New skin

New skin! It's called Lake. It's very pretty blue and green. Thanks, Scarlett Rayne!

Question

So, back in 2005, I took nominations and votes and the result was the list of D/G Classics from The People.

Well, a lot has happened since 2005, so I was wondering... Do y'all want to do it again?

Small change in story uploading

Hello all,

I've completed the planned maintenance, and there's a small change you should be aware of. Whenever you post a story, you can no longer submit it directly from the data entry page. Your only option is to preview it and then you'll be allowed to submit it. This is how it used to be in a previous incarnation of the site, and we've decided to go to back to it so that formatting issues will be caught before submission.



There's another short shutdown on the horizon - I discovered that a new version of the script had just been released this morning, after I'd already shut down the site, but I'm going to wait a week or so before upgrading to make sure any possible bugs are worked out before I attempt it.

Site maintenance

In the next week or so, there will be a short site shutdown for some maintenance. I'm not sure when; it really depends on my schedule.



I've also decided that I'm going to be rather merciless on duplicate signups. Since February we've been tracking the IPs on new signups, so I can tell if you've signed up for more than one account. Now, I'm a few months behind on actually dealing with deletion - six months at least - so 'fess up now if you know you have more than one. If you don't, you might find all of your accounts deleted. I don't really have the time to email hundreds of people to figure out which one you want to keep anymore.



As usual, if you have trouble accessing your account or any other issues, please view the help page (the link is right up there) and then contact me with any questions.

New Podcast

The new podcast is up. Just click the 'wireless' link above.

IMPORTANT - new site email

Some of you may be experiencing problems receiving emails from the site. I'm working to fix the problem - it has to do with increased vigilance on the part of many email providers. As part of the steps we have to take to be recognized by them as not spam, I've changed the site email account from the gmail account back to a dracoandginny.com account:



It's owl [at] dracoandginny.com, formatted like a proper email address of course (I'm trying to avoid a massive spam attack).


Please add this address to your contacts or safe lists, especially those of you who only allow incoming mail from those on these types of lists. The email bouncebacks do tell me why the mail was refused, and a bounceback that says that email is being refused because we're not on your list is criterion for account deletion. It is required that we are able to contact you.

Perfect Imagination

I was asked to post this on behalf of Asli. Perfect Imagination is now reopen, so make sure to check it out!



An opportunity for beta readers and writers.



Perfect Imagination has been serving the Harry Potter fanfiction community since 2003, providing quality tested beta readers for Harry Potter fanfiction writers. As of March 1st 2008 the site is expanding to include other fandoms and original writing.



Beta readers are asked to take a short test to demonstrate their expertise. When a passing mark is achieved, a beta can choose preferred fandoms and create an individual profile for each. Information such as the genre and length of fanfiction, as well as the preferred relationships and the beta reader’s strengths can be listed and are factored into the search process.



Writers can then approach a beta reader via the site with their story details, and beta readers can accept or decline projects at their own discretion, putting them in complete control of their workload.



Writers can search our database of beta readers by fandom, story length, genre, relationships and beta strengths to find the perfect match for them. If the fandom they are writing for is not currently listed then writers can recommend it for addition and, in the mean time, contact a general beta reader who is willing and able to look over any form of fictional piece and provide a technical critique.



Perfect Imagination aims to support both writers and beta readers as much as possible, and we will always be available to mediate should any problems arise. We offer a free service, and we are always expanding the site further to better meet the needs of the community as a whole.



Asli Pryde – Site Owner

http://www.perfectimagination.co.uk

Art gallery

Due to spamming issues, the art gallery is currently on lockdown. You have to be a registered, logged in user to view it. Important note #2: your account has to be activated by an admin. So, if you have registered in the last few days and are not a spammer, it would help push your activation along if you were to send an email to either mynuet at gmail.com or lyndsie at dracoandginny.com with the username you signed up with.


Thanks for your cooperation! No one likes getting a review consisting of gibberish.

Decision

Thank you all for your comments - I appreciate your help in looking at both sides of the issue before making a decision.

The one comment that kept cropping up and seemed most germane is that this is the Fire and Ice Archive - not Fire, Ice, and Other. Adding another person as a full partner, equally loved by both Draco and Ginny, makes for a totally different dynamic than just Draco and Ginny.

So, while love triangles and the occasional naughty fic wherein something purely physical happens might be okay, polyamorous romantic relationships with Draco and Ginny are not allowed on the site, as they violate rule #1.

Again, thank you all for your input. I'm sorry that some of you are disappointed, and if someone decides to take the reins and create a place for D/G/+, feel free to contact me for any advice or help I can give.

Opinions Wanted

I've been asked several times, so I wanted to consult the general membership on the topic before formulating a policy:

Should FIA allow fics where the pairing is Draco/Ginny/Blaise (or other third person)?
The decision has been made: No.

One the one hand, it's just adding someone else to D/G. On the other, it's not precisely the same as D/G. An argument can be made each way, and I'm ambivalent. So, please let your thoughts be heard - email me if you're shy about expressing yourself in front of everybody - and we'll all come to a decision together.

