This issue has been split; 24 a has the Dumbledore / HP / JK Rowling meta.
blktauna: untitled post: "Sorry, but if you can't participate in Yuletide, for whatever reason. Then you can't. [...] It's not "exclusionary" its just the rules done to suit the organisers."
brownbetty: Some thoughts on writing outside my experience: "Recently, and not so recently, I've come across a couple of stories, or had them pointed out to me, within greater fandom, where the history or culture of marginalized groups was employed to make a story more exotic or interesting, with the result the story was offensive. So I'm trying to think of how one can avoid this."
xie_xie_xie: REPOST: A QAF Fanfic Writer's Guide to HIV/AIDS: "But having lived through the emergence of the HIV epidemic, seen many friends get sick and die of AIDS, and knowing a somewhat unnaturally huge amount about HIV testing and treatment, the many fics that make very basic errors in dealing with HIV kind of grate on my nerves more than anything other than Brian calling Justin "baby." So I thought I'd write up this little guide, for those who might want it and find it useful."
As usual, you can leave links to meta entries by commenting here or on the screened comments entry. General questions can be asked on the FAQ post. :)