the ups and downs of prisonbreakfic.net
Hello to my fellow Prison Break fen (and everyone else who might like to read along).
Over the course of the last few weeks, I have been discussing www.prisonbreakfic.net with elizabethb in a friends-locked post on her LJ. I've let her know that I'll be putting a post here, letting people know what she's told me, because so many people who have a vested interest in the future of that site can't participate in the conversation we've been having. Given the LJ messages I've gotten, a lot of people are in the dark as much as I was about what was going on with the site.
I welcome your input of all shapes and sizes, but please be polite and try to be as constructive as possible. I have invited elizabethb to come here and read everyone's posts. Having said that, please don't feel as though you can't be open and honest about the subject. :)
Basically, the site was taken down due to lack of funds - not sure when, but it was before the end of March. elizabethb put a note on the site itself before she took it down, telling authors that if they wanted back-up copies of their stories, she would send them to them. I missed that note, and I suspect a whole lot of other people did too.
In the interests of full disclosure, I will tell you all that I was angry when I discovered all this, and not just because I have over 150 stories on that site. I was angry because that site is basically the written history of the Prison Break fandom and to find out that it was just GONE, well, I admit that I was quite open about my feelings when I approached Elizabeth. I said my piece, then asked if the site and the stories are gone forever.
She said no, it's closed down but not forever, and that she has been trying to find a free hosting space for it. RL (and health issues) has been keeping her busy so it would be a few weeks before she could organise anything.
I pointed out that several people in the fandom had contributed (some of them very generously) via Paypal to the cause of keeping the site open, and they deserved to know what was going on. I also suggested that if keeping the site running was a continued financial stressor, Elizabeth should consider passing ownership of the site over to someone else, and that there would be no shortage of people willing to help her out with that.
So, there is it. I know that many of you have been feeling frustrated by the site's constant disappearances, especially this last one, so now is time to make your feelings heard. Tell me your thoughts? Suggestions?
Over the course of the last few weeks, I have been discussing www.prisonbreakfic.net with elizabethb in a friends-locked post on her LJ. I've let her know that I'll be putting a post here, letting people know what she's told me, because so many people who have a vested interest in the future of that site can't participate in the conversation we've been having. Given the LJ messages I've gotten, a lot of people are in the dark as much as I was about what was going on with the site.
I welcome your input of all shapes and sizes, but please be polite and try to be as constructive as possible. I have invited elizabethb to come here and read everyone's posts. Having said that, please don't feel as though you can't be open and honest about the subject. :)
Basically, the site was taken down due to lack of funds - not sure when, but it was before the end of March. elizabethb put a note on the site itself before she took it down, telling authors that if they wanted back-up copies of their stories, she would send them to them. I missed that note, and I suspect a whole lot of other people did too.
In the interests of full disclosure, I will tell you all that I was angry when I discovered all this, and not just because I have over 150 stories on that site. I was angry because that site is basically the written history of the Prison Break fandom and to find out that it was just GONE, well, I admit that I was quite open about my feelings when I approached Elizabeth. I said my piece, then asked if the site and the stories are gone forever.
She said no, it's closed down but not forever, and that she has been trying to find a free hosting space for it. RL (and health issues) has been keeping her busy so it would be a few weeks before she could organise anything.
I pointed out that several people in the fandom had contributed (some of them very generously) via Paypal to the cause of keeping the site open, and they deserved to know what was going on. I also suggested that if keeping the site running was a continued financial stressor, Elizabeth should consider passing ownership of the site over to someone else, and that there would be no shortage of people willing to help her out with that.
So, there is it. I know that many of you have been feeling frustrated by the site's constant disappearances, especially this last one, so now is time to make your feelings heard. Tell me your thoughts? Suggestions?