All persons interested in writing or reading Silmarillion fan fiction and discussion the book are welcome to join SWG. Our guidelines for membership are simple and intended solely to keep SWG as a friendly place to share writing and discuss The Silmarillion. Writers of all ages, backgrounds, and levels of experience, as well as readers and fans of Tolkien's work, are welcome in SWG, and our moderation team remains committed to keeping SWG as an enjoyable place to visit and share work.
SWG Code of Conduct
Please take a moment to review our code of conduct for SWG. Please not that this the code of conduct applies to all of SWG's affiliates, including our archive and forums, our LiveJournal community, and our Yahoo! email group.
- Abusive and derogatory behavior will not be tolerated. There is a difference between constructive critism and what it commonly known as "flaming"; reviews or posts that are not designed to help an author improve his or her work but are instead meant as a personal attack are not welcome in this community.
- Please leave your coats, hats, and prejudices at the door. If you choose to keep your prejudices with you, then it is your responsibility to avoid stories and conversations that may bother you. Authors are expected to properly mark and rate their work, and our moderators will do their best to enforce this. If a story is marked as "slash" and you do not like slash, then please do not criticize the author's choice of topics. If a story is marked as "AU," then it does not make sense to complain to the author about canon violations. If you feel that a story is improperly marked or rated, please contact a moderator.
- Please leave your drama at the door, alongside your coat and hat. SWG is a community open to all persons from all backgrounds, who make their online "homes" at a variety of archives and groups around the web. If you have had past problems with a particular group or person and choose to bear a grudge or engage in the behavior commonly known as "wanking," please do so elsewhere.
- That said, legitimate problems between members do arise in online communities, and the moderators of SWG are happy to intervene on your behalf to ensure that your stay here is as enjoyable as possible. If you feel that you have been attacked or mistreated in any group affiliated with SWG, please contact a moderator with your concern. Our moderators do their best to keep on top of all SWG activities, but they are human and have been known to miss posts or fall behind schedule. Therefore, it is foremost our members' responsibilities to report abuse. The moderators will take it from there.
- Authors should recognize that SWG welcomes members of varied ages and backgrounds and should not assume that all material is welcomed or appropriate for all readers. Please take care to properly rate your stories and provide adequate warnings. When participating in forums designed for all audiences, please be conscientious of the language you use and the subject matter you discuss.
- Plagairism is unprofessional and will not be tolerated. If you are quoting or paraphrasing a source (i.e., song lyrics or a passage from The Silmarillion) take care to acknowledge the source in your author's notes.
- If you feel that your work has been plagarized here in SWG, please contact a moderator for assistance. Unfortunately, there is nothing that we can do if an SWG member has plagarized your work elsewhere.
- SWG is for writing based on The Silmarillion and its related works only. There are plenty of groups and archives that accept Tolkien fan fiction based on his other works.
- In all Internet groups, it is good to be aware that the intent of a post and a reader's interpretation may be wildly different. Unfortunately, the body language and vocal inflections that allow our true meaning to be heard in speech are not present on the Internet, and misinterpretations are common as a result of this. Please keep this in mind, both when reading and writing posts, that what is intended as friendly teasing may be misread as aggression or that a "rude" reply may simply have been dashed off in haste. Please contact a moderator if you have any problems or concerns.
- All members are welcome in all conversations! We do not shun newbies here, so find an interesting forum, check out a new story, or post something of your own. Have fun and feel free to contact our moderation team at any time with questions or concerns.
Where Should I Join?
SWG has a several affiliated groups on the Internet. The main group, which includes the fiction archive and the forums, is based off of our homepage. Members with an interest in discussing or sharing work related to The Silmarillion are encouraged to join here, as you are free to participate if and when you feel like it, in a low-pressure environment.
SWG also maintains a Yahoo! email group for discussion and the promotion of stories. The Yahoo! group is also the place where ideas and goals for SWG are discussed. Members of the Yahoo! group have the option of receiving individual emails to the list, a single daily digest of all of the day's emails, or no emails at all. There are no prerequsites or permissions required for membership. However, members interested in taking a leadership role in SWG should join this group to stay current with ongoing projects and new ideas.
Also available is an SWG LiveJournal community. Here, members may share their stories and get help and feedback with their work. This community is for on-topic posts only and requires only a free LiveJournal account to post and participate.