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Original Poetry/Lyrics Forum Rules and Guidelines


Welcome to the Original Poetry/Lyrics forum! Original Poetry/Lyrics is intended for posting your poetry or lyrics and for giving and receiving comments, feedback, and critiques on them.


As a member, it is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with the forum's rules before posting. Posting in this forum implies that you read and understand the rules and guidelines and that you accept responsibility for the appropriateness of your thread or post.


Navigation:
  1. Introduction
  2. General Posting Guidelines
  3. Rules & Guidelines for Posting in Original Poetry/Lyrics
  4. How to Post in Original Poetry/Lyrics
  5. How NOT to Post in Original Poetry/Lyrics
  6. How to Report
General Posting Guidelines

Please be sure to follow the Terms of Service and Rules and Guidelines here, as in all forums.

Common violations to avoid:

    Flaming & trolling. Posts directed at another member which are hateful, abusive, or intentionally inflammatory are considered flaming. Making intentionally inflammatory or provocative posts to incite responses from other members is considered trolling.

    Sexually explicit content. Posting, requesting, distributing, or offering sexually explicit material is not permitted anywhere on Gaia. Sexually explicit content includes explicit photographs, text, artwork, video, or cybersex conversations.

    Plagiarism. Claiming another persons work as your own, or posting another persons work without giving proper credit are all forms of plagiarism. Plagiarism should be reported with the name of the original author and a link to the original work.

Terms of Service violations may result in a warning or a ban on your account.

If you find Terms of Service violations, or threads that may need moved to a different forum, please use an appropriate report. The procedures for doing so can be found here.

You can find online moderators by following the "View Forum Moderators" link at the top of the forum.


Gaia Staff will NEVER ask for your password! If anyone asks you for your password, report it.
Rules & Guidelines for Posting in Original Poetry/Lyrics


Threads that Belong in This Forum

  • Your own poetry/lyrics.

  • Personal collectives of your poetry/lyrics.

  • Poetry writing prompts or exercises that do not give out regular rewards.

  • Threads offering to critique poetry, either for a fee or for free.

  • Poetry jams/collaborative poetry threads.


Threads That Don't Belong

  • Chat Threads/Hang Out Threads (HOTs)
    Chat threads and hang out threads are not allowed in this forum. Any attempts to make one will be relocated to either the Chatterbox or Friends Chat, depending on the thread's focus.

  • Poetry contests
    Please use the Writing Contests forum if you would like to hold a poetry or lyrics contest.

  • "Post your poetry/lyrics here!" threads
    Topics asking for other people to share or post their work in your thread are considered redundant and are better suited for the Chatterbox.

  • Threads discussing published poets/poetry
    Please use the main Writers forum for all discussion of published poetry. To discuss published poets and their body of work as a whole, please use the Books forum.

  • Threads containing only a link
    If you are posting a link, you must still post your poetry in the thread! If you would like to advertise your poetry in the Writing Arena, please use the Writing Arena Discussion forum. If you'd like to advertise your poetry site/blog/gallery/etc., please use the Promotions forum.

  • Lyrics with an mp3 or video performance link/download, or with sheet music
    Please use the Musician's forum if you'd like feedback or critique of your composing skills, or the Promotions forum if you'd like to advertise your music.

  • Poetry shops
    Please use the Services subforum of Mini Shops if you would like to start a writing shop to sell your poetry for gold or items.

  • Writing request threads
    Threads asking for writing requests, either for gold or free, are not allowed in this forum. Instead, please try looking through the Services subforum of Mini Shops for a writing shop, or hold hold a contest in the Writing Contests forum for lots of responses!


Tips for Posting

  • Be coherent! Keep in mind that you're talking to writers in here, and we tend to take language pretty seriously. Please try to keep the chatspeak/txt tlk to a minimum. The same goes for deliberately poor grammar and spelling: there isn't a fire, so slow down and take the extra couple of seconds needed to type a full word and use a little punctuation. Some web browsers (like Firefox) even have built-in spell checkers.

