Guidelines

Member Rules:

1. Members are allowed to have only one (1) account unless otherwise approved by Site Administrators. 
   • Authors with existing multiple Pen Names should use the "Contact Us" link at the bottom to discuss multiple accounts prior to attempting to make them.
   • We understand some authors wish to keep different Pen Names for different purposes to avoid upsetting audiences, and we can accommodate this.  Use "Contact Us" to discuss.
   • Please note that we do strongly recommend authors keep one writing name only so as to concentrate your audience.  Unless you are really prolific in your writing, separating works between different Pen Names will probably hurt you more than help.
2. Members should not allow others to use their accounts and, if they do, they will be held responsible if anything occurs.
3. Due to the inclusion of minors on this site, ALL members must have an accurate age range listed in their profile. 
   • This data is not visible publicly and will only be used for moderating the site.
4. The following applies to ALL areas of the site:
   1. Disruption of the Site: Posts or other behavior, which is either intended to, or has the effect of, disrupting the forums, the site, or the GA community, will not be tolerated. This includes but is not limited to posting in all caps, posting derogatory comments about religion or discussing politics outside of designated areas.
   2. Spamming: Spam will be removed, and the member responsible will be subject to disciplinary action. This includes the multiple posting of an identical or similar post on one or more of our Forums.
   3. Solicitation: Spamming the forums with repeated advertisements (posting the same notice/message/link in multiple forums for the sole purpose of advertising) is not allowed. Advertisement of for-profit sites including but not limited to pay-for-view story or pornographic sites will be removed and the member responsible subject to moderator action. Links to personal profit/fundraising sites (Patreon, GoFundMe, etc) are not permitted without prior approval except in the following locations:
      1. A link to Patreon/GoFundMe/Etc is allowed in your profile in the field designated for such.
         • Linking to GoFundMe campaigns for anything other than author- or book-related causes must be approved by site staff. 
      2. You are allowed to link to your Patreon/GoFundMe/Etc account in your Story Notes and Your Chapter End Notes.
      3. You are NOT allowed to hold stories on GA hostage.  Example "I will post a new chapter when I reach X goal."
      4. You are NOT allowed to post popular stories with links on GA then continue those series only on Patreon to higher level supporters after you gain an audience. 
   4. eBooks: We understand that authors wish to promote their eBooks on Gay Authors.  If you are an actively-posting author, you may:
      1. Post one link to your eBook in your signature.
      2. You may post a link to your eBook in your story notes and chapter end notes on your story.
      3. You are NOT allowed to hold your stories hostage.
      4. You are NOT allowed "bait and switch".  Example: Posting a handful of chapters and "Buy my eBook for the rest of the story" or publishing the earlier stories in a series then posting the later stories on GA. 
      5. Removing a posted story because you have had it published will prevent you from author promotion at Gay Authors.  If you are going to self-publish or submit your story for e-publishing, DO NOT POST IT AT ALL on Gay Authors.
      6. In some instances where publishing wasn't planned, authors may request a move of their content to our limited-subscriber Premium area, but this is handled as a case-by-case basis and is not guaranteed to be approved. 
   5. Harassment: Harassment will not be tolerated. Anything deemed as harassment will be removed, and the member responsible will be subject to disciplinary action as deemed appropriate by site management.
   6. Vulgarity and Sexual Explicitness: If you can't say it during prime time on network television or the radio, then don't post it here. Don't bother inserting ***s instead either. We want to keep the site clean, and there is little that vulgarity adds to the content anyway. Certain words on GA are automatically filtered to comply with advertising rules, so if you violate those guidelines, your post may require moderator review. 
   7. Post Content: Posts should be in English. Do not use all caps. Post links to articles, not the article itself. Highlight a small portion of someone's post and click "Quote This" to include a small chunk of their post.  Please do not fully quote an entire long post.
   8. Uploaded images or direct links cannot contain the following content:
      • Nudity
      • Strategically covered nudity (eg: arms and legs covering genitals or breasts)
      • Sheer or see-through clothing
      • Lewd or provocative poses
      • Close-ups of breasts (women), buttocks, or crotches
      • Partially clothed underage persons (below 18 years of age)
   9. Posts Compromising Member Privacy - Do not post private information about other members. This includes full names, places of employment or schooling, email addresses, street addresses, telephone numbers, etc.
   10. Copyright Violations:  Do NOT publish, post, distribute or disseminate any defamatory, infringing, obscene, indecent or unlawful material or information; upload or attach files that contain software or other material protected by intellectual property laws(or by rights of privacy) unless the user owns or controls the rights thereto or has received all necessary consents; upload or attach files that contain viruses, corrupted files, or any other similar software or programs that may damage the operation of another's computer; delete any author attributions, legal notices or proprietary designations or labels in any file that is uploaded; or falsify the origin or source of software or other material contained in a file that is uploaded. Finally, do not download any file posted by another user that the user knows, or reasonably should know, cannot be legally distributed in such manner. Translation: If it doesn't belong to you, DON'T post it without permission AND attribution (giving credit to where it is from). Do not pass along viruses and other bad things that harm computers.
