Melrick

Many writers include author's notes - myself included - which are good ways to impart information that you feel is important for the reader to know, either before they've read the story or chapter, or after it. But some people take it to extremes, so we do have rules on them.
Stories are restricted to 600 word author notes per chapter, which should be more than enough. What is not included in that word count, though, is disclaimers or additional story tags.
Author note chapters are expressly forbidden. Just to explain further, some people will upload a chapter which is made up entirely of author's notes and contains no story at all. People often do this so they can reply to reviews that people have left. This is also not allowed. If you wish to reply to reviews then you can set up a review reply topic in this forum. You can find more information on how to do that here.

How do I reply to reviews?
So, you've written your magnum opus, uploaded it to the AFF archive and, lo and behold, you get a review! Fantastic! You'd like to thank them for their review, or perhaps to answer a question they've asked. How? Do you just leave a review to your own story?
No, you don't. The review section of the archive is there solely for genuine reviews only. But there must be a way for you to reply? And There is! All you have to do is to click here to read the rules of how to set-up a review reply forum.

How do I add a chapter to my story?
Ensure you're logged in to the archive.  Then click the three lines on the upper left corner, as per below.  A drop-down menu will appear.  Click Archives.  Another drop-down menu will appear.
  Find the subdomain that contains your story and click on the green icon to the right of that subdomain name.  For example, if your story is a Harry Potter story then find “Harry Potter” and click on the green icon next to that subdomain.
 
A new screen will load showing you all the stories you've uploaded to that category. Find the story that you wish to upload a new chapter to.
 
Next to each story, you'll see a few buttons, including one that says “Add Chapter”. Click on that.
  A new screen loads to enable you to write or copy and paste your story into the box provided. As ever, you should always check over it to ensure all the formatting is correct. If it is then all that remains to be done is to, firstly, ensure you gave your new chapter a name and then click “Post New Chapter” and you're done!

How do I edit my story info?
Do you want to rewrite a story summary? Fix up the disclaimer? Perhaps add some more content tags? There's an easy way to do it. Just follow these steps:
Ensure you're logged in to the archive.  Then click the three bars at the upper left corner of the home page.  A drop-down menu will appear.  Click the link for ARCHIVES.  Another drop-down menu will appear.  
Find the subdomain that contains your story and click on the green icon to the right of the subdomain name.  For example, if your story is a Harry Potter story then find “Harry Potter Story Manager” and click on that green icon.
A new screen will load showing you all the stories you've uploaded to that category. Find the story that you wish to edit.
 
You'll see a few buttons for each story, including one that says “Edit Story Info”. Click on that button. From there, you'll be able to edit all the info you wish. When you're done, click the “Edit Story” button down the bottom and you're done! NOTE: Let's say you upload a story to the "Original" category, and placed it in the "Erotica > General" subdomain, but as the story has progressed, you realise that it's actually more of a horror, then you can also change the subdomain for your story here. Where it says "Category", click on the drop-down box and select the most appropriate subdomain for your story. Remember, though, if you uploaded your story into the incorrect category (for example, a Harry Potter story into the Original category) then you'll need to contact an admin to get that sorted out; you can't change that yourself.

How do I edit or delete a chapter?
The processes are very similar. I'll first show you how to edit a chapter. Steps 1 through 3 are identical for both.
Editing a Chapter
Ensure you're logged in to the archive.  Then click the three bars, as per below.  A drop-down menu will appear.  Select Archives and go the the subdomain where your story is published.
Find the subdomain that contains your story and click on the green icon next to that subdomain.  For example, if your story is a Harry Potter story then find “Harry Potter” and click on that icon.
 
A new screen will load showing you all the stories you've uploaded to that category. Find the story that you wish to edit.
Beneath the “Edit Story Info” button will be a drop-down box. If your story has multiple chapters, then clicking on this will drop-down a box showing all your chapters. If you wish to edit the chapter, first select the appropriate one. To the right of that, you should see another drop-down box with the word “Edit” in it. If it says “Delete” then select “Edit” from the dropdown. Click the “Go!” button to the right of that. A new page will load which will enable you to edit the story as you wish. Click the “Edit Chapter” button when you're finished. Deleting a chapter
Firstly, follow steps 1 through 3 as above.
As above, select the appropriate chapter that you wish to delete.  With that selected, click the drop-down box to the right of that where it should say “Edit”. Select “Delete” instead. Now click the “Go!” button. Now pray that you've got your story backed up onto your computer because you just realised you deleted the wrong chapter. 😉 Deleting the entire story
Follow steps 1 through 3 as above.
To the right of the “Edit Story Info” button is a button that says “Delete Story”.  Clicking on this will enable you to delete the entire story.

