sophinisba | Begging for links

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Begging for links

We are collecting recs for hurt/comfort fics over at

lotr_fic_recs. These can be LotR FP or RP, gen or any pairing, any rating or level of medical explicitness. (And in case you were wondering, Elanor and I had decided on this challenge theme before the latest round of controversy arose around Stories of Arda.) Even if you're not in a reccing mood, you might want to check out the entry to see the past and new h/c recs and find something to read. We already have three recs since late last night and I expect this to be a popular one. Hurt/Comfort recs

Lately I find myself saying and thinking "That's unfortunate" a lot. For instance, about the New York Times story about John McCain and that lobbyist, and about readers who read fics that squick them because they don't bother to read the warnings, and about the insanity theme at IJ, and about the LJ strike/boycott happening on Purim, and a bunch of other things. This is my way of being sad about things without assigning blame or responsibility, and I don't know whether that's a good thing or not. I mean, there's a phantom writing coach in my head (the same one who's yelling at me for saying "really" and "very" all the time) who detests this kind of vague and wishy-washy language, especially because most of these don't have anything to do with fortune but rather with bad decisions people have made. On the other hand, this is how my mind works (or has been working lately) and it's probably safer, as far as getting along with people in a community and all, than pointing fingers. I don't know. Maybe I am just a wishy-washy person.

Anway, I think it's unfortunate about SoA, but it has been nice to see an increase in posting at The Last Ship lately. I have been very lazy and haven't done much work there since we started up in November, but

baranduin has been working on the site and just fixed the thing with e-mail notifications so now they'll take you directly to the reviews. You can also choose between several really pretty LotR-themed site schemes that we didn't have at the beginning. The thing I did work on early on and that I'd like to get back to now is the help site, which is a wiki, meaning that anybody who wants to can contribute to it. We did disable anonymous editing because we were getting some spam, but anyone who wants to can set up an account. If you're looking to contribute something, it would be great if you could add some links to other archives and communities on the External resources page. Just click on the "edit" link at the top of any page or section, and if you're not familiar with wiki language you can use the little icons at the top of the box to add links. It's easier to get used to than you probably think. :)

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I like that external resources page! It's really neat. And now I have the urge to spend the rest of the day listing links.

Can I recommend one of my own fics? Tacky but I feel like it ... but I won't if it's not allowed of course!

I don't think it's allowed, but give me the link and I'll rec it! :)

Cool! Thanks!

Home Again: http://thelastship.org/eFiction331/viewstory.php?sid=52

I just had a fond remembrance of that fic.

OMG, I remember that! One of my absolute favorites in the Umbar series!

Thank you for all the recs you've been putting up!

This one's really fun! Usually I stress out and can't really think of any that haven't already been done but this time there are so many I practically didn't know where to start!

Self reccing is not allowed (see, I have this urge to add "unfortunately" even though it's nothing to do with luck and if I wanted to I could talk to Elanor about changing it I could) but we totally endorse Claudia's suggestion: mention it to your friends and see if they'll do the reccing for you. :)

I've had that external resources page there since November but I've never actually gotten around to putting in any of the links!

I thought not and can understand why it's that way.

It's something people ask about fairly often and I think we'd get more participation if we changed that rule, but I don't really see self-recs as recs, and I think it builds community a bit more if people have to think of stories other than their own. As usual I can see both sides. :D

Yeah I think you're right. A self-rec isn't a rec so much as it's self-promotion. Not that that is bad just a different animal.

Maybe you could have self-reccing rec events where people were allowed to rec one of their fics for the particular theme.

That's a great idea! Like in some categories, I just squirm and squirm wondering if anyone's going to remember such-n-such fic that I wrote even if it was years ago and nobody remembers it and when nobody does it makes me feel disappointed, like whereas if we could do that, then we'd have an opportunity to get more fics under one umbrella...or something...

Well, you can always put up a post to pimp the challenge, like SS did today. That way you'll get more people from your f-list participating, and that makes for more recs of the kind of fics you like, whether they rec yours or not. Just sayin'. :P

Maybe you could have self-reccing rec events where people were allowed to rec one of their fics for the particular theme.

This is something I've been thinking about too, but I can't really figure out how to work it logistically. Like, would we only do it once in a while, or would we have a certain period where it's allowed on every challenge? And if we do that, would it just confuse people or take away the point of having the rule at all?

Say, does this mean that anyone who wants to can join HASA and post there? I always thought one had to have one's writing approved by the committee, but it reads like you can post anything you like, and the committee just votes on whether to give you a blue star.

haha. The stars. I don't know why this cracks me up so much. I think it's that whole thing of "everyone's equal but some people are more equal than others" :D

But that's very interesting. Interesting indeed!

I know, the star made me laugh too. But the site gives me a nicer feeling than it used to, somehow, like if I were into fic about Men and Elves it might actually look appealing as a place to interact with other readers and writers, with their forums and challenges and all. I've never tangled with them though so I don't have the bad memories some of you do. :D

Picture a lot of people like the SoA mod all in one place. 0_0. Okay, well, I know there have got to be plenty of nice people there, too, it's just that the ones who aren't have the loudest voices... But you're right, it does sound a little nicer in tone in the "About" page...

They probably have set up a site that works well for them, just as we have set up pleasant communities in our part of LJ. Too bad about LJ the company going all hostile on us! (It's unfortunate omg that SUP doesn't treat its costumers better.)

I'm not sure why I'm in such a good mood. I'm LOLing lots.

LOL away! That is quite unfortunate. *snicker*

If you're a member of HASA you can post all your stories there and they will be viewable to members. If you want a story to be viewable to the entire reading public, it has to go through the review process and be accepted.

