switch842: (QAF Badfic)
[personal profile] switch842
...and it's starting to piss me off.

Has anyone else noticed the recent influx of suckiness in fandom? Like, all of them? Especially in fics and videos? Like, I hate reading WIPs, so I try to wait until they're done to read them. And there are some that sound really interesting and I'm really excited to read, and then I do. And it completely sucks ass. Everyone is so out of character, the grammar and spelling are atrocious. Ugh. It's almost to the point where I wish I could leave feedback or something that says "Please stop writing. You suck." But know I can't. Grrr.

And with the vids! Oy! With Microsoft including Windows Movie Maker on all the operating systems now, it seems like everyone and their 80 year old mother feels like they can do this. And most of the time, people just take a song and plop random scenes on top that don't go with the song, have nothing to do with the song.

It's just disaapointing cos I feel like sometimes, a lot of the good writers and vid makers are getting discouraged, cos there's all this crap out there and yet people keep gushing "ZOMG!!!!!111!! That was sooooo amazing!! Ur the best!" And they're not. And now I'm rambling, so I'm gonna shut up now.

Does anyone else feel this way?

(no subject)

Date: 2006-12-19 12:26 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] gategrrl.livejournal.com
I was just bitching about a Heroes' comm that I had joined. When I finally got around to reading some of the "fics" listed there - to be honest, I get turned off with cutesy descriptions of pairings like "Paire", which mush the names together, AND I'm not fond of incest fics (I mean, c'mon! It's not like there aren't a jillion other characters on that show to slash!). And there were NO stories that were not vigenettes instead of actual FICS.

So yes. I agree insofar as I have experience with fandoms - they're sucky lately.

(no subject)

Date: 2006-12-19 12:28 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] switch842.livejournal.com
Yeah, I saw that post. It kinda got me inspired to make this one cos I'm just seeing it everywhere. And it's driving me NUTS!! :-D

(no subject)

Date: 2006-12-19 04:24 am (UTC)
ext_2780: photo of Josh kissing drake from a promo for Merry Christmas Drake & Josh (Default)
From: [identity profile] aizjanika.livejournal.com
Has anyone else noticed the recent influx of suckiness in fandom? Like, all of them? Especially in fics and videos? Like, I hate reading WIPs, so I try to wait until they're done to read them. And there are some that sound really interesting and I'm really excited to read, and then I do. And it completely sucks ass. Everyone is so out of character, the grammar and spelling are atrocious. Ugh. It's almost to the point where I wish I could leave feedback or something that says "Please stop writing. You suck." But know I can't. Grrr.

lol Everyone has to start somewhere, but I know what you mean... I actually wrote a ranty post about something similar yesterday and then didn't post it. *g*

The problem that I'm having right now is reading some stories that are actually good and mostly well-written or at least average, and if I like the story and the characterization, I can forgive a lot, but...grammar and spelling...UGH! But the biggest thing I'm coming across lately?

"The older man" and "the younger hunter" and "the elder hunter" and any number of other phrases authors are using to avoid using the characters' names. UGH!!!! That is maybe my biggest pet peeve. I *hated* it in the Stargate fandom if people would refer to Jack as "the older man" or "the old colonel" or even "the colonel." His name is JACK or O'NEILL!! *g* (Referring to Daniel as "the archaeologist" or "the younger man" was just as irritating.)

This is even more irritating when "older man" is used in the Supernatural fandom to refer to a 26-year-old guy. *g* Even if the character were 90 years old, though, this would be irritating unless the character was unknown and not yet named in the story.

Every time I read this, I think "What older man? Where did the old man come from?"

For god's sake, writers, USE the *characters'* *names*!!!! Or use a simple pronoun. There's no need to make up all sorts of elaborate phrases every single time you refer to a character in a fic.

OTOH, I do think it's best not to criticize writers too harshly because, they do need to start somewhere and we all have our own ways of seeing the characters. I think Daniel was acting completely out of character on the show in season 10, but 99.9999% of all Daniel fans would disagree with me. *g*

When it comes to fanfic, I like to find an author who sees the characters more like I do, and that's not always easy. Sometimes I'll jump into an author's universe and other times it's just too far off from what I see in the character or what I want to see, that I just can't do that.

Another thing I really want to rant about is: Why are authors not including links to previous chapters when they post a story? Especially if it's the last chapter of a story (when I'm more likely to read it), why would they not include links to previous chapters for those who were waiting or those who just saw the story for the first time? I honestly don't know what authors expect. That I'm going to go searching their LJ and hope to find a tag or something in their memories or just scan through every post they've ever made hoping to find previous chapters? Or hope to find a link to a website? I'm not doing that.

