Hello.  I was on WTA last night, on my mother's computer, and noticed that the 'Creative Writing' section was not there.  After about 10 minutes of looking, I finally signed in, and it was there.  When did this happen, and why?

I know it was not always like this, because the 'Uprising' thread is what got me interested in the forum, and caused me to join.  How could I have read it if I was not signed in?

Just curious, that's all.

Kaso

the creative writing thread is hidden to non-members because some of the guys (Khorne, or Zach Hill, author of gorgon, Corriea, or Larry Corriea, author of the autobiography Monster hunter international, and Matthew Mayner, author of magic ink.) actually publish their work.

That becomes difficult in that someone may not know they're going to publish before they write it.  This has actually been the case many times I think.

The problem comes in with stories that become traffic draws.  The author may run into issues with potential publishers and want it moved.  But if something is a draw, WTA obviously does not want to move that story out of public view.  Obviously this can create an issue between WTA and members.  Legally, while the author of a given post owns the intellectual content of the post, WTA owns the post itself and is not obligated to remove it from public view.

I think we'd rather not create this potential conflict with our members.  We're certainly taking a hit in drawing traffic by making the section private, but in comparison to the good relationship we want to have with our members, it's a no-brainer.  I think we'd rather be consistent.

Of course anyone wanting to post a story that is not members-only is free to do so in R&R.  Simply add a comment at the top that it's posted for public enjoyment or something of that nature so that a staff member does not absentmindedly move the post.


-T.