« another quick rec | Main Index | this entry is the result of an uncooperative LJ interface »
08/23/2002: fannish behavior that's a mystery to me...
...is for example why on TLAD (a TS fiction only list that unlike SXF requires no warnings) everybody posts the stories with warnings anyway. I mean, there is only a fraction of the TS stories posted to TLAD compared to the mail volume of SXF, this year not quite two dozen so far. And only two were posted without warnings. And it is not only stories posted through the archive interface that still have warnings, though that is the majority, today there was an announcement post that had warnings even more prominently than the regular part 0 posts. I like to read summaries, I don't like warnings, the part 0 is a compromise that hides warnings somewhat, though with the interface that posts to SXF and TLAD it still lumps all story info together. Obviously most authors prefer to post with warnings and only post to SXF. That's okay of course.
There are only few who make the effort to post to TLAD at all. So why do these people when posting to a no warnings list still warn?! I don't get it. Even the archive template can't really explain it. So it generates a part 0, breaks the story into parts, and formats the story for the archive. IIRC the 852 Prospect explanation for using it, explains the poster should let the archive first send a copy to the person who uploads to check the formatting anyway. Why not let the archive do the formatting and uploading and then when posting to a no warning list like TLAD just forward the story posts and edit the part 0 to delete the warnings? That wouldn't take much longer. And if that is already too much effort, why post to a no warnings list at all?
TLAD has no rule against warnings, but still. I joined TLAD because I had hoped to find a warning free alternative to SXF. Now I'm on TLAD to make a sort of statistical statement that there are indeed TS fans, who don't need or want extensive warnings. I certainly don't continue to be on TLAD because I were actually getting any stories without warnings.
