Post links from outside sites? (And a suggestion).

[WatcherByBirthright]

I was going to start a topic in 'The Watcher's Diaries' (or wherever appropriate) for 'Recommended Fan Fiction'... is it alright to link to stuff from certain sites? Also, any chance of a separate forum to post virtual seasons and continuations based of Buffy and Angel?

[nerd4hire]

You know, I don't see why not, myself, with a couple of qualifications. Here's the pertinent entry from the FAQs.

Please do not post links on the boards. This helps keep the boards orderly. You may include links in your signature, however. (But please do not include advertisements like "Come visit my site!" - it looks really tacky.) If you have a Buffy or Angel related site, you can add it to the links page. Please do not include links to other Buffy/Angel-related message boards as it is generally considered bad form to link to boards of the same subject.

Myself, I think greater clarity is required from that one first line in particular. Now that I give it attention, it appears to suggest all links, but that's obviously not the case. What the entry actually specifies though, are links to other similar themed message boards, and personally owned sites. I'm going to request better clarity in that entry for you.

The way I read it though, if you're talking about links to sites which are not similarly themed boards, and not your own, but say links to fanfic sites, I'd say you meet the rule requirements for posting.

Speaking for myself, I'd kind of like to see links to quality fanfic on non-message boards.

On virtual seasons, do you mean organized, or just posted willy nilly?

There already is an organized virtual season coming up. It's called The Wishverse. Eventually it will concern a virtual season 3 taking place in the verse Anya created in The Wish.

You can see a preview HERE (http://buffy-boards.com/wishverse/index.htm)

[palabravampiress]

Isn't there also a "family friendly" policy?

I can't find it for some reason, but I do remember reading something about the board allowing members as young as 12 and so encouraging everyone to keep posts appropriate for that age level.

If I'm right, that would mean that the link to my favorite non-message-board fanfic site, All About Spike, would probably be forbidden because that site allows fiction of all ratings up to and including NC-17.

Wouldn't we also, then, have to be careful not to accidentally direct younger members to such sites?

[nerd4hire]

Go ahead, make it difficult. :) Yeah, no slash links I know that, so from there I'd say most likely no to the above. I'd say let's wait for word from the top on this one. Give it a few days or so.

[palabravampiress]

Sometimes I wonder why people even include the really racy bits as much as they do in fan fiction. One minute, you're just reading along and getting into some really good plot with an exciting and entertaining villain and then bam! The main characters stop to have sex. So, the whole time they're doing that, you're thinking, "Rrrright... this is hot and all, but can you do that when we're not trying to vanquish the lord of all evil?" It gets almost tedious.

And I'm not trying to be all prudish or high-and-mighty about it, either. Sex scenes can be great. They can be used to great dramatic effect. They can say a lot about the characters. They can be integrated into the plot. Sometimes, they can even be just plain titillating and worthwhile for that reason. But I do feel like fan fiction, in general, includes way more sexual material than it needs to include.

We could also get into a discussion about what constitutes an acceptable level of violence. It's really hard, when writing fan fiction about a show like Buffy, to contain the violence. If you're writing about a vampire or a demon, then you often have to resort to the soap opera trick of panning over to the fireplace or out the window to imply passage of time and then cutting back to the aftermath scene. I mean, vamps and demons in the Buffyverse... they're a depraved bunch. I can't imagine being able to write about Angelus' torture of Giles (or even of Dru) or of Faith's torture of Wes and then still feeling comfortable with the idea of a twelve-year-old reading it.

So, yeah. I guess this could contribute to why no such list of links currently exists. I like that this site is family friendly. I like that we come on here and discuss prophecies and theories and friendships and family relationships and all kinds of different things without really delving too deeply into sex and violence, which are pretty much splashed across every available medium, anyway. I think that's part of what makes the Buffy Boards such a cool community. That said, though, the Buffyverse contains a good deal of mature material, including a good deal of sex and more violence than you can shake a stick at. While I think the sexual nature of most of the fanfic out there could be toned down a lot, I also think that it's really hard to write about the Buffyverse with any semblance of faithfulness to the original text without crossing the family friendly line. It's possible, but it's difficult. I have actually found the challenge to be quite enjoyable. Still, I think work that isn't written for a family friendly site probably is going to fail to meet that guideline.

