sekiharatae | Taking my toys and going away...

Entry tags:

ao3,
ffnet

Taking my toys and going away...

I don't know how many, if any, of you are aware of the whole RedBootton uproar on fanfiction.net, but I've been encountering rumblings here and there and finally did some digging.

What I decided, after reading what info I could find that came direct from the author, is that I don't like it. Not because of the MA scare that has so many people upset, but rather the failure of the ff.net admins to address the rampant concerns of its members. Not because of the current searching the program is reported to do -- although I think the details of what criteria it uses are far too sketchy for comfort -- but rather because I worry what it will be searching for in three months time. When these self-appointed policemen have reported every MA story, every story in script format, every story that has a 'trollish' percent of grammar/spelling errors, what will they go after next? I've checked the sort of stories the 'Literate Union' consider to be 'shit' (as it was put by one of their members), and they have far fewer errors than what they are, currently, looking to have removed from the site. Will that change? Given the self-righteous nature of the program's author, I suspect the answer is yes.

I could be wrong -- I hope I'm wrong -- but I don't want to be there if or when the escalation happens. I also don't want to post anywhere that I feel I have to constantly worry about a false positive getting my stories deleted -- and I do feel that way. I feel that way, and I don't think I should have to. I feel like... Big Brother is watching, and even if he's not watching me, it's not comfortable to know he's there.

For the record, I acknowledge that the admins are not required to make a statement or acknowledge member concerns; but it is still something I feel they should do. In addition, I acknowledge that ff.net is a public site, and 'Lord Kelvin' and the 'Literate Union' have every right to report stories that are in violation of the TOS. Anyone in violation of the TOS has no room to whine if they get caught: you can think the rules are silly, and you can even decide to break them, but you do so willfully and have to be willing to accept the consequences. Admittedly, the chances of facing those consequences were far more slim before the 'Literate Union' decided to police the site. They grew exponentially with the release of RedBootton. But, the risk was always there. Complaining that it's unfair now is both foolish and overly self-entitled.

However, I also I think this move by Kelvin and the LU is a mistake, and can't imagine what they think they're going to accomplish in the long run. To use an analogy, ff.net is our little suburb, and instead of creating a neighborhood watch, these people have decided to become vigilantes. While super heroes are cool, nobody really wants one patrolling their neighborhood with his xray vision, reporting every minor infraction -- and if one did, it wouldn't really improve our quality of life. People would move away, property values would drop, and the last man out would be left holding the keys to a house he couldn't sell. To top it off, it really wouldn't matter that the vigilante had been obeying the letter of the law, because he'd completely failed to uphold the spirit. He's supposed to protect us, not make us feel persecuted, contantly needing to look over our shoulder for our own good. I don't know about anyone else, but I didn't feel (and still don't feel) threatened by the existence of poorly written fic on ff.net, but I do feel threatened by someone who apparently has a 100% success rate getting stories banned, and seems to have an axe to grind.

Even if he's not waving his axe at me, I don't like his attitude.

So: I will be posting my stories on AO3 over the next few days, and deleting them off ff.net as I go.

ETA: Here's a link to my home on AO3.

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I never knew they were doing something like that...I have an account on FB, and I think I will be watching that now...Thanks for the heads up!

I haven't posted anything to ff.net in aaaaages (I've only used it for reviews and story alerts...), so I don't feel particularly threatened. Might go back there and delete what I have, though. I also made an AO3 account recently, bt haven't really cracked down to post anything, mostly because I've already gone through the trouble of re-coding and re-posting (and sometimes re-writing!) all my best hits to a dreamwidth account: http://lurker-the-writer.dreamwidth.org (I have invites!)

But if you're in AO3, we could, uh, friend each other or whatever they do. *hasn't poked around the possibilities yet*

o_0 Because of lack of internet lately, I haven't anything that's going on with ff.net... So, if i've got this right, people are going to be going through the fics for adult content or something?

Hey, Tae. What's doin' here? I don't understand any of what you're concerned about re: fanfiction. What's RedBootton? What's MA ? What's TOS, Lord Kelvin, and the 'Literate Union" and finally, what's AO3, where you are going? Mom Calling for help. mc

This is super stupid, what these stupid people doing that it. I wish the Admin over at FF.net would do something about it.

Say Tae, what's your account on AO3?

Wow. As an author on ff.net, I am surprised to have had NO IDEA that this was going on :(. Though I am sad that you will be removing your fics, (save your reviews at least!) as long as you discover some new method of posting that involves email notifications of updates, I am completely supportive of your decisions.

Hope things are going well.

Hells bells. Another bunch of vigilantes on the loose in cyberspace, huh? I was completely unaware of this; thanks for the heads-up. Their MO sounds very similar to the charming crew who wreaked havoc over on DeviantArt a couple of years ago.

The one thing working against them is the sheer size of FF; the InuYasha section alone has well over 50,000 fics posted, for example. I predict, that like the DA posse, they'll run out of steam long before they clean up the town, er, site.

