Community Guidelines
Last updated: July 1, 2026
What's actually allowed and not allowed on Paperbird?
Paperbird is intended for almost all forms of original literature. This includes but is not limited to fiction, non-fiction, poetry, articles, of any kind, from full-length novels to short stories. However, we do NOT allow the following content to be published on Paperbird:
1. Fan-fiction (including but not limited to fan-fiction of books, movies, games, anime, manga, etc.). Content is allowed to be inspired by other works or media, but it must be original and not a derivative work of any other copyrighted material. If you are found to be uploading fan-fiction, your account will be permanently banned and all of your content will be promptly removed. Essentially, no fan-fiction is allowed. You know what fan-fiction is, so don't upload it. Go to AO3!
2. Porn, erotica or sexual content intended for sexual gratification. Content is allowed to contain sexual themes, scenes, and we do not prohibit mature ideas, but we do not allow content that is intended to be sexually gratifying in any way. Scenes or content of this nature must be written in a way that is meaningful to the story and not for yours or anyone else's desires. If you are found to be uploading content that is intended to be sexually gratifying, your account will be permanently banned and all of your content will be promptly removed. Essentially, don't write porn. You know what it is. Again, go to AO3 or somewhere else you deviant.
3. Content that is intended to harass, bully, or discriminate against any individual or group of people. This includes but is not limited to content that is racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, or otherwise discriminatory. Again, we do not prohibit content that includes these themes, but it must be done in a way that is meaningful to the story and respectful to the individuals or groups involved. If you are found to be uploading content that is intended to harass, bully, or discriminate against any individual or group of people, your account will be permanently banned and all of your content will be promptly removed. Essentially, don't be a jerk. You know what this means. Be nice.
Age limits!
Because I don't want to get arrested, we enforce strict age limits:
1. Minimum Platform Age: You must be at least 13 years old (or the digital age of consent in your country of residence) to register an account, post writing, or comment on Paperbird.
2. Mature Content: Some stories contain mature, intense, or sensitive themes (such as heavy violence, gore, self-harm, or non-explicit sexual themes). You must be at least 18 years old to read, write, or comment on any work that carries mature Warning tags. If you are under 18, please stick to general-audience content. The warnings are clearly visible. If you start reading one, it's entirely on you.
Authors who write mature content must act responsibly. If your story contains any sensitive themes, you must apply all relevant Warning tags. Intentionally failing to apply Warning tags to bypass age restrictions or expose younger readers to mature content will result in immediate moderation and potentially a permanent ban.
No AI-generated content!
AI generated content is strictly prohibited on Paperbird. Every single thing that you write or upload must be a product of human creativity. From your stories, to your comments, to your bios, to artworks, to profile pictures, and anything else, must be made entirely by humans. If you are found to be producing or utilizing AI-generated content, your account will be permanently banned and all of your content will be promptly removed.
No stealing!
All content that you upload must be your own work. Stealing content from other writers is strictly prohibited (excluding special cases where permission has been granted with evidence). If you are found to be plagiarizing or copying content, you will be permanently banned and all of your content will be promptly removed.
Keep images appropriate!
Images that you upload to use as your profile picture or book covers must be appropriate. Don't include explicit (NSFW) imagery of any kind. If you are found to be using explicit images in your covers or profile picture, you will be permanently banned and all of your content will be promptly removed. Come on, just upload normal stuff. A cute dog as your profile, not a phallus please.
Credit, credit, credit!
Crediting creators is a fundamental part of this community. Did someone make a cover for your story? Credit and thank them in the story description. Did someone make a profile picture for you? Credit and thank them in your bio. Did you get inspired from any other piece of media? Credit it in the story description. Anything that you think could be even partially considered to be someone else's work in any way? Credit it! It's better to over-credit than to under-credit and then get banned. If you are found to be using unattributed or stolen content, your account will be permanently banned and all of your content will be promptly removed.
Publishing rights scare!
This is covered in the terms of service in scary legal jargon, but I'd feel bad if I didn't try to explain in it my own words. As far as my very limited knowledge on publishing goes, publishers often want something called "First Publishing Rights" to your work. This essentially means they want to be the first and probably only person to be publishing or distributing your work.
