I'm only removing
- people I've never talked to;
- people who never added me back;
- empty and/or abandoned journals.

Please believe me when I say it isn't personal. It doesn't mean I don't like you anymore or anything of the sort. It does mean I feel uncomfortable with people I don't know being able to read the fail in some of my personal posts. No hard feelings, okay?

PLEASE SEE EDITS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST.


From the latest news and lj_maintenance posts:

Purging inactive accounts: One of the benefits of the work we've done to purge suspended accounts is that we will now be able to purge inactive journals and communities too--something you've been requesting for years! A journal is defined as inactive if it has not been logged into for 24 consecutive months. A community is defined as inactive if has not been updated for 24 consecutive months. Once an account is eligible to be purged for inactivity, the owner will be sent an email to alert them of the inactive status. The owner will then have two weeks to log into the journal or post to their community to prevent it from being deleted. If the owner does not log in or post, the account will be deleted and treated like any other deleted account (the owner will have 30 days to log in and undelete the account to prevent it from being purged). Purging inactive accounts will take place sometime after we've begun purging suspended accounts, probably in late August. (source)

The new modifications will actually allow us to purge not only deleted and suspended accounts, but inactive accounts as well, as announced in today's news post. This was not the only change put into the worker scripts; we also had to add logic that removed comments and community entries posted by accounts being purged. This was an important change, since many of the suspended accounts have inappropriate content in their comments and community entries. These changes have brought on several rounds of trial, error, testing and development. This testing has caused delays to our plan, but we are finally ready to move forward. (source)

What this means for fandom:

More than half - probably more than two thirds - of the Star Wars fic, meta, graphics, and RP communities on the naboonotes watched list haven't been updated in the last two years. Many of these communities were maintained by people who are no longer on LJ and may not be using the same e-mail addresses. These communities and everything archived in them, meaning tons of fic and meta, will be gone. Also, all comments and community posts made by inactive users will be purged along with them. This means fics and meta posts in active communities and comments in your journal made by inactive users whose journals will be deleted. (It is not clear whether this will affect comments and community posts made by accounts deleted prior to this purge.)

If there is anything that you don't want to disappear in this, um, summer/fall cleaning project of LJ's, now is the time to GO AND SAVE IT. And while you are at it, log into your abandoned/sock account(s). And if there is a community that you are a member of and that you don't want to be deleted, please, for all our sakes, post in it.

Thank you very much, LJ. This is going to make me spend hours if not days saving all the stuff I read and liked or meant to read but never got around to it. (Does anyone know if there is a software like the FanFiction Downloader and the Mac version that works on LJ? ETA: LJ Archive)

EDIT 2010/07/15: LJ has backtracked. The news post now says this:

A journal is defined as inactive if it has not been logged into for 24 consecutive months and has only one post (i.e., the welcome post). A community is defined as inactive if has not been updated for 24 consecutive months and has only one entry and no comments.

Phew. Thank God. It's nice that LJ listens to its users. It would be even nicer if they asked us for feedback before planning changes that would affect us all.

EDIT 2: The current code says the deletion of comments and community entries will only apply to suspended (for abuse) accounts, as has been the case for some time. It seems comments and posts by accounts purged for inactivity will not be affected. Some clarifications are here.

EDIT 3: Latest clarifications by LJ staff.

From In Love and War and the last paragraphs of A Promise of War:




( More )

I have an injury that makes typing painful (short story is I was trying to cook and used a knife with too much force). So it's back to lazy linkblogging.

- A defense of Padmé's characterization in ROTS by goldenmoonrose: fascinating literary interpretation of ROTS Padmé and why a "weak" fictional character doesn't equal an uninteresting one.

- Padmé and Anakin meta by cadesama. I almost decided not to read this because of all the A/P eulogization at the beginning; as you know, I'm not a fan of this ship. But I'm glad I read it anyway. It's a rare and very believable interpretation of Padmé's character, taking into account the fact that she literally grew up in politics and how this shapes her interaction and relationship with Anakin. It's a pretty good attempt to explain, for example, why she wore that corset to their dinner date in AOTC.

- Politics in the GFFA, in which irnan uses her knowledge of constitutional law to make sense of the political systems of the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, and to determine whether the Clone Wars can be considered a civil war.