  • Don't post multiple threads at once! If you have several poems to post, please put them all in a single thread instead of making a seperate thread for each poem. This keeps the forum clean and prevents your poetry from pushing other threads down so that everyone can get an equal chance for their poetry to be read.

  • Bumping is naughty! The Writers forum a slow forum; topics will often stay on the front page for many hours. There is no need to bump a topic if it's still on the first page. Note that a bump is any post, regardless of content, which serves the purpose of bringing your thread up to the top of the forum. This includes double-posting. If you have something to add, please edit it into your previous post.

  • Necroing threads is naughty too! (Necromancy: posting in a topic that has been dead for a week or more). "Official" threads linked to from a sticky and threads which have an enduring discussion or purpose can be necro'd, but if you post in an old thread make sure you are bringing something new to the discussion.
How to Post in Original Poetry/Lyrics


Labeling Your Topic

When you post a poem, think about what kind of responses you want to get. Some people prefer to see their work torn to pieces; others may have a thinner skin, especially when posting for the first time. Because of this, the OP/L has a system of labeling threads so readers know when to be harsh and when to back off.

Asking for Critique

You can put these in your thread title or in the post your poem is in.

NC = no critique
Under this setting, nobody will criticize your poem, but also, people are much less likely to read and comment on it.

CW = critique welcome
You may receive negative feedback, and might become offended at what people think of your poem, but this is giving people permission to speak their mind on what they see.

CE = critique encouraged
This setting begs for brutal honesty, with absolutely zero sugar coat. This is for experienced poets who feel they cannot take the piece any further on their own, and would like any suggestions for improvement, no matter what level of criticism is involved.

A lot of times, users will put "c+c" in their thread titles. This stands for "comments and criticism," and usually, it helps the author specify what level of critique they want for their poem (though they may also just be goofy). Examples: "c+c=be gentle, please?", "c+c=harsher than steel wool!", "c+c=army of penguins at your door"

Now, this forum is mainly for critiquing and improving poetry, not JUST sharing. However, that doesn't mean that simply sharing poetry is disallowed. Therefore, if you do not want any critique, you MUST post to say so. This will help avoid unnecessary disagreements between newbies and critics.


Defining Criticism in the OP/L

The OP/L is a forum based on criticism. There are many different approaches to criticism, as well as many different definitions of the phrase "constructive criticism." This post will help guide you through the various types of responses that are considered constructive in this forum.


Line-by-line critique

This is the most in-depth version of critique. Few people prefer this method due to the amount of time and energy it takes to complete just one; however, this is the most beneficial to both the writer and the critic. It lets the writer see specific points in the writing that are weak, and it helps the critic realize what his/her preferences are with regards to writing and reading poetry.


General critique

Many critics tend to prefer this method. Often, they will quote the poem and point out just a few places that need improvement, then detail their response in a paragraph or two. These are less specific and grilling, but they tend to give the reader an idea of where their writing stands and what could be done to give the writing better direction.


General response

Most people who pass through will often not take the time (or perhaps have the experience) to go through a poem and give instruction. Instead, they just leave with a fleeting impression. These can also be helpful, in that they give the writer a sense of how their audience perceives the work, but they are perhaps less reliable.
How NOT to Post in Original Poetry/Lyrics


What is Discouraged

Posting Poetry in Another Person's Thread

Do not post your poetry in another person's thread, unless it is an exercise thread. It is considered spam, as it distracts the conversation from the original topic.

The reason behind this is that, when a single person decides to do so, threads will often degenerate into several users inviting themselves to post their work in the thread, which creates a "poetry hangout" and therefore means the thread needs to be recycled. This is unfair to the original poster, since they have a right to share their work without interruption.

In cases like this, your poem will be removed with notification.

However, if it's an exercise thread, it's okay to post work that is related to the purpose of that thread.

One-Line Posts

Example #1
I really liked it....Alot better than what I can do.... smile sweatdrop

Example #2
liked it. got nithin more to say.

