The Review Board​

The Review Board is a way to recommend stories for our Library. Submitting to the library means you believe your story is good enough to get in—not next week, tomorrow or in an hour, but good enough right now. This implies at least a 3/5 rating in your original post.

It is not the place to post if you are only looking for improvement of your story. We have four separate Work By Author sub-forums for this purpose.

Ratings:
3.5 and higher = Library
>2 to 3.5< = Almost Recommended.
2 and lower = Trash Bin

In order for a story to be moved, it must meet certain standards. The most important of these are:

• Must remain in the Review Board for no less than one week.
• Must have a minimum of 3 constructive reviews.
• Must have a minimum of 5 votes.

Some of us devour entire books in less than four hours. Some of us have things to do. We want to give everyone the chance to read and review the story.

Plagiarism, Zero Tolerance Policy​

Plagiarism will result in instantaneous, Permanent Bans. This is not subject to notification or negotiation. There will be no second chances, no excuses, and no pleading ignorance. If you plagiarize, you will be banned regardless of who you are. End of story.

You have now been warned.

Spoiler: ”Plagiarism Defined”

1) Any fic that is proven to be copied word for word from ANY other written source (whether fictional, published works, movies, fanfiction written by someone else in any fandom, etc.), even with it being credited, will instantly be deleted and the writer banned from the board.

2) If there is any doubt, the Board Administration will err on the side of caution. Fan Fiction in and of itself is copyright infringement. Rather than taking the chance of being sued and having the board shutdown, we would prefer to be safe rather than sorry.

In the end, not only is plagiarism a betrayal of the writers from which the words and ideas are stolen, it is also a betrayal of your readers. We feel that it is wrong to claim someone else’s work as your own, particularly since so many of us are writers here as well as readers. We pour our blood, sweat and tears into our fics and feel that we should be guaranteed the knowledge that all other writers on this board are doing the same.

Posting Guidelines​

• Before you post a story, make sure it is not already in either the Library or Almost Recommended. The search function can also be used to check if this story has been posted before by searching a) the story title, or b) the author’s name. For fanfiction.net stories, the easiest way is to search for the story ID.
• Only post stories that are more than just set-up of the story published.
  • At a bare minimum, a long story should be at least 30k words before put up for review.
  • One-shots and completed stories are obviously exceptions
• There is no official rule against posting your own story within the Review Board, although keep in mind this carries some negative stigma in the forums.
• Follow the formats given below.

Format - Thread Titles
[Story Title] By [Author] - [Rating]
Ex: Derper Than Herp by DerpTheUnherply - M

Thread Prefixes

Spoiler: ”Thread Prefixes”

Prefixes are handy little tags that are not part of the title, but pre-configured into the forums. To the left of where you would place your title is a handy drop down box. This makes it easier for DLP to find stories they want, be it something already finished, or perhaps just a simple one shot. Each one is pretty self explanatory, but here is a list anyway.

• Oneshot - A single story contained in only one chapter. It is self-sustaining and completed.
• WIP - Works In Progress. Stores that are continuing and have a frequent enough update history to not be classified as abandoned.
• Completed - Only for multi-chapter that are finished.
• Abandoned - Where all the awesome stories go to die. The author no longer loves their children and thrown them out into the street to die. These stories will never be updated again but are not "complete."

Format - Original Posts

Spoiler: ”Format”

So. You want to submit stories to the DLP library. You think your tastes are refined enough for sharing with DLP. I can say you're wrong but we both know you wont listen. So at least do us the courtesy of making it easy for us to follow and know what the balls you are talking about.

Please? I mean look at all the hard work we do for you ungrateful assholes. Give something back. Follow the format:

Title: [I am a super creative example title!]
Author: [You aren't as cool as this guy.]
Rating: [Censorship Hooo! Movie and Fanfic rating systems accepted.]
Genre: [What is it? Action? Drama? Romance? TELL ME NOW]
Status: [Is it done? Is the guy still working on it?]
Library Category: [Where is it going, mate? Romance? The Alternatives?]
Pairings: [Who's fucking who? This does not include friendships or mentors.]
Summary: [Don't create one. Use the one posted on the sauce, be it Patronuscharm, or be it Fanfiction.net]
Link: [Where can we find it? And for god’s sake, link the first chapter.]

Linking has been simplified for fanfiction.net stories with a new BBCode tag, ffn. You only need to input your storyid into the tag.

Example: For http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8591872/1/, you would enter [noparse]FanFiction.Net[/noparse], which will result in FanFiction.Net being displayed.

Note: Straight-up Slash goes into the Restricted Section.

Everything below this point is yours to post as you wish. Be aware, however, minimalism may be acceptable in some situations, but you are meant to convince us this belongs amongst our lofty standards.

Tell us why it deserves to be called the best of the best. Is it the plot? The character development? The mastery of prose?

We want to know what you think of the story. What does the story do right? What does it do wrong? Does the story accomplish what the author has set out to do? Does it lack the polished grammar of a native speaker of English but still maintain being a good story? By god, man, just tell us what you think.

TLDR: REVIEW IT.

Spoiler: ”Example bad post”

Thread Title: Jewbabies in the fire.
Found this one while looking around FFn last night, and though everyone here would love it. Enjoy!

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2948132/1/

Spoiler: ”Example proper post”

Thread Title: The Apprentice by Deborah Peters - M
Title: The Apprentice
Author: Deborah Peters
Rating: M
Genre: Drama
DLP Category: Time Travel
Pairing: Severus/Lily
Status: Work in Progress (about 80,000 words)
Summary: In 1998, Severus Snape was given a second chance. In 1976, he has to figure out how to take it.
Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6306296/1/The_Apprentice

Many here at DLP will likely be turned off by the pairing, but this fic deserves to be given a chance. Unlike most fics with this pairing, this fic actually has a plot and the romance is relatively unobtrusive.

