The following Codes of Conduct have been created to help you understand what it means to be a member of the NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program site. The use of this website is subject to these Codes of Conduct and our Terms of Use.
This guide is designed to help you understand the culture of the site, what's expected of our members, and how to get the most out of the community here.
Your Writing
You’re free to write whatever you want in your novel: any subject, any characters, and any genre. You are under no obligation to show it to anyone, including us, or even talk about what you’re writing about.
You’re free to post excerpts of your work during November and beyond, but please remember that your postings, even on your profile page, will appear for all the other writers on the site. Posts also must observe our Terms and Conditions, which prohibit inappropriate content.
Codes of Conduct in the Forums
This is a community and relies on all participants to sustain an ideal atmosphere. If you feel that a post in our forums has crossed the line or just want to help us out by flagging something that's in the wrong place please use the "Report to moderator" button at the bottom of the post to bring it to the moderator's attention. We can always use the help! You can also send a NaNoMail message to a moderator with the link to the post in question.
If you are having a problem with another member, please use the Contact form to send us an email with as much information as possible about the situation so we can deal with it appropriately.
Here are some guidelines to help make your Forums experience a great one!
Do read stickies and the site FAQs before posting in a forum.
Stickies are helpful posts "stuck" at the top of most of our forums. These are sometimes guides to getting the most out of a forum, and can also serve as forums-specific FAQs. When a certain question gets asked repeatedly, we'll often post answers to that question on a sticky at the top of the forum. If you think something should be added to the FAQs, please let us know. <
Do observe the forum subjects
Since there are so many participants and so many different conversations, we’ve divided the forums up into different lounges. Please pick an appropriate lounge to post in, and only post the same item in one area. Duplicate threads will be deleted. Comments that are posted in the wrong forum may be moved to a place where they'll find better conversation-mates.
Do give your post a great subject line
Try to pull in your prospective conversation-mates or question-answerers by giving your post a great subject line. Tell folks what you’re looking for, what you’re complaining about, or what you want to celebrate, and more people will be sure to read your message.
Do play nice!
We're a diverse community who hold many different beliefs and viewpoints. We may not think what you think, believe what you believe, or see what you see, but you are entitled to respect, as are the members you might disagree with. Be polite in your interactions with other members.
If conversations in the forums get heated, take a break. Don’t feel the need to respond immediately. Personal conflicts should not be aired on the forums. The forums are a place for conversations between many different people. We have a private messaging system, NaNoMail, that is perfectly suited for conversations just between two people.
A little conflict is inevitable in the NaNoWriMo forums, but escalating that conflict to the level where it becomes abusive, hateful, disrespectful, or threatening is not okay. In most cases when this happens, the thread will be warned by a moderator. If the conflict continues, the thread may be locked or sequestered (moved out of sight for a while) or in rare cases the offending posts would be deleted so that the valuable conversation can be preserved.
In most circumstances, we'll send a warning to any member found in violation of these conditions. Subsequent violations can result in account termination without warning.
Do read & respond
The best part of the community is the interaction. For every post that you make, you should be reading ten times as many. When we say read, we mean read other responses, not just the initial post.
Do ignore cheaters and trolls
Every year, we get dozens of posts accusing others of cheating at NaNoWriMo. Please—don't worry about cheaters. NaNoWriMo is an honor-system challenge; no one is cheating anyone but themselves if they don't write the novel they said they wrote.
If you see a post that you suspect is a troll (i.e. someone posting something deliberately mean just to get a rise out of people), please do not engage them. Just let it go, they'll move along without any feedback.
Do be aware that these are all-ages forums
Be aware that all YWP forums are all-ages, so we do ask that you maintain a family-friendly tone (no foul language) in all forums. If you have questions about what is and isn’t permitted, just ask a moderator, or use the help forums for trickier questions.
Do link back when you can
NaNoWriMo has grown mostly through word of mouth. We love it when folks blog about their process or spread the word about the challenge to their friends on other forums. We have participant icons in the Fun Stuff section; feel free to use them and even riff on them to create something that fits your own style.
Do keep your signatures within guidelines.
Signature files in your forums posts may be 500 pixels wide by 100 pixels high. It's kinder on the eyes of your readers if you avoid flashy moving images or distracting color combinations, and kinder on our webserver bills for you to keep your signatures small.
Do help us in our battle with spam and scams
Because we're such a huge community and operate 24 hours a day, spammers really want to get in and get your eyeballs. If you ever spot a message in the forums that you believe is spam, DO NOT REPLY to it. Immediately use the REPORT button under the post. If you reply to it, the post is bumped to the top of the list in the forums making it more likely that other participants will also click on it. Instead, when enough participants flag it as spam, it will disappear from the forums without a Moderator needing to look at it. Similarly, if you get a message through the NaNoMail system that you regard as spam, do not reply to it but instead alert the site moderator though the Contact page form with the name of the user.
Also, please be aware that scammers and other nefarious creatures see writers as juicy prey. Be extremely cautious if you get a private message or email from someone who references seeing some of your work on NaNoWriMo and would like to publish you. Please check out any agent or publishing company completely before entering into any sort of agreement. Remember that money always flows towards the writer. You're the one with the valuable commodity, so be cautious about publishing schemes that involve an outlay of cash from you or obligate you to purchase a certain number of volumes.
Things to avoid
Don't post anything that violates copyright
Content that violates copyright may be removed at any time. If you have found material on our site that violates your copyright, please contact us immediately with the information and we will give it our full attention.
Don't use nudity or violent imagery in user pictures
Only images considered "safe for all ages" is appropriate for your author picture. If you upload a picture that contains inappropriate content, we'll remove the picture and send you a warning. If we find you doing it again, we'll terminate your account. This includes hyperlinks to graphic images.
Don't use our site for commercial purposes
Joining with the sole purpose of promoting yourself or business will result in immediate account termination without notice (and a loss of goodwill towards your product or company. If you'd like to promote your service or product, contact the forums moderator, and we will consider posting it on your behalf.
In Conclusion
We have a unique and amazing community at ywp.nanowrimo.org that's unlike any other on the web. The humor, compassion, and kindness on the ywp.nanowrimo.org site is what makes it such a great place to be every year.
Maintaining that convivial atmosphere depends on the behavior and attitude of our members. If you cannot abide by the above guidelines, this is not the right site for you.
If you ever have any questions or comments on how we can improve our forums, we'd love to hear from you. Please feel free to drop us a line through our contact forms.
