I thought I'd toss this up here since I've noticed a few people seem confused about journals and where to put commentary.
Some of you are new to journal writing and some of you want to share how you feel about the journal. That's great! WE all
adore feedback and it all gives us warm fuzzies knowing that there's people out there actually reading.
I thought I'd put up some ideas on where to put your commentary in case you're confused as to where to put it.
1. Journal commentaries go in the COMMENT section.
Commentary can be posted here. Just find the appropriate section to comment on and have fun! If you can't find a commentary for stories or journals
create a new one. But ONLY if you are positive one does not exist already.
2. IC/OOC Just because someone talks bad about your character in a journal doesn't mean that is how they really feel. Don't get horribly upset if someone calls your character bad or insults them. It's just how it goes. Not everyone ICly gets along and nobody should ever use their journal to OOCly harass anyone.
3. MOST journals cannot be taken IC. Usually a person with a journal has a disclaimer stating on page 1 what you cannot or can do
with their journal. Please respect their wishes and do not take anything IC without their consent first.
4. Not all journal entries are accurate. They're from a persons in character point of view. So if they say George was wearing a blue
sweater and it was actually red, don't panic. The character may have just gotten it wrong, or maybe they're color blind. Remember
the journal doesn't have to be 100% accurate.
5. Discussion in the journal commentary section is encouraged but lets try not to turn it into a flame war on something. If there's something you can't or don't agree with, then take it to PMs. If you can't figure out how to PM, Aphrodite posted a wonderful tutorial in General discussion.
I provided a link just for those who may be confused.6 Please keep in mind that the journals are peoples personal thoughts and ideas. This is their creativity flowing and if anything artistic. Don't harass, bash or belittle someone for their ideas and thoughts they write down. If you don't agree with their journal, then don't read it. Simple as that. If the content upsets you, then don't read it. Nobody is forcing you to and the community doesn't want to see you soapboxing how you thought a certain persons journal was awful and full of horrid bad things that good moral people should never be subjected to.
7. On the thought of morals and all that stuff: if you really feel that your journal might be too *gasp* daring for normal readers, then toss up a disclaimer. Throw it in big bright letters because we all know we're attracted to that sort of thing. If it contains sexual situations, nudity or maybe cooking bacon in nothing but a thong, let the reader know you might be treading into dangerous waters and steer clear if that's not their thing.
8. Please make sure when writing a story you have the persons permission or they have posted in the character permission page that their characters can be used. Do not just write about someone without their permission.
I really hope this is helpful and will clarify just what one should do with journals and where to post their commentary. I avoided writing something like this for a long time, but with all the new guys showing up, I felt maybe it'd be nice to have a nice little guide for those who are delving into the life of journal writing.
If anyone has anything to add, please feel free. Or if anyone feels this wasn't necessary, pm me and tell me I suck. But leave cookies. I love cookies.
These rules are subject to change as new things come up.
