About tone--yes. You almost have to know the people you're talking to, and while I can read everyone's back posts and get an idea of what you're all like and trust that I won't be "beat up" by you (so to speak), none of you have a clue what sort of raving lunatic I might be. I forget that. (Not very raving, in case you're wondering. And just faintly lunatic.) I have a friend who sent some stuff to a webzine a couple of years ago. He said they sent him a rejection notice, but then he started finding his writing on a few other websites elsewhere and assumes it was "shared" from his submission. Disquieting stuff. Most publishers wouldn't do that, though, I'd think. They'd be risking getting a bad reputation and losing worthwhile submissions. I struggle, too, sometimes with sharing my writing without having published it somewhere first. On the one hand, I want to write for the fun and joy of it alone. After all, that should be enough, shouldn't it? If one's a "true" writer? But then there's the blood, sweat and tears factor of having put all your effort and time into it and finally producing something you're proud of and risking someone else getting credit for it. Another thing I've wondered about regarding sharing stuff on message boards is that most publications want first rights to the pieces they publish. Some of them include first electronic rights. So if I've posted a piece on a message board for feedback, does that mean I've just disqualified the piece for submission to places that want first electronic rights? Lu