January Podcast up

A new podcast is up, in which cinnamon badge reflects on Deathly Hallows, reads a fanfic, and answers questions from readers.

A Message from the Draco/Ginny Exchange Mods

The Draco/Ginny Exchange on Livejournal will be starting the Fourth Annual Exchange


Once again, it will be open to LJ users and non-LJ users alike and will feature a fic and an art exchange. Sign-ups start January 13th and Fics will be due on the Ides of March (March 15th).


So join us - won't you? And mark your calenders for sign-ups- January 13th - Draco/Ginny Exchange Link. There is also an RSS feed for the exchange if you want to watch that way.

If you are unsure about what exactly a fic and art exchange is, read the userinfo on the comm or email us at dgficexchange@hotmail.com



We hope to see you all there!

Open

FIA is now once again open for submissions. Happy new year!

Closed

Just to clarify, the archive is currently closed for submissions to all non-admins, so that the admins can have a break for the holidays.

This means that you don't have the option to submit new stories, and I believe you'll also have issues editing existing ones. You can leave reviews, but that's about it until we reopen, which should be soon.

Christmas Vacation

As usual, the archive will close down to submissions so that the Cabal can have some downtime for Christmas. I'm not sure whether it'll be for one week or two, or whether people who don't have to wait for the validation queue will still be able to post, but I wanted to give y'all a heads up so that it didn't come as a shock when we're closed as of this Friday.



More details as we work them out, and sorry for the late notice.



ETA: Site is now closed to new submissions, unless somehow you can upload. : ) The way the it's coded, admins can post, but they mostly skip the queue anyway. -Lyndsie, 10:55pm EST, 20 December.

Podcasting site changes

If you view the podcasting site, you'll notice some changes. Thanks to elyaeru, who wrote it, we now are running a podcast management script. (I know for a fact that she did more than five minutes of work this time.)


So check it out!

Merry Christmas!

I was going to make a holiday-themed skin a la the one we used to have in version 1.0 of the code, but then I changed my mind and decided on something else.



Two of our members, cinnamon badge and elyaeru, put a lot of work to update this skin for version 3.0 of the site code.


Happy Holidays!



(As usual, bugs can be reported here.)

Yay!

We now have the whole fee for the year - THANK YOU to everyone who so generously contributed for everyone's enjoyment. FIA is good for another year of D/G goodness - are you?

Hosting Fees

Sorry for not doing this earlier, guys, I got so wrapped up with school that I forgot.

It's time once again to pay for a year of ad-free FIA goodness! We have two weeks to raise the $95.40 that we pay for all the bandwidth and storage space we could possibly use. So, if you can spare a few bucks to support the archive for everyone, shoot some paypal to donations -at- dracoandginny.com, or send me an email if you want to contribute but don't have paypal.


(Update: As of a day later, we're up to $52.65, leaving $42.75 to go. Much thanks and love to our donors!)

UPDATE: ALL DONE!

FIA Art site goes live

Good news! After a bit of reorganization, the art site is ready to open: art.dracoandginny.com, or click the link in the menu.



Before signing up for an account, you must read the rules.


There's already some stuff up, so go have a look.

Podcast

There's a new podcast available. It's in two parts this time.



You'll also see that I created the little FIA icon in the address bar, and one for the Classics Library as well. If you don't see it, refresh the page. Your bookmarks should automatically update if you click on them, with most browsers.

Done

I've completed the upgrade, but have yet to redo some of my modifications. Please report any problems here: http://forums.dracoandginny.com/index.php?topic=969.0

Site upgrade

Sometime soon there will be a short site closure for upgrading purposes. I'm not really sure when it will happen (having scheduling difficulties), but it will be for a half an hour at most.

October Podcast

October podcast is now available.

FICL and emails

There are 19 new reviews posted at the Fire and Ice Classics Library, so click the "Classics" link above and check them out.



Secondly, and on a more serious note, I have recently gone through the last month of email bouncebacks, and compiled a list of users with invalid email addresses based on this. There is a list available. If they fit the normal qualifications for deletion, these accounts will be deleted. (As in 95% of the cases with invalid email addresses, the user has already made another email account anyway.) I will also be posting these criteria to the help page so that it is easily viewable in a more permanent place.



Lastly, in looking through these emails, I discovered that we're on a couple of block lists. This could be for a number of reasons, as we are on a shared server. I'm investigating getting us off, but in the meantime, if you are using one of the services and would like to receive notifications and new password emails, etc., then I suggest using a different email address. As of right now, many emails sent to Hotmail accounts are being bounced back, and all mail sent to mail.ru accounts by the site is being refused. You can change your email address in your Account Info panel. Remember, if you have trouble logging in and aren't receiving new password emails, DO NOT SIGN UP FOR ANOTHER ACCOUNT. I can manually reset your password for you, as well as look up usernames. Thank you. *steps off soapbox*