Rant: Identify yourselves!

[resonant]

Ooh, the LJ Santa left me six months of paid time! Thanks, whoever you are.

I seriously doubt that rants are what you wanted me to use this space for, but here's one:

Writers. Writers who post your fiction on your own web pages:

Why the hell would you put put up a story that doesn't have your name and your e-mail address on it?

I can't tell you how many times I've followed a link and found myself reading a terrific story by ... um, well, I'm not sure who it's by. Often there's not even a link back to the home page. Sometimes I can erase stuff out of the URL and climb back up to the top that way, but other times, it doesn't work.

Also, writers? Be aware that some of us will copy your story into a word processor document so that we can savor it again later. Which means that if your title, your byline, or your e-mail address is a graphic, or exists only in the html header and not in the story itself, it won't come through. And then lame people like me will read your story for the third time and go, "You know, I really should send some feedback to ... um ... whoever it was who wrote this story. If I could remember where I found it."

All I want for Christmas is a more orderly world. And some Hershey kisses.

Comments

[nopejr.livejournal.com]

Why the hell would you put put up a story that doesn't have your name and your e-mail address on it?

Because I'm a lazy shit and just cut-and-pasted it from my LJ?

Hmm. That semmed a much better answer when it was in my head.

(That sound you hear is me going "oh, yeah, people might want to send me feedback" under my breath and trying not to look stupid.)

Clearly -- by which I mean, 'perhaps' -- fandom needs a standardized fic archive layout/header thingy*. [Fear my technical terminology!] But: what would you -- the non-specific you; one; we -- want in it? Title, Author, Review link (mailto link, full email, msgboard link, lj link, whatever) Page Reference (where the story was), Disclaimer, Copyright statement...? (By which point the headers might actually be longer than the fic.)

There are way too many parenthetical comments in this comment.

(I'll shut up now.)

[abbylee]

Clearly -- by which I mean, 'perhaps' -- fandom needs a standardized fic archive layout/header thingy*. [Fear my technical terminology!] But: what would you -- the non-specific you; one; we -- want in it? Title, Author, Review link (mailto link, full email, msgboard link, lj link, whatever) Page Reference (where the story was), Disclaimer, Copyright statement...? (By which point the headers might actually be longer than the fic.)

I swear when I first started reading, most authors did use headers. This was only two or three years ago, but the use of them have dropped significantly. I think they've depreciated because so many writers use their LJs now, and personal websites are becoming more and more popular/accessable.

Title:
Author:
Rating:
Distribution:
Disclaimer:

Were the main ones. Author usually contained a name and email address. Distribution often said something like "if you want it, take it" or "email me for permission", but I always thought it should also contain the authors prefered url too.

Common additions also include Pairing, Spoilers, and Date Completed.