AOOO: open beta starts today! Extra, extra, read all about it.
Yes!
An Archive Of Our Own is going into Open Beta!
The doors are open. Come on in, the water's great.
The fanfiction characters weigh in.
Snape, with a sneer: "What is this... archive?"
Harry, with a shrug: "People write stories. They put them on the internet."
Draco: "Do they get paid?"
Percy: "Is it public? Wait. Is it still elite if just anyone can join?"
John Sheppard: "Look, if it's free, I'm cool with it. Just don't ... scare the horses or anything."
Rodney McKay, with an eyeroll: "Please. It's an archive of fanfiction, of course they'll scare the horses. It's just like any other one out there."
Radek Zelenka: "Oh, it's more than that. It's an archive run by the fans themselves, one where they own the servers. It has incorporated some of the best features of archives plus the best features of tagging systems like Delicious. It's also very open in its policies, accepting virtually every type of fanfiction ... slash, non-con, chan, wincest ... but gives the writers themselves the option of making their stories only available to those who are members.
"Bottom line: this archive gives the fanfiction writers power over their own work. It began a couple years ago as a response to corporate entities like FanLib which attempted to wring a profit out of fandom.
"Better yet, it solves the problem of stories disappearing all over the internet. Unless the author chooses to remove it, the URL should remain stable. The archive is run by a board that is ongoing, changing as fandom changes. More stable than individual web pages, and multifandom."
John Sheppard: "You know, you know waaay too much about this for my comfort, Radek."
Colonel O'Neill: "Hey, I don't have a problem with it. Let the kids have their fun."
Daniel Jackson: "It's a fascinating social experiment."
Colonel O'Neill: "You would say that."
Dean Winchester: "Okay. What does this have to do with us?"
Sam Winchester: "Um. There are stories about us on there."
Dean: "What -- you mean 'us', us?"
Sam, cringes: ...
Dean: "We're taking this mother down, right now."
Radek: "I don't think you'll be able to do that. It has tremendous support among the fans."
Arthur: "Wait. 'The people' can read? Where did they learn to do that?"
Merlin: "Yes, they can! Isn't it great?"
Uther: "A populace that can read is a danger to the monarchy."
Gaius: "Oh, no sire. Think of the economic benefits of an educated citizenry."
Daniel Jackson: "Well, the ability to read has consistently come hand in hand with democracy."
Uther: "I see."
Daniel: "In this case I think fanfiction replaces the old pulps, which was a place where genre writers could write pretty much anything and get published, learning to write serial form, catering to their audience. The main difference is that fanfiction is available to us for free."
O'Neill: "You're not actually reading this stuff are you?"
Daniel: "I read a paper about it last week. There's a great deal of academic work being done in this area at the moment." [coughs] "And I may have read one or two fics. Strictly research. It's important to go back to original sources where possible."
O'Neill, eyebrows raised: "'Fics'?"
John Sheppard, leaning back in his chair: "We're getting off topic here. This archive thing is launching their open beta today. I say we have cake. To celebrate."
Rodney, brightens, nodding: "Cake is always good."
An Archive Of Our Own is going into Open Beta!
The doors are open. Come on in, the water's great.
The fanfiction characters weigh in.
Snape, with a sneer: "What is this... archive?"
Harry, with a shrug: "People write stories. They put them on the internet."
Draco: "Do they get paid?"
Percy: "Is it public? Wait. Is it still elite if just anyone can join?"
John Sheppard: "Look, if it's free, I'm cool with it. Just don't ... scare the horses or anything."
Rodney McKay, with an eyeroll: "Please. It's an archive of fanfiction, of course they'll scare the horses. It's just like any other one out there."
Radek Zelenka: "Oh, it's more than that. It's an archive run by the fans themselves, one where they own the servers. It has incorporated some of the best features of archives plus the best features of tagging systems like Delicious. It's also very open in its policies, accepting virtually every type of fanfiction ... slash, non-con, chan, wincest ... but gives the writers themselves the option of making their stories only available to those who are members.
"Bottom line: this archive gives the fanfiction writers power over their own work. It began a couple years ago as a response to corporate entities like FanLib which attempted to wring a profit out of fandom.
"Better yet, it solves the problem of stories disappearing all over the internet. Unless the author chooses to remove it, the URL should remain stable. The archive is run by a board that is ongoing, changing as fandom changes. More stable than individual web pages, and multifandom."
John Sheppard: "You know, you know waaay too much about this for my comfort, Radek."
Colonel O'Neill: "Hey, I don't have a problem with it. Let the kids have their fun."
Daniel Jackson: "It's a fascinating social experiment."
Colonel O'Neill: "You would say that."
Dean Winchester: "Okay. What does this have to do with us?"
Sam Winchester: "Um. There are stories about us on there."
Dean: "What -- you mean 'us', us?"
Sam, cringes: ...
Dean: "We're taking this mother down, right now."
Radek: "I don't think you'll be able to do that. It has tremendous support among the fans."
Arthur: "Wait. 'The people' can read? Where did they learn to do that?"
Merlin: "Yes, they can! Isn't it great?"
Uther: "A populace that can read is a danger to the monarchy."
Gaius: "Oh, no sire. Think of the economic benefits of an educated citizenry."
Daniel Jackson: "Well, the ability to read has consistently come hand in hand with democracy."
Uther: "I see."
Daniel: "In this case I think fanfiction replaces the old pulps, which was a place where genre writers could write pretty much anything and get published, learning to write serial form, catering to their audience. The main difference is that fanfiction is available to us for free."
O'Neill: "You're not actually reading this stuff are you?"
Daniel: "I read a paper about it last week. There's a great deal of academic work being done in this area at the moment." [coughs] "And I may have read one or two fics. Strictly research. It's important to go back to original sources where possible."
O'Neill, eyebrows raised: "'Fics'?"
John Sheppard, leaning back in his chair: "We're getting off topic here. This archive thing is launching their open beta today. I say we have cake. To celebrate."
Rodney, brightens, nodding: "Cake is always good."