Community Guidelines



Community Guidelines


Keep it Real

Here at Blurb, we take privacy seriously. Whatever you share about yourself or your books is entirely up to you. However, if you're going to be active in the Forums or commenting in the bookstore, we ask that you use your “real” Blurb account. Meaning, the account you use to upload, buy, and/or sell your books should be the same account you use for participating in the Forums and book commenting. Using your “real” account shows everyone that you’re an active book maker and that ensures credibility and community.

Keep it Cool

We all have bad days, but the Blurb Forums and Bookstore are not the place to take out your frustrations. Everyone should feel comfortable and welcome to participate without the risk of being flamed, insulted, or put down. For those participating in the Forums community, please take the time to welcome and guide new Forum members while they learn the ropes, and please treat everyone with patience, manners, and respect. Similarly, while we encourage helpful feedback and constructive critique of Blurb, its services, and on the public books in the bookstore, blanket insults, fictitious or inaccurate accusations, and overly hateful posts or comments will be removed.

Keep it to Yourself

Not that you'd ever dream of doing this, but never post any account-sensitive information in the Forums or book comments, especially order IDs, passwords, street addresses, and phone numbers. Posting your email address in the Forums or in a book comment isn't recommended either. Look at your Blurb Profile to see the only type of info we recommend sharing.

This Space is Not for Rent

Promoting your book in the Forums and on your book detail page is not only allowed, but very much encouraged. However, posts and comments about miracle weight-loss pills and get-rich-quick schemes are not. Also, regardless of its validity, posting the same message over and over across different threads or on different books is considered spamming. In short, we don’t allow advertisements or spam of any kind. If you come across any ads or spam on the Forums, give us a holler using our feedback form and we'll get rid of it. Or you can flag inappropriate comments for language and spam directly on the book detail page.

Copyrighted or Trademarked Materials

Plain and simple: It's against the law to post any copyrighted or trademarked material unless you're the owner of said copyright or trademark. If it's not yours, don't post it.

Inappropriate Language

We understand the need for the occasional colorful colloquialism, but excessive and unnecessary profanity isn't appropriate on blurb.com. Please keep it PG-13.

Banning

Every now and then, we may run across a real wisenheimer that causes all kinds of trouble on the Forums and within the Bookstore community. If and when that happens, we reserve the right to ban that user, which means his or her account will be suspended.

Managing User Content

While each member is responsible for the content they post on the site (in the Forums, Bookstore, and blog), we have the right (but not the obligation) to edit, remove, or repurpose any post or thread in the Blurb Forums. We may occasionally edit a Forums post if it contains inappropriate content that can be easily removed without changing the overall message of the post and in doing so, helps clarify the overall message of the post or if the post is valuable.

We may remove a Forums post or book comment altogether if it is completely without merit, ignored one of the rules listed above, or contained a one-off Customer Support issue that was resolved. A Blurb author also has the right to delete a book comment made about their book.

Check out our Terms and Conditions to learn more.

Share Your Thoughts

We love to get input. Please send any Community-related ideas, critiques, and compliments by way of our feedback form.

Customer Support Help


Technical Issues

If you have any technical questions or issues with Blurb’s book making tools or website, start by looking through our FAQs.

If you have a support issue that is not addressed in our FAQs, contact Blurb's Customer Support team.

Questions About Your Order

Wondering when you'll receive the book you ordered? The Forums community cannot help with specific ordering issues, so start with your My Blurb page, where you'll find order status, shipment tracking numbers, and more details right at the top of the page. If you have questions about a recently placed order, head over to your Orders page. If you have any questions or concerns about a Blurb book you've already received, or a book that never showed up, please contact Customer Support.

Forums policies


How Should I Use Forums?


To Get Help

There are a lot of smart and helpful members of the Blurb community who are experts on making books. Tap into the community and get help whenever you need it.

To Share Tips

This is the place for insider tricks and tips. If you have mad book-making skills, or want them, this is where you need to be.

To Get Inspired

At a loss for words? Need a muse? The Forums are a great place to find ideas for your next book. Check out some Blurbarian success stories or discuss what inspires you.

To Get Acquainted

Last, but certainly not least, this is a great place to meet and chat with other Blurbarians. You'll get to know like-minded people who are into the stuff that you're into too.

Rules Specific to Forums

Remember, the Forums are a public meeting place. What you share here goes onto your Member Profile page for the world to see, so please follow our Community Guidelines and pay particular attention to the following Forums-specific rules.

Locking Threads

Moderators have the right to lock a thread when a topic is outdated, completely and accurately answered, and/or when a thread jumps to two pages. We will be very clear when we do this and will encourage everyone to start fresh topics if needed.

Posting Links

Feel free to post a link to another site if it will help answer a question, support a discussion, or let the rest of the community know a little more about you. Links pointing to spam or anything racist, pornographic, or otherwise inappropriate for the community-at-large will be removed immediately.

Individual Posts

Forum members cannot edit or remove their own posts once they are live. We recommend you read over your own posts carefully before posting because your posts will live on within the Forums and are accessible to those who view your Blurb Profile.

You cannot delete your own posts because if you were allowed to do so, an existing forum thread may no longer make sense, and/or you were simply using the post to get attention for one-off customer support issues (which is in violation of our guidelines) when you probably should have used our support forms.

Commenting policies


How Should I Use Book Commenting?

Book commenting is fun and simple if you follow the Community Guidelines and pay extra attention to these Commenting Policies. If you're an author you can get great feedback from current and potential customers. Show the community that you are listening by allowing all feedback – good and bad – to show up on your book detail page.

If you're a commenter, remember that someone made this book and is sharing it with everyone. Positive comments are an inspiration for everyone and help build a great community. If you want to spoil someone's day with inappropriate comments and make yourself look bad, take your bad comment mojo elsewhere. Being flagged is not a game and something we take very seriously.

Book Commenting Features and Rules


Available for public books only

Your book must be publicly viewable to receive comments. To make a book public, find it in your list of books and click the "settings" link.

Commenting on/off toggle

Commenting may be turned off for any Public book by the author. Edit the “Book Commenting” status in your Account Info to make your choice.

Commenting open to all registered Blurbarians

Any registered member of Blurb can make a comment. You know you want to, so just do it!

Comment flagging

Find an inappropriate or offensive comment? You don't have to be signed-in to flag it for review by Blurb staff.

Comments removal

Authors can delete comments on their own books, simple as that.

Comments email notifications

Authors can receive email notifications whenever a comment is made on their book. You can turn this feature on by editing the Email Settings in your Account Info.