The Waiting Room
House Rules.
Version 2026-09-08
Who you are here
You participate under a pseudonym with a random number attached. We do not ask for an email, a name, or an account. The only way back into your pseudonym is your recovery key, which is shown once, when it is created. If you lose it, we cannot restore access. You can replace the key from your session screen; replacing it invalidates the old key and signs out every session.
Review before publication
Every topic and reply is read by a moderator before it appears. New contributions are visible only to you, in My contributions, with their status. If a moderator declines something, you will see that and any feedback they left for you there.
Published means published
Once a moderator approves a post, it becomes part of the public record and cannot be deleted. You can propose a revised version of your own text — the approved version stays visible until a moderator approves the replacement — or withdraw a contribution, which removes it from the public record immediately. Moderators may redact or remove content that breaks these rules; removals are recorded internally.
What belongs here
Stories about refusals, rejection letters, gatekeeping, and what follows them. Speak from your own experience. Do not post personal information — yours or anyone else's. No harassment, no advertising, no impersonation. The reserved name “The Department” speaks for the moderators.
If something is wrong
Every public post has a report link. Reports are anonymous; you may leave an optional reply email, which is stored only as contact information and never linked to any pseudonym. A human reads every report.