Hey there ficfinders, how we all doing today? Just a quick couple of things that have been brought to my attention lately that need to be cleared up (Tech and other mods, I tried to email this stuff to you guys first, but my email is pitching its usual shit-fit and was having none of it. If there's anything here you disagree with, email me and we can discuss/amend as necessary).
1. Emailing copies of locked/deleted fic. As some of you probably know, this has been an issue recently, and I think that in order to prevent problems, we may need to make a rule about this one. Any existing threads where people have offered to email copies of fics can stay for the time being - unless an author comes forward and asks for it to be removed. If that happens, we'll delete it, and anybody who continues to offer to email copies of those stories will be warned/banned as the moderators see fit. Like someone said on the thread in question, I know it sucks to lose a copy of a story you love, and I'm sure the people offering to email copies of it didn't mean any harm - in fact, I bet the author is probably flattered that you liked their story that much. But I want this comm to maintain a good relationship both with fic authors and readers, so it's important that we respect the wishes of writers. So from this point onwards, no more offering to email copies of locked/deleted fics, okay? And look, I'm not your mother - if you want to deal in "blackmarket" fic on your own journals, have at it. I agree that it's something anyone risks when they post a story in the first place - after all, as CM fans we all know The Internet Is Forever, amirite? But just to keep the peace, let's keep it out of this community.
2. RPF. Look, you guys, it's in the rules. If you want to request/recommend it, there are plenty of other comms out there that allow it, but this just isn't the place for it. We're not trying to judge anyone who reads/writes/likes RPF, but it makes some of the other mods and I uncomfortable on a personal level. Please don't think I'm just trying to ban anything I happen to not like - if that were the case, I'd be banning anything that squicks me (like mpreg!). I think RPF is in a different category. I know a person who has been the subject of a considerable amount of fanfiction, and while he has no problem with stories about his character, he feels that stories written about him are an intrusion, and I agree. Writing about real people's lives crosses a line, and can even get you in legal trouble, so let's just put the kibosh on that one. Obviously, there are degrees of RPF - requesting a story where the team go to Vegas and David Copperfield calls Reid on to the stage to hypnotise him is fine. A story in which Hotch has an affair with Michelle Obama is not. You guys get the idea. BTW, if anyone wants to discuss the RPF ban that's cool, but keep it to this post - and just FYI, if it gets wanky or abusive, I will shut it down. I'm all for healthy debate/discussion, but the bottom line is, I'm the owner, so I'm pulling rank on this one. No RPF.
3. Deleting comments. Nobody but mods should be doing this - if someone is abusing/harassing you, contact one of us and we'll deal with it. Obviously if somebody has your social security number, home address and cat's name and is making that shit public, I can see why you'd want to delete it immediately instead of waiting for the mods to get our shit together, but unless it's something of that nature, don't be doing any kind of deletey hijinks, mmkay? Also, it's been brought to my attention that someone recently deleted a comment by a mod when they were warned about double posting. THIS IS NOT A THING THAT IS OKAY. Guys, I won't say this again - you do not, under any circumstances, delete a comment from a moderator. That is intensely disrespectful, and will get you an immediate smack with the banhammer.
4. Double posting. Don't do it. If nobody has found your fic, then nobody has found your fic. Give it a while before asking again.
5. Unrelated bitchery. This hasn't been too much of a problem here, as y'all are pretty good about being excellent to each other, but it's happened in a few other comms I'm a member of, so consider this a pre-emptive warning. I had to ban a 13 year old who was trolling another comm I'm in so as not to give her the opportunity to start that same shit here - I don't want to have to do that again. My personal belief is that because Criminal Minds is not a kids show, this is not a kids community. I don't want to impose an age restriction or make any hard and fast rules about this, so here's what I'm suggesting: think of this community kind of like facebook. If you're under the age of 16, you probably shouldn't be here, but as long as you keep your nose clean, we'll look the other way - in fact, we probably won't even notice. But anyone, of any age, who brings their Hannah-Montana-tweeny-pop-drama into this comm will find themselves banned pretty damn quick.
