Category Headers

While most of the headers on the forums categories should be clear, I thought I'd get a jump on moderating things into the right 'new' places before a lot of assumptions are made and things end up needing a lot of movement.

The forums sections in the Classrooms category... are specifically for story feedback. Your response to the stories. These are for your reaction, praise of the author, and are most likely to include spoilers if  you haven't read the story yet. These sections/threads are NOT for character discussion, nor are they for questions about story elements, or speculation about where the story is going. They are specifically YOU telling the AUTHOR what you thought of the story (and hopefully thanking them for it).  Authors WILL be reading these threads to hear your responses to their work but it is up to the Author if they wish to respond. Negative posts that target the author will likely be moderated. Feedback about the stories! Not the author.

The Cottages categories are about character discussion. This is where you can start getting into discussions with other readers about the arc a character is going through or how they might evolve over time. Authors may or may not read these threads.

The Arena 99 sections are more targeted at details, understanding things that weren't clear in a story, and asking questions directly... and also speculation. They are labeled clearly as to the sort of thing each is used for; try to stick to that so we don't sow too much confusion by moving threads around.

If you wish to discuss the writing process... or engage in it yourself... the Workshop is where those threads belong.

I know it seems a bit OCD to have this level of breakdown... but it is valuable to be able to isolate what you don't want to read as much as  it is to be able to find what you want. Some authors want their feedback, but don't want to hear you discuss their characters in (wrong) levels of detail... or to hear the speculation on where you think the stories are going. Having those things separate on the forums will allow people to pick and choose the types of conversation and feedback about the stories that they choose to engage in.