Help

Site Help | Frequently Asked Questions | Known Script Errors | Contact Email | Submission Rules

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All registrants must agree to the Terms of Service.

Site Help

Registration:
To register, click on 'Log In' and proceed from there. To post stories the user must be registered, this requires a penname and providing a valid email address. Email addresses are only for administrative purposes and are not seen by users. After registering, a password will be emailed to the address provided, this is an automated email. When entering the email please make sure you enter it correctly, if it is wrong the password cannot be sent to you.

Registration Problems:
If the user has not received a password by mail within twenty-four (24) hours, please check the Email Contacts and read the information from there.

Lost Password:
If the user has lost or forgotten their password please click on 'Lost Password' under 'Log In' and a new one will be sent to you automatically.

Change Your Password:
Log in, click on 'Edit Personal Information' and enter your new password twice then push 'Submit'.

Your Account area:

• Add New Story - this allows the user to submit a new story. It will give step by step instructions on submitting.
• Add New Chapter - this allows the user to submit a new chapter to an existing story.
• Edit/Delete Your Story - this allows the user to Edit or Delete a story/chapter. Within this area the user may also mark if the story is 'Completed: Yes or No'.
• Edit Personal Information - this allows the user to change their real name, email address, profile, password and skin preference.
• View Reviews - this allows the user to view all the reviews they have received in breakdown according to story. The user may choose to respond to any review by clicking on 'Respond' next to the review.
• View Unanswered Reviews - this allows the authors to see reviews they have not responded to.
• Manage Favorites - this shows all the favorite authors/stories the user has chosen. To select author or stories, the user must be logged in and click on [Add to Favorites] by the author name or the story title while viewing the story.
• Logout - this logs the user out of their account.

Review a story:
To review a story a user will be at the story and click on, "Would you like to submit a review?" This can be found near the top of the story or most commonly the bottom of the story. At this time the reviewer must be a registered user.

The Appeal Process:
If there comes a time where you feel that the administration or an author has made a grievous error, please mail us with the information. Within this, we will need the story title, author name, and a detailed argument on why the information is wrong. You will need to supply canon reference including page numbers and any other material(s) that are deemed necessary.

Banning Regulations:
The administration of Unrealized Realities reserves the right to ban any members who display complete disregard of the Terms of Use. This is, but is not limited to, underage usage, harassing, flaming or abusing a reader or any member of the UR family. Such things as: asking a question, contradicting a admin on a story correction, complaining/whining will not get you banned.

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Frequently Asked Questions

1. Do I have to register or pay to use this archive?
2. Who decides what gets archived?
3. I enter my user name and password, click Submit and the page just reloads?
4. I'm only interested in reading fill in the blank stories. Is there a way to search for only those stories?
5. Does Unrealized Realities use cookies?
6. What if I just read a story that I think is below the quality standards of Unrealized Realities?
7. Are you looking for any Staff? How can I help Unrealized Realities?
8. How are stories chosen for 'Featured Stories'?
9. What are the Submission Rules?
10. How do I submit a story?
11. What type of files do you accept?
12. Can I use HTML in my story?
13. How many chapters should I upload at one time?
14. My story is completed how do I tell the archive that?
15. I uploaded a story/chapter and it's not appearing?
16. How will I know if my submission is approved or rejected?
17. The 'Reads' counter on the story is showing X amount of views or I have reviews on a newly submitted chapter, but my chapter isn't appearing yet, what is going on?
18. My story was rejected, why?
19. I uploaded my chapter but the bottom part of my text is missing?
20. My story is already posted, how do I change something within it?
21. What is the 'Post to Mailing List' option in the Add New Story form and how do I use it?
22. What do the ratings mean?
23. How do I know what rating to choose?
24. My validated story is missing? What happened?
25. What is a validated author and how do I become one?
26. Can I get email updates when an author updates a story or submits a new story?

1. Do I have to register or pay to use this archive?
You do not have to register to read any story on this archive. However, there is material of an adult nature on this archive. Let the reader beware. As for paying to use the archive, no, using any archive under Unrealized Realities is free.

