I'm gonna agree with Lurker on some points, but disagree on others. As
far as I'm concerned, people can prod me as hard as they like to finish
my fics. It may not make me write any faster, but I am happy to know
that there's interest. Just don't be surprised when I prod you for a C&C
after I *have* finished the fic.

Has the FFML "turned to shit?" I don't think so. It's still, all in all,
a good place for a writer to get feedback. When I post a fic, I almost
never fail to get interesting, useful responses.

But it's only a select minority of people who are doing the work here. I
can count the people on this list who post regular, thoughtful
commentary on fics -- if not on my fingers, then on fingers and toes.

Some people, of course, don't have time to C&C a lot. That's fine. But
if you can't be helpful in the quest for better and better fanfics, at
least don't be an impediment. One thing about which Lurker is absolutely
right is that a lot of people are blatantly disregarding the FAQ and
posting things that aren't supposed to be on the list. That wouldn't be
so bad, except that most of the people who are spamming are the ones who
aren't contributing useful C&C. If you want to participate in goofy
humor threads, series canon debates, and the like, then you should EARN
the right to do so by also posting useful feedback to authors;
especially if you yourself are an author and want useful feedback on
your own fics.


Gary Kleppe
http://www.execpc.com/~kleppe/comics