[Dumb Laws]

New York:

It is illegal to perform window puppet shows. I remember that from a commercial.

It is also illegal for a blind person to drive in New York City. This is actually in the books. (I read about it 10 years ago in an "interesting facts" book).

Donkeys are not allowed to sleep in bathtubs in Brooklyn. (Do I want to know?)

Women are allowed to go topless in public in both Ontario, Canada and New York, USA. If men are allowed to do it, women should be allowed to do it.

[Recommended reading is back!]

I agree with Mad. There was already something in the rules about not advertising any stories on any other site unless the same story was already posted at AFF or if the story was connected to another story not on the site (such as a sequel without an adult rating).

That policy makes sound sense to me. Right now, people have to pay for advertising on the site. Making it too easy for a rival fiction site to promote themselves through AFF is unsound from a business standpoint.

The old rule allowed for enough camaraderie with other fiction sites without letting AFF itself be run into the ground. That's a balance onto which the site should attempt to hold.

Turning Recommended Reading back on is a good thing. I love the fact that you can also add your own explanation on why the story is on your list. Huge improvement, as far as I'm concerned.

Putting stories from other sites on that list? Not so much.

[Recommended reading is back!]

I'm sorry, but I have to step in right here and defend DA.

It wasn't a matter of refusal. The site had to be recoded to separate the archives. Each user profile had to be separated into archival user profiles. This was all done so that the site wouldn't crash again.

That's partly why Recommended Reading hadn't been re-instated up to this point. It would be necessary to separate that into separate archives as well.

There was talk of combining all of the archival profiles into one user profile. It was possible that there would be a way to do it without crashing the site yet again. Once that issue was decided upon, Recommended Reading would be tackled.

I would appreciate it if you'd hold back your hostility towards DA in these posts. Expressing it is extremely unprofessional. On top of that, many of us actually knew her and liked her, so we're not appreciating your tone. That same tone is also diminishing whatever belief we may have in your words about the site news, despite the fact that we know you as well.

When a change is instated, by all means let us know. We appreciate it, especially in these confusing times. I just don't see why you'd be unable to keep your personal opinions about certain people out of this.

[What does this all mean?]

Acal, I'm going to ask you not to post that here, not yet. I'm sure that the other mods will agree with me on this.

It would be nice to hear DA's side of the story. I'd love to hear it myself because I know her and I still trust her. I consider her a friend. But while we're trying to fix the situation, it would not be a good idea to exacerbate the argument in public.

Once things settle down and we're all aware of the final news, we may post DA's side of the story for retrospective purposes. We'll see.

Right now, stirring the pot more than it has already been stirred is a bad idea. If we're ever going to get to the bottom of this, neutrality is the key. Posting DA's side of the story right now isn't going to help matters any at the moment. If anything, it may make matters worse precisely because of the way we feel about DA already.

We have enough drama right now. We don't need more. You're aware of and agree with that much.

[What does this all mean?]

I don't think that the archives are going to disappear altogether. If there's anything that's apparent, it's that both sides want the site to stay up. I'm going to hold on to that.

The missing categories were a brief scare, and I'm over it already.

If the rest of the site staff knew what was going on, I think they'd let us know. echtrae, Madapple, and Nanaea are also members of our tight-knit group. We know that they love the forums, respect everyone here, and would be honest with us if they knew what was going on. No need to worry about that.

From Adara's post, you already know that we forum mods have no idea what's going on either. If we did, we'd let you know. Then again, the site mods who double as forum mods would have known first and told you first.

There's nothing we can do, really. As far as I know, both the forum and site mods are still investigating everything and there's no concrete answer yet. There's not much the rest of the members can do, and panicking isn't productive.

Do what you can to relax, and know that everyone's doing what they can to remedy the situation. Every staff member is a volunteer. They wouldn't be here if they didn't love the site as much as we do.

This last bit is from me as a member, not me as a mod:

I know that you trust DA more than Jaxxy. The reasons make enough sense. Still, I think the best thing we can do as far as this argument is concerned is to take no sides and wait to see what the rest of the staff has concluded (or at least the staff members that I know you trust).

[manta2g]

From the bottom of the "site news" page:

Modifications ©C. Dishman, Echtrae, & Lang

I don't know if he's still a site tech at the moment, but the fact that he's still a mod is something, and proof enough that he's still here as a staff member, if nothing else.

[manta2g]

Lang was hired recently, and his name is still on the main site so I assume he's still here. I know that echtrae is definitely still here. On the top left bar, click on Members, then check the Moderators list. His member title on the forums has changed, but he's definitely still here.

[Missing Sections]

I just re-checked the site.

I've just figured out the problem to your specific issue.

The Anime2 page is missing. Both the Anime and Anime2 URLS lead to the Anime1 page.

I have no idea where it is, but I'm sure it'll come back.

[Missing Sections]

I don't have the full story. I'm only a forum mod.