At least that's how I remember it. Could be wrong.

They may have changed their policy! I'm able to see unreviewed stories even though I'm not a member.

How can you tell it's unreviewed?

I wonder if you're mixing up people who review fics and comment on them after they've been accepted into the public archive.

I found the policy statement:

And in the "Select status" menu at the top of the page you can choose "Reviewed" or "General".

Interesting! I wonder how that all happened. Good for them.

I wonder how their focus has shifted.

From what I looked at it seems that they're putting more emphasis on discussions of writing. Sounds like fun, if you like the kind of writing they do. :)

They've changed the process - apparently by popular demand. But you get a nice blue shiny star if you've gone through the review process. *eyeroll*

There's got to be an interesting back story to that change!

would love to know! The stars make me giggle.

Unfortunate is actually a good word for it all. :-) A little more couth than "this sucks.' :D

It does suck that Squeaky decided to call IJ communities "asylums" and that Nilmandra kicked your stories and SS's off her site, but "fortune" has nothing to do with it! ;)

yes, exactly! :D

This is my way of being sad about things without assigning blame or responsibility, and I don't know whether that's a good thing or not.

I think it is, in general. Once one takes a stand one can't un-take it, and to assign blame is the first step in condemnation. Which is sometimes necessary, but not as often as people do it, I think. Every time one of these controversies happens, if I don't pick a side I feel bad for everyone on both sides getting hurt, and if I have chosen a side I see people on the other saying how everyone on my side is next thing to an orc, which is rather dismaying.

So I don't think you're wishy-washy. I think you're slow to condemn, and have empathy for all sides. And I think these are admirable traits.

Maybe I am wishy-washy but in a good way. :D I have been pretty good at avoiding controversy in my fandom career so far, and that makes for a happier experience. Not assigning blame sounds good but not assigning responsibility seems fishy. It reminds me of those passive voice constructions like "Mistakes were made" that just make me cringe. Also there are times when I do have strong feelings about things but I don't talk about them for fear of alienating or offending people, and then I feel like a wimp. (But I avoid alienating and offending people, which feels good! You see! I cannot make a decision to save my life!)

But thank you for your thoughts and your kind words!

I found the timing on this particular rec request ironic, though. :)

And I've certainly been mentioning The Last Ship to anyone who asks where the fic went, and that I find it to be a delightfully flexible and inclusive archive. I'm such a non-linear writer at times that I love the fact that I can upload a fic and then maneuver it into the appropriate position in a series. It's a happy place.

The timing was indeed ironic, but not intentional! I didn't even make the connection myself until I started composing this post. I am sorry you've had to deal with all this unpleasantness!

I too really like TLS for the inclusiveness. I'd never posted at an archive before because they all had rules that exclude some of my fic and so made me uncomfortable. Even LJ is more restrictive than it used to be so I'm really happy to have an archive where I can keep everything.

Well, SoA's site owner is naturally free to do as she likes with her site, and I completely acknowledge that. What annoyed me wasn't really being asked to take down what I think was around 300,000 words of fic - again, her site, her perfect right to host what she likes. It was the no warnings (despite the fact that guidelines on the site say that you'll be warned and offered the chance to fix your offenses) and the wording of the request (which not only insulted me, but a fair number of my readers). She may well be a perfectly lovely person, but this really stuck in my craw.

Yeah, I remember going through the policy guidelines back when Claudia got asked to take down her deathfic, and there was a vague statement about how some AUs were okay but not others, as well the part about how authors would be warned and would only have their stuff taken down without warning if they were repeat offenders. :/

And I was not a repeat offender either. *nods* Some people are more equal than others. *nods* :D

Heh. You are a lot like me in terms of seeing both sides of a situation and having to decide how far over on the teeter totter you are so you know where you will "come down" and how hard! Sometimes I just sit in the middle. But sometimes you are in a situation (like modding a comm) where you have to decide. Sometimes you aren't, and you sit back and say "How unfortunate" or "How sad" because nothing you do can change it and you really can't decide which side to slide over to anyway. It's one reason I am always trying NOT to end up on a jury, and it is also probably the reason I get elected foreperson when I am!

Re the whole "self-reccing" thing, we could probably do a single challenge where, like our "Love Affair with Fanfic" challenge (http://community.livejournal.com/lotr_fic_recs/82712.html), folks can rec one of their own fics for a given challenge (which they name) which was overlooked. We could jokingly call it the "Pimp Your Fic" challenge. I know which of my fics I would rec and exactly for which challenge, so I'm ready!!! *GRIN*

I really must get over and look around "The Last Ship". I am reluctant to post in archives because in most, you lose control of the fic (WOTM, Whether or No). Does "The Last Ship" allow you to delete and edit and reupload?

BTW, thanks for all your PR work for this challenge. It kind of "exploded" a bit, eh?

I think

surgicalsteel's post earlier today probably had more to do with the explosion. That and, like I said to her there, the fact that the controversy put h/c on people's mind last week. But then we knew this was going to be a popular challenge anyway.

I like the idea of a single Pimp Your Fic challenge! Maybe we could do that next. And I like the idea of making them say which previous challenge it fits -- maybe we could make them give a link too, which forces them to go through the community archives. :D

Do come and give TLS a try. It's all automated, so all posting, editing, and deleting is up to the author. Even the people for whom Claudia's been uploading their fics will still be able to edit and delete using their own accounts. The admins mostly just get involved to answer technical questions or to add new fandom categories and characters as people request them.

I believe that you can easily delete and edit and upload...(at least I've found that so far)

If you have any trouble at all, just email us (read: baranduin) because she's awesome and will fix any glitches! :-)

We'd love to have your stuff there! :-)

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Begging for links

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