My email and website are back, but that got me thinking. Obviously, I need to do a backup - not just my stuff is on there, but the first three years of Remix - but I was thinking it wouldn't be terrible if it just went away. I mean, I'm pretty sure all my XMM fic is in the WRFA or the XMMFFA, so no worries there, and all my HP fic is on LJ and backed up at IJ. I have all the files, but the idea of having to change them all to reflect a new URL is horrifying to me, even though I do kind of covet musesfool.net on some level.

I am less sanguine about moving all my fannish email over to gmail. I use it sometimes for that purpose (when my unfit mail goes down), but mostly it's personal stuff and job hunting stuff (and because it was blocked at BEMC, and I felt I could survive the workday without my cousins' lame email forwards, but not my LJ comments or fannish email), and I've found that while I like threading for regular email, I really don't like it for LJ/DW comments, mostly because I like to delete comments once I've answered them, but I don't always answer them all at the same time, or even in the order they come in, and while I get that the whole point of gmail is never deleting stuff, I like deleting comments I've answered! It feels like I've accomplished something, and I enjoy watching the number of things in my inbox go down. I suppose archiving would work just as well, but oddly enough, given my packrat tendencies, I don't feel the need.

Speaking of comments, I pretty much agree with this post by telesilla. I always find it hilarious when fans who write and read fanfic get outraged when their copyright is being violated (if in fact it is in this case, and I'm not a lawyer, so I don't know whether it is or not). Pot, meet kettle.*

Personally, I am not importing my LJ to DW. I have over 6000 posts, and I am just not that interested in replicated all of them (I did it at IJ without the comments, but that was during strikethrough, and I felt the need for a second backup). I have it all archived with LJArchive, and I'm not deleting it, even if I stop posting to it (I have a permanent account and have for my whole time on LJ, so I can't really vote with my pocketbook, but I can take advantage of what that money bought me), because it might end up being the only archive I have for the bulk of my stories**.

(I would like to be able to import only my stories+comments, and maybe some of the more interesting meta essays, to DW, perhaps if there were a way to import via tag, but who knows if that will ever be an option.)

However, I don't have a problem with my comments being imported from LJ to DW (or anywhere else on the internet). I would prefer to continue to have access to the comment, and I would prefer it not be removed from its original context, but I also understand that even without moving to a different service, sometimes I lose access - people can lock or privatize previously public posts; people can freeze, delete, or screen my comments, all without my permission, once I've commented in their space (and they can edit and delete their comments in my space, unless I've privatized an entry or removed their access).

So since the level of control over my comments hasn't particularly changed, only the location of them, I really fail to grasp the huge issue some folks are having with the importation of comments to DW. Or, rather, I get it, but I think it's ridiculous. It reminds me of the people who demand you ask permission before you link to their public posts. Now, I occasionally have asked for posts not to be linked by newsletters, and I get that fannish etiquette tends towards asking because it's the nice thing to do, but it's the internet! If you post something publicly, anyone can read it and anyone can link to it! I realize that this runs into the ongoing discussion about whether LJ (and now, DW) is a semi-private or a semi-public place, but the fact of the matter is, despite some fans' expectation of privacy, and in the face of a lot of their experience, public posts are public on the internet. This means that anyone can read them, anyone can link them, and unless they tell you, you will never know (hence, why pingbacks are awesome, because then you find out).

Information wants to be free, and on the internet, it generally is. LJ/DW gives us the means to circumscribe that freedom, but if you put it out there, chances are, someone's gonna read it.

And huh. that is not where I expected to end up when I started. I also really liked wistfuljane's post about people moving to Dreamwidth, but I kind of blew my wad on the comments thing this morning, so I'll just echo her in saying, don't panic. That's rarely bad advice. *g*

--
* I realize that some fans make a distinction between MegaEntertainment Corp's copyright being violated and Fangirl Q's copyright being violated, and I understand those distinctions, but on the whole, yeah, I laugh at the hypocrisy and the underlying sense of fannish entitlement.

