COMMUNITY GUIDELINES

If you would like to start a blog at howdoyouspell.cool, please reach out to the admin directly on Mastodon or via email at f0rrest@protonmail.com (don't worry, he's nice – usually). Please take a moment to read our privacy standards and review the sections below before joining.

If you have already created a blog, check out our getting started page for guidance on formatting and other nuances.

ETHOS

howdoyouspell.cool is a community of writers who value privacy, autonomy, and creative writing – and, most importantly, we reject corporate interests and monetary incentives. We aim to be a no-pressure, polite community from all walks of life, away from the ten-thousand-word user agreements of corporate-controlled platforms. If you consider yourself even the most amateur of writers, you’re welcome here. Too often, writers leave their work languishing in a folder somewhere – this community aims to change that by providing a safe space for expression without fear of ridicule or some big-word conglomerate stealing your words to power a fake-sentient SQL table.

CORE TENETS

Our core tenets include: cool is subjective, endless introspection, fearless expression, money corrupts without exception, and the golden rule is the closest you’re going to get to perfection.

Anything goes: poetry, prose, music reviews, essays, movie critiques, research papers, video game analysis, lyrics, entire novels, short stories, play scripts – I could keep going, but I think you get the point. We only ask that you treat your blog as a creative effort, not a microblog – and that, on top of the golden rule, you try to follow the community guidelines below.

CONSIDERATIONS BEFORE JOINING

  1. Write Freely does not have “commenting” functionality.
  2. Write Freely does not have “like” functionality.

COMMUNITY GUIDELINES

1. Nazi Punks Fuck Off

Definition: Zero-tolerance policy for hate speech. You don’t need to be on the left side of the political spectrum to join this community – you just can’t be a racist moron; unfortunately, it just so happens that those on the right side of the political spectrum are more likely to be racist morons, but that’s not our fault.

Basic examples:

  1. Sarah wants to be referred to by she/her pronouns, but you continue to refer to her as he/him.
  2. You used a slur outside of a specific literary context (for the sake of being offensive, most likely).

Advanced examples:

  1. You wrote an article outlining how different “races” are better at different things and you referenced The Bell Curve to support your thesis.
  2. “Great replacement” mentioned.
  3. “Mental illness should not be supported.”
  4. “The 14 words.”
  5. “I'm just asking questions.”
  6. You seem very concerned about “white genocide.”

Reasoning: We aim to build an inclusive community that accepts all people; bigoted rhetoric runs counter to this goal. As such, I (forrest: the admin) will delete your blog even if I suspect that you’re vaguely dog whistling.

(Note: I value freedom of speech more than most on the so-called “left,” and I consider myself lenient when it comes to interpreting one’s intent; therefore, if I ban you and cite this rule, I likely have a text document saved on my PC outlining my reasoning with several examples. Don’t test me. I lived through the meme wars; I even participated. I have seen it all.)

2. This Is Not Your Advertising Platform

Definition: It’s right there in the ethos section: “we reject money.” Your blog should not exist to promote a product – or even yourself as the product, such as a “cult of personality” beyond the standard egotism common to all artists. You can link to outside free sources and even to your other free personal projects (if they're related to your writing), but your entire blog cannot be the promotion of such material (hell, even 25% of your blog should not be this type of material). If you operate more as a storefront than as an actual human, you will find yourself without a home here. This includes crypto/NFT garbage.

Basic examples:

  1. You published an article linking to your patreon.
  2. You published an article linking to a site selling some clothing you made.

Advanced examples:

  1. The majority of your articles link to outside sites that contain other projects that have nothing to do with your writing here.
  2. Your blog seems to exist only to promote your Twitch channel.
  3. Your blog seems to exist only to promote your DeviantArt.
  4. You constantly post pictures of yourself without any literary content supporting it. (Cult of personality clause.)

Reasoning: This is a writing community, not a street corner. We aim to foster a community for those who love writing, not sleazy businesspeople. This rule will be strictly enforced.

3. This Is Not a Microblog

Definition: This rule will be the most controversial, but we feel it's important. The essence of this rule is “no low-effort posting.” Your blog should not be treated like a Twitter or Mastodon account. Your posts should have something more substantial to say than what you ate for breakfast or what your favorite song is. Instead, consider: “Here is a poem about what I ate for breakfast” or “This song is special because it makes me feel a certain way, and [this] is why.” While this may seem like we're imposing draconian standards on your writing (which we kinda are), we have to draw the line somewhere to prevent this community from becoming an engagement farm, ie: Reddit, Twitter, Instagram, Mastodon, etc.

Examples:

  1. posting a video/photo of something you own without anything accompanying it
  2. “check out my new video game haul!”
  3. “What’s your favorite tv show?”
  4. “Does anyone else …”
  5. posting game/movie/tv-show screenshots without anything constructive or interesting accompanying it.

Reasoning: There is a time and place for like-farming, and this is neither the time nor the place. You will notice this service does not even provide the option to “like” something at all. In order to preserve the purity of this community – a community of writers who take their writing seriously as an art form and/or tool for change – this type of microblog “content” (yes, the dreaded word: “content,” because that’s what low-effort posting amounts to) is expressly forbidden.

4. Original Material Only

Definition: Posting of work that you did not create is not permitted. This includes reposting someone else’s short stories, poetry, essays, etc. This clause also covers AI-generated content; while we can’t 100% prove that you’re using AI, if there is enough reason to believe that you are then we reserve the right to remove your “content.”

(Note: You can copy/paste someone’s poem, cite the author, and then write an analysis of said poem; however, you cannot JUST post the poem and nothing else. Your blog posts must contain original material.)

Basic example: copy/pasting someone else's work without accompanying analysis.

Advanced Example: “Friends is well-loved for its relatable characters, timeless humor, and the depiction of strong, enduring friendships. The show's central group—Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe—resonates with audiences due to their distinct yet complementary personalities and the authentic, often humorous, situations they navigate together. The writing captures everyday life and relationships in a way that feels both familiar and comforting, making it easy for viewers to connect with the characters and their experiences. Moreover, the show's balance of comedy and heartfelt moments, combined with its memorable catchphrases and iconic scenes, has cemented its status as a beloved classic that continues to attract new fans even years after its original run.” (If it's not obvious — this is an example of the type of sterile prose that an AI spits out.)

Reasoning: We value human creativity – your human creativity! Not someone else’s. We especially don’t value the creativity of robots who have appropriated someone else’s work through nefarious ways that should be illegal.

5. NSFW

Definition: Explicit sexual or violent writing is allowed, but images are not. If the piece of writing is only violent or sexual in nature (not part of a broader story or work, for example), the piece should be tagged as NSFW at the top of the post.

Reasoning: We don't want to stifle creativity, but we also don't want this community to become a porn/snuff site (hence the banning of explicit images). The NSFW-tag requirement is for public blogs since their posts are viewable in the reader, and we want people to know what they're getting into before they click on a publicly shared post.