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Submitting a post to the Worldbuilding Group |
What is the process for submitting something for a post?
Basically you just write something up in a semi-coherent manner and post it to the group. Other list members will then comment/critique/add to/etc. your post. After some indeterminate period of this (and possibly several rewrites and reposting) the final version will be sent over to Alan Kazlev (the list owner) for eventual inclusion on the main OA site. To keep things reasonably orderly we do have a few basic guidelines. In no particular order they are:
1) Try to use relevant headers: In the Netiquette page on the main site there is a list of topic headers. Please note that you are not required to know or use all the possible headers listed. Most list members only bother to concern themselves with a few of the most commonly used. Generally these are:
<EG>: A post intended to be a submission into the venerable Encyclopedia Galactica. Shoorter posts go on the alphabetical pages; Longer posts are gven their own page under specific topics. Preferably, these posts should be written in a style similar to a real encyclopedia (dates/places included/often in third person or passive voice etc.) Check out the EG or knowledgebase topics for examples.
<Worlds>: A new world or habitat or place to be added to the OA universe. These are generally longer posts and, while preferably on the formal side, are probably more flexible in this regard then an EG entry.
<Link>: A post including a link to another website or online resource relevant to the OA project.
<OT>: Off-topic posts. This may be humor, a random thought or whatever. Please keep these to a minimum whenever possible. They pop up now and then and can be fun, but we like to keep the focus of the list on worldbuilding and the OA project.
<OA>: A general post to the group about some aspect of OA. May be an addition/suggested change/hard to quantify thing relating to the site and/or the setting. Example might be a proposed new social phenomenon, fad, fashion, pet, person, etc. Pretty much anything pertaining to the site that isnt covered by the others above.
Simply posting something to the site without a header at all if it doesnt easily fit into any obvious category or making up your own (reasonably easy to understand) header are also acceptable. Even posting something that would obviously fit with a common header wont get you in trouble although if you do it often enough a moderator may post a friendly reminder:)
2) Please familiarize yourself with the site if you havent already before posting major contributions. This is covered on the netiquette pages in some detail, but basically it helps to have an idea of whether or not something is already included on the site (and our take on it) before posting a long essay on the same topic.
If your post is a general idea for inclusion in OA, whether a new from the ground up idea or an addition/variation on something existing you would probably prefer (and we certainly would prefer) that our first response is not 'oh, we have that already, its located here'.
We dont expect you to know everything there is to know about the OA universe before posting and missing something and posting about it is not a huge deal. But its much more fun to start working out the kinks on an idea and figuring out how to incorporate it rather then just point out where it already is.
3) Don't be afraid to ask questions, but please check the site first. Being new to the site, questions are perfectly normal and to be expected. But please take a shot at researching the site for the answer first. We have the EG, a search engine, and a fairly extensive topic listing so a lot of areas can be checked fairly easily. If you've checked and either cant find or dont understand/agree with the answer, then feel free to ask away.
4) Finally, please take time to read thru the Netiquette and Parameters/Canon pages. They are a bit long but provide a detailed picture of what we are and aren't on about here.
The process now in place for getting a piece on the site is as follows:
1) You post a draft on the site. Wait for suggestions, criticisms, etc.
2) Post another draft, taking into account any discussion of the previous draft.
3) Repeat steps 1 and 2 until the worldbuilding group appears to be satisfied.
4) Post one last time, with the subject <EG: Ready for Edit>
5) Wait at least 1 week for last minute objections, suggestions and corrections to dribble in.
6) Once things have finally settled, copy the file into the Submissions folder on the OA worldbuilder's egroup.
7) When a member of the editing team picks up the piece, that member will either erase it from the folder at the same time (if he is also a moderator) or ask you to remove it yourself. Once it's been edited (possibly this will involve a final consultation with you) it gets sent to Alan (webmaster).
Some people submitted items before this system was in place. If your piece hasn't yet appeared on the OA site, and already went through steps 1 to 4 above, you should put a copy of your final draft in the Submissions folder. That means an editor will surely get to it sooner or later. We've been working more or less in chronological order, from the oldest submissions in the folder to the youngest. Some of the editors have been hunting down earlier submissions and editing them, but that is a tedious process, and we may miss something.
In short, if your piece has passed muster with the worldbuilding group, and you haven't seen it yet on the OA site, please put a copy of your final draft in the Submissions folder!
Related Pages:
How to Contribute - FAQs page - Participating and Contributing.
Contributing - contributing to various OA forums