How do I upload a story in the archive?
The first thing you need to do is to ensure you're logged in as per the picture below:
 
Click the option in the dropdown menu for Archives and a list of subdomains will appear. Find the subdomain that’s appropriate for your story (e.g. Harry Potter, or Originals) and click on the little green page icon to the right of the subdomain name.  If you’re not sure where your story should be uploaded, look through the archive for your fan fiction and see where it’s uploaded.  If you’re still not sure then don’t hesitate to ask a mod on the forum for help.  Always make sure you’re uploading it to the correct subdomain before you upload it though!
 
When you click on the icon to the right of the subdomain you want, it’ll take you to a new page. 
 
On the next page, you’ll first have to enter all the relevant information regarding your story, such as title, summary, disclaimer, etc, as well as content tags.  It is very important that you choose all the appropriate tags relevant to your story.  Click that field to open a dropdown with checkboxes for each tag. Failure to include tags will warrant a warning from a mod, and failure to correct it will cause your story to be hidden or removed.
 
Towards the bottom of the page is where you’ll enter your story, usually be copying it from your word processing software and pasting it into the box provided.  It’s always a good idea to go over it to ensure the formatting is correct.
If all is good then click the “Post New Story” button.  And there you have it!

Short answer: NO.
Long answer: Some people like to communicate with reviewers of their own stories by leaving their own reviews in response. Some people like to carry on arguments with negative reviewers of their own stories. Some people like to make comments in their own reviews to artificially inflate their review count. Whatever the reason, we don't allow it, and will actively delete them. Continued breaches of our Terms of Service may get you banned. If you wish to communicate with specific reviewers then either email them, or if that's not possible, make a short author's note at the beginning or end of a chapter to address them. Do not create a separate chapter just for review replies.
The reason is two fold: One; we want the review section to be purely about reviews, and nothing else. And Two, it's an unnecessary waste of bandwidth, something that's extremely important with a website that is entirely free to you, but definitely not for us.
Is there anything else you can do to communicate with your reviewers? Well yes, yes there is! It's the very thing you're looking at right now: the forum. Here's what you can do...
Okay, let's say you wrote an Original story. Firstly, you would find the "Fan Fiction" subforum. Find the "All Other Archive Categories" subforum. Click on the "Original Writing" subforum, then select "General". Then you click on the "Start New Topic" button near the top right. For "Topic Title" you could write the exact name of your story and indicate that it's for review replies (e.g., Review Replies for "Story Name"). Then you would start it off by perhaps introducing your story, leaving a summary (just to be sure visitors know it's for the correct story), any other info you want to include, a link to your story on the archive, and encourage people to comment. Make sure you don't include spoilers for your story! Finally, regarding your actual story in the archive, include an "author's note" at the end of the story/chapter, encouraging people to go there to comment, making SURE you include a link directly to it in the forum.
And if you didn't write an Original story? Once you're in the "Fan Fiction" subforum, just look around until you find your fandom. As always, if you're unsure then simply ask a forum mod.

Short answer: NO. This is considered unauthorised advertising and is against site rules.

Whether the pay site is yours or someone else's, we don't allow links to them within stories uploaded to the archive. Links to personal websites are permissible, but really should be included on your profile, not in a story. If you wish to advertise on the site then there is more information here. If further information is needed then feel free to contact an admin.

Please don't use great long signatures in the forum. Some people love to put their favourite quotes, favourite stories, favourite fandom, favourite belly button lint colour, all in the signature... this can easily get out of hand. Keep your messages short. And if you wish to display a picture in the signature, one picture is preferable, and make sure that it is small. You should also be aware that sometimes when you place a picture in the signature, you think it's going to appear small, but in reality appears full size; always double check how your signature looks after changing it.
There's no hard and fast rule as far as to size and dimensions regarding pictures in signatures, it's mainly a matter of common sense; simply choose a small picture, and if there's any problem with it for any reason then you'll be notified of it. Oh, and keep in mind that if the picture is deemed offensive for any reason then it'll be removed, regardless of the size, with a warning not to use a picture like that again.
Many people dislike huge signatures, and if your signature is deemed annoying for whatever reason then you'll be asked to change it. If you don't then we'll change it for you, with a warning. People are here to read topics, not signatures.

