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Friday, April 04, 2008
April 3, 2008
In a world where fans read what the author imagines, life has been disrupted by a tumult of emotions, raging tempers, and donuts. After all the hollaballoo going on in the forums, one must wonder how it all came about. If you missed it, than that's just great. That's why this newsletter is here.
Every year, the administrators of HPFF outdo themselves, pulling the most fabulous and outrageous jokes ever. Last year, it was Larry Trotter, where they "required" all authors to change the names of their characters according to their new rules. They had coded the whole site so that the names would change, in example. Harry Potter became Larry Trotter. This year, was quite a bit, and by quite a bit, I'm making a huge understatement, different. They redesigned the site, which sported a brand new layout, name, and site rules- changes implemented by the renowned LogicalRaven and Timeturner- the senior administrators of HPFF.
This new site was called HP Shippers Unite and was inserted March 31. That's enough to catch anyone unawares. If you didn't know that April fools was the next day, they most likely, you were caught up in the whirlwind changed. The site proudly stated several time that it "specialized" in Sirius/Lily and Harry/Cho pairings. All stories previously posted which did not contain either pairing were deleted from the archive and no longer accepted. In addition to these lovely changes were the absolutely spiffing new site rules.
If you have ever read the site rules of HPFF, you will realize that they are quite straightforward and very easy to follow. The new site rules followed the first, but not the latter. The first two sentences would draw anyone in to read the rest of the well thought up rules. "Our site prides itself on being safe for users of all ages. This means not even your Gran would blush at reading stories in the Archive." Upon reading this, I was very happy that I had a very un-conservative and ultra-modern grandmother who's also a darling gossip and finds the subject of the weather far too conventional. Enough about my Gran though. Moving forward. The site rules also featured: calling an author 'smellypants stinkbum' and confiscating their favorite pet if they sent too much SPAM, bribing staff members with donuts and coffee, submitting story hours were limited to 1am-3am everyday but Sunday( staff day off) and each day only certain authors whose pen-names started with a certain letter could submit, chapters could be no shorter than 500 words and no longer than 600, and everything juicy was found under section 19, the "Forbidden Words/Phrase" section. It goes as follows:
The following words/subjects are considered forbidden and therefore not to be used in any story, chapter or summaries: belly-button rings, Draco's muscles, Harry's muscles, Mrs. Weasley's muscles, bridal-carry, exfoliating, Godzilla, tonguing, out-of-wedlock births, Pansy saying 'Drakey-poo' , talent shows, truth-or-dare games, diary/journal, faux-Mohawks, tube-tops, the world "bloody" more than 3 times in a chapter, the word "oi" more than 3 times in a chapter, lip gloss, Goth, any spells from 'Charmed', the phrase 'curves in all the right places', Hermione's miracle straight hair, skirts described so being so short that you could wear them as party hats, leather pants, obsessive crying, the names Moon, Shadow, Phoenix and Fairysprinklestardust, Sorting Hat songs that don't rhyme, anything to do with 'clubbing', calling Hermione 'Mia/Mya/Herms', really poorly written French accents, Hermione being the long-lost sister of Blaise/Draco/Harry/Ron/Voldemort (any).
I do believe we owe a big round of applause to the person who went through and created those site rules, because, for the jokes purpose, they were absolutely brilliant. One has to wonder though, the things mentioned in section 19, they must have been so overused (Mrs. Weasley's muscles??) and overdone that the author of the rules decided to ban them. Authors, take note of this section! Maybe we can relieve the validators and offer some new and original ideas in our stories?
The real drama, however, happened in the ever-so social place, the forums. There were posts to petition the site, to say the site is a joke, staff going on strike- the cutest chipmunk holding a protest sign represented that post- some posts stood up for the new site, some made a list of 'evil people'. Many authors went slightly mad because their stories had been 'deleted' and could not find a trace of them on the new site and threatened to write elsewere. Which of course, was not allowed, the new site rules- section 9, stated "REDIRECTION TO OTHER FICTION SITES: this does not mean that you cannot "quit" a story or that you must only post it here- you simply cannot redirect to the rest of it elsewhere. Yeah, like we're gonna let you advertise someone else's site. Get Real!". Honestly, if you have not read those site rules, ask the staff for a copy. They truly are brilliantly written.
The war raged on for 2 days until HPFF once again returned to normal and was almost well. Some authors ( most likely upset because they had been cause sooo unawares) thought that the joke was not funny and crossed the line. However, a joke is a joke. The people that seemed to have gotten bashed the most were the authors of "Dramione" ( Draco/Hermione pairings) fiction. Many times through the new site rules its was made of as an example, section 18, the first ship combination forbidden was the Draco/Hermione pairing. Throughout the forums, some authors expressed their happiness for the staff because they wouldn't have to put up with the "Dramione" stories. HPFF pair-ism? No one will ever know. It will remain mystery, I'm afraid.
Other than all the drama that has been going on, there were questions of when the queue was going to end. Rumor says that the staff need about another week to catch up with things. So keep writing at home so you can post those 10,000 word chapters and make your readers very happy.
Also, another thing. Please google your stories and look around. There have been several authors stories that have been plagerised and posted on fanfiction.net I think it is. But really, be cautious.
Once again, if you have not read those site rules from April Fools, then please please please go get a copy from someone. You really can't miss them.
But alas, I do believe that the time has come to say goodbye. Thank you LogicalRaven and Timeturner for the amazing April Fools Joke!
Till Next Time!
