Hi, 1. What are the requirements before I can write a blog? 2. Can I write explanations for my works in my blog? 3. Is there a time limit for a work after which it should not be reviewed (e.g. to avoid necroing/bumping old threads)? I am asking this question because I have the tendency to review threads with very little or no reviews. Thanks.
Deliberate thread bumping is frowned upon, accidental is ok, but it won't help the poster very much if it was a long time ago and they left the forum in the meantime. You can write explanations in your blog, but I am not sure of the requirement. It might be the same as for the workshop (2 weeks and then you have full access), but other members can probably give you a more accurate answer. And welcome to the forum, and thank you for being so helpful to me in your feedback
Ah I see, thanks for the information and the kind welcome. I also just realize that I may have been under suspicion due to my join date, so better give a little explanation here. I registered long a go with the intention of submitting my short story to be reviewed but was straight away discouraged by the 14 days rule, I left instantly. Recently, emails from this forum arrived several times in my mailbox and they pique my interest once more. Coincidentally, I have a piece of short poem I like to submit for reviewing so I was thinking; why not? And here I am. Which brings me to another question just for confirmation since I was totally inactive before; 4. Have I fulfilled the 14 days rule?
None that I know of. Yes. No (unless the mods have a different philosophy about this). Critiquing other members' work also helps you, the person giving the critique, improve. So go for it. Yes, although there are other rules that must be followed (need a minimum of 20 posts and have to review at least 2 pieces before posting your own). Take a look at the forum rules for more details.
One of the things I really like about this forum is its emphasis on unselfishness. This is down to a large extent to the moderators, who insist that people can't just turn up, say hi, post a piece for review, say thanks and disappear. You are expected to wait 14 days, make at least 20 useful posts and critique at least 2 pieces before posting your own. But it doesn't stop there. You are expected to make at least 2 critiques for EVERY piece you post afterwards as well! I totally support this. It's what makes this forum both useful and fun. And what's more, you get to 'know' the other members after a while, and the interaction becomes more personal and friendly (in most cases!) than other online forums I've visited. All in all, this forum is a good place to be.
Worry not, I wasn't complaining about the rule and I fully agree with you. My thought got mixed up while multitasking several sites and ended up explaining unnecessary thing at the wrong place. It's quite embarrassing.
I'll have to check to be certain, but unless I'm mistaken, "New Members" can't post in the blogs. This is similar to the 14 day/20 post limit. This is because we've had problems with blog spam in the past. You should still be able to comment on blogs in the meantime. Absolutely. There isn't an official time limit where you shouldn't respond to threads. Just use common sense. Don't "bump" threads just to bump them, but you can reply to threads weeks old and months are probably okay depending on the topic, but if it's several months or years old, don't. If we're talking about reviews specifically, avoid reviewing threads where the author isn't around any more or if it just seems to old. We do encourage you to review threads without prior reviews, however. Love to hear the positive feedback! I think most people like this system as well, and it's something I'm rather proud of.
