# Ask a Mentor



## J Anfinson

Here I’ve attempted to compile a list of frequently requested threads and articles, like Piglet’s Picks, but concerning the site and membership rather than writing. 

*Do you have a question that can't be answered by the links below? *
Post your question and a mentor will answer it.


*Frequently Asked Questions*

Why can’t I update my profile?
http://www.writingforums.com/threads/142314-No-access-to-profile

Fiction board and Prose Writer's Workshop: What's the difference?
http://www.writingforums.com/threads/131454-Is-it-better-to-post-in-Fiction-or-Writers-Workshop

Copyright Basics
http://www.writingforums.com/content/469-Copyright-Basics

*Critique*

How can I get a critique?
http://www.writingforums.com/threads/112002-Need-a-Critique?highlight=Need+a+Critique?

Reviewer’s handbook: A guide to critique
http://www.writingforums.com/content/5-Reviewers-Handbook

Poetry: On critiques and replies.
http://www.writingforums.com/threads/129717-On-critiques-and-replies

*Posting*

The dark art of posting.
http://www.writingforums.com/threads/127892-The-Dark-Art-Of-Posting

Stuff you may not know how to do on the forum.
http://www.writingforums.com/threads/125671-Stuff-You-May-Not-Know-How-To-Do

How to make symbols with a keyboard
http://www.writingforums.com/threads/138655-How-to-make-symbols-with-keyboard

WF BB Code List
http://www.writingforums.com/misc.php?do=bbcode

Having trouble pasting from Word?
http://www.writingforums.com/threads/137995-Having-trouble-with-formatting-when-posting

*Membership*

How do I subscribe to WF?
http://www.writingforums.com/payments.php

Titles and colors – A who’s what.
http://www.writingforums.com/content/473-Usergroup-Titles-and-Colours-a-Who-s-What

List of Awards
http://www.writingforums.com/awards.php

Writing Forums Guide
http://www.writingforums.com/threads/58662-Writing-Forums-Guide


----------



## Schrody

Great idea, J!


----------



## J Anfinson

*How to subscribe to a group*:

At the top of the group page there's a white bar with the group title. At the far right of that bar there's a button labeled, "Group Tools". Click on that and you'll see the option to subscribe to the group, which will cause new posts in that group to appear at the bottom of your subscribed threads page.


----------



## J Anfinson

*How to Link Your LM Workshop Entry *​(with thanks to Pluralized)


----------



## Phil Istine

It's difficult to know where to ask this one and how to phrase it.
I'll begin by stating that I'm not asking why someone was recently banned as I know what sort of answer I would (rightly) get.  However, I just want to ensure that I don't tread the same path.
*
So, is a failure to use multi-quote rather than single replies regarded as an infraction of the forum rules?*

I ask because a recently banned person was called on this, but the ban could easily have been for other reasons.
I also ask because I find multi-quote a bit unwieldy.

A yes or no to the emboldened question is sufficient.  However, if there are degrees of yes, a little extra info would be appreciated.
I just want to be clear that I'm not asking for details of a moderating decision.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Phil Istine said:


> * So, is a failure to use multi-quote rather than single replies regarded as an infraction of the forum rules?*



Normally, in of itself it's not a terrible problem. 

However, double/triple posting is considered bad forum etiquette internet-wide. 

Excerpt from the rules: *Quoting: * Quoting is encouraged, but please don't  quote 5 paragraphs and reply with one line. Quote just enough material  to show what you are replying to. If you are replying to more than one  post, do so within one reply post, and address each component of your  reply to the appropriate member. You can do this either by using the  multi-quote feature, or by copying and pasting individual quotes into  your reply post. 

If it is decided that multiple offenses of this are infraction worthy, than yes. 

But everyone is human of course, technology is confusing and this may not be obvious to new members. But someone who continues this behaviour over a long period of time, even after being directed to use this feature, could be ignoring staff, which is also in the rules. 

