Color me curious

[gabrielleabelle]

I've been having an interesting time going through fail_fandomanon. I don't usually look at anon memes, but there's some thought-provoking discussion on that one. Also, some cringe-inducing and icky discussion. However, I'm largely intrigued by it in that nerdy, sociological way of mine.

I came across one thread recently about reviewing fanfic in one's own

Comments

[me_llamo_nic]

Definitely yes.

The only exception I'd make would be if the author specifically contacted you and asked you to not do that/take it down...and even then I'm not strictly opposed, though I personally would take it down/honor the request because I'm weak and accomodating.

On the whole though, I see no reason to oppose the practice.

[gabrielleabelle]

Definitely, if the author asked you to remove it, I'd say etiquette would dictate you comply. Though I don't think you'd be under any obligation to do so. It's just polite.

So agreed. :)

[harsens_rob]

See, I think I'd only agree with you if your review was from a story posted to a members only site or a private fiction club. If the story is publicly available, then I'd say you'd be under no obligation to withdraw a review of it.

Fanfic is more off-the-cuff and non-commercial true, but I don't think it would be fair for Stephen King to expect an unflattering review of his latest novel to be withdrawn upon request. I hold publicly posted fanfic in the same light. If you post to the public, then you have an expectation that it will be talked about in public.

But see my post below for what I see as obligatory....

[me_llamo_nic]

I don't think it'd be necessarily required that I remove my hypothetically hateful Stephen King review, but I'd still strongly consider it if he were to actually ask me (see above re: weak and accomodating). Granted, there's no obligation, it's just a situation where I would fold under the slightest bit of pressure.

Also, the dynamic would change with LJ users who I may or may not know/be friends with. I'd be about 50% likely to remove my hypothetical Stephen King flaming if he asked, but I'd be about 90% likely to remove my hypothetical gabrielleabelle flaming if she asked. It's a different dynamic because I know her and I spend a lot of my fandom time in the comments section of her entries associating with her and many others, hypothetically flaming reviews of whom I'd also be very likely to remove. (Well, if that's not the most convoluted sentence I've ever written...) Less of an obligation, more of a learned social behavior

[drandomtuba]

I said yes, with the only exception being flocked fic. Otherwise, it was posted on the internet and therefore it's fair game for anyone to do with as they wish. Not even sure plagiarism even exists, legally, on something like fanfic, though, so maybe not even then.

[gabrielleabelle]

Ah, I hadn't thought about flocked fic. I forgot some people do that.

Plagiarism wouldn't apply here at all because it's a review. Plagiarism is when you're lifting a work and claiming it as your own.

[drandomtuba]

Oh I know plagiarism wouldn't apply in what you're talking about, it was just a random musing I had on fan fic in general that I probably should have mused about elsewhere.

Reading others' comments, I was surprised to see that some fanfic authors specifically say they don't want concrit. That just boggles my mind, hardcore.

[harsens_rob]

I'm sorry, this is a term I'm not familiar with:

"flocked fic"

Is this a collaborative story?

[blackfrancine]

I'd say it's pretty much OK to discuss a fic--but I'd add the caveat that if ALL you're going to do is burn it to the ground--or just criticize it rather harshly--you should take some precautions. Friends lock. Or something. So, basically, I think discussion, middle-of-the-road criticism, and review is fine--but mockery or really brutal criticism should be kept for limited circles of friends.

[gabrielleabelle]

Yeah. I should have clarified that by "review", I'm not including flat-out flames or sporking or such. Thoughtful reviews of thoughts on fics is fine. Tearing something apart? Eh, it can be done publicly, but I think it's a bit more difficult.

[me_llamo_nic]

At the risk of looking stupid, I'm gonna jump in here with a question.

Sporking??

I've never heard that one (in fandom).

Where I come from, sporking means you stick a bunch of sporks in someone's front lawn and then either ring the doorbell and run or just leave them to be found in the morning.

What does it mean in fandom?

[gabrielleabelle]

lol!

Ah, are you familiar with MST3k? Back around the days of Usenet, people used to apply the MST3k treatment to fanfics (MSTings). This eventually warped into "sporkings", which is when people take a fic and add their own snarky notes to it. It's rude. I don't like it. I liked MSTings, though (there was an etiquette to MSTings).

[enigmaticblues]

I said definitely yes, but then, I believe in that everyone has the right to say whatever they'd like to say in their own journal. Just like other people have the right to respond to that entry through a comment or a post in their own journal.

That being said, I seldom/never review fic in my journal, either positive or negative. Positive, because I'm afraid that others on my flist will feel left out if I don't give a positive review of their fic. Negative, because not everyone response positively to concrit. But then, I dislike drama, and I would prefer to avoid drama whenever possible, and this is a choice I've made to avoid any hint of favoritism or criticism for my own peace of mind.

[gabrielleabelle]

I rec fics sometimes. And I sometimes ask for spoilers to make sure a fic's not gonna be too angsty for me. Both of those acts sometimes meander into general discussions of the fic in comments.

But I've never actually reviewed a fic. I've thought about it, but I decided against it in case somebody took issue with it.

Though the poll shows a pretty clear majority so far...

[harsens_rob]

I've also considered fanfic reviews as part of a regular feature on my journal, but then I decided I spend more than enough time not reviewing what I already promised - i.e. Buffy that I really just must not add one more distraction.

Stop mocking me, BTVS, sitting on my shelf and staring at me!

[eowyn_315]

But I've never actually reviewed a fic. I've thought about it, but I decided against it in case somebody took issue with it.

Though the poll shows a pretty clear majority so far...I find that interesting, because despite a clear majority in your poll who are theoretically in favor of reviews, in practice I very rarely see reviews on my flist. I see plenty of recs, some discussion (in which the question posed is neutral, even if there are positive and negative responses), and the occasional positive review, but I've never seen a critical review of a fic in BtVS fandom. I have seen criticism of fic in other fandoms (via metafandom), but that's less a review and more part of a broader *ism-fail discussion

[angearia]

I personally think it's great to have your story inspiring discussion. It's one thing to get reviews in your own story entry, but another to have that discussion prompted outside of your purview.

Granted, the one time in my experience, it was very positive. But even if it was negative, I think it's important to understand that once you've put your story out there, it's out there. For the public's consumption. And sometimes the public likes to talk about the meal amongst themselves and not force a smile for their server or the restaurant owner.

[gabrielleabelle]

Indeed. Most fic discussions I've seen are prompted by more general fanfic posts. One commenter brings up Fic A and everybody starts sharing their opinions, positive or negative. I don't see how you can really put a halt to such conversation, or even why you would want to.

Actual fic reviews would be nifty, though.