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[info]das_dingsi
[info]meta_roundup
[info]das_dingsi
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For the record (Closure...)

[info]das_dingsi
[info]meta_roundup
The lack of news probably indicated it already, but I'm going to state it anyway: no new mods or admins have been found.

The asylum will stay up and public as an archive.
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How much is the asylum in the window?

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I'm quitting.
I've been thinking about this on and off over the last months, and last week I decided I couldn't make it work any longer. The asylum itself has nothing to do with it... there are other factors, such as increasing RL stress since I started working again, and the fact that I moved even further away from Fandom and fannish interests. Getting into that mindset where I'm interested in the goings-on and also have the energy for updating MR has gotten pretty difficult lately. And I think that I'm doing the asylum a huge disservice trying to be its admin under those circumstances.

Therefore, it is up for adoption. I'd like to give it to someone who has the enthusiasm for Fandom that I'm now lacking, plus ties to IJ (but that probably goes without saying.) They'll also need some basic HTML skills - enough to link to entries and do simple formatting such as bold and italics.

To answer some questions in advance:

- MR has always been just me, so you'll be on your own. (Of course you can add co-mods if needed)
- The volume of work you need to do is much smaller than on other journal services, due to IJ's smaller user base - less updating... lots of browsing though
- I wouldn't mind helping by finding links and/or be there for advice, but it won't be my place anymore to decide about matters
- There are a few settings/linking policies I'd like to have respected, though (more on that when we get to that stage)
- Essentially, I'll give you admin rights to the asylum and hand the editor journal over to you as well. The last step will be removing myself as admin, and voila.


If you're willing to become the new admin-editor, please send me a private message (it would be nice if you could add a few words on why you want to be a maintainer/think you're qualified, though if I know you already this might not be necessary). I'm giving this a few days. Once I've made my decision I will contact the user in question and also make an official announcement.

The asylum is a Permanent Account and even when discontinued will stay as an archive, for as long as IJ exists.

[info]meta_roundup was created in August 2007, a bit longer and I would have celebrated its third birthday. Whatever the outcome, I want to thank you for reading and writing all this interesting, helpful, funny, or thought-provoking content I could link to over the years. Some of you didn't write meta, but helped keeping IJ and Fandom alive by commenting on the posts of others. Last but not least, you gave me encouragement and support. Thank you.
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Issue #134

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In Slash vs het vs gen, [info]helkamaria asks: "Do you know if anyone has ever tried to estimate what percentage of fanfiction is slash? And what is het and gen?"

[Supernatural] [info]nostariel: SPN 5.17, AKA "How the bleep does this show keep getting past the censors?": "Several people who smarter than I am have already pointed out all the ways in which this episode is offensive, so I'm going to skip that and go straight to the other thing that's pissing me off, and that is the utter bullshit that certain portions of SPN fandom spew forth in the face of astonishingly blatant misogyny on the part of their show."
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Issue #133

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[Avatar: The Last Airbender] [info]rood: How Trademarks Can Threaten Fanficcers: "I know there are no Lightbenders, but some fanficcers like to make up superspecial powers for their OCs. The German word for Lightbender is Lichtbändiger. Quite harmless, right? Yes, until a firm that designs glasses registers "Lichtbändiger" as a trademark."
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Signal boost: Permanent Account Sale

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Permanent accounts are currently on sale for $50, plus Permanent Extra Userpics (i.e. 500 icons) for $25. The sale lasts until March 28th.
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Issue #132

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[info]the_willow: Once We Let 'Those People' Into The Neighbhourhood It Was All Downhill: "And it all boils down in my ears to "The Meta In Fandom Is Moving In Directions I Don't Like." And I cannot even say then those people should instigate the meta they do like to see, because the fact is, fandom and fans are changing (slower than molasses in winter, but still). And the old meta was rather one sided and privileged and exclusionary."

[info]das_dingsi: Yup. With all that talk about Isms and Oppression, Fandom has become soooooo toxic nowadays.: (list) "OPINIONS AND HABITS DINGSI DOES NOT APPROVE OF: ... labeling all discussions of racism, sexism, et al (e.g. Racefail '09) in Fandom as "wank" - yes, because faking one's death to get money or screaming at people who don't share your OTP is totes the same as discussing how racism in Fandom hurts you as a non-white person. AMIRITE?"

[info]torino10154: Canon vs. Fanon vs. OMC/OFC: "How far can you take a character from canon before the character is no longer himself or herself but is in fact an OMC or OFC?"

[info]elfwreck: Comm idea: Kid-friendly fanfic (what it says on the tin -- outlining the basic idea, looking for feedback)
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Issue #131

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[info]anotherslashfan: Mini-Meta-Fest prompt #2: "Mental illness in fandom and/or fanfiction- Are We All Crazy, Or Just A Little Cracked?"

