some basic facts of life around here
I've been meaning to make this post for a while, since I sort of function on a few basic assumptions in this journal space that contradict a lot of the prevailing social mores on LJ/in fandom and there are some open secrets that not everyone's been informed of, and I figured I'd spell some of them out so I can put them in the userinfo and not have to have this conversation again. :)
So, some Basic Facts About How I Treat This Journal:
You friending me: There is no need to ask first before friending me, no need to introduce yourself once you do, and no need to participate in comments (though if you want to, pull up a chair and dive right in!) If you're interrested in reading what I have to say, go ahead and click the button.
You defriending me: Go for it! If I'm not interesting anymore, just click the button. I won't be offended, I promise; I probably won't even notice. (Those of you I regularly talk to outside of a fannish context may skip this paragraph, as if you defriend me I'll hit you.)
Me friending you: I friend people for one of three reasons, generally: (a) you make posts about fannish stuff I'm interested in or like to read about; (b) you write really kickass stuff, ditto; (c) we talk regularly in comments or in AIM and I dig you. This is not, however, my primary journal (more about that in a sec) and I only read the friends list of this one intermittently (and I do use a default view when I do). Sometimes I reload the friends list five times a day; sometimes I go for weeks without having the time to really read it. I beg you, please don't be offended if I've missed a post of yours or if I don't comment on your posts as often as I'd like; my primary journal's friends list scrolls by with about two thousand posts a day, both personal and work-related, and if I get behind on any of that (which is way too easy to do) I don't have the time to catch up on this one. This is also why I might not friend you back if you friend me.
Me defriending you: Usually means our fannish interests have slid apart, or this friends list has gotten too difficult to manage again. Keep me on your friends list or don't, whichever works for you! I very very rarely make friends-locked posts here -- I mean, we're talking, like, two or three a year, tops -- so if you still find me interesting, you won't be missing anything. If not, see above. :) I am pathologically allergic to LJ-related drama in all its varied forms, and I promise you I'm not trying to start any, ever.
All of these are because:
This is not my primary journal: mostly because, and this is a fairly open secret, I work here. (Yeah, for LJ. I've been here for coming up on four years now, longer if you count the volunteer time. It's a crazy, exhausting job and I love it beyond belief, except for the days when I want to quit and hide under the couch.) I originally started this journal because as awesome a work environment as LJ is, there's really no need to rub your boss's nose in the fact that you write queer porn. I don't link this identity to my "professional" identity (I use quote marks because there's oh-so-little professional about this place), mostly because there are a lot of people out there who wouldn't understand, and I humbly ask y'all: if you figure out who I "really" am (it's not tremendously tough with a little bit of detective work, especially since I have a horrible habit of replying while logged into the Other Account), please please don't make the connection for anyone else or talk about it in public. I don't mind statements like "someone in fandom works for LJ", and I don't even mind "synecdochic works for LJ" -- there are enough people working here now that it's not as personally-identifying as it used to be back when I started this journal, when I was one of two women on staff -- but please don't publicly connect my identities for anyone who hasn't already figured it out.
(I generally don't mind talking about work, and if I see you're having problems with LJ I'm likely to pop up in your comments and be helpful, but please don't directly ask me for tech support, because I do that sixty hours a week and omg I am so burned out. There's also a fifty-fifty chance that if I get really hurt or frustrated reading your posts about whatever boneheaded decisions the head office has made this week, I'll (a) defriend you, (b) have a temper fit in your comments, based on how stable and rational I'm feeling at the time. Which is not to say that I don't want to hear what everyone thinks about LJ's direction -- I often turn to this friends list for evidence to back up the fights I fight, and you will semi-often see posts calling for quick-and-dirty polls or the like -- but I am not always emotionally detached enough to face up to people criticizing my baby, especially when the criticism is over an issue that I've been pitching internal temper fits over (sometimes for months) and know I'm Right And They're Wrong about. The office-politics shit can literally reduce me to tears, and this journal is my place of Fannish Squee, so I am not always as well-adjusted about the issue as I'd like to be.)
