You can add events to our calendar using the 'Add Event' buttons at the top and bottom of the Virtual Lancaster events calendar in the monthy or weekly view. Please check first to see that your event is not already there. If it is, but missing useful info or out of date, add a new event listing and we will delete the old one.
All events submitted are checked by a Virtual Lancaster moderater before they are published.

Every fortnightly Friday (or so) the Virtual Lancaster e-newsletter goes out with a list of links to the published calendar events for the next 17 days, showing date/title/venue/time. Get your event in early.
It may take a couple of days for your event to appear. We reserve the right to edit your event information.

Title
In our newsletter this is all that appears as a link to full details.
It should give a clear idea of what the event is.

Description:
Do not write in BLOCK CAPITALS!

Please note that there is a 2000 character limit on events description text. Overrun this and your event will vaporise after saving and we will never know. sorry. Use links. Be honest. Information on alcohol promotions, gambling and sex industry events (ie strippers) will be deleted.

Please include any admission costs and booking / ticket details if any or state that the event is free / donation. Where it is in aid of a charity include their weblink if possible.
Give a weblink to the relevant page on the organiser's website wherever available. Make it easy for our moderaters and users to find out more.
Don't forget special exclusions, ie dress rules, if the event is for acccompanied children only, 16+ etc. If it is not 'all welcome' then say now and save fuss later.
If there is no flat, easy disabled access / toilet, say so. Our many disabled users appreciate this time-saving info.

You can also include your own images inside the Description box with your text if they are already online elsewhere. Look among the formatting icons above the 'Description' field for the button with the tree icon . A window will open where you can enter your image
Find the image you want to use on the internet and right-click on it. Select 'copy image URL' and copy the URL address into the 'insert/edit image' window URL field. Some internet images are protected / copywrite and you can't copy these.

Alternatively you can select an image from our image list.
If you don't like the look of your image, click on it to highlight it and either delete it or try again with the tree button.
Align "left"
Dimensions: Size should be 150px x 175px max. Divide / multiply both values by the same amount and re-enter them to get an acceptable size.
Border: "1" (leave blank for clipart),
Horizontal and Vertical Space: "5".
Don't use the 'Add an image' tab lower down the form. It doesn't suit our format. You can copy the image URLs to use as above though.

Do not post fliers / posters into an event listing without any accompanying text. Images are reduced to fit the events calendar format and generally become too small to be legible. Post the event description in text.

Do not try to format the text / colour of your events. It looks as if you can, but it gets stripped out later.

Start Time: If your event is open all day, put the opening time.
Do not tick 'all day event' unless your event runs from midnight to midnight. Tell us when it actually starts.
Duration. If your gallery / festival, whatever opens at 9am and closes at 5pm, the duration is 8 hours.
If you don't know the duration of your event, put "0". Only the start time will be shown.

Location: include venue postcode if you know it. Otherwise people who click for a map may end up in Pennsylvania. Events outside our area will be deleted unless they have specifically relevance to our area. If group return transport arrangements from this area are included in the Description, with price and booking details if any, they may be accepted.

This event repeats
Don't leave this tab open if your event does not repeat.
How long will your event run? Be honest and only put the run you are certain of. You can submit updated event listings at any time.
Our moderaters will limit new repeating events to a six month run. We will then use the links you include in your Description to see if your event is still active. Where it appears out of date or there is no info it will be deleted unless you email us to extend it.
Email ed@]virtual-lancaster.net.
Or you can always just post it again nearer the time.

Skip Dates: Many regular events take holidays. Some only run in term-time, some skip bank holidays and Christmas / New Year. It's a drag to go out and find a locked building so don't forget to enter your skip dates (max 8 per event). If you run out, end that listing and start a new event listing from a later date.

If you event runs on alternate weeks, holidays can throw your listing out of sync. Better to pin it down, ie. 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month.

Save your event. If it saves and isn't over 2000 characters, we will get a message notifying us that you have posted it. Publication speed depends on when our volunteers are available but we aim at 48 hours max. You will not be notified when your event has been published, sorry. If there's a problem email ed@virtual-lancaster.net and we will do our best to fix it. You'd be surprised how helpful we can be.

Email to: ed@virtual-lancaster.net.
Please DON'T write in block capitals.
Include your text in the body of your email and not just as an attachment. It saves us and everyone else on your mailing list time.
Here is the format you need to bear in mind if you want to see your story posted sooner. It's not written in stone - the interest and relevance of your item is paramount.

Title
(max 20 characters in length. Should contain a common search term for the story.

Leader
a paragraph to go on the site homepage and RSS feeds to lead people to the full item in the news section. Max 30 words. Should contain relevant search terms for the story and summarise the gist of the story.
Story: Must comply with UK law. Max 750 words in length. Don't format the text or place the images into it, as this will be stripped out in the newsblog. Just send your image as an attached jpeg or gif file.

