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This is completely off topic, but, then again, most of this thread is anyway!

Can someone please tell us what the fight was about in the first place? I know that I am not the only newbie absolutely dying of curiousity concerning what caused the schism.

EDIT: Question retracted.

I know I am not a moderator, but just a citizen of this board, but... please DON'T Respond to this request here, I beg you.


Do it PM or by email. Some members of the other board are also members of this board and I, for one, have been enjoying this thread, as is. I don't want a rehash of what I think was one of the most miserable times of my life in this community!

James

Heh - and I was lucky enough to get to share in that glee Although you don't know how many times I had to bite my tongue... and how hard it was...

(Oh, and Lisa, I have heard things "through the grapevine" but I'm not in a position to comment on them since I wasn't here.)

-- MR

Whoops, sorry! Didn't mean to step on any toes. (Although apparently I am pretty good at that.)

I will officially never write anything ever again if I can't make myself stay away from this thread...

*applauds*

Yes, yes, yes.

I loved all your suggestions, Jojo, but that's my favorite. The writer's love for what they're doing and love of the characters shines through in the writing. It even has the power to overcome some technical imperfections, I believe.

Re: responding to feedback. I do try to respond to feedback, though perhaps not as assiduously as some of the others writing here. I always respond if asked a question, however, or if I feel a point needs clarification, and I try to thank those who take time to review, because I know it does take time and effort.

However, we carry things with us sometimes from one fandom to the next, and I've picked up one (probably nutty) thing in my travels that sometimes deters me from responding to my own feedback threads. One of the fandoms in which I've been peripherally involved prides itself on being Very Very Polite. This manifests itself in a number of ways, but one of them is the firm belief that every author should have a chance to have his or her story at the top of the board for a reasonable amount of time. So not only is daily posting considered bad form, it's expressly forbidden. If you post more than once every three days (I think that's the number) your post gets yanked and you get put on some sort of probation.

I've never even posted a WIP in that fandom, but I've hung around enough to have the idea burned into my brain that burying someone else's story on the boards is impolite. So if I go to respond to one of my FDK threads, and I see that someone else has just updated a story, I'll often decide just to wait rather than to push my FDK thread to the top by replying. I do realize that most people here probably think that's completely crazy, but I thought I'd throw it out there just because LabRat's post made me think of it.

And also, on a somewhat related note, is there some reason there couldn't be separate sections for FDK and stories? I've always wondered about that, and it was one of the few things I found very confusing about this board when I first came here. The blue arrow helps, of course, but it sure seems like it would be simpler to have stories in one forum and FDK in another.

Caroline

No toes stepped on.

James

I am a member of both boards and made a point of staying completely out of the disagreement, so I'm not entirely sure what it was all about, although I have a few ideas. In any case, I'd rather not rehash any of it. It wasn't pleasant, and I have friends in both places.

Nan

Another fandom that I am part of recently did the same thing. They made one forum for Fic and one for FDK. I really thought it was a good idea.

James

*grumbles at Sue and her love of being evil*

Actually I should probably grumble at you more for spreading that evil influence over to people you beta for.

*glares at DJ*

What Sue was really trying to say is the more you torture and delight in your readers "misery" (or pretend misery since we all loved every minute of it) the more FDK you will get. Haha... (Just playing with you Sue and DJ I adore your evil streaks. *hands you some pitch forks and pointy pointy beards and horns to wear*)

Caroline: It's amazing the habits we all pick up from other places. I was actually quite confused by the FDK system here when I first popped in. I had never been on a board like this before. Most of my experience has been through places like ff.net or live journal communities. So it took me a bit of time to get used to it. One thing I do in order to find all the stories is to go to the TOC boards. That way I can easily find all the chapters and FDK threads. It's the only way I can keep things straight sometime.

So authors should always add their story there so we can keep up with them easily.

Actually I would find this helpful, too.

The TOC forums are kind of like a "stories only" forum, but, while very useful, they aren't perfect because the most recent updates don't go to the top.

Why did the boards split? Short version: It seemed like a good idea at the time

I'm sorry, James, but I have to say something. It's incorrect to think of it as one big fight. It was a series of stupid little ones that flared out of control, and two fairly distinct groups emerged. There'd be a spirited discussion, with maybe a few people being nasty (or perceived as being, which is effectively the same). That would simmer down, but... when the next disagreement came, it reminded everyone of the last flap, and the same two sides (more or less) would end up shouting at each other. I could tell you what the fights were about, but that's really not important any more; when tempers are hot enough, any provocation will do.

