Meta Roundup

yourlibrarian: Hey, you've got your canon in my fanfic!: "So in the rare cases where it actually does happen, I find it disconcerting to see canon following fic. And I'm not entirely sure I like it." (spoilers for the Buffy comic issue #12)

caithyra (in fanficrants): I would like a moment of silence for Canon... Also, childish=/=sexy: "But maybe it's only me that doesn't find it sexy when the man in the relationship is the strong, smart, wise, powerful, domineering, alpha, saviour one and the woman is the weak, protected, whiny, childish, in denial, beta and not knowing her own feelings and wishes one." (spoilers for Naruto & Inuyasha, as the post deals with character development)

madlodger_007 (in fandom_how_to) has a poll on IP-logging and whether it influences commenting.

On InsaneJournal's code update:
squeaky is asking for your input here, mainly on whether the update should be pushed out asap (with major bug fixes done, but there will be some errors and bug fixing work on the live site) or first finish it completely (which would also include notifications).

Attention: because the following entries deal with a) character development or b) themes of a series over the course of all Seasons, there'll be SPOILERS.

[Supernatural] musesfool: dear mr. kripke and crew: "I'm not giving up the show - I love Sam and Dean too much, so I bear all of this and cringe, trying to remedy it for myself via fanfiction - but you are definitely on notice. I really wish during one of those many interviews and Q&As you like to do, some smart fan would ask you what the hell you are thinking (or, more pointedly, why are you NOT thinking) when it comes to race and gender ..."

[Stargate: Atlantis] pouncer: Tarnished Idealism: Elizabeth Weir in the Pegasus Galaxy: "In short, I was arguing that her time in the Pegasus Galaxy shifted Elizabeth's view of the way the world worked, which is incredibly significant if you're an international relations geek like me."

General, polls, etc.

telesilla: okay so here's the thing...: "This slash/fic/art/vids we make? It is transgressive. [...] But I hope you can all understand why, if you call it queer, I get hurt and angry."

As a follow-up to this post in the previous issue, reijamira set up a poll to determine interest in a Supernatural newsletter on IJ.

Deutschsprachiges Meta: rood schreibt über eine neue Fic-Archiv-Regel bei Animexx (Harry-Potter-Fanfictions mit "Verwaltigung an Minderjährigen [...] sind absofort verboten") und listet Kritikpunkte auf.

janecarnall: On writing PoC (when I am not one): "But there seems to be, in some people's minds, a barrier that says "I can't write about that because I'm not the right colour to do it" - and really; kick that crap out."

justhuman: Meta topic - Fictional Responsibility to Real Life Issues: "How much responsibility do authors have to present a controversial issue with all of its nuances? [...] Is the author required to insert a potential anvil of information in the fic to let you know the character is at risk?"

ingrid: "In writing, Viscount ...": "See, the problem with finding (and creating) the perfect rec community is that the responsibility of discovery is on the reader, not the reccer."

slashpine: Short rant on LJ suck-ups, and then a longer bit on OTW: "I. Lap dogs of LJ [...] I have a bone to pick *g* with the people ranting about LJ last summer and now quietly giving them money again. // II. OTW: Like LJ-Biz minus the cat macros [...] OTW stakes out new territory for fandom. Why is it doing it the same old mainstream society way?"

amireal: In which we talk about definitions and paths and all the stuff in between.: "I'm saying that there is a historically female dominated fandom space. [...] It wasn't a purposeful creation but a bunch of women fell together and realized they had a common way of playing."

Polls

letmypidgeonsgo has a short Doctor Who companion poll on Rose, Marta, and Donna.

tommygirl asks if there'd be interest in a MST3K/snark asylum for Supernatural.

Deutsch: lenija möchte einen "Porn Battle" im deutschen Fandom starten.

LiveJournal: The new LJ Explore Area

In short: this feature picks up public content from your journal/community and showcases it in the Explore Area categories. Communities can not opt out of it, only individual users. For more information (incl. how to opt-out), see xie_xie_xie's post in 07refugees. morgandawn and elfwreck both have examples for what kind of entries ended up in the spotlight.

