Just fill out the subscription form on the home page of heroicstories.org. You’ll then need to confirm your subscription by clicking on a link you’ll get via email, and you’ll be all set.
I Didn’t Get The Confirmation Email for my Subscription
First things first: check your spam folder. Some email services and some email programs may think that a newsletter subscription confirmation looks like spam. It’s not, since you asked for it, so be sure and mark it as “not spam” if you find it there.
If you’re using Gmail you might also look in the “social” or “promotions” tabs or categories that might be present. Once again Gmail will often places these types of things there.
Unfortunately, we can’t confirm for you. We’re not allowed to – and in fact have no way to – click or make that confirmation for you. That would allow us to add people to our lists without their permission. Holding to this rule means that only people who have confirmed their subscription with is are on the list – and that means we’re less likely to be marked as spam in the future.
Unsubscribe me!
At the bottom of every mailing from HeroicStories is a link to unsubscribe or change your mailing options. Just click that link, click on unsubscribe, and you’re done.
Where’s the Subscribe Form?
The subscribe form appears on the HeroicStories home page, on the right-hand side, or possibly at the bottom of the page if you’re on a mobile device.
Not there?
We’ve heard of security software and privacy software that for various reasons blocks the “aweber.com” domain. That’s our mailing list provider, and that’s where the subscribe form comes from. Be sure that your security software isn’t blocking “aweber.com”. (And for the record, we believe strongly that the tools that block Aweber are simply wrong. See our privacy statement.)
How do I change my email address?
At the bottom of every email you get from HeroicStories is a link to unsubscribe or change options. Click on that and one of the “options” you can change is the email address to which HeroicStories will be sent. It’s that simple.
You can also just unsubscribe and then re-subscribe using your new email address.
I missed an issue, can you resend it?
Unfortunately, no, we can’t resend issues.
However all stories are published right here on heroicstories.org! Just browse around and check out the archives and anything you might have missed will be here … along with perhaps a few things you didn’t even know we had. 🙂
Why did I stop getting HeroicStories?
If you’re referring to our long hiatus from 2012 to 2014 … well, that was us. But we’re back now.
In general, however, individual issues can go missing for many reasons, the most common being over-aggressive spam filters. Check your spam folder and if you find it there, make sure to mark it as not spam. There’s no harm in re-subscribing either. (Though if it says you’re already subscribed, then contact us and we can look a little more closely. Be sure to be specific about the email address which you used to subscribe.)
Why Do I Need To Use a Different Email Address?
If, when subscribing, you get this error:
Different Address Needed
You cannot subscribe to this list with the email address you entered.
Please correct any mistakes in the address and try to subscribe again.
If you see this message again, please use a different email address to subscribe.
Then, unfortunately, you will need to use a different email address.
I’m told that this happens when you use “this is spam” instead of unsubscribing from a mailing list that you confirmed a subscription to.
Put more clearly, perhaps:
At some point in the past you probably subscribed to a mailing list that uses the same list provider we do (Aweber).
You confirmed that you wanted that subscription by clicking a confirmation link that was emailed to you.
At some point thereafter you clicked on “This Is Spam”, or “Junk” to one of the mailings instead of unsubscribing.
I know of no way to “undo” this. This is actually one of the ways that our mailing list provider battles spam, believe it or not. By keeping the lists they host “clean” and confirmed-opt-in only then our mailings are much less likely to end up in people’s spam folder.
I apologize for the inconvenience, but there’s really nothing I can do.
HeroicStories Stories
How do I comment?
In the distant past, HeroicStories accepted comments on published stories via email. A selection of comments would then be published in subsequent issues.
Today, besides the HeroicStories mailing list, HeroicStories publishes its stories on the web for all to see and for all to comment on. We encourage you to post your comments directly on the pages containing the stories that touch your heart, the stories that make you think, and the stories that simply speak to you.
To discourage spam, comments on HeroicStories are moderated.
Can I Link to a HeroicStories Story?
Absolutely! In face, please link to our stories. It actually helps HeroicStories gain more visitors, more traffic, and better ratings in the search engines.
