I may be earning myself a temp ban with this, but I'm going to have to file 
a dissenting opinion. The main reason given against the "discouraging of 
spam", such as fic requests, is that there are thousands of subscribers and 
if everyone started posting this stuff, the legitimate traffic would be 
overrun. Frankly, I see little enough evidence of there being any legitimate 
traffic these days - I haven't counted properly, but I'd be very surprised 
if there are more than forty recurring posters to the list, defined as 
having posted more than twice in a 90 day period. That's not a lot of 
traffic. Allowing "spam", at least on topic stuff such as fic requests, 
raises the interest in posting to the list - including fics...
 

It's funny you mention that. I was thinking the exact same thing. I 
guess you beat me to the punch.

I was actually thinking that perhaps encouraging a bit of traffic on the 
list, even if a bit off-topic, would be healthy.

It would be nice if instead of just telling someone where to find the 
story, it got reposted here by either the Author or by someone who has it.
It would certainly bring the FFML back to the purpose of sharing stories 
and getting people involved with writing and C&C.

The second reason for allowing the posting of fic requests, at least of the 
more specific kind, is that they are a great way for people to discover fics 
and authors they haven't read before. If no one ever asks about a fic with 
such-and-such premise which I might find interesting if I had ever imagined 
it existed, I'll never know, never read it, and never provide feedback for 
that fic.
 

That is an interesting point.

Just because I read Anand Rao's "A stained glass mind", several years 
ago, doesn't mean everyone else here has... or has even heard of it.
In fact, if you haven't read it, do so. It's a fantastic Ranma based 
story. I think I have it in my archive. Perhaps I'll post it.

If you are a Ryouga fan, go look up Keener Barnes' "Suicide Blast." 
Keener had such a way with teen angst.

Any new authors that pop up usually aren't - they're very old hands who've 
been out of touch for a few years and finally show up with an update, not 
genuine fresh blood.
 

Hahahahahaha... I'm almost offended.

Considering I posted something just last weekend after years of doing 
nothing and Richard Lawson reposted a couple of his "Thy Outward Part" 
stories, that comment seems to be surprisingly accurate.

I remember this list two years ago, when I had to filter the posts into 
their own folder to keep up. I remember four years ago, when I could expect 
at least a couple of different, often long, chapters posted every day. 
Considering that the fandom has grown exponentially in that time, why is 
this list fading like it is?
 

That is a good question. Perhaps, the rules could use a bit of 
modification. Back then, every bit of spam was painful.
At this point, I almost welcome the spam. I remember when people would 
post simple comments like "Nice story."
Even character discussions where considered SPAM because there was tons 
of good traffic. Perhaps the character discussions helped people form 
ideas for the stories they were writting.

Since that became outlawed, the fuel for many of the great stories 
people wrote has been cut off.

It was spam as it wasn't a helpful commentary... but it kept people 
going. Now... nothing. It's a ghost town.

Temp-ban me as you please, mods - I have no further interest in posting here 
anyway.
 

That's actually too bad that you feel that way. The fact that you cared 
enough to voice a complaint tells me that you are interested in seeing 
this place kept alive. If you do leave, that's another source of talent 
gone.

I would prefer if you and the moderators got angry at each other but 
stayed on the list and contributed. What good is a mailing list if no 
one says anything.
This used to be the definitive place for fanfiction. Sadly, I'm actually 
doing searches on google now to find stories.

As for me, a temp-ban would be meaningless. I usually post here once 
every few months. It would have expired long before it would hinder me.

I have no intention of leaving though. I've met so many great people 
here and read some many wicked stories that doing so would be crazy.

Please keep the stories coming.


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