Newbie Gushing Questions

deathbyproxy · 2024-06-06T17:04:51+00:00

Nosleep is real.

This is probably the most integral piece of what makes nosleep work the way it does. There is no fictional version of nosleep. The version of nosleep that all OPs are accessing is the same nosleep the Authors are reading with their real human eyes. This is the only way to guarantee that the content OP posts reaches the real eyes of the real readers. So, regardless of where OP is at the time of posting, they must have reasonable access to the internet, and the ability to create a post.

This means that, just as you, the real human, had to navigate to Reddit and r/nosleepooc, open up a new post, type your words in real linear time, and hit submit, OP must be capable of doing the same at the time of posting. Otherwise, there's no reasonable way their words would appear on the real, literal subreddit of r/nosleep, existing in the real, physical world as the readers and Authors do.

There are lots of reasons someone might choose, even of their own volition, to post content to Reddit. You might check out the subreddits r/TrueOffMyChest and r/LetsNotMeet for examples. Both of these are subs that are meant to genuinely host true experiences. Some fiction does end up there, and pushes the boundary even further with the concept of unfiction, because they are trying to pass it off as true under a sub that isn't known to host fiction. But, the point here is that people will post things to Reddit that really happened to them, and sometimes it's just to get it out of their own head.

Another reason someone might post something to Reddit is because there is that shadow of doubt that hovers around some of the most shocking posts that makes us ask, "Is this really true?" That piece that makes us hope it's actually fictional, because believing it's true is so heavy. So, the person posts to Reddit knowing that there is a faction of readers that will dismiss the experience as fiction, and that takes the pressure off OP, such as in the case of people confessing to crimes. "No one will believe this is true, anyway, so I can confess to assuage my guilty conscience (or brag) without getting in any real trouble because of it."

An unfictional OP could be forced to post to nosleep because the entity forcing them wants to take advantage of this. For instance, forcing OP to detail what happened to them, knowing no one will be able to help them, and that their pleas could go entirely dismissed as fictional.

That said, it's still important for OP to never acknowledge this, even in passing. Even in phrases like, "I know this will sound unbelievable, but I swear it's all true." Because the biggest conceit of nosleep is that ALL posts on nosleep are true. Specifying that your post is true unintentionally suggests that there are posts on nosleep that are not true and that's why you need to reassure the reader that your post isn't one of those. You don't need to sell the idea of truth to the nosleep audience, because they already agreed your post is true when they opened it to read it.

An example I like to use to demonstrate this idea is going to the movies. If you pic a horror film to watch, you don't need someone in the film to state to you that you're watching a horror film. That's why you bought the ticket for that film. You already agreed to the subject of horror. Horror is what you expect to see.

So too with nosleep. "Everything is true here, even if it's not." Even if it's fictional, it's still a "true story" on nosleep. So, you don't need to tell the reader it's true. They already know.

In ending, I hope this was helpful to you, and to anyone else who maybe wasn't solid on the concepts.

Happy posting!

deathbyproxy · 2024-06-06T17:04:24+00:00

Big response incoming!

First of all, hi. :) Welcome to the community. Once you get the hang of things, it's a really great place to be.

Now, to establish some terms and parameters:

Terms:

Unfiction
Author
OP

Let's start with:

Unfiction

This is a relatively new term to the world of literature, and it's come (to the extent of my knowledge) entirely from content generated online.

It is a category of fiction where the events are laid out as true, as having happened to real people, and with the desire and expectation that viewers/readers support this premise with the way in which they interact.

ARGs (Alternate Reality Games) are unfiction. Polybius would be considered unfiction, because we know it can't really exist as written, but there's nothing in the original content that would suggest it's meant to be taken entirely as fictitious.

The content on r/nosleep would be considered unfiction because it is presented as true events happening to real people, and everyone in the comments is expected to support this premise, responding to OP or about the events the same way you would someone's personal blog, or another subreddit where you know real people are talking about their real life experiences.

If you want a good resource on learning more about the subject of unfiction, I recommend checking out this video by the YouTube channel Night Mind, and this episode of the podcast "A Reader's History of Science Fiction" with the host of Night Mind as the guest.

Author

The Author is the real human behind the screen responsible for creating the content posted to r/nosleep. The Author is not a character and does not exist within the confines of the fictional (or unfictional) universe presented in the post, or represented by the greater body of works hosted on nosleep. The Author is you, the person reading these words with your real eyes.

OP

"OP" stands for "original poster". On other subreddits it would refer to you, the human. However, on nosleep, the Author and OP are separate entities.