But yes, normally there is more than quoting involved in a ban.


----------



## Phil Istine

Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> But yes, normally there is more than quoting involved in a ban.



Thank you for clearing this up.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

I'm not sure which member you are referring to, Phil, but I can assure no one has even gotten so much as an infraction for not using multi-quote since I've been on the dark side. I will even venture to say there are some staff members who have yet to figure it out, so don't worry about walking on egg shells about it.

The reason we tend to make a big deal about it is that four of five straight posts from the same member can annoying and may unnecessarily clutter up the thread.

Anyway, if you don't how to use the multi-quote, you can check out this link here: http://www.writingforums.com/thread...ow-How-To-Do?p=1479186&viewfull=1#post1479186


----------



## Writer One

Concerning pictures, I do not know how to transfer a picture from my computer to you. Do you have different pictures I might use other than a blank picture. Any picture will do? Writer One


----------



## Cran

Writer One said:


> Concerning pictures, I do not know how to transfer a picture from my computer to you. Do you have different pictures I might use other than a blank picture. Any picture will do? Writer One


These options will become available to you once you have made your ten valid posts. You will be able to choose or upload your avatar and profile picture from your Settings (the link at the top right of your page, between My Profile and Log Out)



> *New Member FAQs
> *
> 
> *Q - I've just joined and I can't edit my profile/add a signature/fix my avatar. What should I do?*
> Like all sites of this type, we suffer attacks from spammers. Therefore,   it is necessary to become active on the site before some features are   available. New non-subscribing members will find that there are some   restrictions relating to user profiles, signatures and avatars,   messaging and posting new topics; these restrictions are temporary and   are lifted once ten (10) valid posts have been made. (Da Rules)


- *New Member FAQs*


----------



## JudyLea64

I seem to remember reading that fan fiction is not allowed, which I don't write anyway. My question is about using myths, fairy tales, folklore, etc. Can we post work based on these, or is that pretty much considered the same as fan fiction? Also what about certain types of historical fiction? Say I wanted to base a story on Jack the Ripper (which I wouldn't that's just the first example that came to mind). Thanks.


----------



## TJ1985

JudyLea64 said:


> I seem to remember reading that fan fiction is not allowed, which I don't write anyway. My question is about using myths, fairy tales, folklore, etc. Can we post work based on these, or is that pretty much considered the same as fan fiction? Also what about certain types of historical fiction? Say I wanted to base a story on Jack the Ripper (which I wouldn't that's just the first example that came to mind). Thanks.



I'm not a mentor but I can field this one. It's not about using a concept we didn't come up with, it's all concerning using a concept that is currently under copyright by someone who might want the forum to pony up money for "using" the name. Outside that, some people might want to sue the forum just because of some boloney "infringement". So, to cover the forum legally and protect it, fanfic is off the table. Doing a story about Jack's Bean Stalk or Jack the Ripper, I'm thinking that's fair use by now.


----------



## JudyLea64

That's what I assumed, but just wanted to be sure. Thank you.


----------



## bazz cargo

There are places for Fan Fic. There is a special reservation in the Tavern. There are Blogs that are only lightly modded. And there are groups that could be open or by invitation only if you wish.

Be aware, the Blogs are open to public scrutiny, if Uncle Walt wants to sue...


----------



## J Anfinson

JudyLea64 said:


> I seem to remember reading that fan fiction is not allowed, which I don't write anyway. My question is about using myths, fairy tales, folklore, etc. Can we post work based on these, or is that pretty much considered the same as fan fiction? Also what about certain types of historical fiction? Say I wanted to base a story on Jack the Ripper (which I wouldn't that's just the first example that came to mind). Thanks.



Fan fiction is not allowed on the main forums, however there has recently been created a space in the Motley Tavern where subscribers may post it. Unfortunately you do have to be a paid subscriber (or equivalent such as Veteran) in order to access the tavern.

