BronxWench

Given that you are scrupulous in including detailed warnings in everything of yours that I've ever read, I know this was not something you ever thought would happen.
The person who linked this to the 15 year old should spend 5 to 15 years playing conjugal partner to a very large and irritable cell mate and his minions, and then get to register as a sex offender upon release.

If the entire Celebrity subdomain vanished mysteriously overnight, I would not mourn. The few times anything on this site freaked me out badly enough to make me walk away from my computer and go off to chain-smoke half a pack of cigarettes on my terrace in the middle of a blizzard has been while I was sweeping RPF fics.
Not a dig at RPF writers, but it's a form of fandom I don't seem to be able to grasp.
And JD, I'm sorry one of your fics was used in that manner.

Given that you are scrupulous in including detailed warnings in everything of yours that I've ever read, I know this was not something you ever thought would happen.
The person who linked this to the 15 year old should spend 5 to 15 years playing conjugal partner to a very large and irritable cell mate and his minions, and then get to register as a sex offender upon release.

Oh, you're adorable! Starting a post like that with the line:
Too funny. You Sir and/or Madam have made my day. The whole post is so expertly crafted. I especially like the bit where you give an opinion that folks on discussion forums should only give opinions if asked for opinions... when not asked! But it's pretty much all high class 'net flamewar bait (heck, vintage - I recall variations of "I'm not sure you have the mental capacity to understand it" on usenet). I salute you! And you should totally write riddles. I'm gonna have to risk being interpreted as peevish again and echo that wishing well in the future to you. I know it's hard to tell on the internet but this is totally not sarcasm, or even snark. G'luck!

Yes, shame on the admin for that brief summary telling folks what happened. What they needed was something like a professional writer would put, like old dexy's statement as, uh, admin/host of her own site: "I knew how petty and evil-minded the admins over on AFF really are."
Wait, what? Surely not! Based on your statement about how admins should act on their sites I expected to see nothing more than "I am no longer with that site." Now, I know little of these things but from what you've told us that doesn't seem terribly professional does it? Almost, well... petty? Gosh! Petty! Yeah, we'll go with that. Maybe... and this is just speculation, you understand, maybe stating a user is removed for ToS violations, and listing the violations - much like we see in clubs and such - without adding personal ad hom attacks... maybe that is the professional way to do it?
I'm just being snarky.

Having grown up reading authors who played with language to achieve incredibly powerful and evocative prose, I'm loathe to limit myself at all. If I'm going to write a Regency bedroom hopping farce, I might use "quim." If I'm writing something set in the 1970's, when we all strove to shock, I'd use "cunt." If I'm writing a scholarly piece on the experiences during a vaginal birth after caesaerian, I'll go with vagina and cervix. It's all mood and the music of the words.

I won't weigh in, but I will remind anyone that posts to this topic that hate mongering and/or flaming is strictly prohibited. If you are going to discuss, please ensure you remain polite and respectful to all when voicing your opinion!

I'll be perfectly honest. I have had the oh-so-delightful experience of being attacked personally for my role as a moderator. It's stupid, and childish, and not what I expected from people on this site, but I tend to give people more credit than they deserve, it seems. Apparently, not only did these bullies never bother to actually read the Terms of Service and Content Guidelines that they agreed to when making their account, they find it unreasonable for us to expect them to actually comply with it.
Although we now use a separate moderator account for our work here, I don't think I'm alone in remaining reluctant to expose myself to the bullshit of retaliation reviews. While I'm intelligent enough not to take the content to heart, I'm also hampered in how I can respond because I am a mod for the site, and even in my "personal" role, what I do and say reflects on the site as a whole. I know that standing up to bullies works, but I can't do that, and silence only encourages that particular form of vermin, whereas I'd rather hold up a mirror and force them to confront their own blindingly evident inadequacies.
Even worse, they help to alienate readers and authors who would otherwise leave reviews that were meaningful and contained useful concrit. I enjoy being told what worked, but even more so, I want to know what doesn't work. I will never improve if I don't know where I'm lacking, and I'm not delusional enough to think I don't have vast room for improvement. I particularly resent losing the gorgeous and invaluable concrit from ShadowKnight, and the blunter but no less cherished concrit from wanderingaddict. They kept me going when I started writing here, and I've taken their advice to heart, to my great benefit.
The utter nadir, though, is seeing writers with talent and potential crushed by bullies who unleash the full fury of their minions on someone who dares to leave a less than fanpoodling review. It's not in my scope of authority, but I'd cheerfully ban those bullies without a moment's hesitation. I never permitted my children to throw tantrums in public and if certain users want to behave like children, I'm more than happy to administer swift parental response. Being an adult comprises more than just having reached a certain chronological benchmark.

