Fanfic Update: February 2011

Fanfic Update: February 2011

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"Do not attempt to adjust your set. This is a streaming freedom video bulletin. This is a secure cable hack that will last exactly sixty seconds. It cannot be traced, it cannot be stopped and it is the only free voice left in the city."

Hello fanficeers and welcome to the first of the new FanFic Updates. Periodically we will be putting out these updates to let you all know not only what is going on around the fanfic boards but also what is going on behind the scenes with your fanfic mods.

First, we would like to apologize to you all. It was brought to our attention that we have not been seen around the fanfic boards as often as we should. We have been here doing things behind the scenes, but that does not excuse us for not posting as often. We want you all to know we care about fanfic and we care about these fourms and that we are around and available. We have all made a conscious attempt to post more in fanfic and hopefully something like this will not happen again.

If you ever have a concern about your mods please don't hesitate to contact one of us or if you feel uncomfortable doing that, one of the admins.

~ Trace, DWH and Mav




"A genetically engineered killing machine, squeamish about guns."

Mod News:

Trace's computer has decided to mutiny by crashing its hard drive. Having very few back up options she has gone green and will be on reduced time. She's hoping the other mods won't take her unscheduled absence out of her paycheck.

DWH didn't get the memo that the holidays are over, and is still spending her days surrounded by reindeer, elves, and Santa's family. She is, however, still seeking the perfect evening gown to wear while cheering her team for Alice in Wonderland on at the Oscars. From her couch, watching it on a TV, of course. There could even be popcorn involved.

Mav has been up to her eyeballs in mucus (other people's, not her own) with respiratory season in full swing. She is looking forward to spring so that plain old allergies and can take back over.


ModSquad is currently entertaining the idea of adding back the fourth fanfic mod. Candidates are being detained, er um... discussed. More information will be forthcoming.




"Got word from this fence I know. There's a collector willing to pay top dollar for Star Wars: Episode VII. After the Pulse, they shut down production. Apparently this is the only footage that exists."

"Is that the one where Captain Kirk dies?"

Shiny New Things:

- These updates! So far there is no set schedule but expect them at least once a quarter.
- The birthday thread has started again. If you would like everyone to wish you a happy birthday on your special day then tell us when it is in this thread. Don't worry, you don't have to tell us how old you are!
- Mod Recommended Reading List is a thread that will soon come into existence. Once a month we will be featuring a story from all parts of fanfic including NSWFF and the Classic boards. New or old, no story is safe from the Mod Recommended Reading List! *insert evil laugh*
- We are currently working on updating the Fanfic Index. It needs to be done but it's a large task so don't expect it right away.
- The Official Write/Rewrite Challenge has started up again. It now includes challenges that can be done in Beyond, giving writers of any era the chance to participate! So go over and rewrite some scenes from the

 

I really like the idea of a Recommended Reading List thread. It is difficult to choose what fanfic to read sometimes. A great update!

 

Thanks for the update!

A dare challenge?! Oh my, that sounds fun.

Thanks for the reminder about Awards. I need to start making a list.

 

Is this an informal setting and more serious discussion be taken to PM, or can we be frank in this thread? I am so vehemently against this news I can't even say. I really, truly would like open discussion as to why a fourth mod is needed given the traffic and atmosphere of the fanfic boards.

Edit: grammar

 

Why should there not be a fourth fanfic mod?

Life sometimes gets into the way of internet stuff so it might be a good idea to have another mod on board.

Especially considering how little we've seen the mods around. No offense intended.

*

I'm really happy to see this thread up. I honestly miss the days when the fanfic boards seemed like a little community. So maybe this could be the first start.

So yay!

 

Because fanfic doesn't have the traffic needed to warrant a fourth mod. Period.

Secondly, you don't fix a lack of presence by adding on. You address the matter with those on staff (which was the first point of the update so it's clearly already been brought up). If they don't feel they are meeting the duties of the job, then step down and promote someone else willing to take on the work. Don't add to the team to get the job done. Readdress the job.

Edit: grammar again, my apologies

 

Given that I never felt there was an over-moderating issue with four mods in the past, I have absolutely no issues with our lovely mod crew adding back another member if they need the help.

That said, I'm thrilled to see an update thread like this!

 

Wonderful little update! Thank you for taking the time to share!

And can I just say I LOVED the Dark Angel quotes! I loved that show and seeing that first quote was awesome!

I can't wait for the Rec'ed Stories thread, that sounds awesome! It'll be nice to see some stories that other people loved.

 

- Mod Recommended Reading List is a thread that will soon come into existence. Once a month we will be featuring a story from all parts of fanfic including NSWFF and the Classic boards. New or old, no story is safe from the Mod Recommended Reading List! *insert evil laugh*

I'm glad for this, since it will promote reading of old gems that newer users may not be aware (I'm looking at you, Classics board, with all the treasures over there!). Since my time is mostly spent in NSWFF these days, I'm also glad for the inclusion of NSWFF, if anything to promote more SWFF and NSWFF bonding. Fits in well with me right now - my newest philosophy is "any good fic is a good fic, no matter the fandom" and I will happily read anything, even if I'm unfamiliar with the characters and canon material.

 

You can certainly ask questions in this thread, or via PM.

There are several reasons why adding back the fourth mod is being discussed and as of now it is just a discussion. In fact, it hasn't even been taken to the whole of Mod Squad yet (and it will have to before it would happen), just a discussion between the fanfic mods and the admins. One reason is the three of us are not really into the Saga as much and while we do venture in there, when KELIA left we lost the mod that was more interested in Saga. That being said, I can't guarantee that someone who is always in Saga would be the new mod, we have to find the person right for all aspects of being a mod, not just based on if they post in Saga a lot, but another person that does venture into Saga sometimes wouldn't be a bad thing.