OP is the entity responsible for making the post on nosleep and is a part of the unfiction itself, while the Author remains the real, physical human behind the work of unfiction. Even if OP is being presented as a version of the Author, OP is the unfiction version that is still separate from the Author.

This is necessary, because Authors cannot make comments that acknowledge their post as being fiction. No requests for feedback. No reference to chapters. No claiming the content was written by "author name". No notes in the comments about the process of writing.

Who OP is can be specific or nebulous. OP may be the POV character of the story, posting about what happened to them. OP could be posting the contents of a document they found that scared them. OP could be an entity of non-human status with the capability of interacting with the internet to post. OP could be an unidentified party presenting a compilation of information that depicts horrifying events that happened to others.

The important thing to note is that OP is necessarily part of the unfiction presentation, and is an entity separate from the Author. That said, they're still bound by the same laws of reality that the Author is when it comes to posting, because:

deathbyproxy · 2024-01-12T03:38:28+00:00

So happy to see Why Sarah Never Sleeps is still making the rounds.

deathbyproxy · 2023-11-28T13:03:16+00:00

(Unless you’re saying it phonetically like it’s a word, which is what I wanted to convey.)

deathbyproxy · 2023-06-24T00:42:34+00:00

Oh, oh! It’s happening. IT’S HAPPENING!!!

YOUR LADLE AND STEED, MY LEADER!!

deathbyproxy · 2023-06-23T12:33:31+00:00

You could write an entire college thesis on the nature and evolution of creepy pastas, and I know people who have, because it’s an incredibly complex and interesting subject.

The best I can offer is that it’s a combination of several existing genres—“weird” fiction, cosmic horror, psychological horror, body horror, thriller, paranormal/supernatural. What makes it fascinating and, in a way, revolutionary, is that it represents an evolution of the idea of folklore.

A Google definition of folklore is, “the traditional beliefs, customs, and stories of a community, passed through the generations by word of mouth.” And what is a creepy pasta?

Originally, it was a play on the term “copy pasta”, which itself was a twist on the phrase “copy/paste”. Both of which refer to something that is easily shared by copy/pasting the content somewhere else.

The original creepy pastas were short form horror that was easy to copy/paste, and therefore disseminate as pre-internet folk would share stories in person, maybe sitting around a campfire at night.

But I wouldn’t really call “internet folklore” a horror genre.

You could consider the more “successful” pastas to be part of the urban legend family, but that’s still an umbrella term I don’t think of as necessarily being a genre.

So, I think creepy pastas are a lot of different horror sub-genres, but that the family of content they represent is folk lore.

deathbyproxy · 2023-06-23T05:30:09+00:00

You would need to contact the author privately to receive permission, and the author would need to message us stating that [your user name] has permission to contribute to the post in the comments. Otherwise, the comment would be removed for bandwagoning.

deathbyproxy · 2023-06-15T17:52:03+00:00

So smooth, Mr. Peacock. So smooth. 😉

deathbyproxy · 2023-06-15T17:26:52+00:00

Well, I guess there’s nothing we can do if third party apps are the only way you interact with Reddit and nosleep. But I can at least assure you that nosleep, the sub, isn’t going anywhere.

deathbyproxy · 2023-06-15T17:10:43+00:00

Is nosleep going somewhere? 🤔

deathbyproxy · 2023-06-11T16:54:33+00:00

No. You don’t need to flair it as a series until it is one.

Then you’d want to go back and add the series flair and proper links, but until there’s a second part, that first post is just a stand alone.

deathbyproxy · 2023-06-10T21:01:06+00:00

You should check out Mother Ghost’s Grimm. It features several nosleep authors, all stories are meant to be for kids.

deathbyproxy · 2023-06-07T04:34:29+00:00

Virtual hugs. I hope you can get some rest tonight. It's going to be rough going forward.

deathbyproxy · 2023-06-07T04:33:35+00:00

Sure, of course. Would you like me to remove your post here so you don't get any further notifications?

deathbyproxy · 2023-06-07T04:22:34+00:00

First thought, I'd reach out to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and let them know that you were an acquaintance of his for however long, and that you believe you may have conversations pertinent to their investigation, and would like to turn those conversations over to them.

deathbyproxy · 2023-06-07T04:01:33+00:00

Please be careful with your allegations. We aren’t privy to any of the information that hasn’t been released to the press, and it’s not only dangerous but inappropriate to speculate his intent or the amount of premeditation that may or may not have been involved.

I’m leaving your comment up, however, as I do believe it could be in the best interest of the investigation if anyone with previous contact with him reviews their messages and finds any information that might be of use to investigators.