I'll be perfectly honest. I have had the oh-so-delightful experience of being attacked personally for my role as a moderator. It's stupid, and childish, and not what I expected from people on this site, but I tend to give people more credit than they deserve, it seems. Apparently, not only did these bullies never bother to actually read the Terms of Service and Content Guidelines that they agreed to when making their account, they find it unreasonable for us to expect them to actually comply with it.
Although we now use a separate moderator account for our work here, I don't think I'm alone in remaining reluctant to expose myself to the bullshit of retaliation reviews. While I'm intelligent enough not to take the content to heart, I'm also hampered in how I can respond because I am a mod for the site, and even in my "personal" role, what I do and say reflects on the site as a whole. I know that standing up to bullies works, but I can't do that, and silence only encourages that particular form of vermin, whereas I'd rather hold up a mirror and force them to confront their own blindingly evident inadequacies.
Even worse, they help to alienate readers and authors who would otherwise leave reviews that were meaningful and contained useful concrit. I enjoy being told what worked, but even more so, I want to know what doesn't work. I will never improve if I don't know where I'm lacking, and I'm not delusional enough to think I don't have vast room for improvement. I particularly resent losing the gorgeous and invaluable concrit from ShadowKnight, and the blunter but no less cherished concrit from wanderingaddict. They kept me going when I started writing here, and I've taken their advice to heart, to my great benefit.
The utter nadir, though, is seeing writers with talent and potential crushed by bullies who unleash the full fury of their minions on someone who dares to leave a less than fanpoodling review. It's not in my scope of authority, but I'd cheerfully ban those bullies without a moment's hesitation. I never permitted my children to throw tantrums in public and if certain users want to behave like children, I'm more than happy to administer swift parental response. Being an adult comprises more than just having reached a certain chronological benchmark.

I'll be perfectly honest. I have had the oh-so-delightful experience of being attacked personally for my role as a moderator. It's stupid, and childish, and not what I expected from people on this site, but I tend to give people more credit than they deserve, it seems. Apparently, not only did these bullies never bother to actually read the Terms of Service and Content Guidelines that they agreed to when making their account, they find it unreasonable for us to expect them to actually comply with it.
Although we now use a separate moderator account for our work here, I don't think I'm alone in remaining reluctant to expose myself to the bullshit of retaliation reviews. While I'm intelligent enough not to take the content to heart, I'm also hampered in how I can respond because I am a mod for the site, and even in my "personal" role, what I do and say reflects on the site as a whole. I know that standing up to bullies works, but I can't do that, and silence only encourages that particular form of vermin, whereas I'd rather hold up a mirror and force them to confront their own blindingly evident inadequacies.
Even worse, they help to alienate readers and authors who would otherwise leave reviews that were meaningful and contained useful concrit. I enjoy being told what worked, but even more so, I want to know what doesn't work. I will never improve if I don't know where I'm lacking, and I'm not delusional enough to think I don't have vast room for improvement. I particularly resent losing the gorgeous and invaluable concrit from ShadowKnight, and the blunter but no less cherished concrit from wanderingaddict. They kept me going when I started writing here, and I've taken their advice to heart, to my great benefit.
The utter nadir, though, is seeing writers with talent and potential crushed by bullies who unleash the full fury of their minions on someone who dares to leave a less than fanpoodling review. It's not in my scope of authority, but I'd cheerfully ban those bullies without a moment's hesitation. I never permitted my children to throw tantrums in public and if certain users want to behave like children, I'm more than happy to administer swift parental response. Being an adult comprises more than just having reached a certain chronological benchmark.

Sometimes I quietly wish there was a simple system built in where you can score out of ten for a story you've read or a poll: "Liked it", "Didn't like it", "TL;DR", "YAY PORN!" and "We need to talk." to shortcut the anxiety of trying to say something you don't want to be attacked for!

