Site News 11-20-10

[ApolloImperium]

Updates from Apollo

TOS Review: Review Demands

Welcome to Apollo's study where this week we will have a discussion regarding one of the biggest complaints we have from users, review demands!

What is a review demand you ask? Most commonly a review demand is considered holding a story hostage until you get a certain number of reviews, but it is not always that obvious. It can be more subtle than that, along the lines of: 'If I get reviews, I might write another chapter or a sequel' or 'Reviews keep me writing.' You may be planning to continue despite reviews, but it can be can be interpreted that you won't.

Now I know that reviews are the lifeblood of any author and extremely important, but is a review really worth much if it's coerced? Consider it this way: At the end of a novel there is a cliffhanger or the author leaves it wide open to a sequel, but there is a note after the last sentence saying "If you want me to write another book, then I have to sell 1 million copies of this one first." or "If you want more in this series, become a fan on my Facebook page and leave me a wall post telling me why you like the book. If people don't like me on Facebook then I'm not going to write anymore." It wouldn't be very professional, now would it?

Not that we are all professional writers here at AFF, but we should always strive for a level of professionalism in our behavior.

There isn't much else to say on this topic, but a simple rule of thumb that you should keep in mind when asking for reviews: If what you say in regards to reviews in anyway shape or form implies that they are needed for you to write more, then it needs to be re-worded.

AFF 2011 Calendar Contest - Voting Time!

Well we extended the topic, looking for more entries, and boy did we get them! We have 20 amazing entries for the 2011 AFF Calendar!! Now all that we need is a little help from everyone else - We need you to vote on them and tell us what you want to see on the Calendar! Head on over to our Poll topic to see the entries and vote. Voting is open to both forum members and guests, do please! Tell us what you think before it closes November 30, 2010!

Dribs, Drabs and Doggy Tales!

Thank you to everyone who responded to our latest prompt, "Cornucopia" We have 8 responses so far this week! Don't forget that the topic doesn't close until 11:59pm tonight, so there is still time to get in an entry. For everyone that has participated, we will be sending you the badge for this week that you can display where you so choose! If you've read the entries, please don't forget to review the story and let the Author know you liked it! As a reminder, the next topic is now posted, please visit this forum and starting Sunday 8am you can post your new entries!

Funding Status

Information to exact status is always found on the donations page. Currently, the site has $204.78 stored in PayPal. November's hosting costs have been paid and we are well covered for December! We do always appreciate donations though! Please see the donation page for further information on how.

Tech Updates from DemonGoddess

Clean up Update

The following top levels have been created, or will be shortly:

• In books subdomain - Twilight
  
• In cartoon subdomain - Kim Possible (coming soon)
  
• In comics subdomain - DC 'Verse Comics, DC 'Verse Cartoons, DC 'Verse Movies
  
• In xmen subdomain - Marvel 'Verse Comics, Marvel 'Verse Cartoons, Marvel 'Verse Movies
  

To help facilitate story moving, here is what can be done. This is something requires a member assist.

Email to technicalsupport@adult-fanfiction.org, subject Cleanup req

Where a subcategory does not yet exist (this applies to the DC and Marvel top levels), start with the category req for it.

Then, link to the story you need moved to the new top levels. Re-add the story to the category if it already exists, if not, I will email you when it's created, and then add it then. DO NOT delete the old story. I need that for some of the data, which I will then add to the new upload. After I'm done with that, moving any attached reviews, and adding the story rating that was pre-existing, I will delete the old story. Alternatively, this can all be posted in the category requests forum. Once I've finished with any data migration needed done for that request, expect to see the topic closed. I would also ask where there are stories in process of migration already (such as Angel in the tv subdomain), that those users do this as well.

If everyone who's affected by this can help and follow the instructions above it will make the process go a lot faster as it means I only need to move reviews and rates, and change the dates to reflect the original add date, also create subcats where needed. None of which takes all that long. If I have to move each story, it can take hours depending on how many chapters I have to move etc. So your help is greatly appreciated!!