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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

MOD Fanfic Press Conference (January 2017 State Of The Fanfic Address)

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction and Writing Resource' started by Briannakin , Jan 11, 2017.

  1. Briannakin

    Briannakin Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2010
    Fanfic Press Conference

    For those who are newer around these parts, every so often we have a State of the Fanfic Address to sum up events that have happened here in Fanfic and things that might have happened around the boards that pertain to fanfic. We also let you know about things that we might have been working on behind the scenes. Our last address was in October 2015. Nothing major has really happened since then to warrant a full-scale State of the Fanfic, but a couple of minor things have gathered so we have decided to do a “Fanfic Press Conference”.

    [​IMG]


    Time for the traditional “what your mods are up to IRL” part of the address:

    Mav - is pretty boring at the moment. Between work and school, there isn't a lot else going on. She also apologizes for the recent obsession with The West Wing, but can't promise it will abate anytime soon.

    Bri – is on her last semester of her undergraduate degree and has just kind of stopped caring about it. She also apologizes for letting Mav drag her into The West Wing obsession, but she is only apologizing because she's Canadian. She isn't sorry. But she is sorry that she isn't sorry.

    Mira - is currently inching back towards a galaxy far, far, away, even as she is currently enjoying the influx of The West Wing fan fiction in her neck of the woods. She is not sorry about enjoying her fellow mods' obsession in the slightest.

    [​IMG]

    Things we are still waiting on but we have no real news to report:

    XenForo Upgrade
    This is the upgrade fanfic needs to add the multi-tagging system which was decided on for categorizing stories (a while ago). We think we are close to an update time frame, but we are making no promises (mostly because we have nothing to do with it).

    Truncation
    We are still hopeful some sort of affordable solution will be found, but at this point, we believe it might be best to consider moving forward. We almost didn't bring this up, and unless there is any sort of change, this will be the last time we will mention it.


    Quick! Get distracted by this gif of a cat and BB8!

    [​IMG]

    Time for some fun stuff! (well, for some people)

    Awards
    Much to Bri’s horror (seriously, she is having nightmares), it is time for Fanfic awards! The mods will be putting out a “casting call” for the Overseer, hosts, and assistants soon. The awards will run the same way as they did last year.

    Group Conversations
    Limit on the number of users allowed in one private conversation has been upped from 5 to 10. If you require more than this for fanfic purposes, please contact Bri or Mav and we will be happy to set the conversation up for you.

    Markups
    We think we have figured out what has caused some pages not to load. If you are manually entering code for a post, you should use [ URL= ] instead of [ link= ] because otherwise too many uses of old code causes the page to not load.

    Profanity
    Bitch has been added to the list of "normally disallowed words" that are allowed in fanfic as insults between fictional characters.
    [​IMG]

    Mod Challenges! (and other things run by people who happen to be mods)
    Mods are planning on running the Dare Challenge sometime in the near future, so get excited for that. We also would like to be able to offer something "different" as a prize... unfortunately, neither Bri nor Mav posses the ability to offer anything really cool, so if you want to help us out with this and maybe offer some cover-art for the winning story, please contact us.

    Bri is also planning on running a "word race" for February (but someone should really remind her near the end of January).

    Other Challenges
    We would really enjoy resurrecting the Ultimate Drabble Challenge. Please let us know if there is any other interest in this or if you would be willing to host it (Edit: hosts possibly found).

    As always, if you would like to host a challenge or resurrect or create a character or other resource thread, please ask us (just not all at once).

    For NSWFF
    There will still be no awards for NSWFF this year, due to the relatively small amount of stories to choose from. As always, that is something that can change in the future as participation goes up. If there is interest in seeing a solely NSWFF Mod Challenge, or anything similar, please feel free to let us know. In the meantime, there is always the NSWFF Prompt Thread for those looking for inspiration; we always welcome seeing new faces!

    -Mav, Bri, and Mira


    [​IMG]
     
  2. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    Hmmm...thanks, Obama? :D
     
  3. Sith-I-5

    Sith-I-5 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2002
    First time I have seen one of these.

    So, that B-word is allowed in fics, eh?

    Did Obama really drop the mike, or is that a clever gif manipulation?
     
