Frequently Asked Questions
Did you receive my poem?
You didn't post my poem.....Why?
How often do you update the poetry?
Could someone steal or use my poem?
Where else may my poem be used and why?
Why wasn't I
notified?
I didn't receive the ezine?
How do I contact a poet if they don't have an email or website address?
Links to other great poetry sites!
If your question is not featured above, please email it to us and we'll send you a personal reply. If it's likely to be a commonly asked question, we'll feature it on this page in the future.
Q: Did you receive my poem?
A:Did you receive an emailed copy of your poem? When you submit a poem, the system return-mails you a copy of your poem. If you didn't receive that, then either there was a problem with the server (which can and does happen) or you entered the wrong email address. Simply resubmit your poem.
Q: You didn't post my poem...why?
A:Perhaps there's been a backlog and we're still getting through it. Poems take about a week to post, however if we've just done a marketing blitz and are inundated with new ones, it could take a little longer. Check the site again in a few
days.
If it's been a couple of weeks and you still haven't seen your poem, then there could be a few reasons for this.
1. INSUFFICIENT INFORMATION. If you failed to complete the required fields on the submit form, your poem will not be posted. Check the form and make sure you fill in all the boxes marked with an asterix *, then resubmit.
2. ERRORS. You will have noticed in the Conditions of Participation " funnypoets.com will check and alter if necessary, the grammar, spelling and punctuation of your work". We should have added "within reason".
Some poems come
to us with an incredible number of errors and with the volume of poems submitted, we could pay a full-time team of English teachers just to correct them.
Our Poets Panel really only has time for a quick scan to check for suitabilty and obvious errors. If you think this may be the case
with your poem, please double-check it (or ask someone else to), change your mistakes and re-submit.
(For those sticklers for correct English, we'd be happy for you to run a check over our site and email us any boo-boos. We're not above criticism (or mistakes!).
3. UNSUITABLE CONTENT. The best explanation I've come across was in a FAQ section of a poetry site called Passions in Poetry: ( http://www.netpoets.com ). I've included those words here as they sum up my seniments exactly. "I don't post poems that I think are in bad taste. Yea, I know that's pretty subjective, and I've
heard all the arguments about censorship. But 'Passions' is kind of like my home.
I love it when people come into my living room to visit, and I think of all our visitors as personal friends. I know that sounds like a cliche, but it's nonetheless true. Still, there are some things no one
will take off a friend, some things that just aren't suitable to bring into my living room. Especially when I also have a lot of young people visiting my home.
Like what? We have a section for erotica, and there's a lot of really excellent poetry there. I'm not a prude. But I won't post poems that are little more than descriptions of lurid sex either. There are places for those, but 'Passions' isn't one of them. I also won't post poems that are pure blood and guts.
Same reasoning. Finally, for several months now, I've avoided posting any poems that seem to glorify suicide. While I try to avoid moral judgments, I think people drawn to self-destruction need help, not encouragement. And, yes, you'll find exceptions to all of these rules. Hell, I don't even believe in rules - but I recognize that the
alternative is much worse."
(Thank you to the founder of Passions, Ron Carnell. Visit the site when you can!)
4. CHANGE OF CATEGORY. If we believe a poem is more suited to a different category (if a new, more appropriate category has been created), then we'll move your poem to that category.
After all, what we're aiming for is a user friendly site that makes it easy for the visitor to locate
the type of poem they're after. At the moment, poems are listed in alphabetical order in their category.
5. JUST NOT FUNNY!!! This might be a difficult one to cop and it is indeed a source of constant angst for us. Some poems just don't raise a laugh; not even a giggle or a smirk.
The Poets Panel is really lenient with this as we realise that humour is a very personal thing, so it's
more likely to stay in than be rejected. If we're in doubt, we send it on to another Poets Panel member. If three panel members fail to see any humour...it's out!
To alleviate this, we've found that your introduction can be as important as your poem. Often poems are written in a certain context and unless we, the readers are in on it, we may fail to see the humour, so consider the introduction when submitting.
Oh and the same goes for
'localised' or 'personalised' poems. You might see the humour in the day Mrs Phipps opened her local supermarket, or when Nancy ran out of the church on her wedding day, but maybe nobody else can. Have a good hard look and if in doubt ...hand it about! Ask a (trustworthy) friend for an honest opinion.
Q: How often do you update the poetry?
