I am certain I could find this information in the rules and terms and conditions of the site, but I prefer to have a very explicit understanding so my question is: Do I lose any right(s) over anything that I may post? For example if I post a segment, or segments, of my work simply to share it and not for critique am I alone keeping the rights to the post or does the site or some third party obtain complete, partial or shared rights to it? Thank you in advance for the answer.
You retain copyright to anything that is protectable by copyright. The site likely claims a license to reproduce such posts, and if they don't do it explicitly they likely have an implied license by virtue of you posting the material.
We state it explicitly in the Forum Rules: By posting, you are granting limited use. Specifically, retention or removal of that piece of writing from the site is solely at the discretion of the site administration team, and members may quote the submission in full or in part for the purpose of critique within that thread. Now, what does that mean? We have no intention of "owning" your work as regards your copyright or your ability publish it, and our Workshop is guarding from internet trawling. Frankly we're in the business of creating a community, not collecting the copyrights of individuals, even if such a thing were possible. Our forum functions as a Workshop venue. The core of that is the critique process in the Workshop. We are NOT a "vanity" forum for posting one's work simply to have it on display. I don't mean that disparagingly, because there certainly are such places; we simply are not one of them. The critique process is the core function here, so threads in the Workshop do not get deleted unless they violate forum rules. The purpose for having them there is so that members can learn to critique and inso doing learn to edit their work with a more objective eye. It's important to understand that bit as crucial because that's what drives our no-deletions policy.
My main concern is in the future if I would like to publish what I've written. The only reason I'd like to share is for the enjoyment of other people (hopefully they enjoy it) and to see how it is generally picked up (without any criticisms, simply if they enjoyed it or not) which the fact that losing my right to my post on another forum (to my understanding) now prevents me from wanting to share despite greatly desiring such.
Thank you for your reply! Perhaps I could post certain segments merely for display in the "Progress Journal" area? Ok so I keep full rights except limited use by the forum which is merely able to keep it on display or to remove it. Thanks again.
You don't lose rights to publish on another forum or anywhere else. You retain all of your own rights, you just grant the forum a limited, non-exclusive license.
So strange. You are the second person today to talk to me about a different forum implying that posting in their forum means you cannot post your story anywhere else. Who is telling you this?
Some other member on the forum (not this forum) and so I was worried the same may be here as well, though I'll take a look at the terms and conditions of the other forum to see what exactly they say if I can find it.
To the extent the rules of the other forum purported to acquire your rights and prevent you from publishing elsewhere, they are probably not enforceable.
Um... not to be the grey cloud in the sky, but this isn't what the Progress Journal area is for. That area is for, well, journalling the progress of your writing experience. Again, we don't really cater to the idea of just "display" of work here. It muddles the purpose of the Workshop and opens an avenue for members to receive critique (whether they want it or not) without fulfilling the the Workshop requirements, those requirements, again, having everything to do with learning the critique process.
Well the segments would be part of the "Progress Journal" along with what has been accomplished and is planne while any segments merely being "proof" or examples of said progress. But I do understand.
The short story competitions of this forum, sort of fulfils your aims, though you have to write something that matches the current theme. Might not be quite what you're looking for, but that's about the closest this forum has.
While I believe that there should be no concern about your right to publish elsewhere, you should probably be concerned about your non-right to delete the material here. The fact that this site doesn't demand exclusivity doesn't mean that another site won't, and if another site demands exclusivity, you've already eliminated that possibility by publishing here. If you see what I mean. (Edited to add: As far as I know, right now you can delete your material here although doing so would violate the customs of the site, but again as far as I know, this site offers no assurance whatsoever that you'll have that right permanently. And if people quote your material, you have no power to delete those quotes.)
The first thing a writer needs is not a good quality pen that feels good in the hand and a sturdy notebook that can withstand the rigors of the writer's day, but legal counsel that has the patience to read through the Terms and Conditions of modern life.
