Tired of playing 20 questions when it comes to mailing lists? This guide
should help, whether you're new to Sith Chicks or just forgot how things work around here.
1) What exactly is Sith Chicks?
2) Who can join the list, and how?
3) What can I post to the list?
4) Are there restrictions regarding signatures and file-sharing?
5) How do I post my fanfic? What guidelines do I need to follow?
6) What kind of fanfiction can be posted here?
7) How do I get my fanfiction story into the Sith Chicks Archive?
8) What do all those terms mean??
9) Why are there all these boxes () and question marks (?) in my story?
10) How do I unsubscribe, change my email address, or change my mail delivery options?
11) You keep mentioning the listmoms. Who and what are they?
12) So what happens if I don't follow the list rules?
13) Okay, I'm subscribed to the list and I've read the FAQs. Now what?
1) What exactly is Sith Chicks?
Sith Chicks is a mailing list and Fan Fiction archive for Star Wars Chicks who are 18 years and older and enjoy the "adult" aspect of Star Wars. This is a fanfiction and discussion list about the side of Star Wars that Lucas and his novelists won't (and can't) write. Fanfiction and discussion topics range from PG to NC-17 - usually skewed towards the NC-17 side. We are mostly all women, though we have been known to let the occasional male in to play.
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2) Who can join the list, and how?
The Sith_Chicks mailing list at Yahoo!Groups is open to any female Star Wars fan who is 18 years of age or older (no exceptions!), due to the adult content discussed on the list. Men are also welcome to become honorary Sith Chicks, as long as they promise to behave (certain members may bite).
To join our list, you must have a valid Yahoo ID and be at least 18 years or older. Sign into Yahoo!Groups and go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sith_Chicks and click "Join this Group". New memberships now require moderator approval, due to the increased amount of spam being filtered through Yahoo. While we regret the inconvenience (to both new members and moderators), it has helped immensely. Once a new member proves to us they are a real person and not a spam-bot, all restrictions regarding posting are removed.
3) What can I post to the list?
This is mainly a Star Wars fanfiction list, but any discussion regarding Star
Wars is welcome. Feedback regarding fics posted to the list is strongly
encouraged. This can either be done publicly over the list, or sent
privately to the author. Constructive criticism is welcomed; flames and
hate mail is not.
Off Topic (not related to some aspect of Star Wars or Fanfiction) posts are allowed, as long as they are marked clearly by an "OT" in the subject line. Please use common sense when posting
off topic subjects. If you're unsure about a topic, contact one of the
listmoms before posting it. (This is done out of courtesy to other members, who don't have time to skim 100 emails, 95 of which are about Suzie's new tattoo. The OT allows them to mass-delete Suzie and her tattoo.)
When replying to posts, please trim as much of the original message as you can
from your reply. This is especially important when giving feedback on
fanfics. You must remember to delete the fanfic from the reply before
sending the message to the list. This is especially important for people
who receive the digest messages. They do not want to scroll through 3
lines of feedback and 100 lines (or more) of the story over and over again.
Spoilers for Episode III, or for new books, must be clearly marked, and
ample spoiler space must be given. Please use good judgment and be
considerate of others who may not want to know.
Spam mail, email forwards (like chain mail and the typical "If you don't
forward this to 50 people by the time the sun sets today you will have bad luck
for 6 years and lose all your hair"), and advertisements are not permitted,
unless previously approved by a listmom.
Other than that, we are a very friendly group, and almost anything goes. Just use common-sense, and be courteous of others. New members are always welcome, but they should be warned that this is a very well-established list, with some members dating back 5 years or more. Civil discussions and debates on all sorts of taboo topics are the norm, but new members should invoke discretion before jumping in head first and turning civil discussions into free-for-all cat-fights. (Should this occur, your friendly neighborhood listmom will distribute cute little cease & desist notices, bringing further public "discussion" on the topic to a halt. Any additional discussions on the topic must then be carried out off-list.)
4) Are there restrictions regarding signatures and file-sharing?
Attachments are not permitted. If you forget this, Yahoo will very nicely remove it for you and toss it in the virtual trash can. If you wish to share a file with the list,
upload it to the Yahoo!Groups site or to a private webserver (like Geocities),
and then notify the group of the location of the file. Please do not use the Yahoo!Groups site to upload your fanfiction files. Email it to the list as outlined below.
Signatures should be 5 lines long or less. If your signature is longer
than the message you are sending out, it needs to be shortened. No one
likes to open a message that has 3 lines of feedback and 15 of signature quotes
and links.
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5) How do I post my fanfic? What guidelines do I need to follow?
You can post stories at any time by sending them to Sith_Chicks@yahoogroups.com.
Some e-mail programs have difficulty with messages over 30K in length, so please
divide your story into manageable chapters.
To identify your fic, the subject line of your message should read "FIC:
Obi-Wan's Bad Day (#/?)" where "#" is the chapter number and "?" is the total number of chapters.
Make sure you include a header at the top of your story, with the following
information:
Title: of the story
Sequel or Prequel: If your story is a sequel, prequel or part of a series, let
us know where it fits in your timeline.
Author: Your name and email address
Rating: G, PG, PG-13, R, or NC-17
Characters: The main characters in your story
Category: Drama, Humor, Slash, ABH, PWP, Romance, Seduction, Song Fic, BDSM, AU, POV, Angst
Disclaimer: Be sure you include a statement saying that you didn't make any
money off your story and that the characters don't belong to you.
