[FFML] A thought on the future of the FFML

[Brian Randall]

On Wed, Jun 26, 2013 at 1:11 PM, Jorge A Pratt
<jorgepratt at prodigy.net.mx> wrote:
>
>> If you're concerned that someone won't like your fic if it's not
>> 'pretty' enough ... then that's a sign your fic needs work.
>
> Mark Z. Danielewski would beg to differ. If an author pursues specific text formatting, very often it's not about making their story "pretty," but because the formatting has a storytelling purpose in and of itself. Especially on the Internet, where the Infinite Canvas applies not just to visual artwork but also to text.

I can't actually find any examples that demonstrate it on a casual
inspection, but I'll take your word for it.  Even so, you can cite one
author for whom it's an exception, and judging by the information I
could find on wiki, it's not at all a parallel to what we can easily
do with conventional html.

Even if we can, it's still not needed for editing.

> Plus, MM already said that those things are "useful, but not NECESSARY," and a personal preference. It's poor form to call him out so harshly especially since he's not demanding it; at most, he's suggesting it. In dev speak, the difference between "requirement" and "nice-to-have."

I confess, ever since I wrote 'At a Glance', I spend much of my time
when writing considering how it will work for the blind.

All of this is, and will generally always be, irrelevant to the
(admittedly small) percentage of readers that I am always keeping
forefront.  "These words look different!" doesn't communicate as much
as the unexpected fanbase that fic got me; this is actually one of the
major design considerations for my site (though I do still include the
occasional sparing image).

However, because of that, I generally regard it as 'noise' and it
distracts from what we're really looking at.

>>  The FFML
>> is about comments and criticism.  If this approach drives off people
>> who only want to read fic without commenting....
>>
>> ...then that's freaking _ideal_, isn't it?
>
> Calm down, guy. There's no need to vent steam like this, when no one else has resorted to personal attacks yet.

That was enthusiasm.  I shouldn't be enthusiastic about what looks to
me like a positive realization?  There really is an unfortunate trend
of people wanting to just read something earlier without contributing
to the discussion when a rough draft is posted.  I couldn't help but
be thrilled at the prospect of them naturally (instead of rudely)
being deterred from reading and not contributing.

I still think the idea of that is awesome!

...of course, it probably won't realistically pan out.  Unfortunate, really.

> After following the entire thread from start to finish, I see the only person who ever brought flames into it was you. Considering Lurker himself was the one who started the thread, accusing him of trying to scuttle it is just weird.

I very strongly disagree with your observations, but in the interest
of remaining constructive, I'll just leave it at that.

Also, based on a personal e-mail, MM finds being called 'Lurker' insulting.

My bad on that one.

--
Brian Randall
--
Yrne awaits those with the courage to seek it.
--
I write fanfiction. Too much of it. You can read it here, on my
terrible webpage:
http://www.soulriders.net/brian/