That went on (intermittantly) for about 18 months. Oh, plus the end of that was March/April 2003, and there was a lot of Iraq-related tension that wasn't directly related but had lots of people on edge. When everyone was sick enough of the sniping, a group of us started talking about just opening our own boards and getting out of a bad situation. It seemed like the two groups were not going to be able to co-exist peacefully, and it's a big Internet, so... we came here. We were very worried we'd be seen as "the bad guys" but decided that it was worth the risk, because we just couldn't stay where we were.

So, if we admins are sometimes a little paranoid about the possibility of lively threads getting nasty, it's 'cause we've been there, done that, did *not* like it one bit.

PJ

I second that. And something I try to do (since TOC's can get buried too, when many new stories are being added) is add a link to the TOC at the top of each new part of the story as I post it.

I don't know if that helps or not - no one's ever told me.

But that way if someone sees that part 4 has been posted and think to themselves "part 4? - what happened to part 3?" - they can click on the link to the TOC and catch up from there.

-- MR

I did that, at first, oh so long ago, but it was very time consuming to me and I wimped out...

James

I completely agree. What I don't agree with is what I've seen of people saying things along the lines of "I don't like where this seems to be heading, so I don't think I'm going to read any more." I understand that other people might not think it's that big of a deal but it really, really irks me.

That sort of thing kills me because (1)the poster isn't letting the writer finish the story before judging it and (2)even the story seems to incorporate elements the reader really can't handle, to post something like that seems really rude. After all, what is the expectation? That the writer will somehow change everything for that reader? That the writer will be comforted by knowing that the reader left because they didn't like the direction of the story (as opposed to writing style, etc)? That sort of thing would be better off done through email/private message than posted on a public board.

I love debate, but I am also really respectful of writers, especially, and the time and effort they put into their stories (even if I fall under the feedback delinquent category *blush*). I understand that writers (or am under the impression) write first for themselves and *then* are kind enough to share it with me. Just that makes me always give the writer the benefit of the doubt when I approach their story--I'm looking at how they see things and I take for granted it won't be 100% in line with how I see things. If I have any opinions about a story, something that didn't appeal to me, etc, then I try to be open and if that doesn't work, then I quietly leave or if it's a little thing in a mountain of goodness then I mention it tactfully while focusing on the good. It's okay to say X aspect wasn't my cup of tea, but to flamboyantly announce your exit and wave it in a writer's face just seems really insensitive.

About the split: (well not really about the split, itself - I couldn't support James's plea more )

I still mourn the split.

Pam said:
respectfully, I disagree - I still feel both sides were diminished.

anyway, back to the festivities

c.

I totally agree. That to me isn't criticism anymore but just being rude. There is a line that has to be drawn and even when giving a critic of a story you should always be polite and tactful and also praise them for their strong points.

I also agree that you should always write in the direction you want to take the story. But, keep in mind that some people are always going to suggest you do one thing or the other with a story. Why? Because some people love the story so much that they think about it in their spare time and wonder, "What's gonna happen next?" and sometimes we voice what we think might happen or how we invision it going down. It doesn't mean the author has to change it but sometimes there might be a little something in those request that will spark something in your mind and make you think... "Now maybe that was a good idea." There isn't any harm in taking a suggestion if you personally think it will make the story better.

Man, you guys have gotten me to come out from my little cave and ramble way more than I normally do. *puts on her hermit hat and goes back to lurking instead of doing a classic Lois babble* ^_~

Oooh, I wholeheartedly agree. I've never actually "changed" a story before, because of what someone has said, but I have added parts or scenes in there that worked with the story, because someone wanted to see it or I thought it would improve my story.

(Oh, to quote a particular line above Jojo: "It doesn't mean the author has to change it" -- so does this mean you are still going to send men with pointy sticks my way about the ending of one particular story that I'm writing? Hmmm? I'm only kidding! Well, maybe... )

Extremely well said, Jojo! Even as a reader I love going to fdk threads and reading people's speculations. Sometimes people are able to think up stuff that have me saying "wow I totally didn't see that." Regardless of whether it actually happens later or not, it's a really fun way of 'waiting' for a new part.

No you don't have to but you will make jojo a sad panda...

~Jojo, who hopes you end it differently if only to make your story different from the movie and stand on its own. ^_~ And knowing you two ladies, I'm not really concerned about it. I just like to tease.

Oh I voice all the time what I think might happen! But to me it's sort of like fanfic'ing the fanfic if that makes any sense ROFL. The whole reason we write fanfic is to say 'what if' to the show. Now we're saying 'what if' to our 'what ifs'. It was like when I spent the summer scribbling down what I thought might happen after Clark left for New Krypton. I cared WAY more about what TPTB would come up with than whether or not I thought any of my ideas would actually fly. And I care way more about what authors come up with than what I think might happen. It's just...fun. :p

JD