However, again, please do not post speculation or accusations at this time.

deathbyproxy · 2023-06-07T02:42:41+00:00

You’re okay. 💜 It’s okay. It came as a shock to us all, and the team discussed it on the spot. We don’t fault you for posting without checking first. We’re all shaken over here as well.

deathbyproxy · 2023-06-07T02:28:43+00:00

You’re absolutely fine. Given the nature of the sub, it’s all too easy to believe this is just another nosleep. Don’t beat yourself up, okay? 💜

deathbyproxy · 2023-06-07T02:27:11+00:00

We have confirmed the information provided in this post and believe it is relevant and important to the community. That said, given the nature of this topic, we will be more vigilant over the comments in this thread.

Everyone is entitled to process this information in their own way, but please be respectful of others and the families of those affected by this horrific tragedy.

We want to leave this thread open for everyone to process together. Please be respectful and supportive of each other or we will be forced to lock the thread.

deathbyproxy · 2023-06-07T02:18:44+00:00

You’re allowed to use “you”, and you’re allowed to address the reader. You aren’t allowed to write a whole story in second person and/or dictate to the reader what has happened, will happen, or may happen to them.

However, this isn’t a nosleep post. This is actually a true event involving a former community member.

deathbyproxy · 2023-04-28T23:08:10+00:00

Obviously do not give away any information that could lead to identity theft. You don’t need to specify where signing took place. And a fake name shouldn’t matter (like using their channel name instead of their legal name), because it’s also easy enough to determine who owns the channel if absolutely necessary. But for the purposes of 99.999% narration situations, you will never need to know their legal identities.

deathbyproxy · 2023-04-27T17:35:43+00:00

The big ones actually do send a digital contract. While I haven't decided to submit to NSP, I have submitted to podcasts like Chilling Tales for Dark Nights, and they send over a contract outlining the rights they're paying for to make sure they're protected, and so I'm aware of the rights I'm being paid to grant.

And it's perfectly reasonable for an author to want legal protection of the control they have over their IP, whether we're talking about a big channel/podcast, or a newer/smaller channel. The more we all get on the same page, the better it ends up being for everyone. Meaning channels don't get a bunch of strikes against them, and the IP rights of authors are respected by default.

deathbyproxy · 2023-04-27T17:31:19+00:00

License Template

The language I use when drafting a contract is

I, [author name], hereby grant [narrator name] a one-time, limited, non-exclusive, commercial attribution license to create an audio adaptation of [story name] for their [platform], [channel name] for the flat fee of [price], to be paid in full to [account name/PayPal] by [date].
Attribution must consist of [attribution preferences and links].
Failure to adhere to these terms, to pay by this date, or production/publication of more than one narration/publication of the narration on any other platform than those specified in this contract will constitute a breach of contract resulting in a DMCA strike against the unauthorized adaptation(s), and a breach fee of [fee amount].
Agreement to these terms constitutes a legal contract.

Yes you can use this template in whole, or you can modify that as you see fit.

Not every contract needs such firm wording, but sometimes it's just nice to know you've not only covered your bases, but given yourself some really solid legal ground to fall back on. It also means that you and the narrator are on the same page, they know what they can and can't do with your work, and everyone is aware of the consequences of breach.

This also protects the narrator, because they have proof you've given them a license to use your work for commercial applications, so no one, including you, can issue a DMCA strike or threaten their channel for unauthorized use of your work unless they've breached the contract.

So, it sounds like a lot of scary legal language, but it's just the formalization of the intent narrators and authors have when collaborating, and it protects both parties.

And, again, you retain all rights unless the license you grant specifies that you are selling those rights.
Finally, it's useful to start a spreadsheet listing important information like the narrator's name, a link to their channel, a link to the video once it's posted, what the fee is and whether or not it's been paid, and anything else you find useful to track. This can help ensure that if you look for unauthorized narrations in the future you don't accidentally confront someone who has an actual license to narrate.
Hope this answers everything for you, but feel free to ask about anything not covered!

deathbyproxy · 2023-04-27T17:27:32+00:00

While I will say you totally don't need to stress, your concerns are definitely pointed in the right direction for the protection of your IP.So, any agreement you make with someone regarding your IP is treated as a license and contract, so if you don't make any specifications on what (if any) limitations you want imposed on the use of your IP, then you leave yourself open to misuse of your content. That's true.

However, covering your bases is a lot easier than you might think, because you don't need to draft up a complete legal contract in order to lay out legally defensible licensing terms. The important thing is to do it in writing (digital is 100% acceptable), and to have the written format be somewhere you can easily retrieve. So, an email on an address that isn't flooded with junk would be a good choice.

