Community Guidelines
These guidelines go beyond the Terms of Service. Please read and abide by them for a better FAWM experience for everyone!
The general vibe
FAWM is a house party
FAWM has features in common with social media, but FAWM is different. It is a place to develop songs, develop skills, and develop community... not to build a brand. It's a place to make music, not make a scene.
Unless it's, like, a music scene.
It may be helpful to think of FAWM as a house party we throw once a year. You are a guest, your donations are the "slush fund" to keep the party going, and everyone will have the most fun if we treat each other with respect!
And then, at the end of February, the party's over... until next year!
FAWM is special. Let's keep it that way:
- Keep the focus on creativity and productivity.
- Everyone will be reasonable.
- Everyone expects everyone else to be reasonable.
- Do not be offended if you feel someone has suggested you are not being reasonable.
Think about your use of the FAWM site and the needs of others. Express what you want to say, but accept and accommodate the needs of others. The volunteer moderators will work to make sure this principle stays on track.
Moderators reserve the right to remove posts from the forums which they feel may disrupt the discussion within a thread or may mislead other members. In general practical terms, this means:
- Keep comments constructive.
- No attacks, insults, or flamewars (even if you feel attacked, insulted, or flamed).
- If you see abusive comments, use the "report abuse" feature to let the moderators know.
- If you get frustrated with the site or its users, take a break and go write some songs!
- If you feel a fawmer has "cheated" (posting covers, recycling old songs, etc.), don't make a scene. Maybe it is against the ethos of FAWM, but that does not undermine your own achievements!
The Internet is a weird and sometimes rude place. Help us make FAWM the Internet at its best! More detailed suggestions below...
Posting songs
For technical information about posting songs, see Posting Songs and Demos.
If responding to a songwriting game challenge in the forums, try to use the #hashtag prescribed by the fawmer who issued the challenge (usually in the first post).
Reserve the Featured song flag for the song you most want feedback on. It's meant as a guide for fawmers looking to provide feedback but don't have time to listen to all of your material!
If posting songs with profanity or explicit themes, please check the NSFW ("Not Safe For Work") box. This will let listeners know what to expect.
If you participate in a skirmish (one-hour timed group songwriting challenge), your songs will be flagged accordingly. That way people can wait to listen to them all together (Note: you are not expected to listen to every single song written for a skirmish, because there may well be dozens of them), or optionally filter them if they want to focus on non-skirmish songs.
A note on controversial songs.
There are rich traditions of political and/or protest songs, and we encourage fawmers to write such songs if inclined. But keep in mind that fawmers come from all different backgrounds and viewpoints.
If you write a song that can be considered controversial:
- Do you need to share it publicly?
- Do you need to share it publicly on FAWM?
- Can you post it for "credit" on FAWM but get feedback elsewhere?
FAWM makes it possible to only post a title and mark a song Private. This still "counts" toward your song total.
Similarly, if you come across a song you disagree with:
- Can you comment without being inflammatory?
- Can you ignore that song, and focus on others?
- Can you channel your reaction into a "response song" of your own (not a "diss track")?
At its best, FAWM will spark creative energy.
Controversial music or political discourse has its place, but it can also snuff out creative energy.
A provocative song doesn't mean it is inflammatory or violates the Terms of Service. But know that if you choose to post such music or discourse to FAWM, you might kill the vibe and create work for the moderators (who are all volunteers and trying to write their own songs)! So we ask that you be mindful.
In the forums
- Fawmers come all over the world. If someone says something you find offensive, it might just be getting "lost in translation" (it's pretty hard to communicate with strangers solely in writing anyway). Even if they are being rude, you don't have to fan the flames.
- It could also be that you don't get along. That's fine, too.
- You're not going to change anyone's mind over the Internet
- Give people the benefit of the doubt.
- Do not use personal insults.
- Do not insult other people's songs, websites, albums, etc.
- Please keep threads on topic!
- If there is a general thread for a topic, please do not create a new one (e.g. "Updated Demo")
- Similarly, please check that nobody else has already asked the question that you want to ask before you create a new thread for it.
- Do not create a forum topic to solicit feedback on your songs. This will likely annoy people!
- If you're a fawmling who is seriously getting no love, the best way to attract listeners and comments is quite simply to give more listens and comments.
- See the search and discovery features if you don't know where to start!
Commenting on songs
Giving and receiving feedback on new songs is a core part of the FAWM experience.
In fact, for years song comments were the only form of communication at fawm.org (forums and profile messages came later), and they still make up 50% of all activity.
Tip
In general, FAWM is a place for positive and motivating feedback.
Unless a fawmer explicitly asks for a stronger critique, err on the side of encouragement.
Try to focus on the song rather than the demo (if any).
Constructive criticism is OK, especially if requested in the notes. But avoid negative remarks. Phrase criticism in a way that suggests how to improve the song, rather than showing off your expertise (remember, fellow fawmers are your peers)!

Examples of appropriate remarks:
- "What an unexpected key change in the chorus, I love it!"
- "I love how your vocal delivery is so deadpan in the bridge..."
- "I'm so jealous of your bass tone."
- "All the internal rhymes here are super clever!"
- "I was listening to this with my 10-year-old, and they suddenly jumped up on the couch for a shredding air guitar solo during that instrumental section!"
Examples of remarks to avoid:
- "Have you ever considered piano lessons?"
- "This reminds me of a song I wrote once..."
- "This reminds me of a song my 10-year-old wrote once..."
- "You should have spent more time working on your vocal harmonies in the chorus."
- "Sounds like you were struggling with your MIDI controller. In my experience..."
And guys. Avoid mansplaining.
"Thanks for sharing!” might seem a polite thing to say about someone's song, but it doesn't give the fawmer any useful or encouraging information. Don't be that person!
Finally, if you find a song you just can't find anything positive to say about it... a song that sets your teeth on edge... a song which features a performance so out of tune, or lyrics so cliché it hurts... maybe just don't leave a comment about it at all?
As @headfirstonly's grandma used to say: "If you can't say owt nice, say nowt!"
Why doesn't FAWM have a "like" button?
"Likes" are fashionable, but we feel they make us lazy both as creators and listeners.
While they can provide a useful signal to the creator of a song (when you aren't sure what to say in a comment), they also tend to fuel "viral" competition and hollow dopamine hits.