Please read and familiarise yourself with these guidelines before you start posting content and comments on The Afterword.
These guidelines are largely adopted from the original WordMagazine.co.uk site.

Registering – go to the BLOG page and the link to register (allowing you to post and comment) is in the YELLOW box in the top left hand corner.

By having an active user account on theafterword.co.uk it is assumed that you agree to post within these guidelines. Account holders who breach the posting guidelines risk having their content edited or deleted, and having their accounts temporarily or permanently blocked. If you prefer un-moderated discussion please look elsewhere

The views and opinions expressed on this forum are strictly those of the authors. Any and all contents of this site have not necessarily been reviewed or approved by site administrators nor the forum moderators. If you see a post that you believe merits investigation, contact us.

The site is moderated by a team of volunteers. This is a very busy site and they may not track every post and thread 24 hours a day, so if you wish to bring something to the attention of a moderator please use the contact form but if possible please moderate yourself and encourage other members to do the same. While our guidelines attempt to cover most situations, we cannot anticipate all of them. There are times that content and behaviour are unacceptable, yet not be clearly spelled out. Mods reserve the right to make a judgment call into what is acceptable, and will take appropriate action as needed to deal with these situations.

All content posted is considered to be under public domain and freely available. As such, we will not delete any content whatsoever in order to “deactivate” an account, or under any other circumstances.

Posting Guidelines:

• We’re a community of many types of people, who all have the right to feel comfortable and who may not think what you think, believe what you believe or see what you see or share your sense of humour. Please keep things clean, friendly, and polite. Arguments do happen and the debate can get lively but please – Address the point, not the person.
• Any comment you make can easily be taken the wrong way. If in doubt, leave it out.
  If you do offend someone, whether intentional or not please consider apologising or at least clarify yourself if you believe you have been misunderstood. Consider using the private messaging facility to discuss one-to-one and resolve differences off-site.
• Use plain and proper English: this isn’t the place to impress with the size of your thesaurus, and plz, no txt spk or SHOUTING.
• Try and avoid double posting – it’s possible that the subject you’re covering or the site you’re linking to has been the subject of a previous entry. Use the search engine and, if necessary, try and take a new approach.
• Do not posts links to files or websites hosting malware or copyrighted material.
• Do not use the blog to promote your own commercial interests- but please use the Noticeboard facility to promote your band, your book, your website but please keep it reasonably relevant to this site.
• No spam. Spam and Spam Accounts will be deleted.
• No trolling – do not post controversial, offensive, inflammatory, sarcastic, irrelevant or off-topic messages with the primary intent of provoking other users into an emotional response, or post in a manner that may provoke the same.
• Do not feed the trolls or pick fights.
• Drawing attention to grammatical and spelling errors contained in others’ posts is considered bad form. We request that you refrain from doing so.
• This is an adult forum and ‘adult’ language will be used on occasion. However, please avoid gratuitously using the more extreme vernacular. Also, please use swear words in context, and not to attack or deliberately offend fellow posters. Equally, those who are easily offended by such language should recognise that this is an adult forum and that a degree of swearing (within the boundaries set out above) will be considered acceptable behaviour. Avoid swearing in post titles help us keep our feed SFW.
• Only one embedded video per post, please. Multiple instances of embedded videos slows down page loading times and pushes other content further down the page than it needs to be.
• Please be frugal with your blog entries. Unless you have something really important to say, multiple posts from a single author over a short space of time are not welcome.
• Do not post anything that is defamatory or potentially libellous. We will remove any such content. Similarly, do not post obscene, pornographic, racial or other discriminatory abuse or similar content, or links to such material; this will also be deleted from the site.
• Blog entries should be original, not lifted from other blogs or websites. Do not breach others’ copyright when posting material. If you’re referring to a news story on another website, don’t copy and paste the entire story, but use a link to the original webpage.
• Be thoughtful. Rather than just post a video without commentary, we’d prefer you to tell us why we should watch it, why it means something to you, why you want to share. Try not to post in a throwaway fashion. Try to have a point
• Posts that are written largely in jibberish or have no point will be deleted. Avoid in-jokes as posts
• No more than one account per user is permitted to avoid confusion and sock puppets. Just be yourself!
• If you have a problem with or a query about the site, a question about website moderation, or anything that might fall under the banner of “customer care“, please contact us direct – don’t post the details or your question on the blog.
• If you wish to complain or appeal against a moderation decision please contact us directly to resolve the matter directly with the moderators and administrators of this website rather than starting a thread about it.
• We do not, as a rule, cancel or delete user accounts. If you wish to stop using The Afterword please don’t log in, or if you prefer we can zap your password. Please note – content you post to The Afterword, including comments on other people’s blog posts, is the property of the site. Its removal can also remove content from others and will only be done in exceptional circumstances.
• Any personal data you enter or share onto this site is done so at your own risk.
• The Afterword is generally a lovely, safe place but remember that not everyone on the internet is who they say they are – don’t give more to another poster, either financially (in cash or gifts) or emotionally (in time or care and support) than you’d be prepared to lose if things went wrong. We strongly advise against parting with any cash or giving away your personal details, and if you receive a DM which makes you uneasy – report it to us and we’ll take a look.

Last Updated 25/04/21