Basically, what happened is that Jaxxxy used to own the site. The head mods took over the ownership briefly. Several hours ago, Jaxxxy regained ownership of the site, and the head mods left the site altogether.

The news is in several threads around here. I suggest you read them.

One thing I do know is that the technical changes aren't as small as you'd think. We were asked to check every single fic on the site, so it may have been associated with a major overhaul.

If this whole ownership issue has bad blood associated with it, it's all too possible that Jaxxxy is taking down the categories to run quick checks on them before putting them back up. Right now, the FAQ section is the only section that's supposed to be empty (for now).

I can't really say much more because I don't know much more. Solaris probably has a better idea of what's going on.

[Flip Flops of Doom]

OUCH!

This makes me glad that I never developed a taste for wearing flip-flops. I've never found them comfortable.

I also don't shop at Wal-Mart that much. Now I'm remembering why.

[Missing Sections]

A lot of technical changes have been made. I and several others have been running archive checks for disclaimers, wide scrolls, etc, and many of the corrections have been undone.

There's a lot of confusion right now because the site has been given back to the previous owner. In the process, 4 of the head mods have left, including the former head tech.

Once the confusion clears up, I'm sure the missing sections will be restored.

[what the hell is going on?!]

DA left the site. So did some of the other mods. Jaxxy recently re-gained ownership. There's a whole lot of things going on. I suggest you read the site news, as well as the following threads:

Jaxxxy's Return Post

DA is leaving

I have a lot of my own checks left. On top of that, many of the errors that had been fixed before have been undone, which is frustrating.

Everything's topsy-turvy right now, but there's not much we can do except wait.

[Happy Birthday Hiei!]

I checked the time zone difference and it's your birthday today in both your time zone and mine, so I can safely say:

Happy birthday!

[That's the Radar. Yup, That's Us There.]

This page examines the traffic generated by the site. That's where the figure comes from.

Even then, it's not a very accurate study because it only covers traffic generated within the United States.

I'm not surprised that the site eventually ended up being mentioned in Time. Ever since fanfiction started attracting large numbers of people on the internet, many print-news sources have been publishing articles about fanfiction. It only makes sense that the largest and most well-known sites would be mentioned, this one included.

I'm not too worried about the fact that the site's getting mentioned in articles, as long as it's neutral.

What I'm worried about is that someday, some source such as the Times newspapers or Time magazine will publish a negative article and mention the site. When that happens, someone in the government will take notice and try to shut the site down.

[Marry, date, or dump?]

Marry Oliver, date Blaise, and dump Seamus.

Marry Lavender, date Parvati, and dump Pansy.

I love an Irish accent but Seamus bores me. Blaise is rather intriguing, but I don't know if I'd trust him in the long run. Oliver seems like the best package out of the three.

Pansy is annoying and clingy so I'd dump her in an instant. I'd go out with Parvati but I'd fantasize about Padma. Lavender would be the most willing to have an open relationship.

My list doesn't make much sense.

Guys:

Adult Bamm-Bamm

Dilton Doiley

Fabio

Girls:

Adult Pebbles

Midge

Naomi Campbell

[Men Live Longer Looking at Boobs]

What about the gay men?

[21st Birthday]

Sorry about that. I had just assumed it was everywhere because as far as I know the national age for stuff like drinking, smoking, and gambling is 19.

Your birthday sounds like a lot of fun. My birthday usually falls during final exam month. On my 19th birthday I was lucky because my birthday fell on the day before Good Friday, and there are never any exams scheduled during the Easter weekend.

Kinda made up for my 18th birthday. I had to make up for a lot of late assignments because my chemistry teacher was a bitch who didn't tolerate any excuses. My dad managed to get hospital leave for the day but he was too weak to do much. The whole thing was just plain stressful and I felt bummed out. My dad died two weeks later and the chem teacher stayed on my back about the late assignments even though she knew about my family situation and knew that I never slacked off in her class.

I don't have to deal with that bitch anymore so why should I complain now?

Oh god, this sounds like an LJ post.

Sorry about that. Carry on!

And a very happy birthday to you DC!

[21st Birthday]

I'm only 20. However, the coming-of-age year is 19 in Canada.

21 is the birthday where you can indulge in vice and get away with it.

I had a co-ed slumber party with a dance floor, lingerie, alcohol, cigarettes, unrated movies, and a tiny bit of marijuana because it's legal.

Shockingly enough, everyone managed to remain sober and things remained clean.

I think it was slightly different for me. No one was really sexually interested in each other even though we were all making out. All of the films were unrated because they were either foreign or had been on a festival circuit (though there was still plenty of smut). We had a huge variety of alcohol, so it became more of a "taste every little thing because you can for free". Everyone who chose to smoke went outdoors so there weren't any bothersome fumes. Can't say anything about the dance floor - the classiest thing would have been the disco ball. I think the only vice we didn't engage in was gambling.

I say go crazy on your birthday, especially because you have 4 days off. Try a little bit of everything if you can. You'll have the best excuse, and that excuse will never be valid again.

