Subject: RE: [FFML] Pic's Author Reviews
From: gaffney@iconn.net
Date: 8/21/1996, 9:36 PM
To: fanfic@fanfic.com

Okay everyone, I think I'll do some reviewing of my own.

Everyone who posts a fanfic, no matter how badly done: Excellent, keep 
writing.

Thank you.

Everyone who gives 'reviews' on authors: Shutup. Nobody wants you telling 

them 
how good/bad they are in public. If everyone you review is good, then the 

list 
is redundant, you could have said 'here are 5 people who's fics you should 
read.' If you have mixed skills of authors, then you will either offend or 

put 
down some. Example with 2 writers:

Ahem.  I certainly want some people telling me how good or bad my
fanfics are, and that is, I feel, the main purpose of the list.  If
you just want to post, do it to raac.  My first fanfic, Sour Times,
benefitted from the critiques I got (i.e. Nabiki was almost totally 
eliminated).  My others have been helped the same way.  And I'm an
author who *hates* to rewrite.  Without the critiques (and mild praise),
I'd probably have gone to ground after ST.  We need feedback, hence
this list.  It isn't just "Hey, Look at me!", y'know.

Now, as to my reviews a few weeks back, the list was slow.  I felt
like generating a few comments.  It worked for a bit, but when I
felt I was talking to myself, the reviews stopped.  I also gave
very few harsh reviews, and even those I did (A few of Jeff Rutsch's),
were tempered with good points or other good stuff by the same
author.

And if you ever make a list of 'bad fanfics' then you had better make sure 
NOBODY knows where you live.

Bad fanfics:  don't really read them more than once, so they're hard
to remember.

Cheshire, Connecticut.  More details forthcoming if you want to kill me.

--Sean Gaffney
--reviewer for rec.arts.drwho, as "The Happy Guy"