[info]bridgetmkennit started an InsaneJournal-related meme: Follow Wednesday, where you recommend journals and/or asylums on IJ to follow.
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Issue #130

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(Note: might contain spoilers, either in the post itself or possibly in comments)

[Gakuen Alice] [info]caithyra: How to groom kids into victim blaming sexists 101 (rant about the recurring themes of victim-blaming and sexual assault as part of 'romance')

[Supernatural] [info]neotoma: What do the Horsemen of Apocalypse drive? and other Supernatural speculations... (what it says on the tin)
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Issue #129

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[info]rubyfruit_pixie: Too Much for (Hurt/)Comfort: The most Topic-Hopping Post EVER!: "Most people who read Hurt/Comfort fics want to see their favorite characters hurt and subsequently comforted, and it's really not my fault that my favorite characters Just So Happen to be female." (Warning copied from author's note: "The topic of this here piece of ranty meta (and possibly the comments as well) will deal with potentially triggering subjects.")

[info]elfwreck: So-called self-identified bi women: "Plz to ignore the huge swarms of bi women writing & reading slash--because hey, they're maybe fake!"

LiveJournal:

[info]stewardess: Your Journal - Your Money? My Ass. (explains how LiveJournal's new Google AdSense program called Your Journal - Your Money actually works, has links to related articles/blog posts e.g. LJ's ads serving malware)
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Issue #128

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General Meta:

[info]the_shoshanna: A handy guide to media fan convention art shows: "So just as fans shared fanfic and art in the zines that were and are displayed, shared, bought, and sold in convention dealers' rooms, one of the places that fans shared, admired, and bought and sold fan art was in convention art shows."

[info]elfwreck: Ethics of commenting: "Is it proper to comment (squeefully) on the fic of people you know don't like you? How about people who you suspect don't like you and might rather just forget you exist?"

[info]beccastareyes has some short thoughts on Flash Fiction.

Fandom-specific:

[Supernatural] [info]yourlibrarian: SPN 5.11- Where have I seen this before?: "One of the issues I have with all the Kripkeing that goes on in this fandom is that more often than not the fan version is better. And as we head through S5, I have often read/seen the fan version first, so the show really needs to do something special with its take." (With quite detailed episode discussion starting after the first three paragraphs, is therefore spoiler-heavy)

[Queer as Folk] [info]xie_xie_xie: I love my big gay show... (commenting on InsaneJournal QaF fandom): "We all have our favorites, and our least-favorites, but true character hate is just not something we see a lot of here."

General Meta related to the debates about a) m/m slash and b) misogyny in fandom:

[info]tigresslilly: A Few Questions I Haven't Seen Asked or Answered: "... it occurred to me that I haven't seen anything about threesomes. It all seems focused on m/m or f/f pairing and I wondered if it had a place that had been excluded here too."

[info]magpyr: Half-baked thoughts on the male slash debate: "Can't we ditch the m/m debate everybody's so sick of, and talk about the serious lack of femslash in any fandom but The L Word? Why is it so easy for people to see "queer subtext" in a work concerning straight male characters, but not females?"

[info]musesfool: it's all how you use it: "It never fails to amaze me that we place female characters in such an awful catch-22." (One example given in the text: "They can't be interested in (ew!) traditionally feminine pursuits or they're setting back the cause, but they can't be too tomboyish, 'cause then they're just men with boobs!")

[info]havocthecat: Misogyny is wrong. Who knew?: "You know, just because I can generally structure my fandom experience to avoid misogynistic jerks - by avoiding adding them to my friendslist or circle - doesn't mean I can avoid misogyny in fandom altogether."
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Issue #127

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[info]spacelogic: tossing my two cents into the slash debate: "The point is, to me, slash has always been a queer narrative: I, the queer reader, am seeing someone like me, and it is making me happy."

[info]das_dingsi: Why the current m/m slash/appropriation debate is making me feel exhausted: "... as a gay trans man without ties to a gay community, who also is a slash reader, ... I feel like I'm being erased or shouted at from [nearly] all sides for Doing It Wrong."

[info]telesilla: Write ONLY what you know and an unpopular fannish opinion.: "This latest round of gay men having fits about women daring to write about gay sex? Feels a lot more like "hey! Keep out of our fort! Didn't you see the big NO GIRLS ALLOWED!!!! sign?" than anything else."
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Issue #126

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InsaneJournal's daily backups have been moved from 1:30PM (EST) to 5:00AM (EST).

[info]xie_xie_xie: Where on the fail spectrum am I?: "What is a lesbian who doesn't "write slash" generally but does have this strange fascination for one male/male couple and writes about them constantly, for years? Am I on the side of the outraged disenfranchised queers, or the women squeeing softly at the buttsex?"