Bless!
Funny story - I received a mod review the other day and was devastated that I couldn't find an address to send flowers!! I had no idea where to send my profuse and overjoyed thanks for being noticed. It was one review but it was a major "SQUEE!" moment. I'm sorry, I don't care if its an expected custom it was an honest review and I'm taking the time to take what has been said on board.
I love praise. Its built into the human condition. Actually, its built into the social mammal condition - I've trained dogs and horses and I work with special needs kids and I promise you there are some personalities out there that would die of starvation and thirst if they had a choice between sustenance and praise. Its essential. It kills me when I read something I can't offer praise on. Concrit yes but actual praise... sometimes its nearly impossible to provide without omitting the truth which really, boiled down, is on the same par as lying.
Something I find difficult with reviewing is the problem of 'So, what does the author want to hear?'. Okay, yes praise but... what else? My fear of reviewing is much like my fear of commenting on a friend approaching my and saying 'how do I look' without context. If they're dressed in jeans and a jacket and they're going to a wedding well... not so good but without context... fine...? Covered to the extent society dictates, appropriate for the weather, reasonably fashionable and tidily presented? Reviews that are vague 'Good story, nice work' feel cheap. Okay, yes, praise - yay - but I hunt stories to entertain me. I can't leave a review for a story I skip out on half-way through because I lack interest in the content on a personal level, it would do the author no service at all. Even worse for an author to get a review on a story I have no investment in. If I say something like 'I got to the part where x and y went to the shops, lost interest and flipped over to twitter' I don't have anything for the author to reflect on other than I have symptomatic ADHD.
If I read a WIP and make it through more than one chapter I will leave a review of encouragement but I prefer PM conversations where I can interact with an author. "I liked this but this seemed a little unclear, was that intentional?" This kind of back and forth interaction is so much more satisfying than a public review - and I can dig out the author's intentions. "I write for myself and I like to a little ego stroking." is very easy, "Great story *pat pat pat* good for you *pat pat* keep up the good work *pat pat pat*" where as "I'm not sure if this is right, I glossed over this, I got lazy here and this part I guessed... they do that thing, right?" is so difficult to glean without discussion, and I feel publicly going through something like that is the rude option - especially when I like to site references and refer to further reading with things that need improving. Of course, if the author believes they are perfect in every way and their story is a work of genius I'm not the best person to disillusion them... I reference my advice because I do so much research of my own and a PM out of the blue - "Yo, your story could use some improving, here's the list." is confronting. I'd be confronted by it. Particularly if it was in an area I wasn't interested at that stage in reflecting on, or its part of a set up for something further down the line like fore-shadowing. A reviewer deserves to be thanked and appreciated for taking the time, not sized up in a hostile 'Excuse the f*ck me??' kind of way. Of course, it all comes down to wording but blunt bitches like me always get the short message wrong.
I remember receiving a text message from a complete toss-pot - seriously, the kind of person you wish you could go to their mother, slap her and say "You should have swallowed, you selfish cow, now we all have to suffer" - that said "I don't like the tone of that last message." And all I could think was "Tone. REALLY? A three word message with the depth and sophistication to have a tone??? F*ck me, I'm amazing." but it has made me more cautious. I'd hate to rile up a complete stranger with my 'tone'!! Especially when I just want to pay if forward and spread the wordsmith love! So I err on the side of caution and when in doubt, I say nothing.

*shakes head* These writers apparently have NO idea just how much time and work goes into a concrit review. I have spent over an hour on some of my concrit reviews, it depends on the number of errors and how long the chapter is. I try to make them as professional as I can because the purpose of these reviews is to help the author improve their writing skills. Nobody is going to spend that kind of time on someone who can't appreciate it.
You get one solid review and cry FLAME? The writer should be sending the reviewer flowers for taking the time to read their story and for writing a review meant to help them grow in the craft!
If all a writer wants is fluffy reviews, they should put an author's note at the start of the story saying: Praiseful reviews only.

Oh, good! I'd miss my perfect concrit otherwise!

I'll also add to Dany's statements (and Apollo's welcome to smack me if I step over the line, but she knows that )
There are those who come into the Shoutbox here on the forum and practically beg for reviews. They constantly complain about how they get none. Now, sometimes, they really don't. Sometimes they have one review for every 200 or so hits on their story.
One of the ones that really didn't have any reviews, I reviewed two of hers. Her response was to delete one of the stories completely, and delete my review on the other.
Tell me, as a reader, how I'm supposed to react to the fact that when you beg for reviews, and I leave you one that isn't, as Dany said, an "I luff it" review - and your response is to delete it?