Yes and no.  Pictures can only be uploaded to the Art Room forum – which is member’s only access – and then only of the drawn or digital variety; i.e., no photographs of real people.  And no photo manipulations of any kind.  Any pictures uploaded to any other forums will be deleted.  Also, no pornographic pictures beyond mild nudity will be allowed to be used in your Signature, Cover Photo or Profile Picture.
So, why have we decided to do this?  Well, firstly, this site always has been and always will be primarily about written smut, not smutty pictures.  But perhaps the main reason is that different countries have different laws about what’s illegal visually and what isn’t, and we want to make it as difficult as possible for people to accidentally stumble on pictures that would be considered illegal in their country.
Outside of the Art Room forum, you can provide a link to a picture hosted elsewhere, as long as there’s a clear description of what the picture is of, and do not use any link that means the picture is downloaded to their computer as soon as someone clicks on the link; it has to be a picture that is viewable without needing to be downloaded first.  This is to ensure no one tries to force a virus or anything else unsavoury onto an unsuspecting person.  Any link not meeting these requirements will be removed and the member warned.
If you’re unsure whether or not a picture you have uploaded to your profile or signature is acceptable then please don’t hesitate to ask a moderator.

Yes and no.  Pictures can only be uploaded to the Art Room forum – which is member’s only access – and then only of the drawn or digital variety; i.e., no photographs of real people.  And no photo manipulations of any kind.  Any pictures uploaded to any other forums will be deleted.  Also, no pornographic pictures beyond mild nudity will be allowed to be used in your Signature, Cover Photo or Profile Picture.
So, why have we decided to do this?  Well, firstly, this site always has been and always will be primarily about written smut, not smutty pictures.  But perhaps the main reason is that different countries have different laws about what’s illegal visually and what isn’t, and we want to make it as difficult as possible for people to accidentally stumble on pictures that would be considered illegal in their country.
Outside of the Art Room forum, you can provide a link to a picture hosted elsewhere, as long as there’s a clear description of what the picture is of, and do not use any link that means the picture is downloaded to their computer as soon as someone clicks on the link; it has to be a picture that is viewable without needing to be downloaded first.  This is to ensure no one tries to force a virus or anything else unsavoury onto an unsuspecting person.  Any link not meeting these requirements will be removed and the member warned.
If you’re unsure whether or not a picture you have uploaded to your profile or signature is acceptable then please don’t hesitate to ask a moderator.

Yes and no.  Pictures can only be uploaded to the Art Room forum – which is member’s only access – and then only of the drawn or digital variety; i.e., no photographs of real people.  And no photo manipulations of any kind.  Any pictures uploaded to any other forums will be deleted.  Also, no pornographic pictures beyond mild nudity will be allowed to be used in your Signature, Cover Photo or Profile Picture.
So, why have we decided to do this?  Well, firstly, this site always has been and always will be primarily about written smut, not smutty pictures.  But perhaps the main reason is that different countries have different laws about what’s illegal visually and what isn’t, and we want to make it as difficult as possible for people to accidentally stumble on pictures that would be considered illegal in their country.
Outside of the Art Room forum, you can provide a link to a picture hosted elsewhere, as long as there’s a clear description of what the picture is of, and do not use any link that means the picture is downloaded to their computer as soon as someone clicks on the link; it has to be a picture that is viewable without needing to be downloaded first.  This is to ensure no one tries to force a virus or anything else unsavoury onto an unsuspecting person.  Any link not meeting these requirements will be removed and the member warned.
If you’re unsure whether or not a picture you have uploaded to your profile or signature is acceptable then please don’t hesitate to ask a moderator.

Pictures will now only be allowed to be uploaded to the Art Room section of the forum, which can only be accessed by Members.  Any pictures that are uploaded to other forums will be deleted.
Pictures that can be considered to be pornographic in nature are now no longer allowed to be used in Signatures, Cover Photos or Profile Pictures.  If you’re unsure if a picture you’re using in your profile or signature is safe or not, just ask a moderator.  The FAQ here goes into more detail.