Please spellcheck and ensure name spellings and dates are all correct and that the story satisfies our conditions of publication. We reserve the right to edit or refuse it or any part of it without notification. We may merge relevant parts of its information with other contributions on a wider story. Please include your name at the end if you want to see it published.

Contact details: please include a phone number / email (not for publication if not included in the story) in case there is anything we need to check.

Image: Optional. Must be a separate email attachment in .gif or .jpg format, no more than 500 pixels wide, filesize no greater than 30kb. People in the image related to the story should be named. We don't use children's images without the signed, written consent of their parents/guardians.

News stories are published on the Virtual Lancaster newsblog at:
http://virtual-lancaster.blogspot.co.uk/
and you can add comments on individual news stories there. You will need a Google login. You will be given the option to add your comment anonymously. All comments are moderated by a Virtual Lancaster editor before publication. The moderator reserves the right not to publish any comment. Please allow up to 24 hours for your comments to appear.

We list information and details of many types., for example, businesses, bands, services and groups. Send the text that you want in the listing to ed@virtual-lancaster.net.

You must be online
To be accepted a listing must include a weblink with local information or an email address. We do not accept phone number-only listings. If the weblink / email address should cease operating locally the link will be deleted. Please remember to update your listings.

Free Local Listings
Our listing service is free but to qualify you must also supply a local phone number and address, if these are not shown on your weblink, to prove you are locally based. We do not publish these unless they are also included in the listing text you supply. We do not pass them on. We do not keep this information once the listing is approved.
In return please add a web link on your own site to Virtual-Lancaster if possible. Please email us at:
ed@]virtual-lancaster.net for one of our fliers to display.
Find out more here

Non-Local Listings
These we take on a case-by-case basis. We do not accept embedded advertising. If your service is useful and not provided locally, that helps. Advertise on Virtual-Lancaster

Keep it short
View our directory for format.
Keep your listings short. 100 - 200 words max. If they have to be cut they will go to a longer work queue. It could be a couple of weeks. If they are an essay they will be be sent back to you to edit. But please send them!
Send the text that you want in the listing to ed@virtual-lancaster.net.

Send your review to ed@virtual-lancaster.net.
Always give the name of the business / other listing / event that you are reviewing. Or we won't know what you are talking about!
Give the date on which your review experience took place.
Event reviews should be submitted within three days after the event.
Other reviews within one month.

Personal Bias: If you are connected to the event or establishment personally you should be honest and open about this. You can still share what you experience and what you made of it. Funny reviews are more popular.
Please make your reviews accurate, constructive, honest and fair. Use your powers for good.

Author
Please provide the name of the author of the review. If you are not the author you must have the author's permission to send it. If you do not want your real name to be published please say so clearly and provide a pen-name.
Please spellcheck your review.

Food reviews: Additions and Reviews of hostelries are always welcome: Please let us know what the food was like, the range of the wine list or beers where licensed, the standard of the service and, if possible, the cost of an average meal for two (starters, main course, sweet and coffee).
Was there anything you liked about a place in particular? Is there anything you think could / should be improved?
If you found a place or its food to be a health hazard you should report it first to the City Council's Environmental Health Department.

What happens next: We will send you an email to which you must reply so that we can confirm that your e-address is genuine. We may ask for additional information.
The Virtual Lancaster Editor has the final decision on whether or not your review is published. Your review may be edited for reasons of space, legality or relevence. It may take up to two weeks for a review to be posted.

What if you think you have been unfairly reviewed?
Tell us. We aren't made of stone. You have a right of reply. A review is one person's opinion about their experience and they are entitled to that. However if the information they have supplied is factually inaccurate or misleading, we will delete it.

Should be attached as separate files to your email in .gif or .jpg format
and not just as part of a document or .pdf file format.
Very large filesizes (ie big, print-quality images) make web pages load too slowly in a browser window so they must be 'optimised' ie. kept to a minimum. The maximum resolution your screen can display is 72dpi and image width can be no more than 420px and will likely be much smaller. Don't be put off by this technical stuff tho. If your picture is good one of our editors will voluntarily optimise it for publication.

Remember: much detail is lost in small web images. Any text on fliers and posters is likely to be illegible. Any information you wish to convey in your flier or poster must be sent separately, as text in your email that we can copy directly.

You can also contact us by post. Please be aware that we are a voluntary online resource and we check our mailbox at the Post Office fortnightly at best. Due to time limitations we only accept listings and written pieces for the website submitted by email and we can only reply to correspondence if there is a stamped and addressed envelope enclosed or a reply email address included.
Please address your correspondence to:

VIRTUAL-LANCASTER
PO Box 721
Lancaster LA1 1XE
United Kingdom

For local information, services and archives please see our Services Page.