@Guest S.W-B,
When she emailed me to ask about why, at that point she admitted herself she turned 18 in 2011, and was born in 1993. That because she was now 18, she didn't see why. Yet, when I deleted her a time or three before she was 18, I also emailed her at that time and explained to her quite clearly the consequences of returning before her 18th birthday. So, for her to imply to any of you she had no idea this would happen, is pure and utter crap.
That she lied to you about her actual age doesn't surprise me.
In fact, I'll step it out further, AGAIN, as to how old when registered:
2009 before September, 5 registrations - 15 <---she was emailed twice about not returning before she was 18
2009 after September, 1 registration - 16
2010 - 1 registration - 17
2011 - 1 registration - 17
Of all the profiles, NONE of them were created before her 18th birthday. NOT A ONE.
What's truly at issue here, is that because she was still at home and underage, she didn't back up her work.
Given that the site is restricted to users 18 and above, it doesn't matter if she posted AFTER her 18th birthday (3 whole stories, by the way, everything else was before that), I am legally OBLIGATED to remove this data. If she, and you, cannot understand that, I don't know what else to say to make that more clear.

There seems to be a common misconception that we do this to be mean, that we are just horrible nasty people who get off deleting stuff from the site. I assure you, this isn't the case. Let me step this out further.
Did you know that if a parent of an underage user filed a lawsuit, first off, I own the site as an individual not a corporation so I'm personally liable, they will come after me? I'm not rich. I live paycheck to paycheck. I cannot afford that kind of lawsuit. The site never has more than about $700-800 in our account at any one time. That won't pay for a lawyer. Second off, because it deals with sexual content and a minor that depending on the type of suit filed, I could end up with a criminal record and being listed on a sex offenders registry? That can effectively ruin my chances for a decent paying job for the rest of my life, never mind negatively impact my fiances career as he is military.
I take these risks because I believe in the site and what it provides - The only thing I ask in return is that people follow the very simple rules we have. The only time we enjoy deleting something is when someone plagiarizes someone elses work because well, that's truly vile! Beyond that, it's never fun to have to delete someone's story.
If they don't back their stories up and we delete for a ToS violation - That isn't our responsibility. I know it's been drilled into my head time and time again to always have a back up of important things - If their story wasn't important enough to them to back it up, I cannot and will not take responsibility for that decision.

I love to know what people think. I adore reviews, and I especially adore people who take the time to tell me what works and doesn't work in my story, so I can improve. There's always room to improve, in my opinion, and no one is ever perfect. I'll also be the first to admit that I don't review as much as I should, but I'm hoping to get back to reviewing when things calm down.
But even when I don't get a single review, I write because the stories want out. They're not going to give me a moment's peace until I write them. Being a writer isn't a choice for me. It's how I make sense of the world, by seeing life through that lens and trying to capture it, however feebly and ineptly. I can't force people to read my work, or to review it, but I do hope that on my very last day on this Earth, I manage to write something. If nothing else, I'll at least have been true to myself.

