Letter etiquette
Thoughtfulness includes respect.
PennaPal works because people take time over their words.
This etiquette describes how PennaPal will work when it opens. Member services aren’t running yet; only the waitlist is.
The spirit of PennaPal
Write to others the way you’d like to be written to. Read first, write back, and take your time. A good letter is honest, curious and considerate, and it’s never owed.
Do and don’t
Please do
Write with care
- Read someone’s writing before you write to them.
- Write in your own words and language; mark fluent or learning.
- Be patient. Letters take time.
- Close a correspondence kindly.
- Report anything that worries you.
Please don’t
Cross the line
- Harass, threaten, demean or use hate speech.
- Pretend to be someone else, or run more than one account.
- Share someone’s letters or details without permission.
- Ask for or offer money, gifts, bank details or crypto.
- Push for numbers, social media, addresses or photos.
- Send sexual content or use PennaPal for dating.
- Advertise, spam or copy-paste letters.
- Pass off AI-written letters as your own thoughts.
Public and private
Discover
Writing in public
Any member can read what you publish. Leave out details that could identify you or other people.
Letters
Private letters
We don’t read private letters in advance. A person only reviews a letter if one of you reports it.
If someone breaks it
Every report is reviewed by a real person.
- A reminder of this etiquette
- Hiding a piece of writing
- Pausing an account while we look into it
- Closing it permanently. Threats, scams or anything involving minors mean immediate removal and, where the law requires, a report to the authorities.
- You can ask us to review any decision.
Big changes will be stamped in Postmarks.