[white avenger]

Sometimes I wonder why people even include the really racy bits as much as they do in fan fiction. One minute, you're just reading along and getting into some really good plot with an exciting and entertaining villain and then bam! The main characters stop to have sex. So, the whole time they're doing that, you're thinking, "Rrrright... this is hot and all, but can you do that when we're not trying to vanquish the lord of all evil?" It gets almost tedious.

And I'm not trying to be all prudish or high-and-mighty about it, either. Sex scenes can be great. They can be used to great dramatic effect. They can say a lot about the characters. They can be integrated into the plot. Sometimes, they can even be just plain titillating and worthwhile for that reason. But I do feel like fan fiction, in general, includes way more sexual material than it needs to include.

We could also get into a discussion about what constitutes an acceptable level of violence. It's really hard, when writing fan fiction about a show like Buffy, to contain the violence. If you're writing about a vampire or a demon, then you often have to resort to the soap opera trick of panning over to the fireplace or out the window to imply passage of time and then cutting back to the aftermath scene. I mean, vamps and demons in the Buffyverse... they're a depraved bunch. I can't imagine being able to write about Angelus' torture of Giles (or even of Dru) or of Faith's torture of Wes and then still feeling comfortable with the idea of a twelve-year-old reading it.

So, yeah. I guess this could contribute to why no such list of links currently exists. I like that this site is family friendly. I like that we come on here and discuss prophecies and theories and friendships and family relationships and all kinds of different things without really delving too deeply into sex and violence, which are pretty much splashed across every available medium, anyway. I think that's part of what makes the Buffy Boards such a cool community. That said, though, the Buffyverse contains a good deal of mature material, including a good deal of sex and more violence than you can shake a stick at. While I think the sexual nature of most of the fanfic out there could be toned down a lot, I also think that it's really hard to write about the Buffyverse with any semblance of faithfulness to the original text without crossing the family friendly line. It's possible, but it's difficult. I have actually found the challenge to be quite enjoyable. Still, I think work that isn't written for a family friendly site probably is going to fail to meet that guideline.


Plus, if you eliminate all of the sites containing stories where inappropriate scenes or subject matter are allowed, that leaves almost no sites that could meet any such guideline.

[tearsong]

Or maybe there could be a disclaimer to the good fanfic links that adult content yada yada yada.... cause to be honest, the Buffyverse is pretty racy on its own for a 12 yr old....

[Lyri]

does anyone actually believe that anybody reads the 'not suitable for anyone under the age of 18' rule? even those under 18? if people want to read something, then they'll read it, whether they're old enough or not. i think something like this is going to be hard to Moderate. i'm not saying it won't work if we all put our heads together and come up with a reasonable solution, just saying it might get difficult.

plus, i can't recommend anything, 'cause all my favorite fics are mostly not suitable for pretty much anyone on this board! lmao

[Keanoite]

I'm caught on this topic. I like the idea of having links to sites but we have to cater for ALL BB members and well any site or fic that I would recommend would probably be unsuitable for the younger members. I'll keep thinking on it though becuase I think the idea has potential

[ILLYRIAN]

GorramSpaceTrash.
If the fan fic on other sites seems suitable, let the writer know about this site, that person might like to come here.

[TrueVengeance]

I agree with the majority...although I doubt us not posting these links will stop the younger members from going there if they want. No one reads those warnings. But I can think of a fanfic site or two that usually has content that's just fine.

Also...
Also, any chance of a separate forum to post virtual seasons and continuations based of Buffy and Angel?

^^I think that's a great idea. Then people who had their own series could easily post "Show 1.01 "Episode Name" And maybe they could have their own thread with links to their episodes and such? Or maybe add it to their sigs?