Summary: Two or three lines describing your story.
**Make sure you check your spelling before you send it out!**
6) What kind of fanfiction can be posted here?
If it is about Star Wars, it is welcome here. The majority of the fiction
posted to Sith_Chicks is R or NC-17, which is why we have an age restriction. General stories, rated PG-13 or below, are usually shared on the regular
StarWarsChicks Fanfiction list, located at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SWCFanFic
Please include disclaimers on your fiction if it deals with an explicit topic. Many members of the list have preferences regarding what they read. For
example, slash is welcome on this list, but not everyone likes to read it. Disclaimers and warnings allow those who don't enjoy reading everything the
opportunity to skip topics they don't care for.
7) How do I get my fanfiction story into the Sith Chicks archive at http://starwarschicks.com/sithchicks?
All fanfiction sent to the mailing list will be archived, providing it meets the following criteria: It must contain the appropriate header information (see 5 above) and it must eventually come to an end. Stories that never reach completion will not be archived.
If you want to send a story to the list but don't want it to be archived, include a line in your fic header titled "Archive:" with a request that it not be archived.
Also, fanfiction may be emailed directly to Crysta at 
Send either text or HTML files as either the body of an email or as an attachment. Do not send Word documents (To convert, in Word, choose "Save As" and select "Plain Text *.txt"). You do not need to send Crysta a second copy if you are serializing your story on the list, unless you prefer to have a fancier/neater copy of your story archived.
Finally, please be patient. Archival of fanfiction is not automatic, and Crysta has trouble with Real Life interfering with her archiving time. She does her best. In the mean time, Yahoo! Groups saves every message sent to the list. These messages can be found in the "messages" section of the Sith_Chicks group homepage, located at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sith_Chicks
8) What do all those terms mean??
ABH: Anywhere But Here - a story written in the second person point of
view, where the main character is "you".
Angst: One or more characters suffers intense emotions of apprehension or
heartache. Everything is not happy-go-lucky.
AU: Alternate Universe. These stories take characters out of their normal surroundings and place them elsewhere.
BDSM: Bondage, Domination, Sadism, and/or Masochism. Do I really need to
elaborate?
Het: Heterosexual - pairing two characters of the opposite sex (M/F - male
paired with female)
POV: Point of view - a story told from a character's point of view
PWP: Plot? What Plot? - A story with a lot of sex and little or no
plot development.
Rating: G - Fine for kids (think Disney movies)
PG - Minor curse words, minor violence
PG-13 - Not really suitable for kids under 13. References to sex, slight
violence.
R - violence, sex, bad language
NC-17 - explicit sex, graphic violence, graphic language
Slash: Pairing two characters of the same sex together (M/M - male paired
with male, F/F - female paired with female)
Song Fic: A short piece of writing based on a song.
WIP: Work in progress - a fanfic that has been started, but is not
finished yet.
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9) Why are there all these boxes () and question marks (?) in my story?
Chances are, you wrote your story using Microsoft Word. Those boxes and question marks appear because Microsoft Word and a few other word processors use an auto format that changes regular quotation marks ("), apostrophes ('), and ellipses (...) into something called smart quotes. These characters are not ASCII, however, and many computers do not know what they are when faced with them. Yahoo is especially notorious for replacing quotation marks with question marks.
To correct this problem, you need to change a setting in your word processor to make it not replace straight quotes with smart quotes. In Microsoft Word this can be done by choosing "AutoFormat" from the "Format" menu, choosing "Options", and removing the check in the box next to "Change straight quotes to smart quotes". The other solution is to manually go through your story before posting it and replace all the quotation marks yourself. If you have a "Find and Replace" option in your text editor, that would work as well.
10) How do I unsubscribe, change my email address, or change my mail delivery options?
Yahoo!Groups allows members to modify their own subscriptions. Go to the Yahoo!Groups webpage at http://groups.yahoo.com and enter the "My Groups" area. This will show you all the different Yahoo!Groups you are subscribed to and
allow you to modify your subscription to one or all of the lists. Follow the instructions provided on the
page to change between Individual Emails, Daily Digest, and No Mail / Web Only.
To edit your email address, go to the main Yahoo!Groups page and click on "My Preferences." Follow the instructions you find there for editing/changing email addresses.
11) You keep mentioning the listmoms. Who and what are they?
The listmoms on Sith_Chicks are the moderators. Crysta is in charge, and
Angela Jade is her apprentice. "Always
two, there are..." If
you need to discuss something with one of them, Crysta can be reached at and
Angela Jade can be reached at 
. If your question is about the archive, or something technical, ask Crysta. Anything else can be directed at either of us. This includes questions
you
may have that were not answered by this FAQ.
In addition, Aya and Blitzen help with the moderation of new members, and are always on hand to help out and answer questions.
12) So what happens if I don't follow the list rules?
If you are not 18, you will be removed immediately, no warnings given. Other moderation will depend on the severity of the infraction. First time
offenses will result in a friendly reminder of the rules. Repetitive
misbehavior could result in personal moderation by the listmoms or removal from
the list altogether.
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13) Okay, I'm subscribed to the list and I've read the FAQs. Now
what?
Welcome to the list! Now you can sit back and lurk for a little while to get a feel for the list, or feel free to
jump right in and introduce yourself and enter a discussion. You don't
have to have fanfic to post to be a part of the list. Many of our members are not writers - to begin with. (Muahahahaha!!!)
FAQ updated 1/17/2004.