill in additional spots.

[LooneyLizzie]

I agree with Katie and think specific warnings on content would be a great idea. I always worry when I write about sexual assault, violence, abuse, and/or struggles with mental issues that someone might be triggered. Maybe with the Sensitive Comment warning it could have a box  where you could type in the specific warning?

 

I think Rose replied to this earlier, but I wanted to clarify - the Sensitive Issues bit of the guidelines does not refer to one specific advisory. All of the categories within it are each their own advisory. So, yes, we will be having a Substance Abuse Advisory, Domestic Abuse Advisory, Sexual Assault Advisory, and so on and so forth.

 

There won't be a sensitive issues advisory at all - we just wanted to make sure we were addressing everything that could be considered a sensitive issue in the guidelines.

 

And yes, there will definitely be Validator applications!

 

Is it possible to have a prologue and epilogue option in terms of chapters?

 

Excellent question! I don't know for sure, but I'll add it to our list of things to look into!

 

While the software for the archives (and our lovely forums) are free, hosting is not. Will we be having a fundraiser now that we're launching an archive?

 

That one is up to the Admins since the archives will obviously go hand in hand with the forums.

[scooterbug8515]

Okay I only did a quick read and only one question oddly sticks out in my mind and there are three things I would love to get clarification on mostly for general curiosity.

 

1. With the adult minor relationship, I know the rule with the age and authority thing but what about form teacher student?  Mostly like a reference such as "You know X DADA teacher left because he was romantically interest in Y student who is now graduated." Would something like this be permitted?

 

2. Also with like force marriages and the minor relationship, you mention 16 but what about canon instances?  I know  that there are canon where a individual younger than 16 is betrothed. (Isn't this something in Game of Thrones?)

 

3. Lastly what about forced marriage fics.  I have 0 intent to write one personally but about marriage laws and the like what is the archive stance on that?

 

 

[abhorsen.]

Is it possible to have a prologue and epilogue option in terms of chapters?

Going to chime in because I've been playing with the software - as of this moment, it doesn't seem that there is. The chapters are listed like:

 

1. Clariel

2. Sabriel

3. Lirael

4. Abhorsen

 

So it's not quite as bad as "Chapter 1 - Prologue," but it doesn't seem like we can just remove the numbers, either.

 

1. With the adult minor relationship, I know the rule with the age and authority thing but what about form teacher student?  Mostly like a reference such as "You know X DADA teacher left because he was romantically interest in Y student who is now graduated." Would something like this be permitted?

Former teacher and student relationships would be allowed, provided there was no longer a power dynamic in play.

 

2. Also with like force marriages and the minor relationship, you mention 16 but what about canon instances?  I know  that there are canon where a individual younger than 16 is betrothed. (Isn't this something in Game of Thrones?)

We've generally leaned toward allowing canon compliance, but we haven't explicitly discussed betrothals between minors and adults. Thanks for putting it on our radar.

 

3. Lastly what about forced marriage fics.  I have 0 intent to write one personally but about marriage laws and the like what is the archive stance on that?

I'm not quite sure what you mean - can you elaborate?

 

Edit: Also, to clarify about coauthors a bit, in case it's not clear - the software actually allows you to create stories with multiple people listed as authors. So, for example, if Rose and I wrote a Buffy/Psych crossover together, we could list both of us as authors and the story would appear on both my author page and her author page.

[Ineke]

Just a short reply because of mobile and autocorrect and holiday and everything but i love it and thanks for all the hard Work!  Im excited!

[Guest pookha]

Rules look great! Excited to see this.

[Aphoride]

I have a couple of questions:

 

On the domestic abuse/sexual assault parapraph, there's not much suggestion of what is considered to be domestic abuse - will this be clarified in a tutorial? Also, there isn't any distinction made between sexual assault and rape - will there be any distinction between what is allowed to be depicted or mentioned at different ratings and would they be given different advisories? (Only cos one can be a lot more triggering than the other and clarification before people read might be helpful?)

 

Will historical accuracy be allowed re slurs, etc. as long as it isn't glorifying?

 

I like Dan's suggestion of a process to follow if you get rejected - that would be very helpful. Even if it was something simple like 'contact your validator for help/clarification, if still unclear then contact an admin'. It might also be worth saying that borderline cases will be discussed by staff as a whole or forwarded up to admins, so people know that there'll be more than one person looking at stuff which is difficult.

 

I love it, though - everything is pretty clear and concise and I love that we're keeping the tutorials and adding likes. The new ratings look good to me too! Ahhh so excited for this!

[abhorsen.]

On the domestic abuse/sexual assault parapraph, there's not much suggestion of what is considered to be domestic abuse - will this be clarified in a tutorial? Also, there isn't any distinction made between sexual assault and rape - will there be any distinction between what is allowed to be depicted or mentioned at different ratings and would they be given different advisories? (Only cos one can be a lot more triggering than the other and clarification before people read might be helpful?)

Yes - there will be tutorials for most of these issues, including both domestic abuse and sexual assault. We don't have currently have any plans to distinguish between sexual assault and rape for the purposes of advisories, but domestic abuse and sexual assault will have separate tutorials and advisories, with different things being permitted depending on whether the story is rated T or M.

 

Will historical accuracy be allowed re slurs, etc. as long as it isn't glorifying?

Yes. Hate speech will be allowed as long as it isn't glorifying and has relevance to the story, which must be rated M and carry an advisory for hate speech. (It can be used in a modern setting as well, under those circumstances.)

 

We're discussing the appeals process idea as well.