2. Who decides what gets archived?
We have asked a number of highly regarded authors in the Farscape Fandom to act as moderators. There are a fair number of us, and we run the gammut of fair and fluffy writers to dark and angsty. We like to read good, quality fic in any genre and we are not shy about our choices. There are many reasons to write and to read fanfic. If good solid writing is not one of your goals as a writer, please seek a non-moderated archive more in tune with your fanfic needs.

3. I enter my user name and password, click Submit and the page just reloads?
It is probably your browser settings. For Internet Browser (common browser for Windows) users, go to the Tools options on the main menu, go down to Internet Options and click on it. Find the Privacy tab and click on it, set the bar to 'Low' to allow you to log in, once logged on you can reset the Privacy bar to whatever you want (as long as you don't clear out your history/cookies.) Adding http://unrealizedrealities.scaperoute.com/unrealizedrealities/index.php to 'allowed' websites under Privacy > Sites will also help if your system has downloaded the SP2 for IE.

Mac/Apple users Mac IE and Sarafi are not user friendly with our archives, try using Firefox as an alternative. http://www.mozilla.org/download.html

4. I'm only interested in reading fill in the blank stories. Is there a way to search for only those stories?
There is a search engine in the main menu bar that allows you to search our archive: there is a simple search engine (author, story title, chapter title, or summary) or an advanced search engine that allows you to look for stories falling in a specific category, with specific characters, genres, ratings or warnings. This is of course dependent on how the authors choose to categorize their stories.

5. Does Unrealized Realities use cookies?
Yes, if you use the 'Remember Me' function when logging in or using our site.

6. What if I just read a story that I think is below the quality standards of Unrealized Realities?
We encourage all readers to be on the look out for these stories, we as the Admins are only human and do make mistakes. If you question the quality of the story please email the link and describe what you think is wrong with the story so it may be looked into. All emails are kept anonymous.

7. Are you looking for any Staff? How can I help Unrealized Realities?
We are open to new Admins and Mods but with that position comes trust and require certain qualifications from our Staff. In working as an Admin we strongly feel a background in English grammar be it American or British English is required or at least has a strong sense of the language and is always willing to learn.

8. How are stories chosen for 'Featured Stories'?
Stories are chosen by the Admins when a particular story has caught their attention. We certainly encourage readers to submit stories for the 'Featured Stories'.

9. What are the Submission Rules?
The Submission Rules are listed in several places around Unrealized Realities. They can be viewed on the main page, before uploading a story an author must agree to them and can be found within the Help on the archives.

10. How do I submit a story?
Log in, click on 'Add New Story' from there you choose a Category appropriate for the story and fill out the information then on.

11. What type of files do you accept?
We accept HTML and text files. We do not accept *.doc files or files saved in HTML from MS Word/WordPerfect (we can tell the difference and all stories will be rejected automatically). There are several freeware and shareware programs out there that can either convert *.doc, *.rtf to html without the extra encoding, or to take a MS-Word/WordPerfect created html file and strip out all of the encoding included. Try a google search to find something that meets your needs.

12. Can I use HTML in my story?
Yes, you may use HTML in your story. A list of allowed tags are next to the text area box when uploading your story.

13. How many chapters should I upload at one time?
Right now we are not limiting the number of chapters or stories that can be uploaded. As the archive grows, this may change.

14. My story is completed how do I tell the archive that?
Log in click on 'Edit/Delete Stories'. You will see a list of your stories; after the title and the chapters you will see 'Completed: No', click on the 'No' and it will change to 'Yes'.

15. I uploaded a story/chapter and it's not appearing?
While Unrealized Realities has numerous moderators, they have real life obligations and other online hobbies and they all volunteer their time, so please be patient. We endeavor to validate your story as soon as realistically possible.

16. How will I know if my submission is approved or rejected?
If approved it will be listed on site; if rejected you will receive an email from the Admin. Make sure your email address accepts emails otherwise it may bounce and you will never know.

17. The 'Reads' counter on the story is showing X amount of views or I have reviews on a newly submitted chapter, but my chapter isn't appearing yet, what is going on?
The 'Reads' counter is not always accurate when the story is still in Queue. If it shows twenty (20) do not panic, it does not mean the Admins are debating whether or not to validate or reject the story. We believe the counter counts one (1) 'Read' for each time an Admin enters Queue.

