Site conduct
In order to provide a site that is supportive and functional, there are rules every member is required to follow. These rules cover requirements that we treat each narrative with respect by providing constructive criticism and refraining from insulting behavior, that we properly reference prior work and always refrain from stealing other ideas and attempting to pass them off as our own.
Consistent failure to act in a responsible and supportive manner will result in banning from this site. There are many other outlets for expressing negativity, please use one of those if you cannot abide by our rules.
The following sections explain member expectations and suggest practices which will help everyone explore both their ideas and strengths:
Referencing prior work
One important element of RT is that we identify prior media (literature, film, television, audio, images, etc…) that helped seed our ideas. The purpose of this is to identify other work that has stimulated our ideas in such a way that we are be able to build a visual connection of these ideas.
It might be that a single idea we develop a step further or two or more ideas we meld into something new. Examples might include:
• A single improvement on a well-known idea might include modifying Star Trek holodecks to be used to not only provide a rich, immersive environment, but to allow character’s perceptions to be altered such that they are able to appear, function and perceive as a betazoid or even a gaseous life form.
• Using two ideas, we might be influenced by both Star Trek and Avatar, taking Star Trek holodecks and crossing them with synthesized avatars, in which characters could go on missions or attend diplomatic functions while standing in the holodeck to view the environment in which their avatars are operating from the human viewpoint. Meanwhile, their avatars are on location, interacting with the unique species. Their human movements are trained to translate into proper alien movements and speech on the fly.
Referencing previous work posted on Regarding Tomorrow
Please provide a link to the story or stories on which you are building. Use this format: “Metal Dragons by Samual Smith” and make it into a link to the actual page on which the story is housed.
Referencing prior media (stories, articles, existing technologies, audio, TV, film, art, etc...)
For external links, please include the title, writer/director/creator, and year. Use this format: “Avatar, James Cameron, 2009” or “Diamond Age, Neal Stephenson, 1995” and link to any major page supporting the work. Good examples would include Wikipedia pages (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Diamond_Age) or the official home page (www.avatarmovie.com).
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is not condoned and will not be allowed by any site members. Anyone found to be plagiarizing another's work will be warned and if there is a repeat occurrence that person will be banned from the site. More info on plagiarism can be found at the following:
• Plaigarism.org - http://www.plagiarism.org/plag_article_what_is_plagiarism.html
• Writing Tutorial Services at Indiana University - http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml
1. There is no allowance to post work other than your own. This includes characters, fictional settings, the names of technologies or businesses, in any way that make it seem foundational to your story.
Ways to avoid this include:
- Refrain from common character names used in prior work (unless this is an open idea on our site). Duncan Idaho, Hiro Protagnost and Leeloo are off limits.
- Refrain from using ideas found in only a single piece of prior work. Lightsabers and quantum torpedoes are great examples of the type of weapon names you wouldn't use in your story. But, light swords and atomic torpedoes are used in other stories (Thundarr the Barbarian had a sun sword) and generic ideas can be reused. Fine to use common ideas, but please avoid fanboy usages. We are not hosting fan fiction on this site (see below for info on fan fiction).
What you can use:
- Real people as historical figures.
- Common terms.
- Give your tech a name of your own: the stealthy ninja torpedo.
- Parody seems to be allowed under current copyright rulings (linked to Stanford's Copyright and Fair Use website) I don't completely understand the law, but my practice is to reference just enough of the prior work to pull off the joke. Stanford has an excellent list of fair use cases with explanations.
My own examples (please feel free to send feedback or better examples):
Not okay: Data drew his phaser and told the computer to shut of life support.
Okay: His actions reminded me of Data, with the same jerky movement and monotone voice.
Not okay: Bob the Jedi drew his lightsaber and strode into battle.
Okay: Jerry drew his lightsaber and woke up (dream sequence).
Okay: We decided to go watch the latest Laura Skywalker movie, the 27th Star Wars film after Lucas' descendants sold the rights to the franchise.
Fan Fiction - "But it’s easier if I just use a well-known world/character/scene/etc…"
This is true, but using Boba Fett in your work is called fan fiction. Fan fiction has a range of legal entanglements and should not be posted on this site. For more information, Chilling Effects has a great FAQ on the subject.
There are myriad communities supporting fan fiction, please refer to those if you prefer that genre.
Supportive criticism
Everyone writes at a level based on his or her prior experience, education and influences. Experience and feedback are key to learning to become a better writer and to discover one’s own voice. Keep in mind some writers are very new to the process while others might be experienced or even formally trained or published. Criticism should always be presented clearly and respectfully to help the author continue to develop.
Good examples:
- I enjoyed the story, but found you switched from first person to third person at times. These changes of perspective often made me stop and think about who was the narrator, breaking my enjoyment of the story.
- Too many run on sentences.
- The writing was pretty good, but I wasn’t clear on the problem the protagonist was trying to overcome.
Unacceptable examples (which will not be tolerated):
- You suck.
- I don’t know why you bothered.
- Do you even speak English?
Criticism should help the author gain objectivity and develop a greater understanding of what it takes to tell a story well and to increase their knowledge of good writing techniques. If you wish to communicate dissatisfaction with a story, do so by voting low. And always try to provide feedback for all low marks.
Abusive statements
Aside from focusing on supportive criticism, there is no call for abuse on this site. Bullying, cursing, threatening, any form of abuse, is not an appropriate response to a statement that might differ from yours, including political and religious differences. If you feel someone has posted objectionable material (racist, demeaning, etc…), please contact the site admin at regardingtomorrow@gmail.com. Do not argue with other members through comment or forum threads.
- Read the section on stories to avoid for more clarification -
Banning
Any action, statement or otherwise which specifically puts this site or any of its members in harms way will result in banning from membership or access to the material contained within.
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