Eta Jan. 22nd: removed one of the posts because the entry is now friendslocked.

elfwreck: Why fanfic?: "This is hard to explain. It's so obvious to us, that it took a comment from bohemianeditor for me to even notice that the question existed, separate from "why do you think it's legal" and "isn't it sleazy to use someone's creation without their permission" and the whacked "what makes you think you're better than the original author?"

branchandroot: Boys get to keep their power; big surprise: "The thing I particularly notice, though, is the gender division. The story the girls are told is that power brings pain and the answer is to get rid of it or, failing that, die. The story the boys are told is that power brings lack of control and the answer is to understand you are not actually that different from those around you." (Anime/Manga)

[German] das_dingsi (in deutschesfandom): Die Suche nach den eigenen Vorlieben: "Was mir aber diesmal wieder extrem aufgefallen war: ich bin außerstande, meine Vorlieben in griffige Worte zu packen, und schon gar nicht in Genres zu denken."

xie_xie_xie: Why I don't "miss" Queer as Folk: "I never saw it on the air; I got it all as one, completed work. [...] And in addition to having this tiny little comprehension gap when people say they "miss" the show, I also feel slightly protective of the show -- like, don't say anything to make it be less because no more episodes are being made."

rebeccama posted three meta essays as part of the Queer As Folk Emmet Celebration Weekend (not the exact title, but unfortunately I lost the link to the initial post): The Relationship between Emmett and Drew, Emmett: The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship, and Going beyond stereotypes to become partners. (Possible spoilers for all seasons, as it deals with the growth and change of characters.)

Lists, Polls, and Tutorials

brimac13 posted the second part of the Multifandom Fanfiction Poll ("How to choose a fic, cont'd").

persecution wrote a journaling guide about user icons.

envinyatar15 posted a list of Harry-Potter-centric IJ asylums.

[German] majikkuinki erklärt, wie man OpenID benutzt.

Journaling

nosselinfea checked out Scribbld.net's invite code system.

There's some discussion about LJ's and IJ's user stats: LiveJournal is dying. Literally. (by antiaol in 07refugees), and stewardess's InsaneJournal: Growing Like The Dickens. Also, LJ mentions the "Strikethrough 2007" in their news post, which aristoboule (in 07refugees) calls the understatement of the year.

watersword: why I Joined the OTW, part II: 'A lot of the comments directed at OTW over the last few weeks and months has been over the language in the mission statement (...) which states that media fandom is a "predominantly female community."'

lilithilien: Fanfic, the WGA, and the OTW: A Good Thing: "But I will never forget that moment, driving down a snow-blown country road, when the muse first struck me and I knew that I had a story worth telling...and the words to tell it. And you know, it's all due to fandom."

xie_xie_xie: What's love got to do with it? Everything.: "The New Fangirl agrees that the open ending, while she perhaps wishes it had been slightly different, left us a legacy of imagination that a tidy, bow-wrapped ending could never have inspired. (...) And so the New Fangirl recants her bitter snarky past, and embraces the not-blind but also not-bitter Season Five love." (Queer As Folk)

mirabile_dictu: PEDTM: day fourteen: Captain Obvious: "I'm re-watching Friday's SGA, but it still doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I think I expect too much from the show and that's why I'm so often disappointed in it. (...) I especially wish the show would genuinely engage the alien."

brimac13 has a poll on what you take into account when choosing a fic to read.

Yahoo and AOL are currently blocking email from IJ's servers. No messages will be lost, though.

---------------------

As usual, you can leave links to meta entries by commenting here or on the screened comments entry. General questions can be asked on the FAQ post. :)

Misc. Fannish Meta

yayforjae: gender and fandom: "[T]he male vs female space and the gender of fandom are two really interesting topics ... I don't have any really coherent thoughts about gender in fandom at the moment, but I wanted to start writing about my experiences. So here's a bit about my first two fandoms ..."

elfwreck: Anti-Fanfic Bingo, Line three: "I look at this line on the card, and I just get hung up on one topic: Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. I want to weep."