I don't talk much about work here, because I've signed a lot of pieces of paper that say I can't. This might be changing over the next God-knows-how-long, because I'm moving into a new role that'll let me be more open about the behind-the-scenes stuff, but most of that will probably happen in other places. You might get some funny or interesting stories, though, if people express enough interest :)
[As of 7/27/07, I don't work here no' mo'! I'm off to write professionally. If you figure out who I am, please don't ever out me, okay?]
But enough about work. We're here for the fandom, right? A few notes about discussion, on posted stories or elsewhere:
I love feedback. (What author doesn't?) I cherish and adore everything from "I really liked this" all the way to multi-paragraph critical dissection of the story. I do my absolute, God's-honest best to reply to each and every single feedback comment, but there will often be gaps of days or sometimes weeks (or in the case of "Freedom's Just Another Word For Nothing Left To Lose", months, eesh) before I can get into the right mindset to reply. This is because of the aforementioned lack-of-time, and also because:
Leaving me feedback runs the risk of engaging a rollicking meta brain-dump. I have a habit of replying to feedback with a few paragraphs of behind-the-scenes type commentary, dissection of what I was thinking when I wrote something, riffing off something you said in the middle of your reply, dumping a mini-essay about characterization on you, etc, etc. I do not mean to overwhelm anyone, I just like dissecting things. :)
I only semi-believe in authorial intent -- which is irritating, because I find most postmodernism makes me want to claw my throat out. But once I post a story, I tend to view my opinion on it as that of just another reader, and anything I say in comment replies or as meta can be safely discarded if it fucks with your enjoyment of the story, really -- I believe I have no more or less authority over interpretations of the text than anyone else! I tend to phrase things in absolutes, just out of enthusiasm, but if you disagree with me, please call me on it and let me know why, because I'll merrily jump back in and advocate my position until my face turns blue and have the time of my life doing it.
I don't mind if people have comment conversations here. I've seen a lot of people express confusion or irritation when two random people dive into a conversation in their comments, or people say "I don't want to spam so-and-so's comments so let's take this elsewhere," etc, and I just have to tilt my head and blink rapidly at it. Talk to each other here if you find something interesting to respond to! Talk to me! Talk to yourselves! Just keep talking, because every comment notification that comes in is at least thirty seconds of distraction from whatever work thing is making me want to tear out my hair. And besides, you're all fucking fascinating and intelligent people and I love hearing what you come up with. I view this journal more as an intimate salon for discussion and conversation than as a broadcast medium, so if you see something you want to engage upon with someone else, goferit!
I can't always reply to non-feedback comments or to stuff not directed at me if I can't think of anything to contribute to the conversation or if it's one of the bad weeks, though. I feel really guilty about it, too, but I do read them, I swear.
I love critical feedback. This puts me firmly in the minority in fandom, I know, but as much as I cherish feedback that gushes over a story, I also cherish feedback that says "I liked this and this, but that part really didn't work for me." It goes back to my viewpoint that I'm Just Another Reader, and once I've released something into the wild I love taking a step back and leaping into text criticism (in both the academic sense and the more popular usage of that word). If you read one of my stories and something doesn't work for you, if you think something falls flat, if you don't agree with some of my character choices -- I'd love to hear about it. I will probably leap in and explain what I got out of the choices and why I thought they were necessary etc, but it's not defensiveness, I promise -- it's my way of offering up some alternate interpretations the way I'd see it as a reader, not as the author. Let's talk about it, so I know where you're coming from and can think about your points and observations for the next one.
I make it a point to try to remain Fannish Switzerland. As I've said, I am fundamentally allergic to LJ-related drama in all its many and varied forms. I hold very strong opinions on most of the fannish-flame-war-of-the-week type situations, but you're probably never going to find posts about them in here unless I feel so passionately about it that I just can't let it go. I try to keep this journal as upbeat and positive as I can, because it's my refuge, so you aren't going to find vitriol and bile here. (Unless it's directed at the writers of whatever shows I'm following at any given time, who have a tendency to be STUPID STUPID STUPID AUUUGH.)
If I offend you, it is out of carelessness, not malice. If I'm thoughtless or careless, and do or say something that hurts you or offends you, I am very, very sorry. Please let me know what I've done wrong, so I can do what I can to make up for it. I know that due to the fact I don't always have as much time as I'd like, some of my statements or actions can come across as sounding way more harsh or abrasive than they should, and if I do or say anything that hurts you, please let me know so I can make good.
