Young Writers Society

For sometime now, you may have noticed new icons in the upper right hand corner of posts. One of these icons is a red exclamation mark. Clicking it will lead to a page where you can report that particular post.

When you report a post, the poster will not know that their post was reported. What happens is that post gets listed in the Moderator Control Panel along with your reason for reporting it. A JM or mod then looks at it and decides whether or not to pursue the matter further.

So far, not many people have used this new feature, and when they have, it's been for frankly pretty silly stuff. However, I would really like to see more people using it for several reasons:

1. Inappropriately Rated Works: If a story or poem has crude language, it needs to be rated at least 16+. If the crude language is particularly severe, 18+. As a user, you don't need to worry about whether it should be 16+ or 18+. But please point out when you think a work should get a higher rating.

2. Vulgar Language in Posts: Vulgar language in literature is okay on YWS as long as it's rated appropriately. However, we don't support vulgar language in posts. Please report posts if they have vulgar language.

3. Chatspeak or really bad grammar: We're a writing community so chatspeak isn't allowed (aside from smilies and common acronyms like 'lol'). In the same vein, we want all posts to be using decent grammar. Nobody expects anyone's grammar to be even close to perfect, but if you feel like stabbing your eyes out after reading a post, report it. Please note that this does not apply to literary works! For literary works, you can critique instead of report.

4. Bullying: Bullying can take on a number of different forms. On a website like YWS, it could be someone bullying a new member, or someone just acting like a jerk. Report the post if either is the case.

5. Uncomfortable with a post: If you're uncomfortable with the post, report it. Just keep in mind that only in rare instances have we done anything when someone feels uncomfortable because of a specific post. This is because it's usually over something like a difference in opinion.

6. Best Judgment: Always use your best judgment and common sense in reporting a post. If you think it should be reported, then do so even if it's for a different reason than the ones listed above.

Of course, when reporting a post, please be specific in your reasoning. We're not mind readers.

What about blog posts?

Blogs are unmoderated. Only if something is against the law (such as threatening bodily harm) should anyone report a blog.

Okie dokie! :P

I stumbled across this so I'm bumping/adding something else:

If there are instructions on illegal activity in a post, such as circumventing copyright on a site, report those posts.