May I friend you over here? Then I won't lose track of you again!

Hello! You probably don't know me, but I regularly read your fics, and I'll be following you wherever you decide to go. That said, AO3 does not yet have a subscribe/alert option (though it's clearly in the works), so for the time being, I'll be subscribing to your journal here to catch your fics. You are, of course, under no obligation to return the favor; I'm just letting you know so you won't wonder "who is this strange person friending me" next time you see your LJ alerts. :)

talk about straining the bug and gulping the camel -- shouldn't they be trying harder to catch plagiarizers and people who write pedophilia than people who have grammar and spelling errors? most of the fics i've read have malapropisms instead of actual spelling errors --malapropisms aren't going to register as misspelled words. *shrugs*

from what i understand, their record with dealing with plagiarism is extremely lacking.

Did not have any idea any of this was happening. I wish I could figure out AO3's formatting/searching--my attempts have been in vain. I guess interface-wise, it's a little messy for me. Am glad, at least, that I've got you here for updates, if my email alerts of your updates will be no more.

Oh, yeah. Time to pick up and go find another place to be a fangirl, methinks. I could rant about free speech and all that, but meh. There are plenty of other places online that will be happy to let us post whatever the Hell we feel like.

I learned about these characters from a Smallville community here on LJ where they reported that LU had gone through the House section already. The fact that they now have a program was news to me, and it does worry me. But you're right. If we posted content that violates the TOS, then we have no room to complain about what's happening, but it still would be a great shock to come home and realize that something you've worked so long and hard on has been deleted by these self-righteous... jerks(I have more colorful words, but I'm trying to be civil:).

I agree that ffnet has some serious issues with their priorities when I've seen how long it takes for the admins to go and take down a story that has been reported(by many people) as being plagiarized. At this rate, the site is going to lose their best watched/reviewed authors, and hopefully when the hits begin to decline, they'll do something about these "vigilantes."

I guess some people just get off on hurting others and that's why they join this "movement." Well, that and the fact that they probably have no life and too much time on their hands. I took a look around last month and found a list of stories waiting to be inspected for the violations, and while some of the comments were of people who actually wanted the author to improve their style/content, others were just there to cause misery. They even mock the replies some of the authors made towards them. It really is a sad, sad world when your creativity is stifled this way.

I think I just need to work up the courage to delete my oneshots, and find some time to edit out scenes from my multi-chaptered fics. Once I finish my current projects, I'll seriously consider leaving ffnet for good and look for a new home. It's a sad thing, because I think I've been with ffnet for about ten years now(-_-since I was fifteen, I think). But anyway, I'll be sure to follow you, too, since you're one of my favorite authors. I really hope someone puts a stop to this cult sometime soon.

I am very sad with this whole business, and thank you for posting your opinion/ what you will be doing now. I just checked out this new AO3 site, and i love it! Of course it could use a few tweaks- for instance, more descriptive categories like on ff.net (specify genre of story, complete/ not complete ect) but I think this site will go far! Thank you for posting your stories there! And once again, thank you for always writing such fabulous work- I'm always cheering for you

I have to admit I hadn't heard anything at all about this until you mentioned it here, but from what you've said, I can see what you mean about it being Big Brother-like. I don't put up much on ff.net myself as of yet, but it certainly makes me feel a little nervous, even if I'm pretty sure that I'm not infringing any of the TOS. I think that there really does need to be a limit to things, and even the TOS are very subjective and somethings things really need to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis... something that a computer program is incapable of doing.

And then what happens if someone has made up a language, or is using bad grammar on purpose, to enhance their writing? They'd probably get reported. Surely there has to be a limit...

LadyTeefStrife here, from fanfiction... I saw your profile there and I did some research about LU and RedButtoon... Well, only wanted to thank you for the heads up. If this ppl check any of my fics I'm doomed T.T
The instant I get my laptop back I'll create an account here and I'll stop posting on ff >.< I already did enough once, I don't want to be there again when the trolls come. Again, thanks :) and I'll follow you here, if you don't mind ^.^

Even if he's not waving his axe at me, I don't like his attitude.

My thoughts exactly! Not that I'm an objective party, obviously. But even if I weren't involved with AO3, the LU would leave a bad taste in my mouth. I roll my eyes just as much as the next person at bad grammar and purple prose, but this kind of activity only serves to make everyone insecure and nervous. If anything, it has more of an effect on talented perfectionists than on people who are so bad that they honestly don't know their writing is no good. The way to get more good fic is to encourage everyone, good and bad.

Wow. My apologies for commenting late, but I haven't posted to FF.net in forever and was completely unaware of this til now. I've got some stuff up that violates the TOS - sexual content and what not). I have an account over at AFF.net, but no one honestly looks at that (and I hardly look at it anymore cuz of a lack of good content and all the freaky shit people are into). AO3 looks interesting...I might join up.

Thanks so much for the heads up!

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