Works that are no longer under copyright are fine as long as they're _clearly_ no longer under copyright. A good example of what I mean is Sherlock Holmes. Up until just a few months ago it was sketchy whether the copyright is expired due to (from my understanding) Doyle's use of the  character over such a long period. Some thought the copyright expiration should have been based on the first book instead of the last, and that is how the courts have decided it, by the first book if I recall correctly. So Sherlock is now completely in public domain.


----------



## Cran

JudyLea64 said:


> I seem to remember reading that fan fiction is not allowed, which I don't write anyway. My question is about using myths, fairy tales, folklore, etc. Can we post work based on these, or is that pretty much considered the same as fan fiction? Also what about certain types of historical fiction? Say I wanted to base a story on Jack the Ripper (which I wouldn't that's just the first example that came to mind). Thanks.


Using myths, fairy tales, folklore, etc, is legal and very common. 

Where people come unstuck is in using a particular representation of a myth, fairy tale, folklore, etc, that someone else has already used and published or produced within the past 70 years or so. So, you could write a tale about Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn having a gay time on a riverboat casino, but you should not base your Tom and Huck on the Disney portrayals of those characters. Or, you could write about the Norse god Thor having a sex change, but it had better not be anything like the Marvel remake of the character.


----------



## LeeC

There are also shades of intent in using bygone mythology. I might use an ancient tribal legend, noted as such, as a means of conveying an idea, regardless of where else it might have been "published" in the sense of recording it. On the other hand if I were to pass it off as a story I conceived, I would at a minimum be deceiving and in a sense plagiarizing. 

The point being that in conveying bygone mythology, one should acknowledge such so their intent is not misunderstood.


----------



## Otto Gramm

In Russia there's a site where one can store his writing works safely for the site grants a copyright sertification. Is there anything like that in US or UK sources? Thank you.


----------



## SueC

I found this for the states:

https://www.copyrighted.com/copyright-works

and this one from UK:

https://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/

Hope these help. I have no experience with either.


----------



## Olly Buckle

A while since this thread was used, I am simply posting so I will get notification if it gets further use.


----------



## clark

When I was a young and studiously naïve instructor at Simon Fraser U, I attended a senior colleague's lecture and jotted down some notes.  A few weeks later, in a lecture of my own, I quoted a couple of his remarks, acknowledging him by name. etc.  He heard about this and stormed into my office, mad as hell.  "Every word I say is implicitly COPYRIGHTED," he bellowed.  He said I had to get his _permission_ to use his words. He was writing a book, and the passages I had cited were to be part of it.  My carelessness had compromised the integrity of his upcoming textbook.  He was not mollified by my suggestion that it was somewhat unlikely my 18-year-old freshmen were going to dash our and publish papers on pre-Elizabethan Courtly love. Anyhoo, I checked it out, and lo and behold, he was correct.  Copyright is asserted in Canada rather more informally than elsewhere.  Mailing a Registered copy of your work to yourself, for example, and NOT opening it upon arrival is still upheld in court as "sufficient" proof of ownership of intellectual materials.  BUT it is still recommended  that you formally copyright in the regular manner.


----------



## sleepindawg

I'm trying to find an area where I might get some advice on character/species descriptions within the area of character development. Is there such an area here?


----------



## SueC

sleepindawg said:


> I'm trying to find an area where I might get some advice on character/species descriptions within the area of character development. Is there such an area here?



Hi Sleepindawg - nice to see you here. I don't really know of an area that would deal specifically with the type of descriptions you are looking for, so I would suggest you try beginning a discussion in Writing Discussions https://www.writingforums.com/forums/14-Writing-Discussion. Just type in what you are hoping to get advice on, and I'm sure there are several here who would like to help out. Good luck!


----------



## Olly Buckle

There is quite a bit on character development in writing discussion already, it might also be worth trying a few more specific search terms within it.


----------

