Writing.Com 101

Notebook Tab

The Notebook tab in your portfolio is a public area where other members can jot a quick note, or scribble, for you to read. When someone adds a note to your Notebook, an email notification is sent to you. You are responsible to monitor all content posted in your Notebook tab to make sure it follows the content rating you have set for your Notebook tab.

When someone creates a note, the current content rating of the Notebook tab is assigned as the content rating of the note. The person who created a note can edit its content rating, but as the Notebook owner, you can only delete notes posted by other members that contain content in excess of the assigned content rating of the note.

You, or other members, can comment on the notes by clicking the "Comment" link below the message. Comments must follow the content rating set in the note, which is shown in the down arrow drop menu at the note's upper right corner. If a comment exceeds the content rating of the note, it is the Notebook owner's responsibility to remove the comment. 1

As the owner of the notebook, you can "Report" or "Remove" a note by clicking the links provided in the down arrow menu located at the upper right of each note. Reporting a member also removes the note from your notebook and gives you the option to block further notes and comments from that member. This block does not prevent them from accessing and viewing the contents of your Notebook tab. In addition, each member can block/ignore another member using the Block/Ignore Members tool in My Account/Account Settings.

You can set the rating on your notebook and limit who can see the notes. To do so, click on the gear icon at the top right hand corner of the tab to open the Manage Notebook area. In this area, you can select a content rating ("Content Rating System (CRS)" ) for your Notebook tab and change its access setting ("Access Restrictions" ). Changes are submitted immediately and you will know that the setting has changed when a appears to the right of the line. In addition, the Manage area allows you to view reported posts and blocked members by clicking the links provided.

Posting a note to the Newsfeeds
When you post a note in your own Notebook tab, the note is added to the Community Newsfeed, and to the Personal Newsfeeds of those who have set you as one of their Favorites or Fans. You can also use the note form at the top of either Newsfeed page to post a note, and the note will be stored in your Notebook tab.

Note: If you have problems seeing what you post on that page after submitting it, please use the note form on the "other" page to post your notes.

Setting the Content Rating of an Individual Note and Using Content Ratings in the Newsfeed
The Newsfeeds can contain content of any content rating from E to XGC. The Newsfeeds are filtered, the same as site search listings or the Reviewers page. When you load either Newsfeed, each note in the database is included or excluded in the displayed listing based on whether its content rating fits in the current setting of your content rating filter.

You have only one content rating filter. You can check (and change) the current setting of your content rating filter in your Reviews tab between the header and the listing of your public reviews, or at the top right corner of either Newsfeed page.

When you post a note in the Newsfeed, you are to set its content rating correctly to account for its content. A content rating drop menu, which defaults to the current content rating of your Notebook tab, is located to the left of the Post Note button.

This keeps content that others don't want to see out of their Newsfeed listings, so they don't have to hide everything you post to avoid the parts they don't want to see. Karma rules -- it pays to be considerate of others.

How to Set the Default Content Rating for Notes:
The default setting for the content rating of your Notebook tab is 18+. You can change it to suit your needs. It's most convenient to set the default content rating to the level that is required by most of your notes, but you will still need to think about the content rating for each note. If you don't want to need to think about content rating whenever you post a note, then set the default to the highest content rating you intend to need. To set the default content rating for notes, click the gear icon on your Notebook tab at the top right to open the tab's Manage area. Change the drop menu for the content rating to the correct content rating and wait for the swirling circle to change to a check mark. The content rating directive in the header of your Notebook will automatically change to match the new content rating. Click the X at the upper right to close the Manage area.

When you want to post a note, type or paste your content into the note text box, change the content rating with the drop menu if necessary, and post the note.

The note will stay at the content rating it is assigned when it is created, even if you change the content rating of your Notebook tab again later. The content of a note and its content rating can be edited by clicking on the down-arrow shown at the upper right of the note and then the Edit note option. After making your edits, save the edit. If you need to edit again, you may need to reload the page first.

Content ratings of individual notes are not filtered when someone views your Notebook tab.

How to Check the Content Rating of a Note:
Before commenting on a note, you can check its content rating by clicking on the down-arrow at the upper right of the note. The menu area this opens also contains the ID number of the note [if you want to link to it elsewhere using the note tag - WritingML Help for note], the Edit note and Remove note buttons if it's your own note, the Save this note/ Note saved toggle button for saving notes, Hide options for notes posted by others, and the Remove note button if they posted in your Notebook.

Moderation of Writing.Com Support Newsfeed Notes
Different areas of the site have different content rating limitations. Posting on the Writing.Com Support newsfeed activities is a privilege, not a right. It is unfortunate some people can't control their language in a public space on the site. The Writing.Com Support newsfeed posts are available and visible to members of every age, thus the site must be strict in moderation of those to "family friendly" content. If this type of moderation is not what you're looking for in a site, we wish you the best with your writing -- there's other very open and very un-moderated platforms for writers. We've chosen not to do that and to go with a more moderated approach.

Inappropriate comments to Writing.Com Support notes will be removed when found or reported, and will result in the member being blocked from posting anything in the Writing.Com Support Notebook. If you ever see inappropriate content on a public Writing.Com Support newsfeed posting, we want to know about it ASAP -- please post the note ID number and username of the member in "Technical Support Forum" .


Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between my Notebook tab and my Notepad pages?
Your Notepad page(s) and ScratchPad page are private areas of your portfolio which can be used for your notes. Your Notebook tab is a public area of your portfolio where you can communicate with others. Notes you post in your Notebook tab are added to the Community Newsfeed.

Oops! I accidentally reported/blocked someone from my Notebook tab. How do I undo that?
Go to your Notebook tab.
Click on the gear icon at the upper right to open the Manage area.
Look for these buttons near the top:
         View Reported Posts • View Blocked Members

Check both places. Each should have a button that is labeled to indicate that it undoes the action per individual note/comment.
The button for the View Blocked Members is labeled: Clear this Block

Use the "undo" button(s) to clear the block or undo the report for the appropriate person/note. You will probably get a check mark or a success message, or a confirm box and then a success message.

Afterward, click the View Reported Posts • View Blocked Members buttons again to close the details, then click the X at the upper right to close the Manage area.

What happens to notes when someone closes their account?
When someone closes their account, their Notebook and all content is deleted along with their account. Their notes will no longer appear in the Newsfeeds. The notes they have posted in other people's Notebook tabs will no longer be visible.

Recommended Reading

1. Access Restrictions
2. Content Rating System (CRS)
3. Overview of Your Portfolio
4. Newsfeed

Footnotes
1  Updated by northernwrites; written by Diane