FF.NET PART 2 : Miracles apparently do happen... (or hell is freezing over...)
By now I am pretty sure everyone knows about the mass deletions going on at fanfiction.net right now. It started yesterday at arsehole early o'clock and from what I can tell is still going on. I am still fearing for my M rated smuts to be honest. I have backed them up but well, I guess only time will tell.
Apparently the mindset of the mods is pretty much: DELETE ALL THE THINGS over there right now. (To which I have this to say):
I spent most of yesterday pretty much mirroring this, and perhaps sobbing in a corner somewhere, terrified, alone, and feverishly backing up all my 78 fics I had uploaded to the site.
I got this email from the administrators:
The Readers Muse,
Title: "Defending Jericho's Trumpets"
Summary: "Sometimes he can convince himself that losing Rick the way they had
was actually a good thing; blessing in disguise. Sometimes he can even go days
without thinking about him. …About Rick. But the thing is, is that it never
lasts. It never fucking lasts."
Rating: "Rated: T"
Main reason for removal: Title/Summary not Fiction G rated and not suitable
for all audience.
The above story has been removed because it violated the guideline detailed on
the upload page.
This infraction has been recorded and as a result, you will not have story
submission ability for a few days.
FanFiction.Net has a set of guidelines for the uploading of stories and
chapters.
I died. Literally. My heart fell into my gut and burst into flames. I hadn't even had my first cup of coffee yet. I rushed to the site to see if there was anything I could do, but alas, they beat me to it. My story was deleted, along with it's reviews and I was banned from my account till the 1st. - Well, fuck.
I knew immediately that I'd messed up. It was obviously an innocent mistake, but a mistake nonetheless. I don't make it a habit of putting curse words in my summarys, but what had happened was that I had copied a key sentence from my story and pasted it into the summary box to serve as a summary/teaser for the story itself. ...Oops.
And you know what? I totally get why they had an issue with it! Totally not denying it. What I do have an issue with is how they dealt with it and what they did in response.
1. Fanfiction.net's guidelines are vague and spotty at best. So it is hard to determine if your fic should be rated T or M in regards to language in the first place.
2. This was my first infraction since I joined in 2007, and it was so minor it was a three second fix at most.
3. There were no warnings or heads up on this matter either from the mods or reviewers in either pm, review, or email form. Nothing. One tiny word got me banned for three days and my entire story removed. W.T.F.
4. (While this one doesn't apply to me in regards to my story, I know many people who got fics deleted for MA content, ie: sex. To this I say: Suck it up Buttercup. Fanfiction.net needs to understand that people want to read smut and sex as much/if not more than anything else in regards to fandom. You already have the M rated fic's off the general search engine so you have to specifically request the M category in order to get M fics. What else do you want? Sheesh. You've done your moral duty in that regard already. - Buck the fuck up ff.net. What is the M rating for if not smut?!)
But do you know why this is somewhat hilarious? I have been a member of the Pit since 2007 and despite countless emails for various issues. I have never, and I repeat never gotten a response back. For all I know they had an army of neon pink puff balls with personality complexes manning the store. Funny how I get a ban hammer for a tiny little issue yet it has been over a month since I emailed asking for a list of characters to be added to the Walking Dead category. Hello Irony, I see you there.
Step #1: Email = aka: cock your head and look cute.
I figured the best thing to do would be to email them and see what my options were.
Here is a copy of the email I sent: (with the previous email copy and pasted & my account info included.)
To whom this may concern,
I received the following email early this morning pertaining to one of my stories being deleted. Naturally I was shocked and extremely disappointed. While I understand my error, it was innocently done. I would have changed in immediately if I had noticed it or been informed. I have been part of this site since 2007 and this is my first issue of this nature. Is it at all possible for my story to be reinstated and I can have a chance to change the summary and rating?
If this is possible I would be extremely grateful.
Thank you for any help you might be able to provide in this matter.
I know, I know, I suck up hard. I don't even care. - The point of the whole thing was I got nothing back. I wasn't even surprised to be honest. Like I said, I have never received an email back from them EVER. &*%$@#!!!!
Meanwhile fandom explodes. I have honestly never seen such a multi-fandom wide uproar. Tumblr, LJ, hell- the entire internet? It was/is everywhere. People were panicking, being sad panda's, on the war path, feverishly backing up stories and favorites, trumpeting the call to move to AO3... You name it. It is STILL going on. And, obviously, for good reason. FF.NET has really stepped in it this time. Make no mistake.
I kept tabs on it during the day in between back up my fics and sulking contemplating the meaning of life. And to my interest I started seeing one or two people posting on related coms on LJ and tumblr about emailing the admin on ff.net and mentioning how they had no warning, unfair, blah - and yet, some of them got their fics reinstated and an email reply in minutes.
To this I said: Challenge accepted.
Step #2: Email again with a firm, but hopeful panda attitude: (but secretly wearing this face)
Given all this new buzz about people starting to actually get replies and their stories reinstated I decided to run the gauntlet myself.
Here is a copy of the email I sent:
Hello,
This is an email concerning the deletion of my story: "Defending Jericho's Trumpets" in the "Walking Dead" TV Show section.
I had not received any warnings about it at all, in my case having a swear word in the summary, either from the moderators, or
readers in either pm, email, or review form. If I was given a warning I could have easily changed that single word in the summary that has
caused this issue. It was an honest mistake and the first of it's kind I have made since starting with this site in 2007.
This story was particularly challenging to write and I am honestly heartbroken about this whole issue. It would be very much
appreciated, not only by myself but all your users that have suffered from this issue today, if a warning system could possibly be
put in place for authors to access these documents before deletion. Especially for an author in good standing in regards to following
site guidelines.
If given the chance I would edit my summary immediately and rectify this issue.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Then... the unimaginable happened.
4 minutes later. Literally. 4 minutes later I get this:
Restored. Please amend your title/summary accordingly.
-Zack
I died. Again. Not only did I get my story restored, but I got a fucking email back. CHRIST ON A CRUTCH WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?!??!?!
I doubled checked and my fic WAS reinstated, reviews and all. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! - I quickly changed what needed to be changed and did a muted happy dance.
Though I am still banned from uploading till the 1st...
Naturally, I emailed him back and thanked him. Though now I somewhat regret not asking him if he was really a neon pink puff ball... I didn't want to push my luck.
Conclusion
Now I am mostly going in between head desking at the stupidity of this whole cluster fuck of a situation and being miffed due to the way they approached this whole mess in the first place.
I am not arguing why I got nabbed. My issue is the way they dealt with it. Banning and delelting a fic for a minor infraction, on an author with a perfect record in regards to following guidelines is fucking stupid. End of story.
FF.net, you are biting the hands that feed you bebe. Stop it already.
BRB DEAD & I LOVE YOU
