Don’t Panic.
I am a casual reader of fic, if a voracious one. Yes, I read a lot–way, way more than I will ever rec. And yes, I will tweet about various fics, and enjoy trading recs with followers. But I don’t leave reviews, I don’t post on forums, I don’t participate in fanfic communities, and I don’t read many of the fic blogs, beyond checking recs from The Lazy Yet Discerning Ficster. Confession: I haven’t read any ficster interviews, and I don’t read reviews on the fanfiction sites. There’s this whole world of daily interaction in fanfic that I am far too lazy to participate in.
So when I wake up one morning and boot up the ole 411, it is a shock to me to see that a fanfic has disappeared or been moved in the night. Many people see these things coming because they pay attention, but I don’t pay attention, so I am often surprised.
There have been a few instances where this has happened for various reasons. “Wide Awake” had problems with fanfiction.net (FFN), so AngstGoddess003 moved it onto her Livejournal, but that happened long before I read WA. The very popular “Boycotts and Barflies” was pulled so that it could be published as an e-book by Omnific (a spinoff of Twilighted). One of my favorite Darkward stories, “The Boy by the Window”, was pulled after some kind of behind-the-scenes girl drama between the co-authors. Some fics, like “The Office” by tby789, are pulled for personal reasons, or so the author can edit. And many fics, even popular ones, simply die because the author becomes too busy to continue, or loses interest. It’s important to remember that ficsters don’t get paid for this, and many of them are college/grad students or women with families and jobs, who do this in their spare time. Sometimes real life interferes and it’s enough to kill a fic.
However, lately, there has been a darker turn in the reasons behind fanfics being pulled. A turn that has created some panic and anxiety in the fandom. I’ll admit to falling victim to it when I heard “Emancipation Proclamation” had been pulled suddenly from FFN. But I have spent the intervening week doing a lot of computery research and talking with a variety of people involved in this issue, and what I have found is infuriating.
Keep reading, after the jump…
This is happening not because of some bored high school kids spend their free time reporting stories to FFN, but because of jealous bitches people in our own fandom.
To date the following stories have been removed from FFN because they’ve been reported for violating the Terms of Service (TOS):
Beautiful, Dirty, Rich by Kiki Blues
Emancipation Proclamation by Kharizzmatik
The Sub & The Dom by TaraSueMe
Please? I mean, we have to do what the cute penguin tells us to do, right?
There are others, but these will suffice as exemplars. Some authors move their stories before they get the official notice from FFN, like Kiki Blues, others have waited until they’ve been told to take them down, like TaraSueMe. The geniuses causing this entire ruckus apparently leave a review for the author, telling them they have been reported. In many cases, this is enough to affect a move. In most cases, it’s an overreaction. FFN is a hits-for-revenue based site, which means the more hits they get, the more they earn in ad revenue. Stories like EP get tons of hits–to lose these stories represents a loss of revenue for them. Many people are worried about Master of the Universe–don’t be. It’s gotten nearly 3 million hits to date–unless they absolutely have to, FFN won’t make Icy remove that story. (Here is a comprehensive list of relocated stories.)
I think most people believe this is the work of the “Literate Union”, a group of drama queens FFN patrollers who are targeting Twilight fics. They aren’t–at least, no more than they target every other group on FFN. I have seen their list of Twilight fics they want removed. By and large, their list is made up of Real Persons Fics (RPFs), which are specifically not allowed on FFN, or what they consider to be “bad fics”. I emailed “Lord Kelvin”, a member of the LU, about their efforts to have stories removed from FFN. He/she/it responded back with a very nice email, stating that they mainly go for the RPFs, as they are forbidden by the TOS, and their idea of “bad fics”. I recommended to Lord Kelvin that they leave the twelve year olds who want to write fanfic alone, although I did click on one of their hit-list stories called “Twilight Plays Webkinz” and was immediately 10% dumber for having looked at it. As for the smut-centric stories, Lord Kelvin said the LU will report smutty stories, however, none of the stories listed above have been reported by the LU, nor have any of those stories ever been on their hit list.
Which brings us to who *is* doing this.
The short answer is people who call themselves fans of Twilight fanfic, but I find it extremely ODD, to say the least, that their hit list only targets very popular fics. EP, The Sub & The Dom–these are some of the biggest stories in the fandom. BDR is one of the fastest-growing stories in the fandom. It’s a witch hunt, plain and simple. For some reason, probably based on a mix of jealousy and life-threatening dumbassery, these people have decided to take their complaining to the next level, which is ruining everyone else’s fun. They have a method of leaving 3-4 complaint reviews each, on a fic they want to get removed. They gang up on a fic and complain until something happens.