And an entry that's from December, but I just it found today... gonewithoutjam: I'll Sail this Ship Alone: "So you're new to a fandom, or you're a lurker, and it seems everyone ships Y/Z. But hang on a minute. Are you sure about that?"

bethbethbeth wonders if there'd be interest in a Harry Potter Fic Fest that would let characters who are usually seen as too old or too ugly or in some other way undesirable get a little action for a change.

skuf: Bouncing off idea: fandom-related polls comm/archive

InsaneJournal / Siteschemes and Layouts

skuf: Poll: which IJ sitescheme are you using?

Also, the new sitescheme will soon be available as a template and go into beta-testing stage. There's a call for volunteers at ij_siteschemes (writing FAQs, Stylish, finding styles for different browsers).

sherlock suggested an S2 style contest in ideas. See also this post by pen.

Other

data_warrior has a detailed poll on icon creation, use and crediting.

---------------------

As usual, you can leave links to meta entries by commenting here or on the screened comments entry. General questions can be asked on the FAQ post. :)

Note: this is a split issue; posts about journaling and journal migration are in issue 37 a.

babydraco: You have risked the exposure of our world: "You can mention fan fic to people who aren’t fen, but you don’t tell them where to find it. You definitely don’t print it out and give it to them to be read in public to people who aren't part of fandom."

akai_senshi (in slash_rants): Of Slash and Gay- Discussion.: "Is slash helping to reduce heteronormativity in real life? Or does it even matter? (...) Why is there such a struggle between non-homophobic het fen (they just prefer het, but back GLBT IRL) and a lot of slash fen?"

xie_xie_xie: Ugly icon thieves: "Wow, I had no idea that someone had started an icon theft asylum here on InsaneJournal. (...) Icon trading, the harvesting of icons out of other people's journals as well as posting them on communities, has its social contracts."

celandineb: Errors in fest fics: "No matter how many times I've gone over a fic, though, there's almost always a few errors that I spot only after the thing's been posted and it's far too late to fix them. (...) What do other folks do in this regard? Do you read your own fics in fests at all?"

spikewriter: Thoughts on "Rose": "Doctor Who was faced with two problems: they were re-introducing a beloved character and show after a long absence, and at the same time trying to draw in new viewers. There were some moments I found decidedly clunky, but on the whole, "Rose" is a superior example of the species Pilotus Serius."

musesfool: i could do most anything to you (Supernatural, S3): "... I've been thinking about Bela, and why I like her so much, and the arguments other people make about how she doesn't fit in the Winchesters' world is exactly one of the things I like about her ..."

qem_chibati: Where is my hot female scientist zombie? That is the question.: "Many female gamers have irate comments about how the industry as a whole, seems to think the way to appeal and reach out to female gamers is release pink products. Never mind that colloquial experience says that they're purchased more often by guys as a theft deterrent."

And on friend_me, skuf did a friending meme with Fandom Meta as the topic.

----------------------------

As usual, you can leave links to meta entries by commenting here or on the screened comments entry. General questions can be asked on the FAQ post. :)

logovo has some thoughts on MXCON: "I've been thinking off and on about what to cover in the con, what the fan culture is in Mexico and what it isn't."

lore created a poll on smut/PWPs in Harry Potter fandom.

~

musesfool: it's much too late to save myself from falling: "Possibly my expectations for SPN have always been kind of low, so I am far easier to please, but I've never thought the show was particularly well-written, and a lot of the stuff people bring up as problems has always been present and I've always needed to handwave it. So. There's that." (Spoilers, esp. for ep. 3x06)

elfwreck: Why Harry Potter fic?: "A couple of comments were berating Potter fans for writing, well, slash and other erotica based on "children's stories." And I commented at one of them, and wanted to continue [...] Harry Potter is not a "child-centric, non-sexual" work. It's a coming of age story--a story about shifting from carefree childhood to the responsibilities of adulthood."

darkshimmer: Decision Time....: "There was a story posted there this week, a Severus/Harry story to be exact, in which Severus molests a six year-old Harry. [...] I'm not sure what sickens me more - the fact that people write that stuff because they think it's hot, or the fact that people read this stuff and think it's hot." [Eta Nov. 15th: link removed, author deleted entry]

the_willow: Spitting Angry: "The point of the linked post regards Chad from High School Musical and his curly, fluffy, 'fro. It's about a boy with my hair when it's not in dreads. And the people on this community and commenting to the post who think it's excessive and hypersensitive and too PC to have a mod post asking people to think before they include a hair joke."

slashpine: Squeeful, gleeful - but rarely female: fan slang in NYT Film review: "Fandom language is more often mocked than adopted. [...] Given that, it's nice to see film reviewers using fandom terms non-condescendingly. But while it's accurate enough to call a young male reader of 1800's dime novels a proto-fanboy ... where are the fangirls?"

