Welcome to Shut Up & Write! As a community built by writers, for writers, we are committed to creating a safe, inclusive, and positive environment for our members. To do this, we need the help and commitment of every person in our community. We ask that those who attend our events or participate on our site respect the rules and guidelines outlined below.
Our Vision
Shut Up & Write provides writers with the community, accountability, and resources they need to get their writing done. To accomplish this, we have cultivated a community, both in-person and online, that embraces the following values:
| Inclusivity • Kindness • Respect • Support |
Inclusivity
We value diversity, and are committed to creating an inclusive culture for members of all races, gender identities, sexual orientations, disabilities, ethnicities, and religions.
- Hate speech: The Oxford English Dictionary defines hate speech as “speech or writing that attacks or threatens a particular group of people, especially on the basis of race, religion, or sexual orientation.” We do not tolerate hate speech in any form, and this behavior will result in immediate expulsion from our community.
- Discrimination: We do not tolerate any behavior that excludes members based on gender, race, sexuality, ethnicity, or nationality. If a particular identity to a group or individual is not included in this list, we welcome you too, and want you to know that we respect all of our members.
- Preferred pronouns: We encourage our members to share and respect pronoun preferences both online and at in-person events.
Kindness
Our community celebrates kindness and positivity.
- Harassment: We do not tolerate harassment of our members in any form. This includes unwanted advances, verbal abuse, bullying, or any other harassing behavior that makes other members feel threatened or unsafe.
- Violence: We do not tolerate violent or illegal behavior.
- Personal attacks: Remember to criticize ideas, not people. Personal attacks, name-calling, trolling, and other negative behavior will not be tolerated.
Respect
Respect your fellow members in all Shut Up & Write spaces. Remember that behind each online profile is a real person.
- Violation of privacy or security: We do not tolerate any violations of another member’s privacy or security, including sharing personal information without another member’s consent.
Support
We want all of our members to feel supported in their writing practice. Help us by supporting your fellow writers rather than creating distractions.
- Overt sales and solicitation: Please do not use our platform to broadly market your other affiliations, paid goods and services, or events occurring outside the Shut Up & Write community.
- Conspiracy theories: Please do not use our platform to promote theories that are harmful and unfactual.
- Ask before editing: Not everyone is comfortable with having their work edited or corrected publicly. Before criticizing or offering corrections on writing mechanics, grammar, style, spelling, or other issues, please ask first.
Other Guidelines
Age Requirements
- Minors allowed, with supervision: We know that minors also love to write. We allow participation in our events by those under 18 years of age with the supervision of a parent or guardian present during the Shut Up & Write activity.
- Content warnings: We also understand that adult writers may create content that is not always appropriate for minors. Please consider including a content warning if you are sharing work online that is inappropriate for minors, or contains sensitive topics.
Forums, Challenges: Stay On Topic
Our Forums are a place for writers to connect with each other and share ideas related to writing and the writer’s lifestyle. Similarly, our Challenges are intended to spark creativity and writing-related discussions. These online spaces depend on your participation and cooperation. Please remember to keep the discussion writing-focused, and support your fellow writers by cheering them on.
Only Post Your Own Work
Remember, you may not post anything digital that belongs to someone else without permission. You may not post descriptions of, links to, or methods for breaking any law, or stealing someone’s intellectual property.
Any Problems? Contact Us
If you need assistance for any reason, whether at in-person events or online, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team. Additionally, if you witness bad behavior online, don’t engage; instead, please email us. Our moderators are always available at questions@shutupwrite.com.
Please also read our other policies, which complement this Code of Conduct. Find our full Terms of Use here: www.shutupwrite.com/terms-of-use
Meetup Policies: Shut Up & Write events scheduled through Meetup.com must additionally abide by Meetup’s groups and events policies as well as our own.