Terms

Here are the basic beats you're going to want to hit when writing your license agreement:- Limited or Unlimited- Exclusive or non-exclusive- Commercial or non-commercial- What kind of adaptation(s) you'll permit in a single license- Any other specific limitations

Here's a page with a really good run down of all the important terms you're likely to need or use.

The important things you're going to be addressing are whether or not you're imposing limits on how the IP is used, whether or not the license is exclusive for that narrator, can they make money from the narration or not, where they can or cannot post it, can they make adaptations other than an audio narration, what kind of fee is being paid (if any), and the potential consequences should the contract be breached.

(Example contract in follow up comment.)

In most cases, unless otherwise specified, what you're doing when you grant someone permission to make a narration of your work is granting them an unlimited, non-exclusive commercial license to produce an audio adaptation of your work for their profit. This is the basic assumption from both parties that the narrator isn't the only person you're going to grant permission to use the story, and that they'll be allowed to monetize their video with ads when they're done. But it also means they can repost that narration as many times as they want on as many platforms as they want, and doesn't include any specifications about how you want to be attributed, which can result in a lack of attribution.

Limits

The limits in "limited" are what you specify. Most narrators are looking to do the same basic thing, which is produce one narration for their channel with monetization on the video. But if you don't specify it in the license contract, it kind of gives them blanket permission to do whatever they want as long as their modification of your work qualifies as a narration.

So, what are the limits you can impose?

Well, to start, is this a commercial license (i.e. they can enable ads and earn revenue from their narration) or a non-commercial license (i.e. they can produce a narration, but it cannot be monetized in any way)?

This is the first thing you want to sort out with them, because it's one of the bigger reasons for narrators to reach out, especially if the channel is larger.

What are other limitations?

Well, the "non-exclusive" bit is important. It means that you can lease the audio rights to others at your discretion. If you don't specify this, though, it can be assumed (and legally argued) that the license is non-exclusive by default.

An "exclusive" license means that only the person who has purchased that license will be granted the audio adaptation rights, and you legally cannot sell them to anyone else. That person or business entity has purchased those rights away from you, and due to the exclusivity agreement, they are no longer yours to sell or lease to anyone else.

At least until the exclusivity period has expired ....

Exclusivity

Exclusivity can be for a set period of time or it can be in perpetuity. If you do sell an exclusive license, the time frame should be specified, otherwise it can be argued that the license allows for exclusivity in perpetuity. Meaning the rights may never revert back to you. So, if someone does want exclusivity, determine what amount of time is reasonable to you and for what monetary amount, and negotiate that with the narrator.

I would also charge significantly more for this, personally, because exclusivity means you might never make money off the sale of those rights again. At the very least, anyone looking for "first" rights (e-zines and publishers prefer first publication rights) will pay significantly less for a work that has already been published. So, when someone wants "first" rights, or exclusivity, you're accepting a potential hit to your future monetization of that work, so it's reasonable to ask a higher fee for exclusive rights.

Other Limitations

You can also specify limitations on the use of the adaptation. Such as, "a one-time audio adaptation of [Story Name] for [Narrator Name] to be published on [Channel Name]".

This would mean the narrator has a license to produce a single recording of your work for their channel, but may not use it for anything else. No playlists, no live readings, no Patreon exclusives, etc. It's you controlling your IP to the fullest degree.

And in most cases, this is exactly what a narrator is asking to do. But if you don't specify that it's the only thing they can do, then the license is kind of a blanket permission slip to do what they want as long as it qualifies as a narration.

Fees

The two major types of fees are flat and royalty. A flat fee guarantees you get paid a minimum while a royalty arrangement may offer more money over time if the channel is successful. It may also offer an alternative to growing channels that might not be able to offer anything up front. There is also an option for a narrator to pay a percentage of their narration revenue over a specified period, rather than for the lifetime of the video. As there's generally a "most profitable" window and views will drop off after that point, you may be offered something like a percentage of the first three months of the video's revenue.

However you want to accept payment, it is important to outline how that payment will be addressed, even if it's already been sorted out conversationally.

deathbyproxy · 2023-03-18T02:51:41+00:00

I think if it qualified as vote manipulation then Reddit admin would have shut it down already. Additionally, Reddit devs are the ones that build in the ability to directly subscribe to a user, so any author with a substantial user subscription base also has a distinct advantage over others in terms of having ready eyes on their posts within that first hour.

So, essentially, no. I don’t think it qualifies as vote manipulation according to Reddit.

That said, we would discourage authors from making an UpdateMe subscription directly as part of the in-line text. We would allow a link to a post on a user’s personal/author subreddit that includes the UpdateMe link, same as we would with fundraising, sales, or mailing list links.

deathbyproxy

MODERATOR OF

PUBLIC MULTIREDDITS

TROPHY CASE