18. My story was rejected, why?
Any story rejected will state a reason or give a list of possible reasons for rejection.

19. I uploaded my chapter but the bottom part of my text is missing?
There could be two reasons for this: one, your story may be too long and be over the word limit imposed on the archive. We generally recommend the maximum of 11,000 to 12,000 words per chapter. The second reason could be a Mac computer usually this problem comes from Safari. We recommend Mozilla Firefox for any viewing or uploading to any UR archive.

20. My story is already posted, how do I change something within it?
Log in click on 'Edit/Delete Stories' and you can continue from there, or you can go view your story, and then click on Edit near the title.

21. What is the 'Post to Mailing List' option in the Add New Story form and how do I use it?
This feature is currently disabled.

22. What do the ratings mean?
Unrealized Realities administration has made its own rating system to avoid any possible problems with using a more standard rating system. (MPAA standards.)

AAA - All Audience Approved - something that shouldn't offend anyone's grandma, in other words, a frell-free fic

WFM - Watch Your Frelling Mouth - uses moderate language, suggests violence or adult situations, but doesn't describe them.

WFH - Watch Your Frelling Hands - uses strong language, includes moderate violence or mature sexual themes, but no graphic violence or graphic sexual descriptions.

F - Frell - descriptions of graphic violence or graphic sexual descriptions, or 'watch where you put that frelling thing!'

S - It's Frelling Smut - explicit sexual descriptions.

23. How do I know what rating to choose?
Use your best judgment but if you are unsure submit the story and you are welcome to ask the administrators.

24. My validated story is missing? What happened?
There are two valid reasons a story could be missing.

Validation Withdrawal: When a story is validated it is subject to removal if the quality is questioned by any other Admin. Only an Owner, Admin Mistress or Senior Admin (with consent from an Owner or Admin Mistress), will be allowed to pull the story. An email will always be sent to the author informing of this action. This policy is used for stories after July 2004.

Quality Review Panel: The Quality Review Panel exists to review works that are referred by the public as being below standard. If anyone notices a story that is questionable please submit an email to us, so we can start the process of having it reviewed. An email will always be sent to the author.

If your story has disappeared and you have not received an email from an Admin please contact the Webmistress or User Help to have the matter looked into.

25. What is a validated author and how do I become one?
This means the author is validated to upload stories automatically without having them screened. To become a validated author you have to earn the trust of the Admins that your stories will follow the submission rules at all times.

If a validated author allows their story standards to fall, we will remove them from that status and screen the stories while requiring the author to fix the stories that are below the standard. In time the author can earn their validated status back.

26. Can I get email updates when an author updates a story or submits a new story?
No, not at this time. We hope to have this feature in the future but until then use the Favorite Authors/Stories option to keep watch of them.

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Known Script Errors

AOL Users:
AOL users have a hard time receiving email from us because we have an automated email system and AOL considers it SPAM. To allow for our emails please put 'rclibrary@scaperoute.com' when customizing your AOL settings.

MS Word/WordPerfect Documents:
Microsoft Word/WordPerfect documents are not accepted by the site. They will show programming lines when trying to upload, sometime in the future, we hope to have this problem solved.

Mac/Apple computers:
When trying to upload on a Mac computer, the text will either appear in one big paragraph or the story will be cut in half. The browser Safari is believed to be the problem, use Netscape when trying to upload to solve the problem.

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Contact Email:

Please read the Submission Rules, Site Help, Frequently Asked Questions and Known Script Errors before submitting an email. If a question is sent and the answer is already within the FAQ/Help page, the Admin answering the email will direct the user to the correct area.

When sending an email all information must be included: penname (user name), archive (fic or gallery), and story (if applicable), without all this information the email cannot be answered and will be deleted.

User Help: Any user needing help may contact an Admin through this email. rclibrary@scaperoute.com

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Submission Rules:

Each chapter from an unvalidated author is individually read and screened for quality by the Admin staff.

The author agrees to the Terms of Service when submitting to any Unrealized Realities archive.

Content: Stories will be rejected if the canon characters are so OOC (Out Of Character) that they cannot be recognized. The AU designation will be required for stories that do not follow canon and are 'alternate universe'.

Plot/Story Development: Each chapter will be read to make sure that, at a minimum, it is internally consistent. Readers expect stories to make sense and develop in a steady and coherent fashion. Beta readers are strongly recommended for any problems in plot development and will help any author keep on track.