To the ficsters I say–hang in there. Don’t let the dumbasses win. Don’t remove your stories until FFN themselves contact you. That day could come, but don’t let these brats people run you off. They’re jealous and bored and dumb, which is a lethal combination.
To my fellow readers I say–support your favorite fics. Don’t let the dumbasses win. Keep reading, keep rec’ing, keep reviewing. Keep it positive. Don’t let these dumb bitches drag us down into
Love your fan fics! Give them a big virtual hug!
unnecessary drama. If a story does happen to move from FFN to a new location, don’t freak out. Share the new link, encourage new readers. These idiots want to kill these fics but that can only happen if we stop reading them. If a story moves to Twilighted, follow it. Yes, you have to register to use Twilighted. Yes, it is not the most user-friendly site. But it only took me a few minutes to figure out and I’m technotarded. If I can use Twilighted, so can you.
Don’t panic.
And don’t let the dumbasses win.
Listen to the woman! Support your fave fics!! And if you need a new one to love and support, then check out KStew411′s previous recs!
February 16th, 2010 at 7:46 am
[...] Rmw [...]
February 16th, 2010 at 9:10 am
I didn’t read the whole post because it’s been covered before though I’m sure not a lot of people are aware of the whole story, so thank you for addressing it. If you go on Tara Sue Me’s blog you will see that the LU wasn’t responsible for her story being pulled from FFn. http://tarasueme.blogspot.com/ yes, it does suck that these stories are being deleted but there’s no need to put the rest of the fandom at the LU level by calling them names. Yes, they’re doing something undeniable bitchy, but still… The fact of the matter is that the stories violated the TOS (as a lot of us do) and actions were taken. Even if we think it’s unfair, the rules were there and they were broken. I’m happy to say that the authors have handled this the way they were supposed to, with no unnecessary drama, just accepting the consequences. The readers are a different story, going around flailing because zomg the smut is gone!!! Let’s accept that it happened and move on.
February 16th, 2010 at 9:39 am
Had you bothered to read this, you would see that Team 411 actually knows that the LU isn’t to blame for reporting TaraSueMe or Kharizzmatik. You would see that she actually respects that the LU reported RPF, which happens to be their main target, as it is clearly against the TOS.
February 16th, 2010 at 10:09 am
Sorry, I didn’t know calling someone jealous bitches and dumbasses was being respectful. I agreed with what was being said, I don’t agree with the name calling and keeping the drama going.
February 16th, 2010 at 9:24 am
Thank you for this! I’m like you….a person who loves FF, but is not involved in the community. I’ve heard enough of the rumblings via twitter, but never the entire story.
February 16th, 2010 at 9:46 am
Ok…..so seriously….let’s grow up ppl!! How much free time do you really have to have to report fics?? I don’t know about you but I spend enough “free time” that I really don’t have reading the fantastic fics I’m addicted too, but going through the trouble of reporting them?? For what?? What do these bitches get out of it?? It’s very simple if u don’t like smutt or whatever it is your reporting…then DON’T read it, hence the rating at the top of the fic…..Jealous much?? Well suck it up….these fanfic authors are wonderfully talented and have RL just like all of us, and they take time out of their busy lives to write fantastic stories for us….so what’s the deal??
I’m seriously upset over all of this, great stories are being pulled, fantastic authors are being fed up and who gains something from all of this?? NOBODY….not even the bitches who are reporting, because we’ll just follow our favorite fics wherever they go, so?? Let’s live and let live ppl….everybody has their tastes and hobbies, we can choose what we read and what we don’t. We have enough drama in our RL as it is….FFN is supoosed to be an outlet, a way to escape everyday problems and inmerse ourselves in somebody else’s love life and life stories, fall in love and break up with these characters along the way…
KEEP READING AND KEEP WRITING
PS: Isn’t there something we can do to stop this tirade?
February 16th, 2010 at 10:00 am
Thank you KStew411 for researching and finding out the story behind this devastation. I am a fan of Twi-fics even though I am fairly new to it, but I will be a faithful follower and go where the stories go.
Unfortunately this world does have petty humans in it that we all have to deal with, but thank heavens for Twitter so that I can keep up with the changes of where my fics go.
Great article – always can depend on you! Thank You!
February 16th, 2010 at 10:36 am
Just curious – I feel like I have read that FFN previously had an NC-17 rating and accompanying age qualifier. Why was that changed? My guess would be that it was associated with the advertising – that some advertisers would balk at a site with “questionable” content (from their perspective, please note, not mine).
If it’s a question of revenue, then FFN has quite a catch-22 on their hands – they want to keep their advertising dollars intact, but some of the most popular stories have content that is a concern. Hmmm. If anyone knows the story on this (and I’m guessing 411 is done with researching, due to aforementioned, self-professed “laziness”), please do share.
