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what are the risks of posting something you one day hope to publish?

Unfortunately, there are some people who will post soemthing that doesn't belong to them (fan fiction not included). The site gives you a copyright logo on your story, and the date it was posted. If someone ever steals that, and publishes, then they are breaking the law, and are punishable by law. (On the site, we would remove and warn... usually a week's site ban).

Plagiarism, although a problem, isn't an overly large one with things that are already posted on the site. A lot of the thieves will post things from *other* web sites, since it's harder to track. Still, when found, they are dealt with per site policy.

One thing you could do is, in your account area, the 'Edit author info or display settings' part, click the option of 'Only let registered users view stories'. That cuts down just anyone viewing, and also makes it so that if someone steals, they had to have joined, and the site has an e-mail and other venues to trace the person.

Barbara
Moderator Manager


This is from the Terms of Use page:

Claims of copyright infringement
As a site that posts user-submitted content, copywritten content may find it's way onto our website. If you feel something you own the copyright to has been infringed, please contact us at the address below. We don't want anything that doesn't belong here anymore than you do, and promise to work with you in a professional manner to get the matter resolved as soon as possible.


(also of interest if you're ever looking to publish)
First publication rights
Publication houses often deal in terms of "first publication rights". It is our experience that temporary online publication does not constitute "first publication", but we make no guarantee that any publisher you may deal with in the future will agree. By participating in this site, you release us of any responsibility for your first publication rights.