1. No Profanity in public chatrooms

   You cannot disguise words to get around the profanity filter. Profanity is profanity and it is NOT acceptable in public chats.

   We do have a profanity filter that will remove some profanity and replace them with asterisks (if it is spelled properly). It's still not allowed, even if it's stopped by the filter.

2. No Adult Topics (Sex, Drugs, Violence)

   Basically, anything you should not be saying in front of a young child.

   Keep in mind this is a chatterbox, not a dating service. Sexual preferences and orientation have no place here. So if you came in there to "cyber" or "make out" via the web. Forget it! This sort of thing will not be tolerated, especially in the chatterbox. There are many minors on the site so you really need to be careful with your conversations here. Also, sorry folks but no references to weapons such as guns, knives and violent behaviors or blood and guts in the chatterbox.

   Per Storywrite's site policy "you cannot Engage in sexually explicit talk or commenting with children under the age of eighteen, including sexuality, desirability, or physical attributes. Or with anyone in public comments (get a room!)". You also cannot "Promote illegal, racist, or overly disgusting activities. This includes rape, torture, pedophilia, death notices, self-mutilation, cutting, suicide, and suicide notes. "

   Unfortunately there are people in the world that like drama and tend to spread it. Sometimes you may hear of situations such as death, suicide, accidents or other personal traumas (or drama) about a poet on the site. It is very IMPORTANT that these issues are NOT discussed in the chatterbox or around the site especially without confirmation. For this reason, we will NOT allow such discussions in the chatterbox.

   If you hear of one of these situations, please advise the moderator staff immediately, do not take it upon yourself to bring it into the chatterbox. While we realize you care about each other and feel it should be known, it is possible that it is not true and can hurt many people in the process. So notify admin and keep it out of the chatterbox.

3. No General Rude behavior

   This basically speaks for itself. The chatterbox is suppose to be a fun place to chat. Not a war zone. So no name calling, personal insults, bashing, taunting, spilling personal drama about other poets etc. This also includes those personal things like breaking up with your boyfriend/girlfriend and such drama that inflames personal feuding etc.

   Please note that anyone making personal threats of any nature will be leaving the chatterbox immediately. Huge No-No, so do not even think about going there.

   Per Storywrite's site policy "you cannot Harass, stalk, or verbally abuse another user, troll, or consistently attempt to cause civil unrest" , nor can you "post works that reference other members in a derogatory manner".

   If you have a problem with another poet, the chatter box is NOT the place for it. "If you have what appears to be an irresolvable problem with another author, please put that author on your ignore list. If the problem still somehow persists, please contact one of the moderators who (if they agree) will attempt to handle the other author. If the problem persists one or both members may be banned." Keep in mind that "your being here is contingent upon your interacting in a friendly manner with the community. We reserve the right to refuse service to this site to any one, for any reason, at any time. "

   A general note here: For those that are not aware, it is generally considered yelling and rude to type in all caps in a chatroom.

4. No Promoting

   This means you cannot ask people to read your work or the work of anyone else in the chatterbox. For example things like "read my new poem" is not allowed in the chatterbox.

   The chatterbox is for chatting, while we all have posts on the site we want to share, the way to do that is by using the featured box or reading others' poems. Generally they will return the favor and read one of yours. Please do not stress other chatters by annoying them with pleas to read your work. However, you may ask if anyone would like to "exchange reads" with you as long as you do not reference any particular poem etc. in the chatterbox. Once someone agrees to exchange reads with you, take the issue to personal IM please.

5. No posting personal information about yourself or others

   This is for your safety folks. If you need to share details about yourself, take it to personal IM. This includes yahoo or msn chat names, myspace pages, emails, phone numbers, addresses, real names, schools, etc.

6. No Spamming

   This means no typing keystrokes or the same thing over and over and driving everyone nuts in the chatterbox. It really serves no purpose other than to annoy and won't be tolerated.

7. No Abusing the Moderators, Greeters or Chatterbox Helpers -

   While this is certainly covered under the above rules, it needs to be mentioned here that per Storywrite's site policy "You cannot Repeatedly ignore moderator requests" This also includes those members of the site that have been appointed as Chatterbox Helpers or Greeters. You can view a list of them here http://storywrite.com/help/who These folks are here to keep peace on the site and deserve to be treated with respect, just like any other member of the Storywrite community. If they warn you against something in the chatterbox (or elsewhere on the site), heed the warning and cease whatever you are doing. They do have the authority to remove you from the chatterbox (and the site if need be) for breaking these rules.

   If you have an issue with any member of site staff (moderators, chatterbox helpers or greeters) Please send an IM with a copy and paste of the chatterbox conversation (or IM) to AnnD. She is Storywrite's site supervisor and will handle the complaint for you.

Frequently asked Chat Questions

• Question: Is Role Playing allowed in the CB?

  Answer: At this time there is no policy against role playing in the chatterbox. However, if the role playing breaks ANY of the above rules OR there are excessive complaints regarding its disrupting other chatters, you will be asked to remove it from the chatterbox immediately.

  What does this mean to those that role play?

  Basically it means that your role playing must be kept suitable for a 5 year old. No killing, bloody gashes, swirling daggers/talk of weapons, biting, kicking, fighting, sex, arguing etc. It really is best to do your role playing in a group chat room or via personal IM.

• Question: Do you have to type the English Language in the CB?

  Answer: There is no site policy against using other languages in the chatterbox. But, what you need to keep in mind is that English is the most common language used in the chatterbox and many other chatters will have no clue what you are saying. Given that, it can be annoying to those chatters that do not understand your language. If you are talking to someone in there that can understand your language, great! If not and it starts to annoy other chatters (since basically you'd be talking to yourself in that language) you may be asked not to annoy others. So use your best judgment there.

• Question: Are religious debates allowed in the chatterbox?

  Answer: Yes, but these often become violent arguments, which will get you in trouble.

  While chatting about it can be enlightening and great to explore other religions or cultures, it is asked that you take them to personal IM or a group chat to discuss this topic.

• Question: How do I make the smileys (emoticons)?

  Answer: See one of these columns:

  http://allpoetry.com/column/306041 by Barbara

  http://allpoetry.com/poem/2344131 by Toni A Christman. They have all the smileys and are loads of fun!

• Question: How do I type with italics in the chatterbox?

  Answer : If you type /em a space and then what you wish to say, it will print it italicized in the chatterbox.

• Question: Why do some people get away with breaking the rules and others get banned from the chatterbox?

  Answer: Storywrite is a large community and site staff is constantly working to help someone somewhere. It is impossible for us to watch the chatterbox 24/7, though we certainly try to do so.

  There are times when we are helping someone and miss a post or two. We do not seek out trouble makers on the site and rely on EVERY poet here to help us keep Storywrite a nice, fun place to be. So if you happen to see an issue in the chatterbox (or elsewhere on the site) that you feel is inappropriate or breaking the rules PLEASE notify us immediately and we will address the situation as quickly as we can. You can use the ticket system or IM a moderator or Greeter that you see online if the issue is in the chatterbox or chatroom.

  We also ask that you please copy and paste the conversation in the ticket or IM. This will allow us to respond much more quickly.

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