As usual, you can leave links to meta entries by commenting here or on the screened comments entry. General questions can be asked on the FAQ post. :)

amalthia: Very Puzzled about something in SPN fandom: "Is this finally the non-con that is acceptable to fandom? Do they like the idea that the good guys in the show would have sex with not only a demon but a woman who can't consent to sex because she's not in control over her body? What would they say to her afterwards if they ever got her un-possessed, well assuming she survives that is?" (Spoilers for mainly S3, esp. in the comments)

rebeccama: Women in stories: "I do not identify or have an interest in a character simply because they are female. Give me Justin Taylor over a female character whose sole purpose in life is to "find a man". It is rare for me to find a female character in film or television with whom I connect at all."

tigresslilly: Meh: " The bf and I were watching Batman Forever when I blurted out "I think it would be healthier for a girl to have Cat Woman as a role model instead of Wonder woman". He turned to me with the usual "I'm waiting" look and I realized I should probably explain that a little."

~

madam_minnie: [NaBloPoMo] Fanfic and Fandom: "It is a world where we can live out fantasies, explore new ideas and expand our vocabulary and writing prowess. A world where friendships are forged and lifelong ties are made." (mostly focusing on Harry Potter, though)

morgandawn: Vid Shows: The *Real* Story: "Have you ever wondered what actually goes through the hive mind of an audience that is watching a vid show? It is something like this ..."

artisticentropy: On Artist participation in fandom and fests: "As a fanartist living with a pretty prevalent writer and who has been online for over a decade, I've had occasion to observe some stuff that I'd like to share and discuss, while hopefully pointing out some things you might not have thought about concerning fanartists and why there aren't a lot of us out there and participating."

~

lore: BloMo5: Ship maintenance and Snupin in 10 years....: "I think the key to making a ship "live" and keeping it alive is sheer effort and interest. I think the Snupin ship grew to the size it is because there were several of us who saw the Snape/Lupin potential from canon, and who started lobbying for more Snupin in our own ways at the same time."

elfwreck: The other side: Oh Noes! Teh Gay has infested Hogwarts! (A link roundup, summarizing the negative reactions to JKR's outing of Dumbledore, ranging from open homophobia to denial.)

sapphoq: Dumbledore Love (an essay with lots and lots of links on GLBT issues, contrasting fiction with reality.)

seraphcelene posted a Meta-thon Masterlist (part fic commentary, part meta on writing or fandom).

mythdefied: Writing musings: "The problem is, I see it so clearly in my mind that I end up forgetting to mention things, and sometimes I just don't catch it until later because when I do a readthrough, I still see it in my head and my mind supplies the missing things."

seraphcelene; Fighting with Fandom: Characters who won't behave: "Then you sit down to write and suddenly the characters refuse to cooperate. They are difficult and unwieldy, and I'm not just talking about characters you don't like. I'm talking about even your most favoritest character ever in the history of the universe and fandom."

lilithilien: Season so far? 2-3: "I've been watching a lot of Farscape lately and I can't help but compare how the women are written/developed in that show vs. in SGA. [...] If you were called in as a consultant for SGA and you could make three improvements/suggestions, what would you say to them?" (minor episode spoilers for October)

skuf has a poll on Andy, Supernatural ep. 2x05.

yourlibrarian (in mind_over_meta): Between the dotted lines: "I will be interested to see if 2007 will bring more stories about a post-Shansu Spike. Given that AtS: After the Fall will start next month, the trend that seemed to build in 2005 may die out. [...] And I wonder if this is because, well, we really have no idea what he’d be like. We’ve seen all those other incarnations in canon, but from the sound of it we will never see a Shansu!Spike, so that one is left completely to our imagination."


