Frequently Asked Questions:

WHERE ARE THE POETRY FORUMS?

Q: Where can I post a poem that I have written?

A: ALL of the poetry forums are located in InkBlotz.  There are a total of four areas there reserved for the posting of self-authored poetry, to which you hold the copyright.  The first, The Inkwell, is a strictly non-critiquing poetry forum, wherein poetry is posted for others to read and enjoy.  The second poetry forum on Cosmic Poetry is Skilled Quillz, which is a no holds barred poetry forum, EXPRESSLY for the purpose of receiving CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, with which to improve your poetic craft.  If you wish to post a poem that contains sensual, or sexual content and you are 18 years or older, you may post your poem in the Sensual Stanzas forum, and lastly, if you wish to post a poem that is spiritual in nature, it should be posted in the forum titled, Soul Sanctuary.

NOTE:  You MUST post comments on at LEAST ONE poem by an author other than yourself PRIOR to posting a poem of your own.  Failure to contribute to the vital discussion that makes a poetry site truly come alive and remain dynamic, will result in your poetry threads being closed to comments by others until such time as you have become compliant.

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What do I need to do to make Cosmic Poetry work?

Q: What is required to use the site?

A: You must have cookies enabled to log on with your username/password.  Likewise, there are some areas of the site that require you to enable popups for it to function correctly and if you wish to listen to the music created by our members, or hear their poesic playlists, you will also need to download flashplayer.  Lastly, if you wish to participate in the chat rooms for the live poetry readings, or the Sunday Jam Sessions, you will need speakers and a microphone.

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I POSTED IN THE WRONG PLACE...

Q: What if I posted my poem in The Inkwell, but later change my mind and decide that I want further community input?

A: Simply inform the managers and your poem will be moved to the appropriate forum.

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I REALLY LIKE MAYA ANGELOU, CAN I POST HER STUFF?

Q: Can we post poems that we didn't write?

A: NO!  You may only post poems that you yourself wrote, unless the poem in questions is, 1. Yours to distribute (i.e. poetry left to you by your late grandmother), or 2. The poet is deceased and their intellectual copyrights have expired.

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COPYRIGHTS TO MY POETRY

Q: Is the poetry that I post on Cosmic Poetry no longer belonging to me?

A: Absolutely not.  All poetry posted remains exclusively yours; in fact, Cosmic will do everything that it can to protect your rights to your intellectual property upon the site itself.  Poetry is protected by several different intellectual Copyright Laws; most importantly being the international treaty signed at the Berne Convention.  Please note however that the USA did NOT sign this treaty and that poetry written by US citizens is ONLY protected by US law and is not protected internationally.

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FAIR USE CLAUSES

Q: Can other people copy my poems?

A: Other people can copy your poems only with your prior permission, except for the purpose of critiques on in Skilled Quillz; in which case they are allowed to be copied and modified for the purpose of teaching you something about the poetic craft.

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COMPLAINT PROCESS

Q: What do I do if I have a complaint about someone, or something, on the boards?

A: You should email the managers privately.  If it involves a breach of the Rules Of Conduct then please include a copy of the offending text.  If it was an email received from another member, we will require the full email to be forwarded to us, so that we can make an informed decision.  People that take matters into their own hands when the Rules of Conduct have been breached and create flame wars will have their memberships deleted from the site and will not be allowed to return without special dispensation.

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FAMOUS POETRY, IS THERE ANY HERE?

Q: Where can I find poetry by Famous Poets on Cosmic?

A: You can find them listed under the heading of Cosmic Dust.
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I FORGOT MY PASSWORD...

Q: I forgot my username and password, should I just create a new account?

A: No.  Do not create a new account.  We encourage poets to use only one Nom De Plume while on cosmic so as to keep an accurate accounting of our membership. If we find you are using more than one moniker, we will delete the oldest one so as to maintain consistency on the site.  If you have forgotten your information, simply contact management and we will modify your existing account so that you can return to posting and commenting as soon as humanly possible.  Cosmic poetry does NOT keep a record of your password, only of your username and email.  In order to avoid annoying the heck out of us (we really do have better things to do!) WRITE IT DOWN and keep it somewhere safe!
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CAN I POST WRITING THAT ISN'T POETRY?

Q: I write stories, is there a place here on Cosmic Poetry that I can post them?

A: Yes.  We have several forums that are devoted to long prose, as regards short stories and novellas.  They are listed under the category heading of Paragraphs and Passages.
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I WRITE MUSIC, IS THERE A PLACE FOR ME HERE TOO?

Q: Are lyrics considered poetry, or is there a separate place I should be using to post my song writing material?

A: We have a section on Cosmic Poetry termed The Music Box and it is here that such things as lyrics and songs that you have written/composed should be posted.
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WHAT CONSTITUTES POETRY?

Q: My poetry doesn't rhyme, is it still a poem?  People call my poetry Rants, are they really poetry, or not?  I like to rhyme, but people say that it is passé, is it?

A: Yes.  Yes.  No!  For a fairly complete list of poetical Terminology, please read the following section in The Cosmic Universe, titled, Forms and Terms, respectively.  Terms has two pages; just click the link to the second page at the bottom of the first one in order to continue.
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I FIND SOME OF THE HEADINGS COUNTER INTUITIVE...

Q: I don't understand what Alien Graffiti, Neon Lights, and Duels in Ink are about. What the @$%& are they?

A: Alien Graffiti is the Cosmic Blogger and is for anyone, whether they are a member of Cosmic Poetry, or not, to come and share their thoughts on various subjects, pose questions and to engage in healthy debates about the wold at large (or the Universe).  Neon Lights is a collection of past winners of the Poem Of The Week (POTW) contests, whereby your peers choose at the Voting Booth the best that cosmic has to offer on a weekly basis, (the winners get their poem put up in Neon Lights), and Duels in Ink are the poetry contests that we have from time to time, that are done as a series of "dances" with words, using specific poetical forms, to both challenge and broaden our understanding of poetry as an art form.
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I HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS...

Q: What should I do?

A: Ask!  We'll do our best to answer you!



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