Though it is not at all our intention to diminish the chances your piece of writing has in the wider world, please note that publishing your writing on Paperbird very likely counts as giving away the first publishing rights, and very well may affect its prospects in a more professional field. So if you really believe in something you've written, it might not be the best idea to post it here. But I would personally like it. Thanks :D
Chapter sizing and writing guidelines
Although there aren't any hard limits on chapter lengths, we would highly recommend keeping chapters at fewer than 10,000 words per chapter. This ensures that pages load quickly and it doesn't take arduous effort to scroll through your work. Consider breaking up chapters into multiple parts if they feel too long.
Writing is technically possible online on Paperbird, but it is limited and we highly recommend writing all your works in your separate text editor of choice and then copy-pasting it into Paperbird. This ensures that you have a backup of your work, and you can use your preferred writing tools and features. Writing directly on Paperbird is not recommended, and we cannot be held responsible for any lost work due to any technical issues. Please keep saving and backing up your work! It's better to be safe than sorry.
Don't be an idiot! (Be respectful)
Comments and interactions should be respectful and constructive. You're allowed to disagree with someone, you're allowed to dislike their work, and to give it the rating you feel is deserved. But you are not allowed to (including but not limited to) harass, bully, act discriminatory, or be malicious in any way, or else you will be permanently banned and all of your content will be prompty removed. It's not difficult to be a nice, decent human being. You can do it. I believe in you!
Also, I'm not a good developer. Try to use the website properly and don't attempt to break anything intentionally, please and thank you.
Tagging your work!
Tagging your work is the best way to get it discovered by readers. On Paperbird, we have a wide variety of tags available for you to categorize your work with:
1. Genre tags. These are the main tags that describe the categories of your work. Examples include "Fantasy", "Romance", "Science-Fiction", "Non-Fiction", "Poetry", and many more. Please choose the genres that best fit your work. You can select up to 3 genre tags for your work.
2. Structure tags. These are tags that describe the structure and style of your work, without consuming content tag spaces. For example, things like "Novel", "Short Story", "First Person", and many more. Please choose all the structure tags that apply to your work. You can select as many structure tags as you need, so make sure you select all the ones that apply.
3. Content tags. These are tags that describe the content, ideas or tropes found in your work. Examples include "Enemies to Lovers", "Found Family", "Time Travel", "Slice of Life", and many more. Please choose the content tags that best fit your work. You can select up to 10 content tags, so go wild (within reason)!
4. Warning tags. These are tags that describe any triggering or disturbing content that may be present in your work. Examples include "Gore", "Sexual Violence", "Suicide", "Abuse", and many more. Please choose ALL of the warning tags that apply to your work. You can select as many warning tags as you need, so please be thorough and responsible with these disclaimers.
5. Event tags. These are tags that are used to enter your work into active events on Paperbird. If you tag your work with an event tag, it will be automatically entered into that event (including editing a story to add the tag later on). Please make sure to read the rules and guidelines of the event before entering your work to ensure that it is eligible and suitable. You can select as many event tags as you want, but make sure they're all relevant to your work.
If you are found to be misusing tags (including but not limited to) using tags that are not relevant to your work, or failing to use warning tags for triggering content), your account will...probably not get permanently banned-that's a bit dramatic-but we will remove your content and give you a warning to fix it. Repeated offenses will result in a permanent ban, though. So be responsible!
Be careful!
Don't reveal any sensitive personal information anywhere on Paperbird. There are always malicious agents everywhere on the internet, so think twice before setting your username to be your full legal name, or giving a life story in your author notes.
English, please!
English is the only language I feel comfortable moderating in. Therefore, it would be preferable if any and all writing was done entirely in English. Hopefully one day this won't be the case, but for now, please keep writing in English, thank you.
Contacting the Paperbird team!
If you want to request an appeal on a ban or content removal, contact us (you probably won't get it but plead your case well! Also, mistakes can happen). If you want to suggest new tags, please contact us! If you want to suggest a spotlight, please contact us! If you have any questions, concerns, feedback, complaints, or anything else (maybe you just really don't like our guts), please feel free to reach out to us! Our contact details are available on the contact page in the footer. We try to respond to all messages within 24 hours, but don't keep your hopes up.