This story has solid spelling and grammar and it avoids many of the pitfalls that occur both with Snape as a major character and in the Time Travel genre. This fic also features fairly realistic characterizations; don't expect any of the extreme fanon caricatures that plague fanfiction.

Snape stays fairly in character in this fic. He does not become a brash Gryffindor or a suave (and handsome) ladies' man. He remains a greasy and often unpleasant individual who is awkward at best when dealing with emotional situations.

The Marauders and future Death Eaters alike are portrayed as exactly what they are, teenagers. Neither group are pure evil nor are they completely innocent.

In a refreshing change of pace for a time travel fic, Snape knows that the time travel didn't make him Merlin, and as such he has no plans to duel any Dark Lords. Conversely, he is also not obsessed with 'not changing the timeline'.

I would rate this fic as a solid 4/5 that should not be dismissed due to the pairing alone.

Tags
Tags are a lot like Post Prefixes. They let allow us to peruse the library and find what we may or may not want to read. You may like Serverus Snape/Lily Potter. You would be a godless heathen deserving of the most gruesome death ever, but you are free to like it.

Tags would allow you to find it easier.

Spoiler: ”Tags Expanded”

• Use common sense when using tags.
  • Do not add tags that don’t qualify as factual - such as your opinion. That’s what posts are for.
  • Do not add misleading tags, even for the lulz. You will be infracted.
  • If you're posting an outrageous story with an outlandish pairing for amusement, please still tag it appropriately. DLP is all for gags and fun, but don't muck up the library for a few brief moments of amusement. If the story doesn't contain a pairing with Harry, add one for the main character or main pairing of the story. "Severus/Lily" for example.
• For pairing tags, format is Harry/[First Name of Character] (ex. Harry/Padma).
  • Tonks and Madam Pomfrey are the only exception to this, since they're referred to by their last name.
  • Include all pairings in addition to the “Harry/Many” tag if there are or intended to be multiple pairings. Meaning that instead of "Harry/Tonks/Fleur/Cho", you would add "Harry/Many", "Harry/Fleur", "Harry/Tonks" and "Harry/Cho".
• Use already existing tags for genres, recurring themes, fandoms, pairings, crossovers, etc. Currently existing tags are located here. If it doesn't exist in this list, please post at the very bottom of the tags thread and it will be added eventually.

Newb’s Guide:

Spoiler: ”Newb’s Guide”

We know you can't post in the Library categories directly. This is intentional.
Do not:

• Contact staff about why you cannot post directly in the library or ask for permission to do so.

• Ask why your story got put in the trash and could we please move it. DLP is a community driven collection of stories hand selected for quality and entertainment. All stories must be posted in the Review Board sub-forum of the library.

• Alter the font or color when you post a story. Use the default site colors, do not use colored text.

If you want custom colors, then you can use User CSS on your end in a browser extension that supports it. Otherwise garish or clashing colors will impede the ability of users to read your post and people will not engage in that case.

• Use more than three smileys.

That’s image spam. Use your words, we’re all educated here. There is a time and a place but they shouldn’t be used concurrently, or spammed through out. That’s seen directly as trolling/spamming.

• Necro-post in a thread.

DLP defines Necro-posting as posting in a thread that has not had any activity within the last 30 days. Within reason, the library is exempt from this. If Xion posts an update, then feel free to talk about the latest update.
On the other hand, if you just post something like "Awesome!" or "New chapter", expect excommunication.

• Post content that is mainly memes / macros.

Please do not post an image with /filler just to get around having to write a review. We all enjoy funny pictures, but we already have several threads for that. Go there and post them.
We will infract your ass if you do the following:

• Vote if you have not read the story.

• Vote negatively because of non-story reasons (ex. Dislike the pairing, disagree with authors, dislike themes).

No one gets along with everyone. We don't all like the same things. You may not like Slash, while So-And-So does. Acceptable. But please, if there is something about the story that tells you "Don't read this, it will suck", then don't post.
We are all mature, intelligent individuals. We are above these petty attacks. Act that way.

• Vote bomb or vote pad.

Do not vote bomb (1 star ratings) or vote pad (5 star ratings) to manipulate the average score of a story. Rate the story as it deserves. Giving a story a 1 star rating when you believe it should be higher, and vice-versa is not acceptable. You may not agree with the consensus, but you are not to manipulate the numbers.
You think the story is shit? Argue why it should be rated lower in a review.

• Needlessly flame / bash members for liking things you don’t

Ultimately, the library is driven by the opinions of the board. Rarely does everyone agree on any one thing. Keep this in mind. If you disagree with something said by another reviewer, politely disagree and explain why this is. Debate is not banned, but personal attacks are.
Do Not Engage In Personal Attacks On Authors Because You Dislike Them. Ever. If they show up, insult everyone because it was rated poorly and leaves, the staff will deal with it. Do not engage in these flaming contests.

Spoilerific Reviews

Spoiler: Spoilers

Not everyone wants to know what happens before they had a chance to read it themselves. While there's nothing to be said against discussing the story once it's in the library, special rules for the Review Board applies. If you want to post a gigantic spoiler here, use common sense (xyz dies is a spoiler, Harry owns half of Gringotts is not) and add spoiler tags.
It works like this (without spaces):
HTML: [ Spoiler ]Text you want to hide[ /Spoiler ]