Old School

[lyore]

Fanlistings. I don't get them. Am I missing something, or is this some hang-over of pre-internet fandom I'm not getting? Just... what's the point?

~

In my search for good X-men (movieverse) fic, I found the xmmficathon archive. I've justed started reading through the 2004 entries, and wow - so far, every fic has been worth reading. Just wow.

All this great fic, sitting there on LJ. It got me thinking about reviewing older fanworks (fic, in this case, but the point is just as valid for art), and how, after all this time, I feel sorta odd, leaving a comment. I'm not sure why. A year, two years, no problem. But four?

Perhaps it's because people's fannish lives are so transitory, especially on LJ. 4 years is an eternity, and people move on, from fandoms and genres and writing styles. It almost seems like an intrusion to comment and have a slice of then emailed into people's inboxes.

On the other hand, if anyone dug up one of my fics and commented on it in 4 years time, I'm pretty sure I'd be thrilled.

Anyway. Comments? Anyone else have a personal statute of limitations on reviewing?

~

Comments

[abyssinia4077.livejournal.com]

I don't tend to review fic not on LJ, but I try to review LJ fic I read (sometimes I forget if it's really old). Figure it can't hurt and won't take that much more than than reading.

I know I get excited when I get comments from old stories.

(also, I've spent the 4 years I've been in fandom trying to figure out the purpose of fanlistings. Let me know if you find it)

[lyore.livejournal.com]

I'm much better about reviewing on LJ - but then, that fits, since I don't tend to interact fannishly anywhere else. Lurk, sure. But not talk. Not sure why... perhaps because on LJ it seems more of a conversation? Hmm.

I know I get excited when I get comments from old stories.

That's good to hear (seriously - I don't know why I feel nervous about reviewing old stories, but I do! My brain makes no sense.)

I've spent the 4 years I've been in fandom trying to figure out the purpose of fanlistings. Let me know if you find it

Glad I'm not the only one. Will do :)

[abyssinia4077.livejournal.com]

Personally, I don't like emailing feedback and a lot of off-LJ fic is on websites where that's the way to review. I read fic linked elsewhere but just...don't comment. I will sometimes hunt down the author's LJ or where the fic is posted on it in order to leave feedback.

Hee :) We all have weird brain things.

[amethyste5.livejournal.com]

I will react with ecstatic and possibly over the top glee to any comments on any story at any time! I love me some feedback!

As for commentin ong fic, I only do it on lj, and if it looks like the author is still responding to comments I will, but if they haven't responded in the last several months or years I assume the journal or the piece has been abandoned and don't bother.

[lyore.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I hadn't thought about the responding angle...

[ceresi.livejournal.com]

Fanlistings! I think the point of fanlistings is the little banners you put in your userinfo or whatever, proclaiming you to be a fan of Ryuuji or Seto or YamixYugi or etc. At least, that was the point of them when I was in the YGO fandom. 'Cause the more banners you have, the cooler you are, or something. ???

[lyore.livejournal.com]

Oh, OK. At least people are getting something out of it, if that's the case. Thanks!

[fialleril.livejournal.com]

Oh goodness, I've been looking for some decent X-Men movie fic! Thank you so much for the link!

As for reviews: I'm pretty bad about reviewing something that's even a year old. *is ashamed*

[lyore.livejournal.com]

No worries! I was looking for a while, and when I found that site, there was much rejoicing :)

Hey, you're not the only one. The older the fic is, the less likely I am to review (as this post shows, I guess)

[dizzy4411.livejournal.com]

I've never understood fanlistings either. If you ever find out, please let me know!

[lyore.livejournal.com]

Well, ceresi says upthread it might be able getting the 'fan of' banners and graphics. Which makes sense, I guess.

[aizjanika.livejournal.com]

If I like a story, I'll send a comment or some sort of feedback (if it's not on LJ). I don't think authors would mind receiving feedback on an older story, because it lets them know that the story is still being read and appreciated. OTOH, what do I know? *g* Maybe they hate it. :-)

[lyore.livejournal.com]

See, I can't think of any real reason why they wouldn't like it, but I can't help thinking that they won't. I have no idea why this worries me :~

[lyore.livejournal.com]

Also, Robin Hood! I have to find time to watch the second season soon...

[aizjanika.livejournal.com]

I've been watching it and so far it's been fun. I'm hoping it stays good. Shows tend to hate me in their third seasons. I hope this show gets a third season! *g*

[akeyoftime.livejournal.com]

It's the same sort of catch for me too - I love getting feedback on old stories, but I always feel a little bit awkward doing it to others. (That usually doesn't stop me, though I'll comment on that somehow.)

I know I take the stuff I no longer find representative of my writing style, or am no longer particularly proud of, off of the main paths. All of my Star Trek: Voyager fanfiction has been retired to an obscure corner of my fiction journal. I figure that if it's still up, it's still game, especially if I've enjoyed it. (Concrit is definitely off the table if it's more than a few weeks old, though!)

[lyore.livejournal.com]

I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels a bit odd.

Good point about the concrit - detailed critique of a fic from 3 years ago isn't likely to be of much value to the author!

[redbyrd-sgfic.livejournal.com]

I have never met a writer anywhere who was upset to know that people were reading their work, old or new. I ran into an author at a SF convention, one of whose older novels I had coincidentally just finished, and told her how much I liked it. She was pleased!

I sometimes do get comments on older fic (not that any of my SG-1 fic is all *that* old, but...), and it's really nice to know that people are still reading.

If the author hasn't posted anything in the current fandom in some time, than telling them you're waiting for more fic, is probably not apropos. But I can't see it ever being offensive to tell them you enjoyed their writing.

I do make a distinction between review and feedback. Reviewing is something I do for other readers. Feedback is something I do for the author.

[lyore.livejournal.com]

Yes, I can imagine the content of the feedback makes a significant difference.

And fair point about the distinction between 'feedback' and review'. I'm using 'review' here in the traditional fanfic 'please read and review' sense.

[redbyrd-sgfic.livejournal.com]

I can imagine the content of the feedback makes a significant difference.

Unless the author actually asks for constructive criticism, it doesn't make sense to me to give negative feedback. Even if the work is awful, someone spent time on it, and then posted it in the hope that other people would enjoy it. If I don't like it, I don't say anything, and that seems to be the general rule around LJ. I might (depending on whether I know the author or not) politely mention a canon or factual error if I spot one, assuming it's something that could be corrected without destroying the story. (If it's a central plot point, I wouldn't bother- if it's something that can be fixed easily, I would.) I've had people catch a couple of these in my stories and I've gone back and edited the story to correct them.

And this sense of 'review' must fall in between my fanfic experiences...when I was reading print zines pre-internet it was 'LOCs' (letters-of-comment).

[lyore.livejournal.com]

If I don't like it, I don't say anything, and that seems to be the general rule around LJ.
Yup, that's pretty much my rule too.

And this sense of 'review' must fall in between my fanfic experiences...when I was reading print zines pre-internet it was 'LOCs' (letters-of-comment).

I suspect this use of 'review' may stem from Fanfiction.net - their feedback feature is called 'reviewing', and with their character limited summaries, it makes for a convenient acronym (read and review = R&R). I'm fairly sure that's where I picked up the usage from, anyway.