- No, Darth Vader does not have borderline personality disorder. (Linda, if you are reading this: thanks. It's nice that some people are willing to put so much time and effort into this.) Anyway, I think psychologists should stick to analyzing real people, not fictional characters, and even then, they should keep in mind that human beings are too complex to fit neatly into their theoretical categories. (Narcissists are incapable of empathy, you say? I've known many a narcissist who could prove you wrong.)

ETA: And LiveJournal has decided to listen to its users and to remove [almost] all traces of ONTD from the homepage. Wow. Just when I was coming to terms with the idea of keeping my promise not to renew my paid account...

Current Mood: dying of heat. Also, typing with one hand is very frustrating.

Get this ONTD crap off my homepage. Now. Or I'm not going to renew my paid account. I'm not kidding. I know money is the only language you understand.

ETA: Got rid of the annoyance using the Element Hiding Helper extension of Adblock Plus for Firefox. My homepage now looks like this. Slightly empty, but at least the gossip and the blinking icons are gone. Alternatively, there is also the nifty LJ Portal (thanks, Gizzi!).

Son of ETA: Unlocking this for the common good, if there are no objections.

Title: A Promise of War
Fandom: Star Wars
Rating: G
Word Count: 1960
Summary: Several hours after the ending of The Phantom Menace, Queen Amidala and the newly elected Chancellor Palpatine meet in the gardens of Theed Palace. Their conversation is loaded with consequences and hidden meanings.

Warnings: dramatic irony, self-deceiving character, and symbolism galore. None, really.
Note: Thanks to albumsontheside for the quick beta read.
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. This is a work of fan fiction. No profit is being made and no copyright infringement is intended.

( Read more... )

and I seem to have writer's block and editor's block, I am stealing this game from several people on my flist (you know who you are). However, I can't guarantee that the drabbles will ever get written.

Pick a letter and a corresponding word, then name a character, a set of characters, or a pairing. In exchange, I'll write you at least one hundred (100) words of fic! If someone's already claimed a letter, then please pick another.

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Love writing it. Hate reading it. Usually.

Or something.

The thing is, I used to be addicted. I have read enough fanfiction to last a lifetime. I am at the point where none of it feels fresh anymore. All I see is patterns. The majority of fandom writes the same ideas over and over, and often writes them badly as well.

Yes, there is one percent of fanfiction that's well-written and entertaining and different. There are people on my flist whose stories are in this 1%. But overall I don't think this 1% is worth the time wasted reading the other 99%. I don't read much original fiction either, for the same reason. I feel like I've read it all before.

As for writing it: I write fanfiction for fun. I like playing with the fictional characters that intrigue me. I like imagining alternative endings for movies and coming up with theories to explain what was left unexplained by the original creator. Yes, I'm too lazy to create my own characters and universe. No, I don't want to be a "professional" writer. And yes, I like the challenge of staying within the lines of an existing "canon" while trying to fill [what I see as] the holes in it. It's mental exercise, like finding loopholes when I'm debating.

Fanfiction is fun. It is nothing more than that.

Warning: major SPOILERS for episode 2-19: "The Zillo Beast Strikes Back", which airs on April 16 in most places.

( I liked it, but... )

Mostly Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher). Some of these were made for leiastillness challenges.

- Comments are <3
- Credit darthcynique if taking
- No hotlinking!

Preview:



( Icons under the cut )

found through metafandom and fandomnews


- Fandom Eye-wear is an interesting way to describe the phenomenon in which people who watch the same movie see different things in it depending on the type of shipping "glasses" they are wearing. I would add that it goes far beyond shipping.

- There's something about comments: in the recent deluge of meta on feedback and commenting, this post stands out thanks to its guide to decoding feedback and lack thereof. I don't think there's a way to measure the accuracy of these theories. Still, they are food for thought for anyone who has wondered what these types of feedback mean.

- In her Fandom Valentine, inteligrrl has some inspiring words about the power of stories and why, when we have something to say, it is better to write it as fic than as meta:
Don't just tell me there is a problem, show me. When done right nothing is more powerful or identifiable than a well crafted story. Write the compelling story or character that conveys your point and leaves me with an insatiable thirst to see/ write more of the same. This is how you change fandom, change minds, change the world.

