46 replies to this topic

[Sakura Blossoms]

Hell no.

[Nate River]

This is why it is called the Pit, and the reason why so many writers on that site, are so gawd awful when it comes to proper grammar and punctuation. FFnet removes all good punctuation marks, so all the newb writers don't insert them into their fics, which means that they get absolutely no practice with how to form proper grammar and punctuation, and we end up with the 90% crap heap that is called Fanfiction.net

I've been visiting the site for years and that's been a chronic problem since I first started reading. While I don't understand retroactively apply it to already written fics, many of which date backs years, (asking people to do so in the future and giving notice are far more reasonably...if only they had done THAT), I think the vast majority of poorly written fics are the result of bad or, even more common, lazy authors.

If they are depending on the site itself for guidance or as the basis for practice, as opposed to beta readers or reviews, then they are already in trouble.

My irritation with this is not that it encourages bad grammar because that should mostly be a product of what happens before posting and is something that could be compensated for (provided notice is given of the change), but that I can't see any particular basis for doing such a thing, especially to what's already been written. Why eliminate it?

I think the best route would be to allow as many alternatives as possible and let authors and readers decide what works or what doesn't. The same format does not necessarily work for the same fic. If there were some technical reason for the change I could understand it, but I don't see one. There is almost nothing the site can do to compensate for the fact that there are many many authors out there that either cannot or will not make the effort to work on their grammar. I think that, for the most part, it's an act of futility.

I can understand in cases where English is not a first language, but most authors don't have that excuse. Most fics I come across like that don't even look like they are trying to do so.

Moreover, why apply it to what's already written knowing the massive inconvenience...at the very least notice would have been nice.

And I agree with Eagle.....Mediaminer is a far worse place. It's constantly cited as a reasonable alternative to ff.net....but I can't stand the place. I think it's horrible.

[Terrace]

And I agree with Eagle.....Mediaminer is a far worse place. It's constantly cited as a reasonable alternative to ff.net....but I can't stand the place. I think it's horrible.

What do you mean, it's horrible? I don't get it.

[Onionhead Attacks]

What do you mean, it's horrible? I don't get it.

Go try using mediaminer for a few days and you'll see what everyone means. Actually, scratch that... try a day or less.

[Terrace]

Go try using mediaminer for a few days and you'll see what everyone means. Actually, scratch that... try a day or less.

Give me specifics, please.

[Onionhead Attacks]

Give me specifics, please.

Specifics? Well, if you don't want the full mediaminer experience yourself, I'll tell you about mine. First, the categories and series aren't as vast as FF.net. Second, the filters have many genres and ratings, as well as updated date, visits, titles and fanfic type, though nothing for length. Let's just say that if you don't feel like reading yaoi for example, you'll still end up getting it in your results somehow, even though substantially lesser than if you wanted it included. Third, the fanfics are not numbered nor are there enough reviews for you to skim through to decide whether the fic you clicked is worth reading or not. Fourth, if you want to search for a fanfic by its title or author, the search bar is hardly useful. Let's say you type in the title or author's name exactly. Most of the times, you won't even be able to find that story. If you try the description, well, let's just say that you won't be able to find it any easier with all the junk results that will pop up.

Those are just my experiences. If you want more examples, I suggest that you ask Eagle or Nate River.

[Vespar]

This is downright ridiculous.

Seriously, what future updates could clash with having subsequent hyphens in a document?-!
The reason I don't like using their 'official' separators, is because visually, it disrupts the flow of the story. I only use theirs when I need to outline a huge change -as in when reading the entry in a book, or cutting off for author's notes and what not.

Great. Now I'll have to fix up all my work.
And then I'll probably have to do it again when they outlaw that way too.

Specifics? [snip]

Those are just my experiences. If you want more examples, I suggest that you ask Eagle or Nate River.

Compound it with the irritatingly counter-intuitive layout... [View Story]