Somewhat related:

- telesilla is compiling a list of Heroines Who Kick Ass.
- chal started a Supernatural Slash & Wincest Halloween Friending Meme of Doom.
- In obscurefandom, chichirinoda revealed the 2007 Challenge (requesting and fulfilling fic wishes in rare or small fandoms).
- holiday_wishes is now officially open for posting your fannish (or even non-fannish) wishlists.

Because of the massive amount of news on the Harry Potter front re: Albus Dumbledore is gay, I decided to split today's issue.

iulia_linnea (in girl_harry): TOPIC: What draws you to girl!Harry and girl!Harry fiction?: "What draws me to girl!Harry is, primarily, a desire to read strong female characters combined with my love of the HP universe. I write this without holding the idea, as some do, that J.K. Rowling's world is devoid of strong female characters; in my opinion, there are several of them in the Potterverse. Harry, however, is the main character, the series' focus, and I enjoy focusing my thoughts about the construction of sexual and gender identity into my characterization of girl!Harry."

(LiveJournal) elfwreck (in 07refugees): The legal definition: Ummm, our bad; we fix later.: "I asked Livejournal about the "legal definition of pornography" as described in their abuse policy [...] Minors Befriending Adult-Themed Journals [...] I finally got an answer."

rebeccama: Fandom! love time: "So, why are you glad to be in fandom? What are the "ups" of fandom?"

yourlibrarian (in mind_over_meta): The love of reading: "In the current gender acafan debate I thought this latest exchange explored issues about fanfic and canonicity that focused so much on writing it seemed to me there wasn't enough discussion about the reading side of it."

das_dingsi: Recommend Some Rec Sites? "Of course, I'd like to focus on InsaneJournal, as it's my new "home". But in the long run, I might include other reccing sites (communities, journals, del.icio.us accounts, ...) too. [...] Come on, throw some URLs at me!"

elfwreck: Collecting info on copyright misuse: "I know there are several teachers on my f'list; I'm hoping some of them (or their associates) will have stories or even documented incidents related to this. [...] For example, a teacher who chose not to use a television, movie, or music clip in the classroom out of fear that his or her actions violated copyright law."

gueneiriol: Ideas for The Con (tm): "So, if you were going to attend a virtual con, what would you like to see happen at it?"

mizbean: Harry/Draco Clichés: "So what is your favorite Harry/Draco cliché, and which is your least favorite?"

musesfool: you think i'm gorgeous, you wanna date me: "I write and read slash, and I have some slash OTPs, and I am a fan of slash, but I am not a slasher, and I often have to preface my contributions to fannish discussions that way, and sometimes it feels weird."

deborak: Why I'm Not a Grammar Nazi: "When it comes to fan fiction, there are those who want to be strict about spelling, punctuation and grammar. As a historian, I cannot get worked up about textual correctness. The rules and spellings that are cherished today will mean nothing a few centuries from now."

loud99: I'm annoyed.: "It's one thing to create a community for the sake of creating it, but to do it out of some sense that the fandom is dying because some things have moved out of LJ is completely and utterly ridiculous. LJ is NOT fandom. Fans make fandom."

dmitchell1985: And we're hypocritically together ever after!: "For a stretch there, everyone seemed to be all over this racism business, but would cry bloody murder if someone ever nudged them to say that something they may have said or written was offensive. Where is the ability to step back and write reflective meta then; when a situation that truly calls for sincere thought has arrived? Where is the moment where the person doesn't simply jump to the defensive and have all of their fangirls swoop in and attack?"

On Warner Brothers' president of production Jeff Robinov's new decree that "We are no longer doing movies with women in the lead":

spacelogic (in feminism): women in entertainment: "When my family picked up the first DVD of Star Trek: Enterprise [...] we played a guessing game. I held the DVD box where nobody could see it, and asked a series of questions: How many women are there on the DVD box? How many people of Asian ancestry? Are those people male or female? How many of African ancestry?"

yourlibrarian: The future of the female hero?: "Other issues are being brought up in the gender in fan studies discussion, namely that men have less reason to transform material that is being created for them whereas women modify it or focus on certain parts to satisfy their own interests. It’s not like that’s an exclusively gendered practice, since any minority group is likely to do so with entertainment targeted at a different/larger audience."