    AzureAngel2 likes this.
  4. mavjade

    mavjade Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2005
    They we usually do them once a year, we didn't last year because we did 2 in 2015, and there really wasn't all that much to say.

    Yes, you can use it but we still encourage you to use SW versions of cursing in SW fics and family friendly still applies.

    And yes he really did, it was at his final White House Correspondents dinner.
     
    AzureAngel2 and jcgoble3 like this.
  5. Mistress_Renata

    Mistress_Renata Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 9, 2000
    LOL about the West Wing obsession!

    Someone will have to explain what a Drabble is. I don't think it means what it used to mean (old def: a really short fic, which was basically a scene without much plot behind it).
     
    AzureAngel2 likes this.
  6. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    My understanding is that that is still exactly what it means. The Fanfic Olympics last year included a drabble event, where participants had to generate pretty much as many as they could of that type of fic within a time limit.

    By the way, for what it's worth, I am very glad to hear that the limit of PM participants has been raised—that will make it much easier to plan things like festschrifts, anthology threads, and other multiauthor projects in the future! Thanks so much. :)
     
    Kahara, Ewok Poet and AzureAngel2 like this.
  7. Chyntuck

    Chyntuck Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2014
    Mistress_Renata There's one extra element to a drabble (in challenges at least): each drabble has to be exactly 100 words, not counting the title.

    (I'll be back later for questions to the mods, since this is a press conference :p)
     
    AzureAngel2 likes this.
  8. mavjade

    mavjade Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2005
    Even though others have said it I'll just confirm, yes a drabble is a 100 word fic. As Chyn said, in the Drabble challenges, the biggest part of the challenge is to make it exactly 100 words. There is a link in the OP to the last drabble challenge that will show you the idea of it.

    When it came up that we had the ability to increase the number of people invited to a PM, Bri and I jumped on it for this very reason. (Though I just had to look up the word festschrifts. [face_blush] Good word! )
     
    AzureAngel2 and Findswoman like this.
  9. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    * will look for the b-word in her older fan fictions now! [face_nail_biting]
     
  10. Sith-I-5

    Sith-I-5 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2002
    Breaching the 100 word thing so often, is why I coined NADs - Not A Drabble - if I went over.
     
  11. Lady_Misty

    Lady_Misty Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 21, 2007
    I don't use the B word except for a handful of times in Huttese.
     
  12. Chyntuck

    Chyntuck Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2014
    Hmmm. Having thought of it some more, I noticed that the mods (once again) talked about the XenForo upgrade and the truncation issue as a means to avoid releasing their tax returns and clarifying their relationship with Russia. Sad!

    Okay. Basically, all I have to say is thanks to all three of you for everything, no questions, and I'm on the fic index update ahead of the awards.
     
  13. mavjade

    mavjade Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2005

    [face_laugh][face_laugh]





    :_|Because of the real life version of this.
     
    Mira_Jade , jcgoble3 and Chyntuck like this.
  14. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    As a dog owner, I wonder if I can be granted an exception. I need to describe the bitch as the bitch she is, in the social thread and such.

    [​IMG]

    If I wake up and go AAAAH, THE BITCH JUST PEED ALL OVER THE FANCY PARQUET AGAIN and if people complain about barking in front of the grocery store, how can I *not* say SORRY, BUT SHE IS A CRAZY BITCH, LITERALLY. And what happens when I have to go to the pet store and buy BITCH SPRAY?
     
    Raissa Baiard likes this.
  15. Briannakin

    Briannakin Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2010
    Ewok Poet Hey, as long as you are using the proper dictionary definition and not calling another user a bitch, you can use the word whereever you please. As per the disallowed word list.



    Also, I forgot to add that as of January 20th, I'm going on a trip. It's actually a national building project for Canada's 150th anniversary of confederation. It's going to be a wall. A great big wall.
     
    jcgoble3, Ewok Poet and mavjade like this.
  16. jcgoble3

    jcgoble3 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 7, 2010
    From the Welcome New Users thread this past weekend:

    So what do our illustrious mods think? Though I have to roll my eyes at you thinking we would have the software update long ago. It's been supposedly coming for literally years now, and like fixing the truncation, I've begun to assume it will never happen. :p
     
  17. mavjade

    mavjade Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2005
    There was a real reason to think the upgrade would happen pretty soon, some actual movement in that direction. But it's out of our hands so we can only go by what we are told/see.

