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News Wall of ShameThus far in the course of running this archive, for about two years now, I have resisted the urge towards publishing some of the more egregious submission sins, because I wanted to minimize my own reputation as a dragon lady, and because I wanted to make sure to spare the feelings of those who might have made an honest mistake. Thus, the girl who assured me, despite a host of mistakes including a character renamed to Blase Zambini, that she couldn't possibly need a beta reader because she beta read for others? Did not get mentioned here by name. Neither did the plagiarists, nor the person who submitted a Draco/Hermione story, nor even the few people I have had to ban.This forbearance ends here, because if I ever have to see something like the following ever again, I will have someone shot. This vile excrescence was rejected this evening: "ok so i know these stories are suppose to be about Draco and ginny but i wrote this a long time ago and it has a different girl in it. Sorry. I needed the reviews on who likes it. It's quit good actually if you read it. summary: Draco and Allie have known each other since thye were five. Thye spent every minute of there life together and even more. Well Allie gets sent away for two years leaving Draco behind at the mercy of his father. When she comes back Draco is a little apprehinsize on wheter she will be the same or if her father had taken her. She is also thinking the same afriad to face a new draco if there is one..." Note that apparently having our title, our banner, our submission rules, and our bloody URL all spell out that this site is for D/G was insufficient to get the point across that we expect stories to be D/G, but apparently this girl thought that saying "sorry" was sufficient for us to overlook that, because she was being so gracious as to post here due to needing reviews. Well, miss, here is a review for you: learn to spell, learn to capitalize, learn to punctuate, and learn to read and follow directions. Then, if you're so inclined as to write a D/G fic, you might get a response other than rejection. For now, though, be warned that the next person to submit something that so completely and blatantly breaks the rules will be approved - with added editorial commentary from the Cabal, because if we have to put up with this sort of thing, we might as well get to blow off steam. The rest of you, the ones who just make honest mistakes, are fine. Continue to spell check and look for betas and read the rules, and we'll understand if you make small slips. It's only people who are as blatantly arrogant and disdainful of our rather simple rules that are subject to my rather wordy wrath. Posted by Mynuet on Apr 18, 2006 01:44 pm (27 Comments)
Comments I would just like to add that reviews can be gained via the lovely route of ff.net. In fact, most would probably even be positive "OMG upd8 s00n!1!1!!1!5!" type reviews. Fanfiction.net is also NOT selective of submissions, and pretty much any To those whom logic may not appeal to, I'd like to add that the next headache-inducing blatant rule-breaking submission to cross this site WILL be MSTed AND put on Deleterius by me. Trust me... it won't be pretty then. And it won't give anyone the sort of recognition and publicity they want. That is all. Thalia @ Apr 18, 2006 02:15 pm Please excuse my blatant non-word response. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!! KateinVA @ Apr 18, 2006 03:14 pm Ves here (she says, as if you would be commenting to yourself). OMG. Just OMG. I say the author is lucky the Cabal didn't beat her to death with her own keyboard. No, that's not okay. No, you can't whore for reviews here. I mean, you CAN but try writing a D/G fic first and having it beta read. Then, and only then, you may whore away...Lord knows the rest of us do. But at least we follow the rules FIRST. :D Ahem. Vesanmyn @ Apr 18, 2006 04:01 pm Tis a shame when things like this happen but some people are just stupid, as I receive an almost daily reminder from some of the people in my classes... I mean, duh, this is D/G. There is a reason that not all of my work is found here, and that is the very fact that... OMG, this site is the D/G ship ONLY. I don't understand how some people can fail to grasp that simple concept. It makes me weep for the future of our younger generations. Can some of them really be this stupid? The only answer I can come up with for that is "I'm afraid so". RowenaMcKinnon @ Apr 18, 2006 05:10 pm Well said. Pairing D or G with other people on this site is beyond my comprehension. Geez. dramaqueen872005 @ Apr 18, 2006 08:55 pm Well, hmm... I had raised my eyebrow when I received a warning about a Hr/D moment in my fic because well, this is obviously a D&G archive. Now I can understand where the concern came from. Ergh. Black Alnair @ Apr 19, 2006 11:00 am Wow. Just wow. You should transfigure her into a newt and light her on fire. Nectaris @ Apr 19, 2006 11:40 am The stupidity of some people just amazes me. Seriously, how stupid does someone have to be to come to a DRACO and GINNY site and try to post, well, anything other than D/G?! Then again, I'd be rather surprised if a story like that (written by someone who can't even spell 'they', 'quite', 'afraid' or 'apprehensive') would have been accepted even if it was D/G. People, learn from this. Read the rules. Follow the rules. Use spell check. Re-read your story. Get a beta. It's not hard! CharmedLife19 @ Apr 19, 2006 11:49 am I can't believe that