A:At present, poetry is updated on a weekly basis. Our Poets Panel is a great support group of poets who assist in assessing, correcting (if necessary) and posting the poetry. As the site grows, so will the panel and thus, help to alleviate the overload problems that many similar sites face.
Q: Could someone steal or use my poem?
A:Yes! The only way to totally protect your work is to stay at home and only share your poetry with your cat (but check first that she's not hiding a tape recorder in amongst all that fur!). Seriously, when you share your work with others you take the risk that along the way someone may (accidentally or intentionally) lose (or delete) your name from the poem.
The good news is...your poem is already copyright! Yes, the moment you write it and put your name to it, it's YOUR property. The problem arises if someone pinches it and you want to PROVE that it belongs to you. If you publish your poem in a book or a magazine, it will be protected by international copyright laws and treaties. Same goes with publishing your poem on the Internet.
I won't give advice on copyright laws. I'd rather you take responsibility to find out for yourself first hand, so you can be better informed to make your decisions. Do a search under copyright and you're sure to gain all the information you need.
What I will say however, is how I feel about sharing MY poetry and putting it up on the internet. I gain so much pleasure from having the gift to bring laughter through my words. If my poems reach out to someone and give them joy...great!
I don't need for them to know that I
wrote it! I guess I would rather put my ego aside and give this gift for others to share. I trust that my work will not be exploited and that it will reach everyone who needs to read it (whether it still features my name as author is not an issue...for me)....although I'm not encouraging plagiarism! This sentiment is one shared with many of my 'poet peers'.
At funnypoets.com, we do all we can to protect your rights. Each poem that is submitted to us is kept on file, with the original date of submission. The word 'copyright' and the poetr's name is featured at the bottom of every poem that is posted.
To summarize, yes, someone could steal your poem. And it doesn't matter where you publish it, that is equally true. Just remember, you are protected by international copyright laws.
Please, do the research for yourself and if you're willing to take the risk and spread some laughter, then we'd love to have you on board!
Footnote: Some of the poems we receive are from those famous poets: 'Anonymous' and 'Author Unknown'. If you are the author of one of these poems and you want to either claim it (rightfully so) and leave it on our site, or have it removed, please contact us and we'll be happy to do so.
Q:Where else may my poem be used and why?
A: We advertise and promote funnypoets.com extensively through the web, as well as through traditional media. The best way to attract people to the site is to give them a taste of what it's all about...funny poetry! We select the best (or most appropriate) poems for each particular marketing campaign and release them for printing in newspapers, magazines and newsletters, readings on radio or even during television interviews.
The poet whose poem we feature is credited AT ALL TIMES. When you think about it, to not do so, would be like promoting a book without mentioning the author. On a smaller scale, your poem may be read at poetry readings or festivals and once again, full credit will be given.
The main objective is to send people to the site, so we use poetry as a wonderful 'teaser' to get people interested enough to type in www.funnypoets.com.
Q: Why wasn't I notified? and...
Q: I didn't receive the
ezine?
A:Please double check you email address. If you haven't received anything from us, then it's probably because we have an incorrect address for you (it's an easy mistake to mis-type your address). Just resubmit your email address on the 'submit your poem' form. If there's still no response, please send us an email.
A:Poems are chosen by 'The Poets Panel'. They are selected on the basis of several criteria:
1. It's funny
2. It's
well written
3. People can relate to it
They are rejected if the content may be offensive or inappropriate (eg 'killing, suicide, prostitution, rape, abuse' etc.)
For example we were submitted a very funny, well written poem about the OJ Simpson trial, but rejected it because it was in bad taste. A teenager sent us an explicit poem about sex with his girlfriend. It wasn't very funny and it was also rejected.
Having said that, we do have poems about death, sex, erotica, lust etc.,but they meet the above criteria and are not considered offensive or inappropriate.
Q: How do I contact a poet if they don't have an email or website address?
A:I have gathered poems for funnypoets.com from poets I've met at Festivals, poetry events and in just passing. Some of the poets featured in funnypoets.com don't even own a computer! If you'd like to contact a poet who is not on-line, just send me an email and I'll pass on their contact
details.
Q: Is that it?
A:I'll be adding to our FAQ's on a fairly regular basis. There are still a lot of things to address, and I seem to get new questions in the mail every day. If you didn't find an answer here to your question, feel free to write to me. Yours might just be the next one added here!
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