Yes and no.  Pictures can only be uploaded to the Art Room forum – which is member’s only access – and then only of the drawn or digital variety; i.e., no photographs of real people.  And no photo manipulations of any kind.  Any pictures uploaded to any other forums will be deleted.  Also, no pornographic pictures beyond mild nudity will be allowed to be used in your Signature, Cover Photo or Profile Picture.
So, why have we decided to do this?  Well, firstly, this site always has been and always will be primarily about written smut, not smutty pictures.  But perhaps the main reason is that different countries have different laws about what’s illegal visually and what isn’t, and we want to make it as difficult as possible for people to accidentally stumble on pictures that would be considered illegal in their country.
Outside of the Art Room forum, you can provide a link to a picture hosted elsewhere, as long as there’s a clear description of what the picture is of, and do not use any link that means the picture is downloaded to their computer as soon as someone clicks on the link; it has to be a picture that is viewable without needing to be downloaded first.  This is to ensure no one tries to force a virus or anything else unsavoury onto an unsuspecting person.  Any link not meeting these requirements will be removed and the member warned.
If you’re unsure whether or not a picture you have uploaded to your profile or signature is acceptable then please don’t hesitate to ask a moderator.

Pictures will now only be allowed to be uploaded to the Art Room section of the forum, which can only be accessed by Members.  Any pictures that are uploaded to other forums will be deleted.
Pictures that can be considered to be pornographic in nature are now no longer allowed to be used in Signatures, Cover Photos or Profile Pictures.  If you’re unsure if a picture you’re using in your profile or signature is safe or not, just ask a moderator.  The FAQ here goes into more detail.

Pictures will now only be allowed to be uploaded to the Art Room section of the forum, which can only be accessed by Members.  Any pictures that are uploaded to other forums will be deleted.
Pictures that can be considered to be pornographic in nature are now no longer allowed to be used in Signatures, Cover Photos or Profile Pictures.  If you’re unsure if a picture you’re using in your profile or signature is safe or not, just ask a moderator.  The FAQ here goes into more detail.

Yes and no.  Pictures can only be uploaded to the Art Room forum – which is member’s only access – and then only of the drawn or digital variety; i.e., no photographs of real people.  And no photo manipulations of any kind.  Any pictures uploaded to any other forums will be deleted.  Also, no pornographic pictures beyond mild nudity will be allowed to be used in your Signature, Cover Photo or Profile Picture.
So, why have we decided to do this?  Well, firstly, this site always has been and always will be primarily about written smut, not smutty pictures.  But perhaps the main reason is that different countries have different laws about what’s illegal visually and what isn’t, and we want to make it as difficult as possible for people to accidentally stumble on pictures that would be considered illegal in their country.
Outside of the Art Room forum, you can provide a link to a picture hosted elsewhere, as long as there’s a clear description of what the picture is of, and do not use any link that means the picture is downloaded to their computer as soon as someone clicks on the link; it has to be a picture that is viewable without needing to be downloaded first.  This is to ensure no one tries to force a virus or anything else unsavoury onto an unsuspecting person.  Any link not meeting these requirements will be removed and the member warned.
If you’re unsure whether or not a picture you have uploaded to your profile or signature is acceptable then please don’t hesitate to ask a moderator.

The Art Room and its attached forums is now member’s only, so guests will no longer be able to access it.

Okay, I’m closing this topic now since I’ve started another one in private.

I prefer this option.  I’d still like DG’s opinion on it, but this works for me.

I prefer this option.  I’d still like DG’s opinion on it, but this works for me.

The spoiler tag just hides the image, but it still loads, as far as I know. 
We have the Art Room thread. Maybe we need to confine all images there, so people can avoid the image-laden posts altogether if they choose? It would be easy enough to moderate that—delete any post containing an image other than an avatar if it’s posted outside the Art Room. If you need to provide illustrations for your challenge or request, do it in PM, or email it. Does that work?

Now that I’ve had a chance to sleep on this, I can see a potential problem with forcing people to use url’s linked to pictures off-site.  What can happen is people deliberately leave a link to what they describe is a particular legitimate picture when in reality it’s to a very, very nasty site, designed to do nasty things to your computer, or even to a website with highly illegal content.  This can, and does, happen elsewhere.  All we need is a pissed off person deciding to leave, but not before leaving a parting gift.  Another problem is that they could be providing a link to a legitimate website with a legitimate picture, but that website later disappears and is replaced by one of those nasty sites previously described.  That’s a problem that’s occurred here at least once.
Oh, and I’m assuming this is what people are talking about, linking to pictures that are hosted off-site?

Sounds good to me.  I can’t see many people abiding by it, though, to be honest.  You know how people are; we only have rules because we like to bully people, apparently.

Sounds good to me.  I can’t see many people abiding by it, though, to be honest.  You know how people are; we only have rules because we like to bully people, apparently.