I liked this because when I see a movie or read a book, my initial reaction isn't to talk about it. I don't immediately think about what I liked or didn't like. It often takes me a while to sort that out! Instead, my brain goes wild speculating about psychology (WHY did this character say or do that? Maybe it was because...) and What Ifs, a.k.a the great and terrible mother of all plot bunnies. So if a movie or episode ignites my imagination, the first thing I do is write fic about it. Translating my reaction into meta format is not easy.

As for changing fandom through stories, I have seen this in action in the Harry Potter and Twilight fandoms, but it doesn't work like that when your fandom is as old as dirt, e.g. Star Wars. Such fandoms are resistant to change. Forget fanfiction – look at how some Star Wars fans still feel about the prequel movies. I have seen a similar hostility in a part of the (also ancient) Star Trek fandom towards the new movie and its fans.

- Monofandom, Panfandom, and the elusive Hydrafandom is a scary title, but the post itself contains interesting thoughts on "being a fan", "being in fandom", and the difference between the two. According to these definitions, writing meta means you are a fan, but you aren't in fandom unless you go beyond that creatively, such as by writing fanfiction or drawing fanart. Does that mean everyone who actively participates in a fandom, including everyone who writes fanfiction for it, is [part of] this fandom? Even those who define themselves as outsiders. Even those who write controversial fics that contradict popular character interpretations. ;) Huh. I guess I'll have to think twice before complaining about "the _ fandom" again.

And now for something slightly irrational:

OMG, FAVORITE CLONE WARS EPISODE EVER!

( Spoilers )

So I finally discovered how addictive iconmaking can be.

55 icons of Padmé Amidala (Star Wars prequel trilogy and The Clone Wars)

14 from Revenge of the Sith
15 from The Phantom Menace
2 from Attack of the Clones
24 from The Clone Wars (movie and TV show seasons 1 & 2)

- Comment if you like
- Credit darthcynique if taking
- Do not hotlink!

Preview:



( 55 Padmé icons )

There has been some discussion in fandom recently (here, here and here) about using polls for feedback on fics. It seems like a revolutionary idea; the closest thing I've seen to such a poll was the poll an author posted in her fanfiction.net profile to find out which of her stories people liked the most.

gaudinight's cocktail party analogy doesn't work for me – ime, cocktail parties are an exercise in insincerity, whereas the Internet tends to invite honesty because we don't have to act nice online. But polls are usually an effective way to engage lurkers and the lazy. Sometimes I don't comment on fics I read because I can't find anything intelligent to say at the time (though I have to admit my excuse for not just saying "I liked it" is nothing more than laziness). Therefore, I think feedback polls might be a neat idea and I'm considering using them in the future.




ETA: What's up with comment notifications? First I get 17 e-mail notifications for one comment, and now I'm not getting any. What the hell, LJ?

Star Wars fans, I'm curious.

Welcome to my new friends from fandomsecrets! I look forward to getting to know you all. :)

Because my life is rather boring at this time, I don't talk much about it in my LJ. I'm going to share some facts about myself to help you get to know me.

- I'm biologically female, in my early twenties, and live in a French-speaking region of Canada. French is kind of my first language.

- My family traveled a lot when I was a kid. I've lived in many countries including Austria and Israel. I was born in Europe and part of me always wants to return there.

- I write more than I read, but I feel that most of my writing isn't good enough to be read by other people. I don't post/share anything unless I'm satisfied with it, which almost never happens. I used to write a lot of Harry Potter badfic.

- I love Star Wars because of the politics in the prequels, the spiritual themes in the original trilogy, the psychological complexity of the characters, and the intensity of the (nonromantic) relationships. Among other things.

- Most of the fanfiction I read is Harry Potter slash, something I've never written.

- I don't take fandom and fiction seriously. I don't even take life seriously, most of the time. It's easier this way. :P

- I've been interested in politics from the age of 7, and got actively involved in electoral campaigns and youth wings of political parties when I was 16. Politics itself fascinates me, but when I got involved in it, I quickly lost any idealism and strong convictions I had, though for a while I continued to play the game. (You should never, ever ask my opinion on foreign policy. Just don't.)

Anything else you'd like to know, just ask! Disclaimer: direct answers are not guaranteed.