SingerHotti24
Special thanks to Singerhotti24 for writing this up for everyone and giving us permission to post it. Please visit Singer's author page and leave a review for all the hard work! ~timeturner
In a world where fans read what the author imagines, life has been disrupted by a tumult of emotions, raging tempers, and donuts. After all the hollaballoo going on in the forums, one must wonder how it all came about. If you missed it, than that's just great. That's why this newsletter is here.
Every year, the administrators of HPFF outdo themselves, pulling the most fabulous and outrageous jokes ever. Last year, it was Larry Trotter, where they "required" all authors to change the names of their characters according to their new rules. They had coded the whole site so that the names would change, in example. Harry Potter became Larry Trotter. This year, was quite a bit, and by quite a bit, I'm making a huge understatement, different. They redesigned the site, which sported a brand new layout, name, and site rules- changes implemented by the renowned LogicalRaven and Timeturner- the senior administrators of HPFF.
This new site was called HP Shippers Unite and was inserted March 31. That's enough to catch anyone unawares. If you didn't know that April fools was the next day, they most likely, you were caught up in the whirlwind changed. The site proudly stated several time that it "specialized" in Sirius/Lily and Harry/Cho pairings. All stories previously posted which did not contain either pairing were deleted from the archive and no longer accepted. In addition to these lovely changes were the absolutely spiffing new site rules.
If you have ever read the site rules of HPFF, you will realize that they are quite straightforward and very easy to follow. The new site rules followed the first, but not the latter. The first two sentences would draw anyone in to read the rest of the well thought up rules. "Our site prides itself on being safe for users of all ages. This means not even your Gran would blush at reading stories in the Archive." Upon reading this, I was very happy that I had a very un-conservative and ultra-modern grandmother who's also a darling gossip and finds the subject of the weather far too conventional. Enough about my Gran though. Moving forward. The site rules also featured: calling an author 'smellypants stinkbum' and confiscating their favorite pet if they sent too much SPAM, bribing staff members with donuts and coffee, submitting story hours were limited to 1am-3am everyday but Sunday( staff day off) and each day only certain authors whose pen-names started with a certain letter could submit, chapters could be no shorter than 500 words and no longer than 600, and everything juicy was found under section 19, the "Forbidden Words/Phrase" section. It goes as follows:
The following words/subjects are considered forbidden and therefore not to be used in any story, chapter or summaries: belly-button rings, Draco's muscles, Harry's muscles, Mrs. Weasley's muscles, bridal-carry, exfoliating, Godzilla, tonguing, out-of-wedlock births, Pansy saying 'Drakey-poo' , talent shows, truth-or-dare games, diary/journal, faux-Mohawks, tube-tops, the world "bloody" more than 3 times in a chapter, the word "oi" more than 3 times in a chapter, lip gloss, Goth, any spells from 'Charmed', the phrase 'curves in all the right places', Hermione's miracle straight hair, skirts described so being so short that you could wear them as party hats, leather pants, obsessive crying, the names Moon, Shadow, Phoenix and Fairysprinklestardust, Sorting Hat songs that don't rhyme, anything to do with 'clubbing', calling Hermione 'Mia/Mya/Herms', really poorly written French accents, Hermione being the long-lost sister of Blaise/Draco/Harry/Ron/Voldemort (any).
I do believe we owe a big round of applause to the person who went through and created those site rules, because, for the jokes purpose, they were absolutely brilliant. One has to wonder though, the things mentioned in section 19, they must have been so overused (Mrs. Weasley's muscles??) and overdone that the author of the rules decided to ban them. Authors, take note of this section! Maybe we can relieve the validators and offer some new and original ideas in our stories?
The real drama, however, happened in the ever-so social place, the forums. There were posts to petition the site, to say the site is a joke, staff going on strike- the cutest chipmunk holding a protest sign represented that post- some posts stood up for the new site, some made a list of 'evil people'. Many authors went slightly mad because their stories had been 'deleted' and could not find a trace of them on the new site and threatened to write elsewere. Which of course, was not allowed, the new site rules- section 9, stated "REDIRECTION TO OTHER FICTION SITES: this does not mean that you cannot "quit" a story or that you must only post it here- you simply cannot redirect to the rest of it elsewhere. Yeah, like we're gonna let you advertise someone else's site. Get Real!". Honestly, if you have not read those site rules, ask the staff for a copy. They truly are brilliantly written.
The war raged on for 2 days until HPFF once again returned to normal and was almost well. Some authors ( most likely upset because they had been cause sooo unawares) thought that the joke was not funny and crossed the line. However, a joke is a joke. The people that seemed to have gotten bashed the most were the authors of "Dramione" ( Draco/Hermione pairings) fiction. Many times through the new site rules its was made of as an example, section 18, the first ship combination forbidden was the Draco/Hermione pairing. Throughout the forums, some authors expressed their happiness for the staff because they wouldn't have to put up with the "Dramione" stories. HPFF pair-ism? No one will ever know. It will remain mystery, I'm afraid.
Other than all the drama that has been going on, there were questions of when the queue was going to end. Rumor says that the staff need about another week to catch up with things. So keep writing at home so you can post those 10,000 word chapters and make your readers very happy.
Also, another thing. Please google your stories and look around. There have been several authors stories that have been plagerised and posted on fanfiction.net I think it is. But really, be cautious.
Once again, if you have not read those site rules from April Fools, then please please please go get a copy from someone. You really can't miss them.
But alas, I do believe that the time has come to say goodbye. Thank you LogicalRaven and Timeturner for the amazing April Fools Joke!
Till Next Time!
SingerHotti24
Special thanks to Singerhotti24 for writing this up for everyone and giving us permission to post it. Please visit Singer's author page and leave a review for all the hard work! ~timeturner