(Side note: 411, for a lazy person, you sure do put a lot of time and effort into keeping us informed and entertained. I hope you get a never-ending stream of Bailey’s milkshakes and zombie-preparedness paraphernalia for your goodness.)
That’s the business side of my brain. The side of my brain that is a devourer of fanfic/lover of creative ventures is very frustrated by the censorship.
Also, and I’m aware that this would not be well received by some members of the fanfic community, I really like dark fics. Dark, disturbing fics. Fics portraying things that would horrify me in real life. I was surprised to find that I enjoy these stories, but I do.
People have very, very different tastes – there are some fics that I think are absolutely terribly written, fics that are banal and completely devoid of interest.
When I come across those stories, I stop reading them. I don’t flame the author, because he/she probably poured heart, soul and countless hours into that work. I simply stop reading, because it’s not my thing. I don’t understand why people who don’t like graphic material, or extremely dark characters and storylines, can’t do the same – simply stop reading. There are so many things that need fixing in this world, FFN isn’t really the #1 priority among moral stands that need to be taken. Just my opinion.
I think the most important message here – because let’s be real, haters are going to hate, and people who attack others for dubious purposes will probably not change their stripes – is 411′s message of support: follow your fics if they move, keep reading, keep giving your favorite authors love and reviews. I still can’t get over the fact that these lovely people gift us with their words, for free. If any authors are reading, thank you for sharing. You make our days better and more interesting.
February 16th, 2010 at 10:46 am
I was under the impression that Lord Kelvin actually was the one who reported BDR for smut. Are you saying it was a different group of people?
February 16th, 2010 at 10:48 am
I knew fanfiction.net before it had ads; when it still had rpf; when it still used the MPAA rating system; when it didn’t have the Report selection in the review box; and when Gundam Wing was the biggest fandom on the Internet.
In those days, anything, and I do mean ANYTHING, went. NC17 fics ran the gamut from sweetly sexy to dark, violent rapefics to the craziest fetishes on the fringe. The first purge was the RPFs. FF.net is still pretty strict about that. It won’t matter the content; if it is found to be an RPF, it is most likely to be pulled if reported (although ironically, RPFs actually pass the copyright test in that RPFs fall under parody which is exempt from copyright infringement). The next to go was the NC17/M fics. That was the weirdest purge of all because everyone was scrambling to get their fics saved before it was deleted.
The reason for these two purges is multifaceted but the most likely reasons are: 1) ff.net has a domain provider that has a TOS and 2) they began their ad revenue program and the ad revenue provider also has a TOS.
In domain and ad revenue providers’s TOS, there is probably a clause that the service can be terminated if the site is found to contain pornography. Hence, FF.net’s TOS and its sporadic culling of fics. The most popular fics may get pulled because even though they might be getting them the hits, they may also cause them the most problems because of their notoriety. The less popular stories may get pulled but no one notices because it wasn’t popular. We really don’t know.
What’s the point of this? Any author who posts at ff.net has to understand that if his or her story contains sexual situations, it runs the risk of being pulled. If the story is RPF, it runs the risk of being pulled. Even if the fic is being targeted by a group of haters, if the fic is reviewed and deemed in violation of the TOS, it will get pulled. Every time an author submits a story, the author has to click the box agreeing to the TOS in order to submit the story. The author knows that this is a risk. The readers need to know it as well.
February 16th, 2010 at 10:56 am
I understand that fanfiction.net has their TOS that need to be followed. It is their site. Each time I post a new story, I am asked to click that button, promising I’ve read those rules. If I break the rules (and I’m caught) there are consequences. That’s life.
However…
As a ff author, I am confused as to what violates that TOS. What is considered smut in one reader’s eyes may be completely tame to another. Are there certain key phrases or scenarios that automatically makes your work a violation of the TOS? At what point do your love scenes/scenarios/curse words cross that line from M to MA?
It does seem that the most popular stories are being targeted, which just screams jealousy. Of course, it’s the popular stories that are easy to check, and the most popular stories seem to be the steamiest in terms of content. It’s a double-edge sword.
Support your favorite writers and stories!
February 16th, 2010 at 1:54 pm
Rule of thumb-If the story contains sexual content, it runs the risk of being pulled. Writers should know three things: 1) Sexual content is subjective; 2) Tolerance of sexual (and violent) content is subjective; and 3) Writers will always, ALWAYS, try to push the limits but a writer should also be prepared should that limit be challenged.
During the big purge of NC17 fics, writers moved to other sites such as mediaminer.org and they made a writer’s journal at livejournal. Some writers would make two versions. A tame version for ff.net but they’d advise that the mature content version was at their LJ or another site and it worked.