someone would be soooooooo stupid as to think that it would be ok to ask to post a story that isn't D/G. And to say sorry. Just because you say "sorry" doesn't always make it better. Some times that word really makes people mad. I agree with you. It is REALLY clear that the whole concept behind your website is to have young writers post stories about Draco and Ginny. NOT some other girl just because they wrote it a long time ago. God I hope stupidity isn't contagious. That would be like JK Rowling changing her mind for the last book and making the book about Neville Longbottom and (insert the 7th title here.)And having Neville defeating Voldermort. God girl get a brain and try to use it some time. On a happier note, love all of the stories, great work all that have written something. Also love the website and the picture. wldcatprincess03 @ Apr 19, 2006 12:54 pm Completely agree with you there, all these mistakes can just drive you crazy. That is why I'm outraged - my problem is one of those Zambini businesses, too. So, I am Hungarian. I always read the HP books in English. God knows why, but I started HBP in Hungarian, too. The translation is fab, but we have a brand new member of the Slug club: Blaise Zambini....!!!! This is the official, normal, hardback copy of the book. I was so shocked, that for a sec I thought I know it wrong and got my English copy of it, but of course it is not like that. So, yeah, even the big ones make mistakes, ok, but that was just baaad. :( lizzyop @ Apr 19, 2006 10:53 pm ------------ *Pats Mynuet on the back* It's sad to say but "You can't fix stupid." I wouldn't want to do your job. -- I have three pet peeves with any fan fiction. The first is getting the facts wrong. This includes using the wrong names for Draco and Ginny. Or using the wrong birth dates for them. People need to do a little resource before posting a story. And with The Harry Potter Lexicon http://www.hp-lexicon.org, there is no reason to make mistakes. -- My second and biggest pet peeve is when I see an author stating they know they made a mistake but we should over look it. Saying "I know Ginny's name isn't Virginia but I wrote this story a long time ago.” Makes me sick. Personal, I don’t care when you wrote it. You’re posting it now. Use the correct name, it’s very easy and quick to do a find all “Virginia” replace “Ginevra”. I don’t think that’s asking too much. --- My third is “whoring for reviews”. Yes, we all like to get reviews, it’s great to get a pat on the back, but you shouldn’t be writing a story just to get them. Write for your own enjoyment and you just might get a story that others will like too. missmatch @ Apr 20, 2006 05:48 am I think my jaw is somewhere right down there by my feet. Allie? ALLIE? even the NAME reeks of Mary-Sue! good LORD how could someone be so CRUEL to the wonderful people who own this site (gets down on knees and grovels) the innocent people who read these stories and humanity in general. apprehinsize WHO TAUGHT THIS GIRL HOW TO SPELL? Thye spent every minute of there life together and even more. AND WHO TAUGHT HER MATHS? *sob* Oh just reading that is making me WEEP for the future of mankind...apprehinsize how...wha...oh geez... Jewels @ Apr 20, 2006 06:48 am The summary made me weep after half a sentance. 'Thye'. 'Apprehensize'. *sobs* Am looking forward to the mystery suckfic theatre of shame though... *nudges* See I'm a terribly review-hungry writer, but usually it takes the form of 'If you liked that, do please review', or 'I would love to hear what y'all think' etc etc 'ok so i know these stories are suppose to be about Draco and ginny but i wrote this a long time ago and it has a different girl in it.' THEN WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU POSTING IT HERE FOR YOU COMPLETE F***WIT? Wants to see what people think it my a$$. I wouldn't even deign to read the title (what was it, out of curiosity?) let alone the rest of the Bah bah bah *smites the troll* Myanceris @ Apr 20, 2006 10:13 am On "Whoring for Reviews": So..... this person wants reviews, yes? Not good reviews.... just reviews. Not to minimize the ability of the Cabal to shred the writing of this individual, but just think what *evil grin* FUN reviews we could write! MWAHAHA! I'm SURE that this individual would be punished enough after, oh, 1250 reviews complaining about spelling and the presence of this annoying Allie character. It could be just the passive-aggressive thing I need to get through the month. Pajama Pants @ Apr 20, 2006 12:29 pm I must say that while her actions were absolutely deplorable it caused a rather entertaining wall of shame and such lovely rants that I have to smile. Shame on the idiot who tries our wonderful site Goddesses but it has been fun to read the rants and comments posted because of such blatant stupidity. People who aren't D/G people should just go elsewhere and leave us all alone. @};- daisy_lise @ Apr 20, 2006 04:24 pm You have a wonderful site and deserve a round of huzzahs and handshakes for keeping it so tight and clean. The problems you mention will probably never go away because accurate and clear self-reflection is rare, or maybe it comes with age and the loss of other reflections. Anyway, the hassles are all part and parcel of having something of value that others desire, in this case, the panache of a popular and much-cherished site---a backhanded compliment of sorts. Dragon ladies are cool! I'm sure a little fire-breathing is an excellent defense against parasites. It's your site. What you say, goes. No problem.