Example #3
its alright but it needs work

Posts like this are not helpful to the writer. They aren't forbidden, but it will generally help both responder and writer if you take the time to give one or two reasons why you liked or disliked their work.

What is Not Allowed

The following posts are all violations of the Terms of Service. This is stuff that is not allowed by the rules of the whole site, not just this forum.

Plagiarism

This should really go without saying, since the title of the forum does say original, but people do it anyway.

Claiming another person's work as your own is plagiarism. Committing plagiarism will result in removal of your thread as well as a warning.

Spam

Want to talk about random stuff? Want to post responses that don't really have anything to do with the topic at hand? Go to the Chatterbox! Around here, though, such posts are not allowed and will result in deletion of your posts.

Flaming/Trolling

This is the touchiest issue in the OP/L for very good reasons. Like all art, poetry is a very personal experience. Sometimes, it's hard to hear that people don't like the piece into which you put a lot of effort. However, some posts do cross the line from negative review into flaming.

First, we'll start with examples that are on the fence.

Example
Try a theme less overdone, and if you have to do something that everyone else has done, make it more interesting. You messed up the rhyming scheme halfway through, then brought it back. Or maybe you thought "revenge" rhymed with "wins"? It doesn't in my language.

Try again. Or, better yet, don't try again at all.

A good portion of this post is decently constructive. It shows parts that the reader didn't like and where the writer may have made a mistake. However, the very last sentence is really counterproductive, as it lends itself to being no more than an insult. Posts like this are allowed to stay, since only the last sentence is a problem, but the critic will be asked to edit their post.

Example
Your vocabulary is crap. Your grammar sucks. Your ideas are cliche-ridden drivel.

Try putting a little more effort into your work.

I think we can all agree that this is certainly not a constructive post. However, this entire "critique" does technically focus on the poem, and the attacks are never intentionally directed at the writer. Therefore, this skirts away from being a flame.

This is the kind of response even a good critic might give if they are tired or really don't care for what you've given them. The best thing to do would be to ask them for an explanation as to why they think that way, and most of the time, you'll get a much better answer the second time around. Blowing up at this kind of response, though, is irrational and unnecessary.

Now let's really cross the line.

Example
Wow. Could you have any less respect for the English language?

I've seen dogs produce sweeter s**t on my front lawn. Why don't you do the world a favor and find a hobby that doesn't make me vomit?

Hopefully, this one is fairly easily identifiable.

The key thing is, nowhere does this talk about the poem. These comments are most definitely degrading, and they are all targeting the writer, not the work. This most definitely is classified as a flame.

It's not always responses to poems that are flames. Another common example is a user's response to criticism.

Example
Okay, you know what, just shut the ******** up! You're nothing more than a b***h, and I can't believe you would do something like this! Why don't you go crawl back into your hole where you have no life and leave me the ******** alone?!

This is what we call "degenerating into a flame war." There is no need to bite the heads off of critics, no matter how harsh or rude their response may be.

Remember this: you can always take the high road. If you know you don't have anything productive to say, it's probably better off not said. If you get a response you don't agree with or don't like, say, "Thanks for your opinion," and move on. Almost every situation is best handled by walking away.

The bottom line is that flaming is indeed a violation of the Terms of Service, in addition to being disrespectful and all that. If you notice a flame post, report it, and a mod will get to it as soon as possible.
How to Report

Abuse of the report system will result in a warning or ban of your account.

Report a Post

Use the User Image button when an individual post in a topic contains inappropriate content.

    Reasons to Report a Post:

    • The content of the post violates the Terms of Service or forum rules.

    • The content of the post is off-topic.

    • The member who made the post has a signature which violates the rules.


Report a Topic

Use the Report this Topic button at the bottom of the page when a topic is not appropriate for the forum.

    Reasons to Report a Topic:

    • The topic violates the Terms of Service or forum rules.

    • The topic is in the wrong forum and should be moved to a more appropriate forum.


If you need to contact a moderator via Private Message, please use the "View Forum Moderator" link at the top of this forum to find a moderator.



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