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Anti-Vehicle Rocket ([info]eiviiaru) wrote in [info]fandom_wank,
@ 2004-03-09 15:57:00


Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Current mood:cranky
Entry tags:community: fanficrants

Fanficrants Dares To Speak Out Against Betas!
God, I loves me some fanficrants -- the community that never fails to disappoint come wank time. This one's a nanowank so far, but with luck it should bloom into a beautiful and unique spooge-orchid.

wolfychan has a valuable message for the good people of fanficrants -- betas are bad, m'kay? She has a multitude of reasons why she doesn't use betas:

  • "[She doesn't] want to wade through your fifty-chapter Mary Sue/Legolas romantic fantasy epic."
  • "[She doesn't] want someone else to tell [her] what to do with [her] plot. (...) And if [she doesn't] take the suggestions, [she doesn't] need a beta."
  • "Most betas aren't even that smart. (Heck, they're editing a stranger's unpublishable copyright violations for free, how smart can they be?)"
  • "It is, when all is said and done, fanfiction. Which is to say, it's technically illegal and can never be used for money or published in a reputable print medium. (...) So really, why take the trouble?"


Thus far, oddly enough, most of the 27 comments so far support her. However, the wank has begun with the obligatory Anne Rice comparison and a few other rogue posts. If this one doesn't go far, then fanficrants has managed to disappoint me soundly. Le sigh.


(Post a new comment)


[info]smo
2004-03-09 11:18 pm UTC (link)
"Most betas aren't even that smart. (Heck, they're editing a stranger's unpublishable copyright violations for free, how smart can they be?)"

Hey, she just dissed my alma mater!

KILL HER A LOT.

(Reply to this)(Thread)


[info]bishounenhuntrs
2004-03-10 12:03 am UTC (link)
I love your icon, smo luv! =D

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]smo, 2004-03-10 02:44 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]bishounenhuntrs, 2004-03-10 08:16 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]smo, 2004-03-10 08:46 pm UTC

[info]selene_avis
2004-03-10 12:41 am UTC (link)
My beta-reader-sama is very intelligent!!

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

Icon! - [info]iczer6, 2004-03-10 01:30 am UTC
Re: Bakubaku = OTP!!! OMG, their love is so self-love!!! - [info]selene_avis, 2004-03-10 01:56 am UTC
Re: Bakubaku = OTP!!! OMG, their love is so self-love!!! - [info]smo, 2004-03-10 04:28 pm UTC

[info]mariagoner
2004-03-10 05:06 am UTC (link)
>>KILL HER A LOT.

No! NO no no no no, you bastards! I'm willing to act as her human shield!

(Reply to this)(Parent)


[info]sagralisse
2004-03-09 11:36 pm UTC (link)
Woah, [info]red_panda came out swinging. That's my homie. ^_^

I think [info]wolfychan and I argued before, but I forgot why.

(Reply to this)(Thread)


[info]eljuno
2004-03-10 03:09 am UTC (link)
She's on Con_Crit, I know that much.

...mostly because she concritted my story.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

Oh God - - [info]geegaw, 2004-03-10 04:57 am UTC
Re: Oh God - - [info]sagralisse, 2004-03-10 05:16 am UTC
Oh - - [info]geegaw, 2004-03-10 05:31 am UTC
Re: Oh - - [info]sagralisse, 2004-03-10 05:38 am UTC
Eh. Not so bad as all that
[info]karmakaze
2004-03-10 12:10 am UTC (link)
I really did not read that as "Betas are bad" but "The idea that betas a mandatory is bad," which is less insane.

That's probably why she's not being flamed to death.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

Re: Eh. Not so bad as all that
[info]faultypremise
2004-03-10 12:23 am UTC (link)
That's how I saw it. I don't think she was being entirely unreasonable, but everyone's gonna see things differently.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

Re: Eh. Not so bad as all that
[info]mariagoner
2004-03-10 12:43 am UTC (link)
Dude, totally.