** I applaud the creation of the Archive of Our Own, but I am not sure I am actually going to archive my stories there when the time comes, which is a me thing and one I haven't completely figured out yet

*** One day, I will actually code in the footnotes and the jump back to the text of the entry. Today is not that day. *is lazy*

~*~

HP fandom is freaking out over this, in which the person is apparently compiling a database of fanfic and redistributing fanfic without the authors' permission.

[eta] The post causing all the consternation has since been edited; it appears that it is not individual stories that the OP was planning to distribute, but a sortable database including links and author names etc. [/eta]

Personally, well, as far as I can tell, none of my stories are on the list (though god knows, it wouldn't be the first time I looked at something and went, what? I wrote that?), but generally speaking, I prefer that my stories not be archived without my permission, and that if they are (or if they are distributed privately, which I personally have no problem with - I'm kind of chuffed, actually, that anyone would want to), that my name and contact information remain attached, but I can't really get up in arms about this. I mean, I have a bunch of fic I've saved to my hard drive, some of which has disappeared from the internet, and I have distributed it privately on occasion when someone's asked, and I honestly don't see anything wrong with that; I've never claimed it's mine, after all, and I've left all the authorial information intact. Yes, people occasionally have legitimate reasons for pulling their work off the web, but private distribution of dearchived stories has gone on since I've been in fandom, and it will continue to do so, regardless of outbursts of outrage like this one.

I think making a big public display of it riles people up, and yeah, it's rude, but seriously, people who think fans aren't saving their favorite stories to their hard drives for rereading are naive at best (remember, you can still get fic delivered right to your inbox via mailing list, or via stalker pin here on LJ, and that's not even counting the stories it's easier to copy and paste because the web formatting is so heinous, or from back in the days of dialup). Reposting or redistributing it publicly is a fannish faux pas, but I think it's really hilarious and hypocritical for fanfic writers to be screaming about copyright violations and lack of permissions. (I won't even get into the people in the comments over there who seem to think that even linking to a story requires permission, because, um, no. It really doesn't. It's a nice courtesy if someone asks, but seriously, the internet is made up of links, so if you post it publicly, even if you request not to be linked, you may be. If you don't want to be, lock it down or don't post at all.)

Perhaps it should become standard again to include an Archive: Y/N/specific location line in one's story headers, the way it used to be. Not that that ever stops anyone, but at least it reinforces the idea that archiving and redistributing without permission is against general fandom mores in more than one fandom. Generally speaking, newer fans may not be aware that it is considered rude, and only after something like this happens are they told.

In the event that this post generates comments, be warned that I may not respond, mostly because I feel I've said most of what needs saying here in the post, and also because I've been bad about doing so lately, and I don't see that trend changing any time in the near future. However, feel free to talk amongst yourselves should any interesting conversation arise.

I'm hoping disclaiming this from the outset assuages my guilt when I don't answer comments. We'll see if it works.

***

*deep breath*

Maybe this makes me oversensitive or intolerant or a bitch - I will cop to all three on occasion, so as always, defriend at will - but yes, I really do mind when people make non-fic-related comments on a story post. Go back one post or forward one post or whatever (it's not like I don't post three times a day most days), if you have something you need to tell me, but for the love of all that's holy (and my blood pressure), please don't make those non-story-related comments on my stories! They really annoy me because when I see that comment notification email in my inbox after I post a story, I am hoping for feedback on that story, and then to open up the email and see that it's completely unrelated is really freaking disappointing.

And for the love of God, don't compound the offense by reccing someone else's story at the same time. That feels like a slap in the face: "Oh, your story was okay, but you should really read this one." It's like the people who comment on someone else's comments, but never say anything at all about the story. Please don't do that in my LJ, either. I find it thoughtless at best, and rude at worst.

From now on, I will most likely follow my first instinct and delete those kinds of comments when they appear on fic posts, because it really does irritate me that much.

This isn't directed at any one person in particular, because many, many people seem to think this is okay, and maybe it is in their LJs, but I don't want it in mine, though I've tried to be gracious about it, and I'm just tired of it.

I'm leaving the comments on, but it's not something anyone's going to change my mind about; if you've done it in the past, don't apologize, just please don't do it again in my LJ.

(Also, though I do not think this is linkworthy, unless I end up on f_w, which is always possible, as I recognize the entitlement complex possible wankiness of this position, *snerk* please don't link this in any newsletters.)