People complain about FF.net but FF.net survives because it is the best run fanfiction site out there. Heck, it is the best story posting site. It is easy to use and well organized for readers and writers alike. FF.net likes the revenue but they don’t like to get in trouble. That’s their balancing act.
And while people might think that it is the popular stories that are being targeted, it is actually the smaller stories (and fandoms) that are the most vulnerable. At least with the bigger stories, it gets hits and a longer leash. Smaller stories that are reported (and deemed in violation) just get yanked.
Bottom line: If you are a writer, have a back up plan. Do as others have done before and post that backup site in your profile. Your readers will thank you.
February 16th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
I do have to agree that FF.net is the easiest for readers, no doubt. I don’t write, so I don’t know that end, but have heard it’s easy there as well.
February 17th, 2010 at 2:58 am
someone on Twitter made the best comparison. (Hopefully you are familiar with Harlequin novels and their series, otherwise you won’t get the comparison)
Acceptable = Harlequin Romance, Presents
Not Acceptable = Blaze, Spice
And also the usage of certain words to describe sexual acts and body parts. (i.e. cock vs manhood or pussy/cunt vs core etc.)
February 16th, 2010 at 10:59 am
I am fairly new to fanfic. But like any reading its meant to be an outlet. A hobby. There are ppl that take things way to seriously in life & need to possibly find something more productive to do with their time then to complain abt fanfics. its plain ridiculous what they are doing to the fans & the authors, whom are just putting their stories out there for us all to enjoy only to have to move them for pettyness. Thank for your input Kstew411. Love your rec’s by the way..
February 16th, 2010 at 11:19 am
What can we do to support our fav authors? I think what is happenign is crap. I understand the TOS rules but this situation is a bit smelly to me. I love FF and read it as an escape but am not real involved in the community due to a lack of time. Thank you for this post!!
Now, what can I do to help end this injustice?
February 16th, 2010 at 10:59 pm
AMEN 411.
February 17th, 2010 at 2:31 am
Sorry to tell you this but there are some ff stories who are really so obscene. I read one story which suggested as good read but it didn’t keep me awake at 3 o’clock in the morning like The University of Masen and The Weight of Words but instead get tired just at 11 o’clock in the evening and the story is just boring with all those repeat porno scenes you can imagine and just became so tiresome to read.
February 17th, 2010 at 4:14 pm
You don’t know what you’re talking about.
and you should of really spoken to these authors before you decided to mention them like this, I know you didn’t.
And as you said you aren’t involved much in the fan fic side of the fandom you should of spoken to someone who is and they could of told you this is just authors with massive egos wanting attention.
February 20th, 2010 at 6:31 pm
If they’re doing this to themselves for attention, why would speaking to them be beneficial? What are they going to say? “Yeah, I reported my own story so I can go cry about it and get lots more fans!”?
February 17th, 2010 at 6:21 pm
[...] We interrupt your regularly scheduled fanfic recs for this important announcement from @KStew411 Don’t Panic. I am a casual reader of fic, if a voracious one. Yes, I read a lot–way, way more than I will ever [...] [...]
February 20th, 2010 at 3:02 pm
[...] in what order… with the buzz about the violations of terms of the site and disappearing stories ( @KStew411 explained it quite well ), I consider ‘the order of reading’ important as [...]
February 20th, 2010 at 6:29 pm
The stories having to be relocated will mean an awful lot of traffic for whichever site suddenly becomes their exclusive host.
Some sites run ads.
Or have other… interests.
It’s just a thought.
February 28th, 2010 at 10:23 pm
[...] This is where the Literate Union comes in. Stories that are not up to their standards in terms of grammar, spelling and content are brought to the attention of all members. Then they are compiled in a “Shit List” (yes, they really call it that) so members know what to report next. Some members leave nasty warning reviews to new authors, cruelly insult Twilight fans and authors who try to find out why they are doing this, and laugh and gloat every time they check a fic off the list. More on how they operate here and here. [...]
August 5th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
What I find amusing about this union is this.
I went on to this Lord Kelvin’s fanfic profile and to my shock he left several spelling and grammar errors in his introduction.
Now, I don’t care if he is from another Country or not. He’s reading fanfictions and finding them lacking based on his own opinions- and I’m willing to wager all of those fanfictions are in English.
I don’t know IF he speaks another language- I don’t know much about the Country. However, if he uses this as an excuse- he has a lot of reading up to do himself before he finds things lacking.
February 20th, 2011 at 3:24 am
So, I am reading this, and the comments and I have an honest question to ask. Did these fanfics break TOS? If they really did, then isn’t it a good thing they were moved? If they didn’t, then it is a shame I’ll admit. Same with that other list… umm… I’ve been trying to figure out, are any of these TOS breakers?