Language: Our readers are adults; therefore, the language of all submissions must be at an appropriate level. Our readership expects fully developed works of prose or poetry whose style is reasonably sophisticated. Stories using Netspeak, computer chat abbreviations, or (except in dialogue) colloquial language will not be accepted. Also, when writing, it is important to stretch beyond a primary or grammar school level. A variety of words describing scenes or objects makes for a more exciting story and is more likely to grip readers' attention. The website http://www.thesaurus.com is a good resource for expanding your vocabulary. We also encourage authors to use a broad range of sentence structures.

Punctuation: Correct punctuation--particularly commas, quotation marks, and apostrophes--is a must for acceptance. Stories with frequent or significant problems in these areas will not be accepted.

Grammar: Each chapter is checked for grammar. Chapters containing frequent or major errors that in our judgment would distract a reader will not be accepted. Major errors include problems with noun-verb agreement, verb tense, syntax (word order), or usage.

Dialogue: Dialogue, grammar and punctuation, i.e. the way the dialogue is formatted within the text, must be correct for acceptance. Frequent or consistent errors will result in rejection, possibly without the chapter even being read in its entirety.

Spelling: Each chapter must be spell checked even if a beta has read it - beta readers make mistakes too.

i. Canon spellings: Correct spellings of canon names, places, and object are crucial for acceptance! Consistent misspelling of canon names will result in immediate rejection. Please take the time to read through your chapter before uploading to ensure canon spellings are correct.

Length: Chapter length must be at least five hundred (500 words) if it is a chaptered story. Short one-shot stories and drabbles are allowed to be less but must be at least one hundred (100) words.

i. Poetry: Poetry must contain recognizable parts of the characters if posting at one of the character focused archives.

Formatting:Double spacing between paragraphs and each new line of dialogue is required in order to make stories easier to read. A new line must also be in place when changing character point of views.

i. Author's notes/Scene changes: Author's notes may be included only at the top or bottom of a story and must be separated from the story text in some fashion. Lines across the page ( < hr > HTML tag) or dots/dashes should be used to indicate the difference between the story and notes from the author. When creating the lines to separate the author notes or scene changes we request it does not take more than 90% of a 800x600 screen resolution or fifty (50) character spaces across the page, if you do it may force the browser to have a horizontal scroll bar (on the bottom of the window) to enable the reader to view the complete story. You can check this by doing preview of your story when uploading. A story may be rejected for offensive or inappropriate author's notes, if author's notes are used within the text of the story itself, or if the Admin feel the separation of author's notes, and story text, is not defined. If need be, footnotes are acceptable within the story.

Informational fields about stories: When filling out the information for the story/chapter, proper English is required or the submission will be rejected. This includes proper capitalization and punctuation marks. Badly spelled and grammatically incorrect summaries often discourage readers from even opening a story. Please use spell check to verify these parts as well.

Ratings: All ratings must be appropriately marked. When Admins read a story and feel the rating is not correct, they reserve the right to change it as needed. Underage authors are not allowed to post stories beyond the rating appropriate for their age. Please do not submit adult rated stories if this rule applies to you.

Warnings: All warnings must be acknowledged accordingly. Admins reserve the right to add any if the need arises.

Categories: When uploading stories authors are given the choice of a category they feel will best suit their chapter, but when an Admin validates it, they reserve the right to place it in the correct category if mistakenly placed wrong. Stories with canon inconsistencies must be marked with "AU" for alternate universe.



Bad Email Address: If a letter is sent to an author for story (chapter) corrections and the letter is returned for a bad email address the chapter will be taken immediately out of queue/deleted from archive and the author will have to correct the email address or may contact User Help if there are any questions.

Rejected Stories: There are a number of reasons a story may be rejected. First and foremost, if more than two moderators are uncomfortable with the content, or find the content to be lacking quality, a fic may be rejected. This can include any permutation, from so-sappy-I'm-gonna-puke-fluff to ultraviolence-ala-A Clockwork Orange. It takes a lot to turn us away from a fic. These are characters that we have grown to love over the last several years. A fic that does these characters a disservice will not be archived here.

Resubmission, if moderators' concerns with the fic are addressed, is always possible.

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All rights reserved