Poor Wolfychan is misunderstood, not wanky. She's sorta like the Fanon Draco Malfoy of the online world, and I'm her biggest fan.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

Re: Eh. Not so bad as all that - smirnoffmule, 2004-03-10 03:07 am UTC
Re: Eh. Not so bad as all that
[info]eiviiaru
2004-03-10 12:59 am UTC (link)
I have to confess that I don't totally disagree with her -- I think it's stupid to harp on betas -- but mostly I wanked this because of her reasoning, which took everything to at least a moderate wank level. I think the post might have been okay had she not dragged in the idea that, because fanfiction is not professional work, anyone who bothers to have someone beta is basically wasting time.

That, and hey, wank in the comments. No fanficrants post where anyone else accuses another of being an Anne-Rice-level narcissist can be all bad, right?

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

Re: Eh. Not so bad as all that - [info]starherd, 2004-03-10 01:50 am UTC
Re: Eh. Not so bad as all that - [info]melange, 2004-03-10 03:22 am UTC

[info]judyhazeleyes
2004-03-10 12:29 am UTC (link)
hrm... well, i don't use a beta, but mainly because my experience in school (don't invoke any jurisimprudence laws yet! hear me out!) was that "peer editing" would involve people skimming it, handing it back and saying: 'yeah. s'good.' which can be somewhat enraging.

but i beta for a few friends, and they really appreciate the bits of advice i give them, even if they don't use any of it. all in all, this seems like a non-issue hardly worthy of a rant - use 'em if you got 'em. and if i may say so, most people who are in desperate need of a beta and refuse to use one probably aren't writing something you'd want to read, even if the grammar was impeccable.

(Reply to this)


[info]faultypremise
2004-03-10 12:34 am UTC (link)
Y'know, I'm half tempted to start a running total on the info page of fanficrants with how many times posts there have been fandom wanked.

(Reply to this)(Thread)


[info]iczer6
2004-03-10 03:20 am UTC (link)
I think you should just make a list of wanky topics so members know what to avoid.

I think it can summed up in three parts.

1: Slash is evil and wrong.

2: Why doesn't anyone spend three hours reviewing my fanfic masterpiece?

3: Fans suck and ruin everything.

That cover it?

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

Re: - [info]faultypremise, 2004-03-10 03:27 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]iczer6, 2004-03-10 03:54 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]sagralisse, 2004-03-10 05:18 am UTC

[info]pipssister
2004-03-10 12:47 am UTC (link)
Bizzarre argument. Also, I checked her profile (I wanted to know if she was a co-worker of mine named Wolfen. No.):

Oh, yeah, and I'm an unrepentant Jew, though I very much believe in a lot of Christian values like love and forgiveness.

I didn't know Jews didn't have love and forgiveness as values. (><)

(Reply to this)(Thread)


[info]selene_avis
2004-03-10 04:07 am UTC (link)
That last part could be bitterness directed against The Passion. I know she had problems with it.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]mariagoner, 2004-03-10 06:22 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]selene_avis, 2004-03-10 09:21 pm UTC

(Anonymous)
2004-03-10 01:03 am UTC (link)
Wow. Fanficrants sure comes up a lot here. This makes me glad that the time I put up a really wanky entry it didn't make it over here. (Actually, the entry wasn't that bad. But I was excessively bitchy to people who disagreed with me.)

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]phosfate, 2004-03-10 01:07 am UTC
(no subject) - (Anonymous), 2004-03-10 01:14 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]iczer6, 2004-03-10 03:21 am UTC

[info]maryavatar
2004-03-10 01:06 am UTC (link)
Yeah, no one has to use a beta. But then, no one has to brush their teeth either. We're just all glad if they do.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]janegraddell, 2004-03-10 03:56 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]smo, 2004-03-10 04:31 pm UTC

[info]eris
2004-03-10 01:37 am UTC (link)
Does this mean that I'm an evil narcissistic bitch for not using a beta?