And that about sums it up. I'm sure I'll think of another two or three things after I post, but that covers most of the big ones. :)
So, some Basic Facts About How I Treat This Journal:
You friending me: There is no need to ask first before friending me, no need to introduce yourself once you do, and no need to participate in comments (though if you want to, pull up a chair and dive right in!) If you're interrested in reading what I have to say, go ahead and click the button.
You defriending me: Go for it! If I'm not interesting anymore, just click the button. I won't be offended, I promise; I probably won't even notice. (Those of you I regularly talk to outside of a fannish context may skip this paragraph, as if you defriend me I'll hit you.)
Me friending you: I friend people for one of three reasons, generally: (a) you make posts about fannish stuff I'm interested in or like to read about; (b) you write really kickass stuff, ditto; (c) we talk regularly in comments or in AIM and I dig you. This is not, however, my primary journal (more about that in a sec) and I only read the friends list of this one intermittently (and I do use a default view when I do). Sometimes I reload the friends list five times a day; sometimes I go for weeks without having the time to really read it. I beg you, please don't be offended if I've missed a post of yours or if I don't comment on your posts as often as I'd like; my primary journal's friends list scrolls by with about two thousand posts a day, both personal and work-related, and if I get behind on any of that (which is way too easy to do) I don't have the time to catch up on this one. This is also why I might not friend you back if you friend me.
Me defriending you: Usually means our fannish interests have slid apart, or this friends list has gotten too difficult to manage again. Keep me on your friends list or don't, whichever works for you! I very very rarely make friends-locked posts here -- I mean, we're talking, like, two or three a year, tops -- so if you still find me interesting, you won't be missing anything. If not, see above. :) I am pathologically allergic to LJ-related drama in all its varied forms, and I promise you I'm not trying to start any, ever.
All of these are because:
This is not my primary journal: mostly because, and this is a fairly open secret, I work here. (Yeah, for LJ. I've been here for coming up on four years now, longer if you count the volunteer time. It's a crazy, exhausting job and I love it beyond belief, except for the days when I want to quit and hide under the couch.) I originally started this journal because as awesome a work environment as LJ is, there's really no need to rub your boss's nose in the fact that you write queer porn. I don't link this identity to my "professional" identity (I use quote marks because there's oh-so-little professional about this place), mostly because there are a lot of people out there who wouldn't understand, and I humbly ask y'all: if you figure out who I "really" am (it's not tremendously tough with a little bit of detective work, especially since I have a horrible habit of replying while logged into the Other Account), please please don't make the connection for anyone else or talk about it in public. I don't mind statements like "someone in fandom works for LJ", and I don't even mind "synecdochic works for LJ" -- there are enough people working here now that it's not as personally-identifying as it used to be back when I started this journal, when I was one of two women on staff -- but please don't publicly connect my identities for anyone who hasn't already figured it out.
(I generally don't mind talking about work, and if I see you're having problems with LJ I'm likely to pop up in your comments and be helpful, but please don't directly ask me for tech support, because I do that sixty hours a week and omg I am so burned out. There's also a fifty-fifty chance that if I get really hurt or frustrated reading your posts about whatever boneheaded decisions the head office has made this week, I'll (a) defriend you, (b) have a temper fit in your comments, based on how stable and rational I'm feeling at the time. Which is not to say that I don't want to hear what everyone thinks about LJ's direction -- I often turn to this friends list for evidence to back up the fights I fight, and you will semi-often see posts calling for quick-and-dirty polls or the like -- but I am not always emotionally detached enough to face up to people criticizing my baby, especially when the criticism is over an issue that I've been pitching internal temper fits over (sometimes for months) and know I'm Right And They're Wrong about. The office-politics shit can literally reduce me to tears, and this journal is my place of Fannish Squee, so I am not always as well-adjusted about the issue as I'd like to be.)
I don't talk much about work here, because I've signed a lot of pieces of paper that say I can't. This might be changing over the next God-knows-how-long, because I'm moving into a new role that'll let me be more open about the behind-the-scenes stuff, but most of that will probably happen in other places. You might get some funny or interesting stories, though, if people express enough interest :)
[As of 7/27/07, I don't work here no' mo'! I'm off to write professionally. If you figure out who I am, please don't ever out me, okay?]
