Guidelines for the Heybeta Community
This document was last updated on July 9, 2019.
Heybeta is a community of authors and the beta readers who support their work. We’re so happy to have you with us! Our goal is to make sure that everyone in our community feels safe and secure in this collaborative environment. These community guidelines help us ensure that Heybeta is a welcoming platform for the authors and readers who use the site. Our guidelines are broken up into three sections: content, communication, and enforcement.
Content Guidelines
Content: Your content, or “Work”, as defined in the Terms and Conditions, is anything you add to the Heybeta platform using your account. This includes, but is not limited to, individual parts or chapters of your book, your full-length book and its metadata, and any images you may include in the book itself.
When you add content to the site, you agree that the content you upload adheres to the following guidelines and the Terms and Conditions of Heybeta as well as the Privacy Policy. If your content violates any of these policies, Heybeta reserves the right to remove the content at anytime without notice at the discretion of our staff.
Copyright: We trust that you’ll respect the copyrights and trademarks of others. When you make the choice to add content, you represent and warrant to us that you either 1) own the copyright to the Work or control all rights in and to the Work, or 2) are legally authorized by the copyright owner of the Work to grant the applicable licenses to us and our affiliates and service providers, and each of their and our respective licensees, successors and assigns, and 3) all of your Work does and will comply with our Terms and Conditions, our Privacy Policy, and our Community Guidelines. You are solely responsible for the consequences of putting it on the platform. Again, it is your responsibility to make sure that your content doesn't violate any laws or copyright, trademark, publicity, privacy or other rights. For further information on licenses, rights, consents, and permissions to distribute content, please see our Terms and Conditions.
Endorsement: Heybeta does not endorse any Work submitted to the Site and Services by any user or other licensor, or any opinion, recommendation, or advice expressed therein, and Heybeta expressly disclaims any and all liability in connection with any Work.
Misleading Content: You should not attempt to mislead Heybeta readers, meaning that your pen names, book descriptions, titles, images, and any other part of your content’s general appearance should be related to the content you have uploaded.
Spam: It is not okay to post large amounts of untargeted, unwanted, or repetitive content, and it is not okay to contact readers via email or any other medium without their permission.
Adult Content: While erotic content is permitted on Heybeta, we are committed to the safety of our authors and readers. Erotic content must have a plot unrelated to its sexual scenes, or it falls under the category of pornography (see “Nudity and Pornography” guideline). In addition, we have a zero-tolerance policy for content that sexualizes children in any way and we define a child as any person under the age of 18. Any content that depicts sexual acts involving children violates these guidelines.
Nudity and Pornography: Pornographic content is not permitted on Heybeta and will be removed. Content is considered pornographic when it exists solely for the purpose of sexual stimulation. In addition, we do not allow content that displays graphic nudity—full exposure of any private parts—regardless of whether or not the content can be classified as erotica.
Hateful Content: We’re not in the business of policing content, but we don’t support content that promotes or condones violence against individuals or groups based on gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, mental illness, neurotype, physical appearance, body, age, race, ethnicity, nationality, language, or religion, or whose primary purpose is inciting hatred on the basis of these core characteristics. (Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of characteristics.) We understand that this can be a delicate balancing act, particularly in the context of fictional works, but if the primary purpose of your content is to attack a protected group, then it is not permitted on the Heybeta platform.
Communication Guidelines
We encourage readers and authors to communicate with each other in a kind and respectful manner, and to treat each other the way they would want to be treated. Heybeta is dedicated to providing a safe and welcoming experience for everyone; we do not tolerate harassment or abuse in any form.
Harassment includes:
Enforcement of Guidelines
The Heybeta staff reviews flagged content daily to determine whether it violates our Community Guidelines and policies. If you find content that violates our community guidelines or policies, please email us at support@heybeta.com, and we will take appropriate action. Content that is found in violation of these guidelines will be removed without notice at the discretion of the Heybeta staff.
Accounts are penalized for community guidelines violations, and serious or repeated violations can lead to account termination. If an account is terminated, that person will not be allowed to create any new accounts. We reinforce our Community Guidelines through our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
Finally, Heybeta may modify these terms from time to time. Changes may become necessary as a result of our ever-evolving relationships with the authors and readers within the Heybeta community. We’ll try to notify you of the changes by e-mail, but you should check this page regularly. If you use Heybeta after these terms have been revised, then you agree to the revised terms. You may reach out to us at support@heybeta.com to discuss any changes or learn more about the reasoning behind them.
Thanks for taking the time to read over these important guidelines. Now go forth and leave feedback!