General Fandom Meta

shusu: we are all naked, our voices all clear.: "I see other people in fandom, men and women, who hesitate, who do the same thing that everyone else does but with that hint of shame, who apologize for who they are, and I think why? Why? Life is so short and the internet is so anonymous. Golden Rule aside."

the_willow: Excited About Anime: Claymore: "Before the cut, however, I will say that there are amazing similarities between Claymores (the female warriors in the series - which is also a manga - and Slayers, as in Btvs. Like there are serious similarities, but in a very interesting, if occasionally frustrating and potentially gender wtf way."

brown_betty: Bring out your dead!: "Anyway, what are the little details that have broken your suspension of disbelief?"

tigresslilly: The Question of Race from the Writer's Perspective: "Part of my problem with adding race into a story is that I'm not 100% how to do it. [...] How do I and other authors avoid being racist when adding race or is this more of a trial and error sort of thing?"

justhuman: Fall TV season so far: "So I get a response from a different person that starts off with I hate slash - and repeats it *3x* in the comment. Then he goes on to say how much he loves how they show a close friendship between straight guys and that the fangirl squee goes too far sometimes.[...] And this right after I've been in a couple of meta discussions when I was chatting to newcomers about the crap I put up with as a slasher 4-5 years ago."

animehime (in fanficrants): How to turn a reader off on one easy step.: "I don't care how good your fics might sound (not that they sounded all that interesting in the first place), consistently insulting your potential readers and their intelligence is the quickest way to get me to close the tab that contains your profile."

reijamira started a friending meme for Supernatural fandom.

LiveJournal

elke_tanzer: Thank you Erica from LJ Account Payments.: "[...] my elke_tanzer LJ is now an unpaid Basic account, and the very-recent charges to my credit card for the next year and extra userpics have been reversed. The email situation and the very-recent-ness of the charges were apparently sufficient grounds for an exception to the standing LJ policy of no refunds for charges. Below, in case anyone's curious, is my half of the correspondence I had via the support request."

das_dingsi: More News on Snap.com and LJ's New Snap Shots Feature: "So, not only do we have the theory that LJ's new link policy has only been implemented so LJ can keep the Snap Shots previews nice and clean... now there's also the fact that, again, it's all about ads and making money instead of the needs and concerns of the actual user base (who never asked for Snap Shots in the first place)."

brimac13: Random About Fandom: "I'm going to post a list of various things about fandom that I find either annoying or implausible--or both, actually. As a precursor, this list is meant to be funny, not to offend." (Example: "5. Writtn' in accents is annoyin', doncha thahnk?")

entrenous88: the return of fannish glee!: "Maybe we should challenge each other in exchanges -- if this person updates her fic, that person might make a set of icons; if one fan posts thoughts on a show or book she's been vaguely meaning to post for a while, another fan will do a great picspam that will get more people invigorated and excited about a particular aspect of one or more fandoms."

babydraco: untitled post: "I have met some of the darker parts of myself in my fic writing and reading-stuff I’d never have otherwise told people I thought about and found that not only did tons of other people understand, but lots of people thought up stuff that was even darker or scarier or more perverted. And that taught me about my limits too."

dfasgiles (in fandom_love): Bless you.: "I have also noticed that there is absolutely no room in fandom for those of us who have mental disabilities and/or illnesses. We are considered to be the people to ban, rather than the people to put on moderation (even if we ask to be)."

morgandawn: Ode To Vid Shows And Fan-Run Conventions, part one and part two. Deals with con expectations and promises, as well as gender and what is it like to be a woman and a fan of popular culture. Part 2 ends with some general questions: "So why do you all attend fan conventions? What do you want out of your vid shows?"

musesfool: still trying to change this mold: "There's a lot of discussion going on about sisabet and sockkpuppett's SPN vid "Women's Work" (...) In looking at it, I don't think the vid is saying, "This show we love is anti-women," so much as it is saying, "Look at how endemic sexualized violence towards women is in our society - this is our culture, our entertainment - and it's so prevalent that we often don't even notice unless we're hit in the face with it."