    I agree that it's something that it does create some strange labeling. When we decided on that system, we didn't have very much information on anything so we did the best with what we had. We also don't want to have to change things a million times and just make things even more confusing. We'll certainly talk about it, but I'd love to hear from other people as well.
     
  18. Mistress_Renata

    Mistress_Renata Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 9, 2000
    Well, who knew that Disney would run with the ball and start filling in all over the place? It's the gap between OT & TFA that has me confused... it used to be that OT ended the Saga and Legends went beyond, but now we have a 30-year gap. So I'm confused (yeah, story of my life... 8-}) I could see making the argument for Rogue 1 counting as part of the OT, since it takes place a few days before.

    What about the rumors that you're planning to abolish FanFicCare?
     
    Chyntuck likes this.
  19. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    May I ask what FanFicCare is? (Sorry if this is a dumb question... [face_blush])
     
  20. Briannakin

    Briannakin Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2010
    I think it's a joke on Obamacare.

    Also, as Madame Prime Minister, I really don't like being grouped in with my American counterparts. Up here, we have no intentions or rumors of abolishing our universal fic-care coverage :p
     
  21. Mistress_Renata

    Mistress_Renata Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 9, 2000

    The only other question I could think of was "who are you wearing," but Press Conferences are always respectable suits in blue or gray. Wild fashions are really for the FanFiction awards ceremonies. :amidala:
     
    Ewok Poet and Mira_Jade like this.
  22. SatineNaberrie

    SatineNaberrie Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 28, 2014
    I'd be interested in doing a drabble challenge.:)
     
    Ewok Poet likes this.
  23. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    So, since we were supposed to ask questions, I actually have some.

    1. Softcore porn. What happens when a story is absolutely inappropriate for the board, despite not exactly breaking the TOS? Last year, a story that involved, err, erotic asphyxiation fetish went unnoticed and was even eligible for awards; and afterwards, there have been a couple of stories that seemed to have no other purpose than to cause arousal. Should we report this kind of stuff? The last two stories in this style, I know that a couple of others didn't appreciate them, either, so it's not just me.

    2. Warnings. Can we make them obligatory? About a year ago, I read an animal cruelty story which was inappropriately tagged as light-hearted stuff and there was no single content warning at all. A couple of other stories were guilty of this, too - extreme gore without one single warning. Would it be ridiculous to report stories for lack of warnings and misleading classification?

    3. Gifts and awards as challenge entries. Could there be a blanket rule for all the challenge threads, regarding fic-gifts and award fics? When I ran the latest OTP challenge, one of the authors informed me that their entry was also an award fic for somebody. I asked them not to reveal that until the voting is over, as that could impact the results and make people obliged to vote for such a story. I think it would make sense not to allow fic-gifts in challenges at all and allow award fics only if their purpose was announced after the voting was done.

    4. Cross-era stories. Where does this tag system limbo leave stories that cross from one era to the other? For example, I have a story that will cross from Before the Saga to Saga - PT at some point. I also have a story that's both Saga - PT and Saga - OT. I tagged the latter as just Saga, but this earlier one is a brain drain.

    My two paras about Rogue One: group it with the OT, it takes place days before ANH, it's like a mini OT prequel.

    My two paras about the UDC and Dare Challenge: go on with it! The thing I'd also love to see return is The Edited Challenge. More Round Robins are a good thing, too. :)
     
    BookExogorth and Findswoman like this.
  24. Briannakin

    Briannakin Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2010
    Yes, you should report such stories, or at least bring them to Mav's and my attention. We try to skim as many stories as we can, but there are only two of us and our lives are busy sometimes.


    If you believe a story crosses the "family friendly" line, you need to bring it to our attention. However, if a story is within TOS, it shouldn't need a warning.


    Mav and I will discuss this.


    We've always told people to use their own judgement in assigning prefixes to their stories. Even back when there were 3 separate era boards, some fics just didn't fit nicely in.
     
    Findswoman and Ewok Poet like this.
  25. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    When I said a "warning", I meant a general content warning, trigger warning, whatever. Just telling the readers that they're in for some content that people might find disturbing. Just like the notes before science shows, saying that the following scenes might hurt one's sensibility. Does that make more sense?
     
    Tarsier and Findswoman like this.