And of course, after I've just whined at you, I will point out that I posted fic last night:

For Thine Is the Kingdom
Supernatural; Sam/Dean; adult; spoilers through AHBL2; 2,615 words
Sam isn't sure what changed or when, or maybe it's that nothing's changed at all, but he can just see it more clearly now, has the perspective of distance and time to show him that it's always been there, drawing them together even when he was trying his hardest to pull them apart.

laurificus told me I was writing her schmoopy, happy Wincest, and I said, "Um, I don't think I can."* So it became a kind of challenge to myself. And I had the opening image of Sam noticing the flecks of shaving cream clinging to Dean's damp skin (guh... it's much, much easier for me to write Sam being attracted to Dean than vice versa, for what may be obvious reasons *snerk*), and I had the title, and for some reason my brain decided that, no, really, I could do this, and I could do it, moreover, built around "The Hollow Men," which still makes me go, "WTF, Brain? No, seriously, WTF?" I think it works though. I think it's a happy story, or a hopeful one, anyway. And given some of the other things my brain has got me working on lately, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.

*

I am going to hit post and then run for cover.

--
*at least, when Sam is not a girl. Shut up. I own my insanity.

***

Indulge me. Satisfy my curiosity.

ETA: I mean on non-fic posts - meta and episode discussion and random everyday stuff that people post. I generally don't read the comments on other people's fic posts, either, because it often makes me seethe with envy, and that's good for nobody.



***

In return, have some music:

I'm Not Down is one of my Dean Winchester theme songs (I've been beat up, I've been thrown out / But I'm not down, No I'm not down / I've been shown up, but I've grown up / And I'm not down, No I'm not down), and while I'm sure he loves the Clash version, I actually prefer the Thea Gilmore cover.

I also find her version of Bad Moon Rising way creepier than the original by CCR (which I apparently do not have here? Huh.)

And here are two songs that are ostensibly original and cover, except that the lyrics to the Cowboy Junkies' version are almost completely different. I love both versions (though I think I love the VU version just a titch more), and the title of (and some inspiration for) the post-What Is... story I am writing RIGHT THIS SECOND comes from the VU version.

Sweet Jane - Cowboy Junkies

Sweet Jane - The Velvet Underground

And because I love both Thea Gilmore and the Clash, have more:

Crazy Love - Thea Gilmore

My Beautiful Defence - Thea Gilmore

Wrong 'em Boyo - the Clash

Lost in the Supermarket - the Clash

***

Oh my god, LJ is even slower for me now. What the hell is going on? I know if I put in a support ticket they'll tell me it's my connection, even though it's three different computers and only LJ that's fucked, but surely someone else is having this problem, where it just hangs and takes forever to load every. fucking. page.

*stabs*

***

Okay, here's a question for you lot:

What do you do when you leave feedback and in response, the person says, "And I love your work as well" or "I owe you feedback! I loved [X] story so much!"?

This happens to me not infrequently, and I feel like a tool answering in someone else's comments, but I also feel rude *not* saying "thank you."

There are any number of these odd quasi-social etiquette questions that plague me, when I am not daydreaming of Dean and Sam's sekrit incest baby.

I just like saying "sekrit incest baby," misspelling and all. It pleases me on levels that are probably terrifying to examine in any detail. I also imagine every time I say "sekrit incest baby," someone else hits the "defriend" button, and that kind of makes me laugh, too.

***

So after I posted about things that will make me hit the back button, hossgal asked me what kinds of things will keep me reading a story even if it has errors or problems, and this is much harder for me to answer.

First of all, I can't hate the writing style. There are some styles that are just never gonna work for me, no matter how well-written, though if there are enough other good things, I may slog through it anyhow. But if I hate the style (if I don't like the tone, if there are endless descriptions of stuff that I don't give a rat's ass about) and there are errors - technical, canon, or character-wise - I am out of there.

