Playing in Someone Else's Sandbox: Posting and Post-Posting Dos and Don'ts

[dragonbat2006]

Proper Netiquette at a Glance

We’ve already touched on a few of these, but sometimes it’s helpful to have it all in front of you for quick reference.

Do	Don't
Review your fan-fiction before and after posting.	Blame your beta-reader publicly for not catching errors. If you feel that your beta isn't doing a good job, then find someone new, but don't air your dirty laundry in public.
Remember to add a disclaimer.	Lift passages from already-published work (canon or fan-fiction) without proper attribution.
Thank your betas and anyone else who may have helped you with your fan-fiction.	Use your summary space to say "Sorry, I'm bad at summaries," or "I wrote this at 2 AM on a sugar high." Your summary space is for summaries. Period.
Include trigger, squick, and spoiler warnings as needed(or state that you are opting not to warn.)	Charge money for fan-fiction—particularly if it’s not in the public domain.
Post your story to multiple archives, so long as your content meets the archive's posting requirements. (No Alice/Bob to an Alice/Carol site. No platonic action/adventure to a romance site.)	Lose hope if it seems like nobody is reading your work. Some readers wait until a story is finished before giving feedback. Others feel awkward just saying "Good job," or "Please update soon," without going into details.
Remember that not every question is a criticism.	Be afraid to state that you don’t want criticism, if you’d rather not receive any.
Remember that not all feedback comes in the form of reviews. Check to see whether your readership spikes on older stories when you post something new (an indication that someone liked your work enough to search for other stories that you have written in the past), whether you have been added to "favorite author" or "favorite story" lists, etc. "Likes" and "kudos" count too!	Hold your story hostage for feedback. (I.E. Don’t refuse to post a new chapter until you receive a certain number of reviews.)
Accept that not all reviews will necessarily be positive.	Flame other people’s stories. And if they’ve said that they don’t want constructive criticism, respect that.
Post feedback on other people’s stories, especially if it’s positive. No, you don't have to. It's still appreciated.	Forward an unsolicited copy of your story to the copyright owner, author, or actors who portray your favorite characters. This is particularly true if your story is pornographic in nature. This is even truer if you are writing RPF porn!
Remember that sometimes people can be a little strange, and that you may occasionally receive a review that makes no sense to you. Laugh and let it go.	Let negative feedback turn you off from writing.