Our Policy for Forum Contests

Policy boils down to this:
If you cheat, you are blacklisted.

The forum contests are run for the users of the site. When you cheat by stealing the intellectual property of other people, plagiarizing, or voting using multiple accounts, you are not just ruining the contests for the people who run them. You are ruining the contests for everybody who is participating. We are harsh, but if so it is only because by cheating you are effectively griefing every other contestant, as well as the crews who operate each contest.
Prohibitions:

  • Plagiarism - stealing, copying, or otherwise using intellectual property/creative material that is not your own without the express permission of its original creator.
  • Voting more than once - using multiple user-accounts on the site (where applicable).
  • Attempting to influence judges - via persuasion, coercion, bribery, or any other means.
Rules of Conduct:

  • Do not bring up personal suspicions or allegations of cheating in any part of the forum. Send a private message to the contest mod, @Frizan. Present them with your evidence and they will conduct a full investigation, and will handle all official announcements regarding offending posters and instances of cheating.
  • Always credit the original creator of any works, settings, or characters you make use of that are not yours. When crediting fanfiction, credit both it and any sources credited by the author.
  • The burden of proof rests with you to establish that sufficient original effort was employed in any work you submit.
  • Do not attack, grief, troll, or otherwise harass any individuals who have been blacklisted. They may be barred from contests but they are still protected by the Fundamental Rules of the Guild.

Moderator Authority:

  • We permanently blacklist you for the first offense no matter what, but may enact harsher punishments at our own discretion. Do not give us cause to do so.
  • If you attempt to join a forum contest after being blacklisted, you will be banned from the forum. Attempting to enter forum contests under alternate accounts counts. Ban duration and conditions are left entirely to the discretion of the Contest Moderators.
  • Mods' word is final. If we clear a user of wrongdoing, they are CLEAR. If we find them guilty, we are certain. We will explain our reasoning, we will present all evidence used to establish that reasoning, but we will not broker negotiation or plea bargains.
  • We reserve the right to investigate any and every contestant who submits an entry to a contest, regardless of their being reported or suspected of cheating. If we find evidence to suggest you have cheated, we will directly contact you in order to give you a chance to explain yourself before making any announcements or declarations.