5. Signature Rules:
   • Signatures must follow the system settings.  They are displayed for review where you create your signature.
   • Signatures should not have flashing or animated graphics that are distracting.
6. Gay Authors Stories Archive:
   • Members may, at any time, remove their selected, or collective, works without any further obligation to GayAuthors.org, its site management team, or its parent company CDEJR Web Services, LLC.  Note: Gay Authors reserves the right to maintain the story details in the system with a notification that the story has been removed including the author's reason.  This is to reduce site disruption because of a removed story.
   • Removing content you have posted will adversely affect your membership at Gay Authors unless it is replaced with content of equal or greater value.  This includes being barred from promotion on site up to and including the complete removal of all content.  Example, if you repeatedly post and then remove content, we will bar you from posting new content.  Gay Authors is intended for authors to post their work and leave in place for as long as Gay Authors exists.
   • Stories posted at GayAuthors.org:
     • Must not be solely adult in nature. All stories on GA must have a plot that exists beyond the sexual theme of the story. We recommend no more than 50% of the story be focused on sexual activities or themes.
     • Must have a minimum of 1000 (One Thousand) words to be listed as a story on its own. Flash Fiction, short stories, and/or poetry that do not meet the 1000 word minimum must be grouped into a story collection, by making use of the "Chapter" feature for individual short stories.
     • Must have characters that are of like age groups. A 15 and 18 year-old couple in high school are a like age group even if one is technically ‘overage’. A 13 and a 19 year-old couple are not like age groups. Minors and adults are NEVER like age groups.
     • Must not romanticize/sexualize children and preteens, or portray them in a light to appear sexually arousing to adults.
     • Must not contain necrophilia.
     • Any stories with these themes are subject to further moderator review and may be rejected: rape or sexual abuse for titillation, glorifying suicide or drug use, bestiality or cannibalism.
     • Containing any content such as drug use, abuse of any kind, incest, suicide, etc… allowed on the site MUST be properly rated, tagged, and include written warnings added to the story and/or chapter notes to warn readers of what will be included in the story so readers sensitive to these subjects will not be unaware of the story or chapter themes.
   • Stories that do not meet these requirements may be removed by Site Management.
   • Bait and Switch tactics are strictly forbidden.  Posting content on Gay Authors and then removing it for publishing is considered Bait and Switch.
   • The Story Archive offers multiple ways to enter data.  You are required to use each field as listed.  Chapter Notes go in the Chapter Note Box.  Chapter Title goes in the Chapter Title Box.  Chapter text is for chapter text ONLY.  Images, links to a photo gallery, etc, belong in Chapter Notes, Story Notes etc, and NOT in Chapter Text or Story Description. 
7. Using the Report Feature:
   • If at any time a member finds fault with a post or discovers something that may be against site rules, the member is expected to use the "Report" Feature.
   • This feature can be found on all pages of Gay Authors where members are allowed to post content.
   • The use of this feature will alert Forum Moderators and Site Administration to the potential issue.
   • Posting a response may potentially escalate the situation into more than it needs to be, so instead please use the report function. Failure to use this function and posting a response may result in member involvement in Moderator action which they were trying to avoid.
   • The report function acts like the emergency phone system, so please be careful not to file a false report.
8. Warning System
   • When a warning is issued, it is visible by the member until it is acknowledged. 
   • The warning system operates on a sliding scale of severity.  Several small incidents in a short time would have the same effect as one larger one. 
   • We use the warning system to give guidance to members about what is and is not acceptable in our community.
   • The site management team will never disclose any details of a disciplinary action without the prior consent of all parties involved. This includes all Site personnel, any complainants, witnesses, and the member with whom the disciplinary action was leveled against.
9. Rule Lawyering: Using published rules to attempt to escape and/or mitigate the final determination of the Site Moderation Team or Site Administrators is a violation of community standards and will not be considered a defense. GA management will always act to enforce the "Spirit of the Law".
10. CDEJR Web Services, LLC (GayAuthors.org site Management & Administration) retains the right to change and/or modify these Member Rules & Community Standards at any time without prior notification.

This copy of Site Guidelines & Community Standards--posted 3/3/2024 -- supersedes any previously posted or publicly available copies.