[info]spacelogic: what is a gamer?: "The reason girls/women don't play games, Serious Gamers? It's because you've defined "games" as the sort that (mostly men) play on consoles, and written us out of the history books for good measure." (Also about the definition of "serious" gamer.)

[info]morgandawn: I'm Gonna Wash That Fandom Right Outta My Hair....or Dive! Dive! Dive! or Marketing Speak?: "What do we call it when a fan starts selectively 'scrubbing' her online presence (systematically removing some content from both online as well as archived blog/websites/mailing lists/forums) without actually leaving fandom?"
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Issue #125

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[comics, DC/Marvel] [info]caithyra: By ANY other name?: "I know that the companies are there to make money, but the fact that the Big 2 manages to consistently choose negative words for their female-centred labels feel like deliberate sabotage."

Two posts by [info]tigresslilly:

Isms in Fandom and the On Going Meta-Fandom Inspired Debate (Couldn't pick a suitable quote as the post touches on so many aspects of the discussion and finishes with some questions to people on either 'side')

[Dollhouse] Who/How is Echo and Other "Dolls" Whom Have Displayed Personality Throughout Dollhouse (Spoiler warning for the series, esp. second season)

[info]rubyfruit_pixie: On Fic Lengths: "TL;DR Version: I don't think that fic length makes fic quality."
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Issue #124

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Note: I'm away for two days (family visit), so if there's a post you don't want me to miss, you can leave a (screened) reply here.

[info]scratchingpost1: Thoughts on writing: "Those of you that write, how do you approach it? How long do you take to write? How do you know when to post?"

In House/Wilson: First Shot, [info]yonmei explains the difference between canon and cannon.

[info]rubyfruit_pixie: Also I Am A Horrible, Horrible Person (And That's Okay).: "Fandom should be fun, but it's not when I am basically told I don't know myself and should be offended by things that do not offend me personally because everyone else in my minority is, or even could be, offended by that thing."

[info]maureenlycaon's Food for thought deals with, among other things, J.R.R. Tolkien's writing, MMORPGs, creativity vs. marketing, and the otherness of elves.
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Issue #123

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Fandom-specific

[DCU] [info]shadowvalkyrie: DCU musings: "Specifically, porn. [...] Even more specifically, kinky porn. And the discrepancy of why the Bruce/Tim variety tends to be a great deal more popular than the Bruce/Jason one."

[Torchwood, Buffy the Vampire Slayer] [info]firefly124: Okay, so everybody else has probably already read this AfterElton article (the article compared Torchwood and BtVS in regards to character death, and the post builds on that. I'm not being more specific because I'm unsure whether details about Torchwood's third season are still considered spoilers.)

General

[info]thete1: "I know it's racist, Te, but the special effects look awesome!": "This has been on my mind -- harshing *my* squee -- since that first Transformers movie came out and so many of you were full of excuses about why you were going to see it anyway. Despite the racism."

In a post titled Saying Goodbye, [info]yourlibrarian talks about important changes in TV, reality shows, the demise of the WB, and that the cause for the popularity decline in music games could be "a stranglehold on copyright".

[info]cluegirl: Thoughts Contingent on Reader Entitlement; the fandom edition: "So what is it that makes us as readers so much more ready to be spiteful about work we DID NOT have to pay for? Other than the fact that we can, and the writer in question is unlikely to have highly paid lawyers who might give us a telling-off for acting like arseholes, I mean?"

[info]skuf: Where's all the meta?: "Remember back in the day - e.g. 2006 - when [metafandom] issues were posted about every other day and had shitloads of links? What happened? Brainstorming: ..." (Cross-posted to DW, where the big discussion obviously seems to happen, but I decided to link the IJ version on principle.)

[info]xie_xie_xie: metafandom and its discontents: "But the last three or four times I submitted a link, either mine or someone else's, either QAF-specific or "big picture" fandom meta, it was just ignored. I never knew if they just didn't like it, or didn't get it, or what the problem was."

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Issue #122

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[Babylon 5] [info]spacelogic: meta: squicks and siblings: "Claudia Christian mentioned in a blog post the other day that a B5 director (...) had told her to play her scenes with Sheridan more "sexy and coquettish" and I had such a strong "EWNOGROSS" reaction that I had to step back and analyze why."

[Stargate/SGA] [info]rood: On Stargate And Why It Will Never Be Among My Favourite Series: "And not only are the languages pure decoration and occasional plot device: the cultures are, too."

As part of her reply to a five-questions meme, [info]the_rck responds to Does it feel weird being a 'mom' in fandom?

IJ-related:

Permanently Insane accounts are on sale throughout December, until January 3rd.

[info]squeaky explained that the issues with email notifications are apparently caused by spammers using the site. Some sub threads deal with different email providers and how to circumvent their blocking of IJ messages. It also says that, if your account is being suspended by mistake, you should open a support request in the Abuse category.

