Hahaha. Not

[janedavitt]

I just went over to look at that fan fiction survey that's whipping up a frothy kerfuffle. Didn't look at the survey itself, which I don't intend to take, just browsed the comments. ETA The survey's down now while they lick their wounds, I guess

Comments

[kellifer_fic]

of fan fic writers may not be aware of total word count

I'm.... sorry? We're not aware of wordcount? That's just... *blinky*

[janedavitt]

Well, personally, when I put that detail in my header, I just guess, you know?

/sarcasm

They are total prats.

[flaming_muse]

Oh, you're not supposed to put your favorite number of the day in the word count section? *scratches her head*

[byslantedlight]

Wow - I didn't get further than the first dozen or so comments and I could tell that something was seriously up... but the survey's been taken down and I missed it all! I'm desperately curious now - what was it all about? The "Cognitive Science of Fanfiction", sweeping aside any and all cultural/social etc etc aspects? I'm fascinated...

Bear in mind that I know nothing else about these people/that survey/study, but - surely the problem is less that they're researching fandom etc, more that they seem to be... really really bad at it?

[janedavitt]

The title of the book is

RULE 34: WHAT NETPORN TEACHES US ABOUT THE BRAIN.'

I think that says it all when it comes to what they wanted from us.

Dirt.

And, yes, they've pretty much ruined any chance they ever had of getting cooperation. Poor dears.

[byslantedlight]

Wow - in fact never mind their book, they've not even got a decent methodology for recording someone's biological sex vs their gender, according to earlier posts at their own lj, which seems to be what they're trying to hang everything on anyway (although... too much to read, too scary, not really enough time in my evening...) But...

Thank's for posting about this - people hadn't quite been boggling me enough, lately... *g*

[janedavitt]

It's mindblowingly dense of them, isn't it?

[fair_witness]

Call me a snob, because I am one, but most of the pro writers I know wouldn't trust an agent who doesn't have an NYC office, even if said agent commutes there a lot.

[janedavitt]

Somehow, I don't see that book making its publishing date of 2010... ;-)

[fair_witness]

Hee, noooo, I'd say not. Not if they're still theoretically doing research. Or "research," because even without seeing the survey myself, it doesn't sound like they're doing it right.

BTW, I don't mean to imply that the agent's a scammer. (I did a little Googling and didn't find any horror stories.) I'm just being a snob and suspecting that the agent isn't all that and a bag of chips.

[ex_uniquewo]

Hasn't ever even looked at a fic comm or a post?

Apparently, he has read "a variety of slash fic in various fandoms", "watched lots of gay porn and read male-authored gay erotica". You can see what he thinks of them at shaggirl's.

[ex_uniquewo]

So, no excuse I guess. Unless he limited himself to whatever he was "fed" and it seems to me that's very likely.

[janedavitt]

And he still missed the fact that we can count?

[ex_uniquewo]

Makes you wonder what he's read, right? Or he if truly read anything or just skimmed and scanned and closed his eyes when it wasn't to his tastes? Or is totally unobservant, which, for someone who claims to be a scientist, is a little... puzzling, I should say.

[flaming_muse]

Wow, they have such a crazy lack of understanding of the very basics of fanfiction and the fanfiction community that I'm amazed they could even find us to ask us to take their survey.

[janedavitt]

No kidding! Clueless noobs.