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]judyhazeleyes, 2004-03-10 01:40 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]eris, 2004-03-10 03:24 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]crickets, 2004-03-10 03:30 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]judyhazeleyes, 2004-03-10 03:39 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]smo, 2004-03-10 04:32 pm UTC

[info]zannechaos
2004-03-10 02:51 am UTC (link)
There's a semi-valid point in there -- minus the whole "Whaaaaaaaaaaah! It's just faaaaaaaaanfiction! Who caaaaaaaaares about quaaaaaaaaality! Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" whine -- but GOOD FREAKIN' GOD ALMIGHTY! ::headdesk:: Bitch, please indeed!

Anyone who uses the "it's just fanfiction" bullshit as an excuse to get away with medicore work needs to go back to hanging out with the other teenies on FF.net for their turn in the ego stroking line and STFU.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]faultypremise, 2004-03-10 03:29 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]zannechaos, 2004-03-10 03:41 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]mariagoner, 2004-03-10 05:09 am UTC
Okay okay, so I was bored at work and she IS a snotty bitch. Then again, so am I. :)
[info]redpanda
2004-03-10 04:03 am UTC (link)
*laugh* I own up to the Anne Rice comparision, 100%. I was really just fishing to see if any rabid fans would spring to her defense. :)

(Reply to this)(Thread)

Re: Okay okay, so I was bored at work and she IS a snotty bitch. Then again, so am I. :) - [info]selene_avis, 2004-03-10 04:09 am UTC
Re: Okay okay, so I was bored at work and she IS a snotty bitch. Then again, so am I. :) - [info]sillywalks, 2004-03-10 04:41 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]delfeus, 2004-03-10 09:17 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]selene_avis, 2004-03-10 09:26 pm UTC
Re: Okay okay, so I was bored at work and she IS a snotty bitch. Then again, so am I. :) - [info]eiviiaru, 2004-03-10 04:58 am UTC
Speak of the Devil
[info]sagralisse
2004-03-10 05:32 am UTC (link)
RPS is the eviler illegaler!

(Reply to this)


[info]rogue
2004-03-10 06:21 am UTC (link)
I'm paranoid to post anything without someone having torn it apart beforehand, because I have no concept of continuity. But if you have a good grasp on what you're doing, and people end up only correcting a few spelling and grammar errors spellcheck missed... no biggie, IMO. It IS just fanfiction. If you're sending something off to be published, I personally think it should be sent through nine levels of hellish proofreading, so you don't look like a dumbass. [enter Anne Rice comment here]

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]iczer6, 2004-03-10 07:27 am UTC
Re: - [info]rogue, 2004-03-10 07:31 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]iczer6, 2004-03-10 07:36 am UTC
Re: - [info]rogue, 2004-03-10 07:47 am UTC

ataniell93
2004-03-10 10:04 am UTC (link)
You know. I used to copy edit a small press magazine. I do tons of word processing in my job and I work on academic articles et cetera.

And I certainly can put stuff up that no one else has looked at and get good feedback, but I prefer not to, because I do sometimes, being human, miss things.

(Reply to this)


[info]ishtar79
2004-03-11 02:13 am UTC (link)
What-the Fuck-Ever!

The one and only time I made the tragic mistake of posting an unbetaed work (a longish drabble in my lj), I had to go back and edit a dozen times because I kept spotting mistakes I missed that made me want to bang my head against the wall.

Posting a fic (especially a longer one) that hasn't been betaed is a bit like participating in an orgy with stranger without a condom. While there's the teeny-tiny possibility it will turn out ok, the most probably result is Badness.

(Reply to this)


[info]janegraddell
2004-03-11 05:01 am UTC (link)
For the sake of completeness, I'd like to mention that Wolfychan has now added a retraction to her original post:

FURTHER EDIT: Man, I didn't expect this to be inflammatory. But I'm reading the comments, and going up and rereading what I wrote, and it is pretty damn wanky, isn't it? Actually, some of the stuff I said is pretty dumb. So forget it. I take it all back and I'm only leaving the post up for the enjoyment of those poor bored fandom_wank-ers. I still stand by my main point, which was just that it's possible to be a good author and not use a beta. But all the points I wrote supporting it were really dumb. Consider me chastised and my points retracted.

(Reply to this)


 
   
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