Guest... Although I highly doubt you'll read this, but I do hope that you will.
I've stayed out of this discussion, because I don't know anything about JennMarie, and I am not a staff member, so I have nothing to do with the deletion or removal of authors and their content. But your unbelievably childish post is just too much to ignore.
First of all, 99% of the people on this site are writers, so they understand very well about writing and losing stories. And yes, by the people here, I do mean the staff members, and the bosses that are responsible for the site.
As for JennMarie being Loyal and Liking this site... Please! Don't make me laugh. If she'd had an ounce of any kind of loyalty, she would have fucking sat on her little hands and waited until she was 18 before posting her stories.
But she didn't. She thought she was special and would therefore get away with posting her stories before her 18th birthday. And she did not do this once, or twice... she did it six fucking times!
It is a legal matter if a minor is on this site, and therefore the staff members are legally obliged to delete them. It is done not only to protect the site, but also the living, breathing people who own and run this site, free of charge, and with volunteer work!
Read that again! They run this site, free of charge for members and maintain it with volunteer work. And because of kids, who can't follow the rules, they are put at risk. And that tells me that those kids are not Loyal or Like this site a whole lot. Nor do you for that matter.
Get off your high horse and read the rules, and then reconsider your words.
If JennMarie's computer crashed, then she either should have had the forethought to keep a copy of her stories on an external drive, or gotten herself one, and copy/pasted her stories onto one, from a computer that wasn't hers. I mean, she must have friends, or have access to public computers at a library or school.
Blaming AFF for the loss of her stories is childish and petty.
As for the staff being rude and abrasive, well, they don't exactly get treated with a great deal of respect much of the time. Just read your post again, Guest. Was that very polite. Were most of the posts before yours very polite? Honestly, the staff got a barrage of abuse from a bunch of kids that just did not want to understand that this was a serious breach of ToS, and then as good as blamed AFF for JennMarie losing all her stories. The staff were bending over backwards to provide people with contact information for JennMarie, so her fans could get in touch with her, and ask for her stories back and tell her she was welcome back if she wanted to, since she had turned 18.
And let me tell you something. The staff gets an extraordinary amount of shit from people who can't follow the ToS, and the staff has to politely ask them to conform to the rules. This can be as simple as correcting a disclaimer, and yet they get yelled and screamed at by little shitheads who think the rules don't apply to them.
Thankfully almost all of the writers follow the rules, and are very patient and polite when needing guidance to fix their disclaimers and other minor ToS violations. But there are always those rotten apples, you know.
As for the Hall of Shame, that is supposed to serve as a warning, as well as a deterrent for Plagiarists! There are very few members of Hall of Shame that have not been caught plagiarizing others. AFF has a very strict policy against plagiarism, and they do actively monitor such behavior. Maybe you should read Hall of Shame before you jump to conclusions. It is a very imaginative and funny way to warn people not to try that on this site.
And finally, what you said about driving "good" authors away from this site... Seriously?
The staff has been doing a bang up job this whole year, just like they did last year, and the year before that, and every years since they took over from the substitute staff that were (not) running this site for a few years before.
And they have not been petty and abrasive or derogatory or childish at all... yeah, sure, they've had their cranky moments, but wouldn't you too, after having shit thrown at you for weeks because someone got deleted for NOT Following The Rules!!
And they have refused to stoop down to this level, in many many cases, and that's why I decided to do it. Someone needs to stand up for them.
And I don't care if I'll get spanked for it. It's worth it.
I really, really want to point fingers, but I won't, but I can say that I know of at least one author who showed far more derogatory and childish behavior than anyone on AFF, after she was banned.
Also, just the fact that you have specifically mention that you are not JennMarie or any other author who's been banned, makes it so much more likely that you are. Not to mention that if you've been lurking on this site since 2002, then you either started lurking way before you were old enough, or you're being seriously childish for your age.
*draws deep breath, and lets it out slowly*
And that, Guest, is how you rant!!
*exit downstage right*

Wicked paladin. Now my secret is out!

I agree that the commentary can completely kill the piece. The worst part is when they write disparaging remarks about something that was actually very well done.
The 'apologies' for their writing actually serve to do two things to me:
1) Ruin the story.
2) Make me think that they don't actually want concrit, they just want praise of how well they are doing - the "don't sell yourself short" reviews.
It's almost as good as review whoring at getting me to click the little red X on my browser.
Like you said though, the commentary on DVD is on a separate disk, or accessible thru a separate menu. So, for those authors that are compelled, I would recommend actually making a thread in the forums, putting the hyperlink at the top of the story with something like "Commentary on this chapter can be found here: [ url ]" and then the <hr> to separate the text. Or putting it at the bottom of the chapter is even better.

I despise that sort of behaviour in stories. It's a sure sign of amateurism, in my opinion.

But what if you ARE writing for potted plants???

I view author's notes with a jaundiced eye. I want to read a story that will hopefully pull me in and hold my attention. Author's notes are jarring and drop me back into reality with a resounding thud. It's unpleasant and mostly unwarranted, because if you need to explain to your readers what you're doing in a chapter, either you are not writing clearly or your readers are potted plants.

I view author's notes with a jaundiced eye. I want to read a story that will hopefully pull me in and hold my attention. Author's notes are jarring and drop me back into reality with a resounding thud. It's unpleasant and mostly unwarranted, because if you need to explain to your readers what you're doing in a chapter, either you are not writing clearly or your readers are potted plants.