But enough about work. We're here for the fandom, right? A few notes about discussion, on posted stories or elsewhere:
I love feedback. (What author doesn't?) I cherish and adore everything from "I really liked this" all the way to multi-paragraph critical dissection of the story. I do my absolute, God's-honest best to reply to each and every single feedback comment, but there will often be gaps of days or sometimes weeks (or in the case of "Freedom's Just Another Word For Nothing Left To Lose", months, eesh) before I can get into the right mindset to reply. This is because of the aforementioned lack-of-time, and also because:
Leaving me feedback runs the risk of engaging a rollicking meta brain-dump. I have a habit of replying to feedback with a few paragraphs of behind-the-scenes type commentary, dissection of what I was thinking when I wrote something, riffing off something you said in the middle of your reply, dumping a mini-essay about characterization on you, etc, etc. I do not mean to overwhelm anyone, I just like dissecting things. :)
I only semi-believe in authorial intent -- which is irritating, because I find most postmodernism makes me want to claw my throat out. But once I post a story, I tend to view my opinion on it as that of just another reader, and anything I say in comment replies or as meta can be safely discarded if it fucks with your enjoyment of the story, really -- I believe I have no more or less authority over interpretations of the text than anyone else! I tend to phrase things in absolutes, just out of enthusiasm, but if you disagree with me, please call me on it and let me know why, because I'll merrily jump back in and advocate my position until my face turns blue and have the time of my life doing it.
I don't mind if people have comment conversations here. I've seen a lot of people express confusion or irritation when two random people dive into a conversation in their comments, or people say "I don't want to spam so-and-so's comments so let's take this elsewhere," etc, and I just have to tilt my head and blink rapidly at it. Talk to each other here if you find something interesting to respond to! Talk to me! Talk to yourselves! Just keep talking, because every comment notification that comes in is at least thirty seconds of distraction from whatever work thing is making me want to tear out my hair. And besides, you're all fucking fascinating and intelligent people and I love hearing what you come up with. I view this journal more as an intimate salon for discussion and conversation than as a broadcast medium, so if you see something you want to engage upon with someone else, goferit!
I can't always reply to non-feedback comments or to stuff not directed at me if I can't think of anything to contribute to the conversation or if it's one of the bad weeks, though. I feel really guilty about it, too, but I do read them, I swear.
I love critical feedback. This puts me firmly in the minority in fandom, I know, but as much as I cherish feedback that gushes over a story, I also cherish feedback that says "I liked this and this, but that part really didn't work for me." It goes back to my viewpoint that I'm Just Another Reader, and once I've released something into the wild I love taking a step back and leaping into text criticism (in both the academic sense and the more popular usage of that word). If you read one of my stories and something doesn't work for you, if you think something falls flat, if you don't agree with some of my character choices -- I'd love to hear about it. I will probably leap in and explain what I got out of the choices and why I thought they were necessary etc, but it's not defensiveness, I promise -- it's my way of offering up some alternate interpretations the way I'd see it as a reader, not as the author. Let's talk about it, so I know where you're coming from and can think about your points and observations for the next one.
I make it a point to try to remain Fannish Switzerland. As I've said, I am fundamentally allergic to LJ-related drama in all its many and varied forms. I hold very strong opinions on most of the fannish-flame-war-of-the-week type situations, but you're probably never going to find posts about them in here unless I feel so passionately about it that I just can't let it go. I try to keep this journal as upbeat and positive as I can, because it's my refuge, so you aren't going to find vitriol and bile here. (Unless it's directed at the writers of whatever shows I'm following at any given time, who have a tendency to be STUPID STUPID STUPID AUUUGH.)
If I offend you, it is out of carelessness, not malice. If I'm thoughtless or careless, and do or say something that hurts you or offends you, I am very, very sorry. Please let me know what I've done wrong, so I can do what I can to make up for it. I know that due to the fact I don't always have as much time as I'd like, some of my statements or actions can come across as sounding way more harsh or abrasive than they should, and if I do or say anything that hurts you, please let me know so I can make good.
And that about sums it up. I'm sure I'll think of another two or three things after I post, but that covers most of the big ones. :)