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Reminder: Black Friday Sale

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ETA: and it's over!
Old text )
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Issue #121

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Help & writing resources

In an untitled post, [info]bridgetmkennit explains the tags system and the four different types of warnings at the Archive Of Our Own, and how to use them.

[info]lore: BloMo18: Tis the season of saving stories....: tips on saving fanfic stories "in a format that can be easily transferred to most reading devices without losing the author's intended passages of emphasis".

There have been a few posts on BDSM, community rules and terminology, intended as resources for writers and to clear up some common misunderstandings. In Hi! My name is Minxie…, [info]florida_minxie talks about general rules and some stereotypes. [info]irana wrote On BDSM, Part I to explain the abbreviations SCC and RACK, and to talk about consent. On BDSM, Part II covers negotiation (both Scene and Relationship negotiation).

InsaneJournal

An InsaneJournal Holiday Sale just started. Self-Committed (i.e. paid) accounts and Extra Userpics will be available at reduced prices until November 27th. Friday the 27th will also have a short sale on Permanently Insane accounts.

[info]das_dingsi: Updating habits: "The interesting part is how it made me view the update page more closely than usual and I consciously noticed all the things I don't use [on InsaneJournal]."

Other

[info]bitterfig: where do they make subtext?: "I always wonder where stuff like (i.e. homoerotic and/or incestuous subtext) this comes from, is it intentional or just a quirk of chemistry?"

[info]lilithilien: Why do we do it?, a short commentary on an AfterElton.com article titled "Why are Women Interested in Gay Men? It's Not Because They Want to Sleep With Them!", with discussion in comments.

[info]novembermond: has a question about friending meme[s]: "[W]hat are the dos and don'ts ... ?"

[Supernatural] ep. 5x10 meta-ish reaction posts - SPOILERS galore!
[info]the_shoshanna: Supernatural 5.10, "Abandon All Hope...": "Thanks SO MUCH for making women just the underbrush to be cleared away before the real stuff happens."
[info]musesfool: lacrimae volvuntur inanes: "I would like to be able to talk about the episode on its own merits, because I thought it was a fantastic episode emotionally and a great way to go into hiatus, but I am SO FUCKING SICK of the way this show treats female characters."
[info]yourlibrarian (in [info]mind_over_meta): SPN 5.10 - A sign of hope: "There's nothing there right now for an audience to cling to, any more than a clear plot direction for Sam and Dean."

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Issue #120

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[info]spacelogic: [SPOILERS] Babylon 5 and Women

[Harry Potter] [info]cluegirl: Fanfic evolutions... a thinky-post.: "So... for awhile now, there's been something happening in the Snarry ship that distresses me, and it's only been just recently that I've been able to put words to it; Harry has become a moron."

[Supernatural] [info]yourlibrarian (in [info]mind_over_meta): Victimhood in SPN: "The end result of the four seasons of SPN so far, has been to equate the supernatural and those who fight it to a lower class status, and those who are victimized by it to higher classes."

[Twilight, Urban Fantasy genre] [info]the_willow: Twilight & Other Creepy Thoughts: "I think I've figured out the appeal of Edward Cullen."

General:

[info]rood: Why the AO3 needs to be translated (looking at it from a German, EFL speaker, perspective)

[info]stele3: Meta: Movie recasts in fic: "So that got me wondering: what do people get out of those sorts of stories? Is it sorta like re-watching a favorite movie, but on your computer screen? Do you prefer your movie recast AUs to be changed fundamentally, or straight-up?"

InsaneJournal: in case you missed the news in [info]announcements, there's a weekend-long sale of Permanent accounts, at the price of $40.

[info]squeaky is also doing daily backups of the databases on the site, which causes "about 15 minutes of downtime each day". They're currently scheduled at 2:30PM (Eastern/US time).

LiveJournal: [info]the_shoshanna: LJ search can turn up locked posts.
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Issue #119

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[info]yourlibrarian: Random fandom tangents: "There was a lot of attention paid to Merriam Webster's addition of fan fiction into its entries this year [...] What do you think of the definition though?"

[info]branchandroot: 'Training wheels' my ass: "I am sick and fucking tired of fanfic being presented as "training wheels". That's a load of BS."

Deutsches Meta: [info]mllesatine (in [info]deutschesfandom): Wie koordiniert man seine Betaleser?: "Ich habe also Probleme mit der Reihen- oder Rangfolge der Betas, mit der Zeit und mit dem Aufwand. Wie geht ihr vor? "

InsaneJournal issues: There've been instances of comment notifications not getting through, or only belatedly. You can check the Recent Comments page for replies to entries on your own journal; there the notifications seem to be listed correctly. In the message center (Inbox), they showed up as well but with a delay of up to 10 hours.