Content Guidelines

Last Revised: August 31st, 2021

An Inclusive and Respectful Space

At the Critique Wheel, we help writers improve their craft faster by exchanging critiques.

In order to create and maintain an inclusive and respectful space, we want our critiquers to know the kind of material they will find on the Critique Wheel and and what kind of material is not accepted.

Before you start using the Critique Wheel, please look at and read the following guidelines:

  1. It’s important to respect and protect fellow critiquers' feelings, property, and personal information.

  2. In our Discord forums, you shouldn’t post anything you might regret in the future, or that your peers might not want to see online.

  3. You should read our Content Guidelines, Code of Conduct, Terms of Service, and our Privacy Policy so you have all the information you need to get the most out of the CritiqueWheel and help others benefit from it too!

If you see any content that violates our guidelines, let us know by reporting it to conduct@critiquewheel.com or through the Discord reporting methods.

To learn more about Copyright, please see Copyright FAQ.

Rating your story

Al writers are expected to rate their submissions as either Mature, or for All audiences, in keeping with the guidelines below.

If you encounter a story that has been rated incorrectly, please let us know by flagging it (see our guide here). Please note that we will change your rating if it does not comply with these guidelines.

Rating your story Mature does not mean it can contain prohibited content. Submissions that contain prohibited material will be removed.

A Mature rated story is intended for an audience that is 18 years old and up. The Critique Wheel restricts access to Mature rated stories to limit access to the correct audience. A story should be rated Mature if it contains any of the following:

  1. Explicit sex scenes

  2. Self-harm themes or scenes (including suicide and eating disorders)

  3. Graphic depictions of violence; including but not limited to: sexual, verbal, emotional and physical abuse.

If you feel that your story meets our guidelines, but may include material that isn’t appropriate for younger readers, please rate your story Mature.

What We Remove

The following are not allowed on Critique Wheel. This is not a complete list, and we do have the right to remove any content that we find inappropriate. Any content that could put our community at risk will be removed. Critique Wheel has the right to close any account or remove content without notice.

Sexual Content on the Critique Wheel

  1. Pornographic Content. Critique Wheel defines pornography as sexually explicit material whose primary purpose is to cause sexual arousal.

  2. Age of Consent. The age of consent is 16+ on the Critique Wheel. Any sexual content between characters must abide by this age of consent.

  3. Glorification of Sexual Violence. Critique Wheel classifies non-consensual sexual acts to include rape, sexual assault, kidnapping for sexual purposes, or sexual slavery. The content cannot be encouraging or promoting of non-consensual sex acts.

  4. Sexual Roleplay or Messaging. CritiqueWheel does not permit sexual messages or solicitation. This includes posting content which encourages sexual private messages, on or off Critique Wheel, or posting rules for public or private roleplay that are intended for sexual purposes.

  5. Illegal Sex Acts. In accordance with Spanish Law, any content which encourages illegal sex acts including, but not limited to, bestiality, necrophilia, or incest, will be removed.

Self-Harm on Critique Wheel

If you are struggling with eating disorders, addiction, self-harm, thoughts of suicide, or other challenges, we want you to know that you are supported.

Here is a list of global helplines, because sometimes outside support is needed to help you make positive changes. Counseling and Prevention Resources

Keep in mind that reading about self-harm and suicide can be upsetting or triggering. That’s why we want to remind you that:

  1. Content that encourages or gives instruction on self-harm will be removed.

  2. Content that contains lots of description might be rated Mature, and stories that glorify or do not “tell a story” might be removed.

  3. We want to encourage healthy discussions about these issues, so content about recovery, survival or that portray the negative consequences of self-harm are acceptable on Critique Wheel.

Violence

There are many forms of violence that can be harmful to our community. We will remove any content or accounts that are intended to shock or disgust.

Hate Groups/Extremist Content

At CritiqueWheel, we are committed to keeping our community safe. We value diversity and storytelling, so we want to make sure that the stories being critiqued on Critique Wheel do not contribute to real-world harm. The following guidelines have been developed in order to maintain a positive community.

On Critique Wheel, you are not allowed to make physical threats of violence or threats of death towards any individual or group of people. We will not allow stories or individuals that glorify, praise or romanticize current real life violent hate groups, figures, or extremist organizations with violent or hateful intentions.

This includes:

  1. Groups that express a violent mission.

  2. Organized hate groups.

  3. Terrorist activity.

  4. Single event mass shooters/murderers.

Talking about Others

We aim to create a safe community for everyone on Critique Wheel, so be kind, respectful, and please treat others as you would want to be treated, so don’t post any content that:

  1. Bashes a user purely for personal reasons.

  2. Reveals any personally identifying information about other people, including private messages, photographs/videos. Due to the fictional nature of stories and the chances of real names being used coincidentally, we are unable to remove a work for having the same or similar name to a real person. Only if there is additional identifying information, such as the city you reside or your work/school, is there a violation of our content guidelines.

  3. Actively promotes violence or hatred. The promotion of hatred on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, disability, gender, age, or sexual orientation, or content that is intended to bully, threaten, or harass others, is also strictly prohibited. General expressions of opinions are allowed, but they cannot be violent in nature or encourage others to attack Critique Wheel community members.

Spam

Any content that advertises products or services unrelated to, or not sanctioned by Critique Wheel is not permitted and will be removed.