The one thing that generally trumps all my elitist fic bitch impulses is humor. If something is genuinely funny (and meant to be) - if I laugh and laugh - I will put up with all sorts of spelling mistakes and canon errors etc. There is far too little good comedy written in fandom - it's hard, first of all, and second of all, too many people think wacky premise automatically means funny, and that's just not so. You get a couple paragraphs if you start out funny, but if it's just a one-note joke that's stretched far beyond its capacity to amuse, that gets old really fast.

But yes, comedy is king - if I am laughing, I will overlook many, many things that would otherwise have me diving for the back button.

The other thing that will keep me is emotional truth. If a story feels true to me, if it's moving me in some way, if I recognize the characters and relate to what they're feeling, then I will put up with problematic things - tense shifts or random POV breaks or homophone difficulties. If I rec the story, I'll certainly mention them, but I'll say something like, "This story really nailed the characters as I see them" or "I was crying so hard by the end I didn't care that the author had trouble distinguishing between might and may" (a huge problem by the way, people. Just don't use "may" unless you're absolutely certain it's right - too many people screw it up and it's annoying).

And wrapped up in that, is, yeah, recognizing the characters. That's key. I'll click out of stories that are technically perfect and have really graceful writing etc. if I have trouble with the characterization. Or I'll finish them - hoping to get some glimmering of why the author has chosen to 'mis'characterize someone - but not leave feedback. And then I'll get on AIM and start asking people, "Did you read [X]? What did you think?" to see if I'm crazy. Because it really bugs me when I feel like a story could have been awesome but there's something in it that just really rubs me wrong, and I want to find out if it's just me, if maybe the author and I just don't agree on certain things, or if it's a problem other people have noticed with the story. (Of course, most of the people I speak with regularly on AIM tend to have similar views of characters and taste in stories, so...)

The other thing that keeps me reading is a plot that is interesting and suspenseful and smart. If I can see five paragraphs in where the story is going - hey, it's fanfic, I'm here for more of the same, with slight variations, that doesn't bother me much - but if the plot is really smart and different, I'll stick around to see how it all plays out, and like it better if it surprises me (as long as the ending makes sense - no deus ex machina, no cheap surprise endings that don't have clues laid out along the way) - this is especially true in gen stories, because there is no pairing to keep me around.

Because yes, I will stick around if the story is about one of my OTPs and if it hits my bulletproof kinks in some way. I have also recced stories with the caveat that "this story could use a good beta, but it hits my kinks so hard, I don't really care." If there is a lot of stoical pining, or UST or love that is believed to be unrequited but turns out to be requited after all, or angry shoving leading to up-against-the-wall sex, or lots of witty banter that is perhaps not punctuated correctly, I will stick around.

But I am a fickle beast. There is one story that I loved - I mean, I was ready to gush about this story publicly and insta!rec it - and then I hit this paragraph really close to the ending, and it totally threw me out of the story, and to this day, when I see the story recced, I feel angry, because I want to love it the way everyone else does, and the way I did, but that one paragraph just feels so gratuitous and pandering, that I can't. And I've tried rereading, but gah.

Oh, and here's a little well-known way to keep my attention - make Remus a bassist. Seriously. When I first read "Marauder Rhombus," I wrote the authors a rather gushing email and in it I actually offered to do a line edit of the whole damn universe - an offer I haven't made to someone I didn't know in... years, because I am lazy and also I got tired of people leaving fandom after I betaed for them (true story - happened in XMM a few times; apparently, I am a brutal beta? I don't think so. I think I'm the easiest, most laidback beta ever, but who the hell knows?) - because I loved it so much, beyond the flaws in the writing early on, and I really wanted to just clean all that stuff up. Mostly because I loved the Remus characterization and the Remus/Sirius UST SO MUCH, and Remus played bass, and wore black hair bands on his wrist, and god, I might have to spend some time soon rereading "Marauder Rhombus," because just thinking about it makes me all fluttery in my belly. I wish there were more stories in this universe. *cough* ::looks at marginalia::

Of course, all of this is in regard to stories that I would already be interested in (my fandoms/pairings/characters) that have a few problems - punctuating dialogue, difficulty with homophones, the occasional canon error, a degree or two more typos than can reasonably be expected to have escaped a beta's eye - not stories riddled with spelling and grammar and canon errors, or about pairings I hate or in genres or fandoms I don't read.

***