Sorry for the uberpost guys, but it had to be done (and other mods, like I said earlier, sorry for the lack of heads-up, blame my email! And contact me if you think we need to Discuss). Enjoy life and keep on ficcin'!
1. Emailing copies of locked/deleted fic. As some of you probably know, this has been an issue recently, and I think that in order to prevent problems, we may need to make a rule about this one. Any existing threads where people have offered to email copies of fics can stay for the time being - unless an author comes forward and asks for it to be removed. If that happens, we'll delete it, and anybody who continues to offer to email copies of those stories will be warned/banned as the moderators see fit. Like someone said on the thread in question, I know it sucks to lose a copy of a story you love, and I'm sure the people offering to email copies of it didn't mean any harm - in fact, I bet the author is probably flattered that you liked their story that much. But I want this comm to maintain a good relationship both with fic authors and readers, so it's important that we respect the wishes of writers. So from this point onwards, no more offering to email copies of locked/deleted fics, okay? And look, I'm not your mother - if you want to deal in "blackmarket" fic on your own journals, have at it. I agree that it's something anyone risks when they post a story in the first place - after all, as CM fans we all know The Internet Is Forever, amirite? But just to keep the peace, let's keep it out of this community.
2. RPF. Look, you guys, it's in the rules. If you want to request/recommend it, there are plenty of other comms out there that allow it, but this just isn't the place for it. We're not trying to judge anyone who reads/writes/likes RPF, but it makes some of the other mods and I uncomfortable on a personal level. Please don't think I'm just trying to ban anything I happen to not like - if that were the case, I'd be banning anything that squicks me (like mpreg!). I think RPF is in a different category. I know a person who has been the subject of a considerable amount of fanfiction, and while he has no problem with stories about his character, he feels that stories written about him are an intrusion, and I agree. Writing about real people's lives crosses a line, and can even get you in legal trouble, so let's just put the kibosh on that one. Obviously, there are degrees of RPF - requesting a story where the team go to Vegas and David Copperfield calls Reid on to the stage to hypnotise him is fine. A story in which Hotch has an affair with Michelle Obama is not. You guys get the idea. BTW, if anyone wants to discuss the RPF ban that's cool, but keep it to this post - and just FYI, if it gets wanky or abusive, I will shut it down. I'm all for healthy debate/discussion, but the bottom line is, I'm the owner, so I'm pulling rank on this one. No RPF.
3. Deleting comments. Nobody but mods should be doing this - if someone is abusing/harassing you, contact one of us and we'll deal with it. Obviously if somebody has your social security number, home address and cat's name and is making that shit public, I can see why you'd want to delete it immediately instead of waiting for the mods to get our shit together, but unless it's something of that nature, don't be doing any kind of deletey hijinks, mmkay? Also, it's been brought to my attention that someone recently deleted a comment by a mod when they were warned about double posting. THIS IS NOT A THING THAT IS OKAY. Guys, I won't say this again - you do not, under any circumstances, delete a comment from a moderator. That is intensely disrespectful, and will get you an immediate smack with the banhammer.
4. Double posting. Don't do it. If nobody has found your fic, then nobody has found your fic. Give it a while before asking again.
5. Unrelated bitchery. This hasn't been too much of a problem here, as y'all are pretty good about being excellent to each other, but it's happened in a few other comms I'm a member of, so consider this a pre-emptive warning. I had to ban a 13 year old who was trolling another comm I'm in so as not to give her the opportunity to start that same shit here - I don't want to have to do that again. My personal belief is that because Criminal Minds is not a kids show, this is not a kids community. I don't want to impose an age restriction or make any hard and fast rules about this, so here's what I'm suggesting: think of this community kind of like facebook. If you're under the age of 16, you probably shouldn't be here, but as long as you keep your nose clean, we'll look the other way - in fact, we probably won't even notice. But anyone, of any age, who brings their Hannah-Montana-tweeny-pop-drama into this comm will find themselves banned pretty damn quick.
Sorry for the uberpost guys, but it had to be done (and other mods, like I said earlier, sorry for the lack of heads-up, blame my email! And contact me if you think we need to Discuss). Enjoy life and keep on ficcin'!