yourlibrarian (in mind_over_meta): Becoming a fan: Supernatural: "In fact SPN was hardly ever mentioned in reviews at all. This is where fandom comes in. (...) What did make a difference was the fact that people’s posts about SPN kept reminding me of it, whereas otherwise it would just be another vague name on a TV schedule."

telesilla: art vs child porn and why fandom needs to stand with our artists: "Right now, LJ is home to a pretty vast fannish population. I don't know how the actual fan artists on my flist feel about this, but if I were one of them and LJ/6A said "we're going after art only" I'd fucking bail. (...) And if the fan artists start leaving, fandom is diminished."

diachrony: the latest and greatest: highlights in the "LJ shenanigans show" (a very informative rundown / link roundup on recent events, including the new v-gifts advertising strategy).


If you have a meta post you'd like to see included, leave a comment to this entry, or if you are more comfortable with screened comments, go here.

InsaneJournal / other journaling services

Layout issues: uniquewonders posted about some journal layouts, namely Smooth Sailing, Nebula, and Flexible Squares, that using them on any other site than livejournal.com is illegal. lilbreck asks for clarification. The discussion thread on nameless_layout can be found here.

fizzyblogic: livejournal / insanejournal / scribblit / fic: Four parts: Why I Left Livejournal (And Why I'm Not Going Back) / Why I Am Using Insanejournal And Intend To Continue Doing So / Why I Am Excited About Scribblit (And Will Be Over There Like A Shot When It Goes Live) / Scribblit, Those Canadian Laws, How It Applies To Me, And Why My Fic Will Be On Scribblit

luzzu: Is it just me?: "I like this site, a lot. I came here to get away from LJ and it's like some of fandom are trying to bring all the wank with them rather than leave it where it should be - on LJ."

buggery: Hold that 'yay' -- everything is NOT suddenly okay.: "Yays, LiveJournal/SixApart are being reasonable again! -- or are they? -- Let's have a look."

ishtar79: Lie to me some more, I LIKE it!: "Granted, the ingenuous code they use might be hard to crack, but fear not-- I speak fluent Bullshit. So in the interests of clarity: ..."

lilbreck posted a tutorial (with screenshots): How To: Getting Semagic to Post Tags to InsaneJournal.


General Fannish Meta

rubytuesday5681: *CLAPS HANDS LOUDLY**: "i know that the situation sucks right now and we are all angry and bitter. but going on and on and on about it is not going to fix anything. let's show the world that we can't be held down! it's time for everyone to do their best to brighten the mood a bit!"

elfwreck: Stop Calling Yourselves Criminals!: "Copyright infringement is illegal. Is fanfiction 'copyright infringement?' Plenty of authors think so. Plenty of fanficcers think so. But that doesn't make it true."

nosselinfea: fandomcrazy: "So now, in comes the California State Attorney General, and suddenly fandom is pulled out of hiding, kicking and screaming into the glare of public scrutiny. (...) It'll be DMCA takedown notices flying like confetti (...) Ironically, RPS isn't covered by copyright law, so it is probably the only area of fandom that's actually relatively safe."

elgraves would like to know if there's some sort of fannish newspaper covering news that may effect fandom community (e.g. DMCA notices).

badonkatonks: Why I approve of sexually graphic young adult literature, novels, and fanfiction: "There are many more young adult novels published than we realize that deal with teen sexuality and how it affects self-image, especially for young girls. I happen to believe there is an area of fanfiction that should be included in a 'safety net' that would protect the writer and the fanfiction from being banned and deleted only because of the fact that the character(s) are teenaged minors."

rubyfruit_pixie: Fannish Thoughts from Jordi: "I wonder why there's such an outcry among fans of female characters when one chooses a different character, be they male, female, or humanoid creature of indeterminate gender, to pair her up with than there is for male characters."

ranalore: today's psa brought to you by the reactions to my latest posted story: "More angsty =/= more realistic."

florida_minxie set up an Art/Fic Collaboration Poll and needs some input.

So does greenwitch, regarding possible issues (and solutions) of the holiday_wishes project. "Any thoughts or comments, even if you weren't involved in the project in the past, would be appreciated."