Also, with the move coming up hopefully sooner rather than later we think it might be useful to have another person to help with aspects of that, someone who can learn about modding before the move so they aren't trying to learn a new board system and learning what it means to be a mod.

No offense taken. We all three have been around, we answer PM's daily and take part in ModSquad discussions and discussions specific to fanfic, etc. but we do realize you all can not see these things and it does appear we are not around. None of us did it on purpose and have made an effort to post more on the fanfic boards.

You are exactly right. We all three not only took a hard look at ourselves, we also discussed that exact thing with the admins as a group. It was actually an admin that brought up adding back the fourth mod. As Ceillean said life does happen sometimes, this is not our only job and it is unfortunate that all three of us have been in a busy time as of late. For me that is coming to a close seeing as we have hired more people and as it turns to spring we don't have as many respiratory patients. As I said, we are all making an effort to post more.

We are aiming to make things better, not only for us but for the boards on the whole.

I loved it too! I just started watching my DVD's again the other day so I figured I'd break out some quotes!



I'm glad people are excited about the Recommended Reading List! We thought it would be fun! And as Idrelle said, a little bonding between SWFF and NSWFF is always awesome!

 

Did I miss a note about the new rewrite challenge or was that too January?

 

When I was at work last night I had thought about that and wrote myself a note to add it. I accidentally threw my note away in the locked shred box before I looked at it again. I knew it had something to do with the update but for the life of me I couldn't remember what it was.

Thanks for the reminder, I'm going to add it right now!!

 

Thanks!

 

Ouch. A harddrive crash. Good luck, Trace!

The recommendation thread sounds great.

 

Good luck, Jedi_Trace. I'm dealing with the same issue on my laptop right now, hope it only takes a few days to rectify, although the wallet suffers for it.

I love the idea of a recommendation thread. As far as a fourth mod--as someone who posts and reads primarily in Saga, I love the idea of a Saga-centric mod, and any means of lightening the workload of the three existing mods, seems like a good idea to me. The only reason not to add another one would be if we found ourselves in a situation of "too many leaders and not enough followers," and I don't think there is any danger of that. "Over-moderating" would seem to be a case of "the mods got bored and started deleting/editing random threads"--again, I don't think there is much chance of any of the moderators here doing that.

Just my $.02 though, another $1.73 will buy you a grande Pike Place Roast at Starbucks.

 

Great update, Mav! It's great to hear what the boards are up to. Sorry to hear Trace is having commputer issues and you're having ....snot issues.

Looking forward to the Recommended Reading List!

JP

 

Mav, thank you for addressing my concerns. I certainly can't speak for others, but my issue raised in this thread has never been over-moderation, it's been the under-moderation of the current situation, but, again, that's the first thing addressed in the update so I don't feel it's necessary to beat a dead horse.

 

Thanks, y'all! Remember that episode of Sex and the City where Carrie's computer died and everyone asked her when the last time she'd backed-up her work was and she'd never done it? Um, yah. That's me. Fortunately, my husband is a tech-y kinda guy and thinks he can retrieve all my files and transfer them to a new hard drive. And then I'll be backing-up. No, really.

Little update to this: We're starting a challenge organization thread on our Mod board to keep track of all the recent requests. It'll be first come-first serve, so if you've sent in a request to host a challenge, please be patient with us a little longer while we get them all lined up in a schedule. Thank you!

 

I'm loving the sound of all of these updates! Especially the Recommended Fan Fiction List!

I don't have any objection to a fourth mod. In all honesty, I think there's a lot of work to be done on the fan fic boards, more than three people can probably handle on a daily basis. A fourth mod will probably help to make the distribution of work less overwhelming, and then if anything happens (like what happened to poor Trace) there'll still be sufficient mods to keep things from getting backed up.

The only change I'm kinda disappointed about are the changes in the words that have been removed from the "Not allowed" list. I know that's not in your hands however, so I shan't complain here. Any idea where a more proper forum for my concerns would be, however?

Anyway, that's my two credits worth!

~Celeste

 

I remember when we used to highlight stories from each board monthly. That was always a lot of fun.

 

The WTF rule was actually changed quite some time ago (I think almost a year ago) but we know not everyone goes into Comms so we thought we'd mention it. Here is the most recent conversation about it there.

As for the other words I know it has been discussed many times in Comms, about once a year. Originally it was put in place because the site owners wanted it that way. I know it's come up more recently but I couldn't find the threads (it might have been discussed in Mod Squad Updates?) Discussions Here from 2007, here from 2006 and Here from 2005.

The majority in these threads wanted them taken off the disallowed list. It was then discussed at length in MS and then taken to Philip Wise, the site owner who said it was alright to take them off.

But to answer your question more succinctly, Comms would be the place, specifically the thread about policy changes from January.

 

This is pretty much the long and short of it. Especially since, come May, I'm going to be on reduced time due to end-of-show craziness. It shouldn't be as bad as past shows, but my lead's wife is having a baby right around then, and I'm the senior morning person, so that's a whole new layer of crazy I get to deal with. I'll still be around, as always, but I'll be fighting to escape a pack of panicky elves. It'll probably be worse in June/July, but that's when the no-vacation for anyone, ever zone starts. With any kind of luck, it will barely affect my posting, but it would be useful to have another person around just in case.

 

Really glad to see this back! Although I think the need for moderation has declined over the years as the users have generally become very low maintenance good natured folk, so you shouldn't be too hard on yourselves.

And bringing back some of the old favorites and some new ideas sounds awesome!

 

Once upon a time the mods here featured "Story of the Month." That was something like 6 years ago.

Glad you guys will be doing it again!