For the record: you never need to ask to link to any web page. If a page is public, it’s understood that you can publish its URL and links using that URL, and there is no ethical or legal reason not to. (Caveat: I am not a lawyer :-). ).
What you can not do without asking first is to copy or republish one of our stories elsewhere. See “May I re-publish this HeroicStories story?”, below, for more information on that.
How do I share the stories?
You can forward this email with a few simple conditions listed below in “May I re-publish this HeroicStories story?”
We no longer use sharing buttons on the site (they were rarely used, and slowed the site down). Remember, though, you can easily share any page on this site by copying its link, the full URL (the info in the address bar in your browser that begins with “https://heroicstories.org/…”) and pasting it into email or a new post on any of the popular social media services.
Thank you for sharing!
How do we know the stories are “true”?
The short answer is, we don’t, since by their nature there’s no way to check them out. There is, of course, a longer answer.
When authors submit their stories, they promise that the stories are true, and that they know the facts first-hand. So, first of all, we’re relying on the authors telling the truth when they give us their word. Since part of the premise of HeroicStories is that, in general, people are good (the public sometimes thinks that people in general are bad because we usually only hear about the “bad” ones in the newspaper or on television), we consciously choose to give the authors the benefit of the doubt.
But there are always people who will try to “test” the system to see if they can pass off fiction as a true story. And you know what? That’s fine — if they really want to present themselves to the world as liars, that has to be up to them. If we see obviously fake stories, we’ll reject them. But when we see stories we like, with a point, that might inspire others to Do Good, we’ll happily take the risk that the story may be embellished, in whole or part. We can live with that.
May I re-publish this HeroicStories story?
The short answer is no, but if you’re willing to read a little more the answer is more like “perhaps, it depends”.
HeroicStories is copyrighted and stories may not be republished without permission from the publisher.
If you’re looking to repost one of our stories on your blog, on Facebook, or elsewhere publicly on the internet the answer remains a clear no – this is not allowed. We do watch for this and will issue take-down requests to you or your ISP should we find our content stolen, which is what copying without permission boils down to.
You are, however more than welcome, and even encouraged, to link to stories here on the heroicstories.org website.
You may also occasionally forward your emailed copy of HeroicStories to individuals, but not to a list. And again, only occasionally. If you regularly forward every edition then the people you’re forwarding to should get their own subscription (heck, it’s free!). If you want to send something to a large number of people or to a list, send them the link to the story here on the HeroicStories web site.
If you run a publication of some sort – a commercial or registered non-profit newsletter or website, user group or other form of community publication – contact us with your request. We can’t guarantee that you’ll qualify, but we do believe strongly that spreading HeroicStories is, indeed, part of making this world a better place, and perhaps we can help you do exactly that.
Why Are All The Stories Old?
HeroicStories is completely submission-driven. We don’t write stories ourselves, but rely on people submitting stories that meet our editorial guidelines for new content.
What it boils down to is really simple: no new story submissions means no new story publications.
But we keep on publishing, anyway!
I restarted HeroicStories in 2014 after the death of the previous editor. At that time HeroicStories had an archive of over 850 stories. It’s those stories that we publish in our new incarnation, and — for the first time — archive here online on the HeroicStories web site.
So, in short:
We continue to accept new stories.
When we have no new stories — which is the case most of the time of late(*) — we work through our catalog of previously published stories.
(*) Honestly, this is really no surprise. The internet is different today than in 1999 when HeroicStories was established. People have many additional venues to easily publish their stories. Fortunately, we feel our republished stories are timeless, so that they may have happened a decade or more ago shouldn’t detract from their value.
The HeroicStories Project
How can I help?
The best things you can do to help Heroic Stories would be:
subscribe to the HeroicStories mailing list.
spread the word:
Link to HeroicStories from your website(s).
Share HeroicStories stories on social media (every story on the web site has share buttons at the bottom).
Tell your friends.
Tell your enemies (they probably need it even more! ).
While I absolutely appreciate the offers, I’m not looking for editorial or website help. I’ve got it covered, honest. I’m also not looking for donations or financial assistance at this time.
