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New community popped up, and it was something that I've been sort of hoping to find. I think, "Score! I've been waiting for one of these!"
And then I click on the profile, and everything on it just put me right off. All posts have a required header which is a mile long (and which requires a disclaimer, which bothers me to begin with), you can't post to the comm and include a link that leads elsewhere for your fic, not only is posting moderated, but so is the membership (seems like they're just creating more work for themselves there), and the comm layout is fuck-ugly.
Which, yes. Their comm, they can run it as they like. But I won't be joining. I will, however, be a bit disappointed that this comm exists, but is already being run with way too much force. Communities with a lot of rules have always really bothered me, because it does seem to sort of throttle back the fun aspect.'
And going back to fic headers for a moment. I have a document template in MSWord that has this text:
I still feel like I can make that smaller. I don't know why, but large headers put me off. I don't like disclaimers because they're stating the obvious and don't actually stop anyone from taking legal action. It's just an admission of guilt. Warnings sometimes rile me a bit as well. I warn for three subjects: extreme physical violence, any sexual violence, and mind-fuckery (whether it's a character or the reader who will be getting mindfucked). Someone last night asked how they should warn for someone cutting their hair whilst angry, and that just baffled me. Cutting hair is a trigger now? I can understand the mindset of not wanting to upset people, but I also hate the mindset that fandom should have all the sharp edges covered in bubble wrap and all of the toys made of soft foam.
Another reason I dislike warnings is because they spoil the story. Often unnecessarily so. But some people prefer them. I'm not going to tell anyone that they shouldn't or can't put warnings in their headers, but I will wonder why people feel the need to warn for kissing or eventual slash. If your header says Pairing: Sherlock/John, I'm going to assume that it's a slashfic. I'm a grown man who does not need you to hold my hand.
This is why I love AO3's UI. You are REQUIRED to fill iin a thing for warnings. And one of the options is that you choose to not warn for anything. It says right there on top of the fic that there may or may not be something that someone may or may not find squicky, but if I tell you what it is, it will kill the suspense of my story. I used to not even pay any mind to that section of the header until I came across one that was fairly decent until all of a sudden Sherlock had his hands down Mycroft's pants. And then I went 'ew,' made note of the author so I know who to avoid (since she doesn't warn for anything) and make a point to check the warnings area now.
That's another thing, too. Headers, especially the mile-long ones, are fucking redundant. I saw one the other day that included the date the fic was written. Generally, if a fic is posted to LJ for a show that's not even a year old and which only has four and a half hours of content, I'm going to assume that it's fairly recent in the grand scheme of things and probably only contains canon elements for the first three episodes. Another one I've seen is
You can cut the warnings and pairings, one would think, and simply put Characters: X/Y. That says everything, doesn't it? These two characters are going to be featured and they are in some sort of probably sexual relationship.
Another one that I always have to laugh at is
Yes. I can read, thank you.
TL;DR, fandom feels like primary school, and it annoys the hell out of me.
And then I click on the profile, and everything on it just put me right off. All posts have a required header which is a mile long (and which requires a disclaimer, which bothers me to begin with), you can't post to the comm and include a link that leads elsewhere for your fic, not only is posting moderated, but so is the membership (seems like they're just creating more work for themselves there), and the comm layout is fuck-ugly.
Which, yes. Their comm, they can run it as they like. But I won't be joining. I will, however, be a bit disappointed that this comm exists, but is already being run with way too much force. Communities with a lot of rules have always really bothered me, because it does seem to sort of throttle back the fun aspect.'
And going back to fic headers for a moment. I have a document template in MSWord that has this text:
I still feel like I can make that smaller. I don't know why, but large headers put me off. I don't like disclaimers because they're stating the obvious and don't actually stop anyone from taking legal action. It's just an admission of guilt. Warnings sometimes rile me a bit as well. I warn for three subjects: extreme physical violence, any sexual violence, and mind-fuckery (whether it's a character or the reader who will be getting mindfucked). Someone last night asked how they should warn for someone cutting their hair whilst angry, and that just baffled me. Cutting hair is a trigger now? I can understand the mindset of not wanting to upset people, but I also hate the mindset that fandom should have all the sharp edges covered in bubble wrap and all of the toys made of soft foam.
Another reason I dislike warnings is because they spoil the story. Often unnecessarily so. But some people prefer them. I'm not going to tell anyone that they shouldn't or can't put warnings in their headers, but I will wonder why people feel the need to warn for kissing or eventual slash. If your header says Pairing: Sherlock/John, I'm going to assume that it's a slashfic. I'm a grown man who does not need you to hold my hand.
This is why I love AO3's UI. You are REQUIRED to fill iin a thing for warnings. And one of the options is that you choose to not warn for anything. It says right there on top of the fic that there may or may not be something that someone may or may not find squicky, but if I tell you what it is, it will kill the suspense of my story. I used to not even pay any mind to that section of the header until I came across one that was fairly decent until all of a sudden Sherlock had his hands down Mycroft's pants. And then I went 'ew,' made note of the author so I know who to avoid (since she doesn't warn for anything) and make a point to check the warnings area now.
That's another thing, too. Headers, especially the mile-long ones, are fucking redundant. I saw one the other day that included the date the fic was written. Generally, if a fic is posted to LJ for a show that's not even a year old and which only has four and a half hours of content, I'm going to assume that it's fairly recent in the grand scheme of things and probably only contains canon elements for the first three episodes. Another one I've seen is
Characters: X, Y
Pairings: X/Y
Warnings: Slash
You can cut the warnings and pairings, one would think, and simply put Characters: X/Y. That says everything, doesn't it? These two characters are going to be featured and they are in some sort of probably sexual relationship.
Another one that I always have to laugh at is
Summary: Character does X action.
Warnings: X action
Yes. I can read, thank you.
TL;DR, fandom feels like primary school, and it annoys the hell out of me.