Phaedra7veils @ Apr 20, 2006 06:05 pm So I was thinking about this after I commented a couple days ago and I think (on a really evil level) that a better method of dealing with these idiotic people would be if you DID validate the "stories" and let the rest of us have a go on telling them exactly what we think of their "stories". (I'm not exactly sure if you could call a bunch of incoherent misspelled words splashed onto a word document a story.) Afterall - to restate what someone a few comments above me said - they asked for reviews, they never say they had to be positive reviews. CharmedLife19 @ Apr 21, 2006 09:12 am Am now hopelessly torn between which punishment would be the most creative: The 'Group smiting' or 'Death by review'... *ponders* Although I would like to put forward my vote for more of the 'Wall of shame'. Perhaps I'm cruel and sadistic, but I love reading your caustic comments and laughing at the geuninely ghastly dirge that people submit. What on earth possesses them? It's like something macabre that you can't look away from - it's desperately horrible, but your eyes are drawn by the hypnotisingly violent assault on the educated mind that these tweenies seem to gush over and consider to be great works of nobel-prize-winning literature. OmGdURSo0Gr8!! Ur sutch a Myanceris @ Apr 21, 2006 11:06 am God the word 'Zambini' in general gets up my nose and makes my eye twitch. And I must agree with Myanceris, I may be slightly sadistic, but would love to see some of these bloopers. I'd especially like to see an all text speak fiction which I had the displeasure of reading once upon a time... 'Drayko chkld nd lkd @ Ginny "well I am a slyverin lol wot did u expect?" Ginny glrd "U nsty Fckr! I h8 u"' It went along those lines. Almost gave myself a heart attack, that one. Luckily it was only on an MSN group site so not so many people read it. And Dragon women rock. Wish I was one. anon_ee_moose @ Apr 21, 2006 12:38 pm Honestly? I'm not usually one to outright say someone is horrible at something. But with a submission like that, I can see how anyone would need to left of steam. That excerpt alone was just a little more than scary. This was an excellent post, though; totally hilarious. If only you had a blog for this sort of thing.. :D BlueJeanJunkie @ Apr 22, 2006 06:52 pm I really do understand where you are coming from. But, I do hope that you will take a look into whenever someone hits the "Short Stories" or anything else, it does not work. At least give us an update! catapults @ Apr 22, 2006 08:02 pm I had to read that twice to make sure I hadn’t missed a 'ha-ha just kidding'. I didn’t realise they made people that stupid. How can you think a beta wouldn’t be beneficial to your writing?! (Suddenly feeling hypocritical because for my first few posts I didn’t have a beta but in my defense I didn’t know what a beta was! *blushes*) She’s a beta thou? How the hell could she be a beta? She spelt ‘they’ wrong and didn’t pick it up! I pity the poor people who have the misfortune of having her as a beta. If that story was actually ‘quit good if you read it’ I’ll eat peas! Also is it just me or did that eye gouge inducing summary not make sense to anyone, ‘wheter she will be the same or if her father had taken her.’ That to me screams senseless. You are completely justified in your amusing rant and ‘Wall of Shame’. As for being too much of a dragon lady, some times you just got to burn them. Draco/Allie? Honestly! *shakes head* Serenitey @ Apr 24, 2006 01:36 am I believe it was Thalia (first comment) who threatened to cross post to the LJ community Deleterius. Those of you considering group smiting or looking for a blog of these things, well that's deleterius. In fact, if someone hasn't tracked down this "Allie" story and sporked it already, it's sure to be up soon. If it's there, I'll let Mynuet/the cabal know so they can decide if they want to update the wall of shame with the link. megami_no_ushi @ Apr 25, 2006 02:46 am "To err is human, to forgive is divine" ~ Alexander Pope "Judge not lest ye be judged" ~Matt 7:1; 2-5 Everyone makes mistakes and those fallacies can be downright flagrant and laughable. As an owner of a site, s/he has every right to reject or accept material according to his/her own caprice. To expect only the best pieces (grammar, syntax and spelling-wise) to be submitted to his or her site is a given and should never be disputed or challenged. However, I do believe that creating a Wall of Shame is a flagrant breach of etiquette and lowers one to the same status as those who respond to rejection with crude vituperation. Though it may serve as a dish of revenge that is most delicious and satisfying, the act would be lacking all forms of proper decorum; in fact, it would prove to be a sort of hypocrisy -- that is, if you expect only the best then you should return only the best. You cannot expect to be considered righteous while ridiculing others. Pejoratively, it is rather sanctimonious and morally unappealing. So although we would all love to stand around, clucking our tongues and shaking our heads at the sheer poppycock of it all, we cannot expect NOT to be judged for our own audacity and presumptuousness. While there are those out there who abuse the English language, it is not our job to police them. It is not up to us to publicly humiliate them. If you believe yourself to have class, show it. Don't pay lip service and then turn your back on your own beliefs and dogma when convenience and opportunity strike. *Note: this was posted in response to those who wish to advocate a Wall of Shame, not the OP's post. Incognito @ May 02, 2006 07:50 am Well, Incognito, you have a point about the OP's post as well, which I'll freely admit, which is the reason why there was still no name or email address attached to the public display of what not to submit to the site. I don't frequent Deleterius or Pottersues or Fandom_wank because humiliation and mockery are only funny for a very limited time before I start feeling bad for the person being mocked, and so it's only in a case of extreme frustration where I give in to the urge to do something like this post. Still, it's a good thing that there are people like you who are willing to speak up and stem the rush to judgment and point out that none of us are perfect. Mynuet @ May 02, 2006 01:35 pm |