And...if it's a multi-chapter story, they should go back and edit the previous chapter posts and add "next chapter" links, too. *g* Preferably, they could include links to all chapters completed in every post related to the story.

Or am I just crazy? No matter how good the story is, I don't want to have to work that hard. *g*

And most of the time, people just take a song and plop random scenes on top that don't go with the song, have nothing to do with the song.

I've noticed this for a long time. I always love vids when the author takes pains to make the clips go with the music--even going in time to the music. Long clips set to music really do nothing for me. I've seen some vid makers tell a very specific story--sometimes even something completely different from what was on the show--just by editing the clips a certain way.

OTOH, I can't even make a picture slideshow, so I have at least a little respect for anyone who can make a vid.

(no subject)

Date: 2006-12-19 02:02 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] switch842.livejournal.com
I *hated* it in the Stargate fandom if people would refer to Jack as "the older man" or "the old colonel" or even "the colonel." His name is JACK or O'NEILL!!

I was guilty of that occassionally when I first started. *sheepish* And I do know what you mean that everyone needs to start somewhere, and if it was just that it was someone's first story and they maybe didn't have the pacing down yet, or really good story telling style, that can maybe be forgiven and worked on. It's the ones where it seems like the people don't even have a 3rd grade reading/writing ability that I can't get past. And if they're archived on a site, not just their LJ, and you go look and see that they have like 10 other stories... Did no one ever say "You might need a beta?" or something? Ugh.

And I'm totally with you on the linking to chapters in LJ. I only have 1 series really going right now and each new chapter has a link to the ones before it. I haven't gone back to do the "Next Chapter" thing, but that's a good reminder. Thanks! :-)

(no subject)

Date: 2007-01-13 10:51 am (UTC)
ext_2780: photo of Josh kissing drake from a promo for Merry Christmas Drake & Josh (Default)
From: [identity profile] aizjanika.livejournal.com
I was guilty of that occassionally when I first started. *sheepish*

hehe I'm guilty of much worse. *g* When I started writing, I had all these lofty ideas and then discovered that I made all the worst mistakes! Everything I hated about bad!fic ended up in my story. *g* It's not as easy to avoid all these pitfalls as it appears. *g*

It's the ones where it seems like the people don't even have a 3rd grade reading/writing ability that I can't get past. And if they're archived on a site, not just their LJ, and you go look and see that they have like 10 other stories... Did no one ever say "You might need a beta?" or something? Ugh.

I know. In one of my previous fandoms, there was actually a huge backlash against using betas or even worrying about spelling or grammar at all because it was seen as inhibiting the creative process or something. *g*

And I'm totally with you on the linking to chapters in LJ. I only have 1 series really going right now and each new chapter has a link to the ones before it. I haven't gone back to do the "Next Chapter" thing, but that's a good reminder. Thanks! :-)

I might not have thought of it as a writer either, but as a reader, it sure makes things easier. *g*

(no subject)

Date: 2006-12-19 01:12 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cindy-z.livejournal.com
fandom in general has sucked for me for a while now. only thing I find remotely interesting of late is a good story...and a good vid...(like yours) I started to make a vid but found it too complicated and time consuming...I wanted it to be decent not thrown together like so many..... I cant even stomach maost of my favorite thunk threads either anymore...sigh...with the new job (YAY) I find I have less time to browse looking for the good stuff....much less the time and energy needed to actually keep up with all the fandoms...guess it is the evolution of cindyz...or...dammit real life!

(no subject)

Date: 2006-12-19 02:05 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] switch842.livejournal.com
a good vid...(like yours)

Aww, thanks! It really is a lot harder than it looks to make a good video. I've seen lots of ones where like the first minute of the song is just one long clip from the show. Well, ya know what? I may as well just pop in DVD and watch that episode, ya know?

I cant even stomach maost of my favorite thunk threads either anymore

I can't even tell you the last time I was in the MS thunk thread. The Baal/Cliff thunk thread is every nice though. He seems to have much more mature fans. Come check it out! :-D

(no subject)

Date: 2006-12-20 07:53 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] riverfox.livejournal.com
Does anyone else feel this way?

*sniggers* Been feeling this way for a long, long time. Unfortunately. And your new icon is perfect. :)))

(no subject)

Date: 2006-12-20 05:29 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] switch842.livejournal.com
Thanks! :-)

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