Just remember to have some form of damage control handy so that you don't end up in trouble with the police.

[Writing Resources]

Found these while cleaning up and thought I'd share.

Here you go: http://www.boldstrokesbooks.com/articles.html

Look down the list for the second section and you'll see articals on sex as a language and another on Crafting intamate moments by Radclyffe. Alot of the info is useful but alot also made me realize that publishing was not for me.

Well hope it helps out.

jaa ne

Kat

lol... great minds think alike.

A good source of bondage descriptions and vocabulary is bdsmlibrary.com.

[Is it bad...]

I haven't had anal sex ever or vaginal sex with a man, but I've had other types of sex.

I think everyone has fantasized about someone else while masturbating during at least one session in their life. I see nothing wrong with that. Everyone's entitled to their sexual fantasies, no matter how weird it is, provided that they're not hurting someone else. How is masturbating hurting someone else? Unless it's a mutual masturbation activity, the whole experience is private, isn't it?

I think everyone has also fantasized about someone other than their partner during sex at least once (this applies to people who have had sex with someone else multiple times). I don't think that's necessarily a bad or hurtful thing. However, I think there are certain limits.

If you fantasize about a fictional character or celebrity once in a while, that's OK. It's not like you have a chance to get with that person in real life, and chances are your partner's guilty of that type of fantasy, too.

Once, I did fantasize about someone else while fooling around with one person. To make things worse, that person was a mutual friend. I felt slightly guilty about it. I think that guilt varies from person to person. Humans aren't fully monogamous by nature. A lot of people find themselves occasionally attracted to other people while dating someone, and can't help but fantasize.

I think it actually becomes a problem when you start to fantasize too much during sex with another person. It's OK to let your imagination wander once in a while, but if you do it often, there's a problem. You should be aware of your partner and have the image of your partner in your head most of the time when it comes to sex. If you fantasize about someone fictional (including celebs), most of the time, it's hurtful because it's as if your partner doesn't measure up to your ideals and you'd rather live in a fantasy world all the time. If you fantasize about other people that you know in real life all the time, it means that you don't really love your partner anymore and maybe you don't truly want to be with him/her. Maybe you're just settling because you think you can't get what you truly want, and that's a low blow to yourself and your partner.

So yeah, I voted yes to both, but within reason. Fantasy is a healthy aspect of sexuality, provided you don't let your sexuality become nothing but an aspect of fantasy.

[Nineteen Eighty-Seven]

My butt can't handle that many. I would've said birthday spanks, but it's not my birthday.

20 spanks'll do - one for each year.

[Nineteen Eighty-Seven]

Yay!!!

(I was NOT born in 1987.)

What are you going to do?

spank me?

XP

Nooo....

I'm the birth-year girl. You spank me.

I want my birth-year spanks!

[Wading through the crap]

Let's face it. A lot of online fiction stinks. We've all adopted different methods for trying to both find the good fics and avoid the bad ones.

There are the classic methods that everyone uses. Read the title and summary. If the title is OK, the summary is promising, and the language is legible, you click on the link.

Then there's the networking method, where you deal with other people more than the stories themselves. If you've read a certain fic by a certain author and you liked it, you check the author's profile and read his/her other fics. If the person can write one good story, s/he can write several. If someone whose taste you trust recommends a fic, you read it. If someone leaves you an articulate review, you read that person's stories just to see what they're like. If someone gives you a well-written review, then chances are that s/he has a good writing style and shares some of your reading tastes, right?

I also take the extra step of reading review boards. It's actually tricky. The majority of reviews out there are "i liek it plz update". That really tells you nothing. Every other type of review does.

If there's a lot of negative reviews, then you know that the story must be extremely bad. Most people don't bother to review. If several people took the extra step to say something bad, it means that they truly hated it.

If at least 3% of the reviews are articulate and say something beyond "you need a beta", it means that the story was written by someone who's literate. It's not a guarantee that you'll like the content (a summary can easily take care of that). It is a guarantee that you won't get a headache trying to decipher what was written, and that's a fair start.

If at least 3% of the reviews are concrit, you may have hit a jackpot. If there's a fair number of readers leaving concrit, then the author's willing to take it. It means that the author has a good attitude and an evolving writing style. Consider yourself even luckier if the majority of that concrit is positive.

So what are your methods for spotting the good fics and avoiding the bad? Have you ever noticed any special patterns prevalent in certain types of fics that have helped you prejudge fics? Do you have any special tips for us?

ETA: I moved this to Reviews because this is more about reading and judging stories, i.e. "reviewing" them than it is about writing stories. It took me a while to make that decision. If you think this fits better in the main Writers' Corner forum, let me know.

[Nineteen Eighty-Seven]

I've noticed that a lot of members here turned 20 this year.

Post if you were born in 1987!

(Why not? We've got a birthday theme going on right now and this is pretty aimless and babble-y.)

[What month were you born?]

I've been told often that I have a pretty face. Of course, that was both before and after my teen years. My teen years were just plain awkward.