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The neverending fanfic debate in Lee Goldberg's blog that I idly follow just got interesting again. Interesting with overtones of paranoia (note that the post in question isn't by Lee himself but by someone who calls themselves inside.fandom.)

Guess what: you, me... all of us, we're apparently part of a devious ploy, a conspiracy to overthrow society as we know it. Or something like that. It's kind of hard to say what they're getting at.

I'm not linking to the blog [*], but you can google it easily enough. The post in question is 't3h ebil fanficcers'. Inside.fandom's second comment downthread is even more... interesting than the first one which Lee quotes. Go, read, boggle, do not engage. I mean, you could engage of course, but that way lies insanity. These people have issues.

*[eta: but here's the URL, for convenient cutting&pasting:
leegoldberg.typepad.com/a_writers_life/2005/12/t3h_ebil_fanfic.html]

There're certainly elements of fandom that make me uncomfortable to say the least, but I wish the anti-fanfic crusaders would get it into their heads that fanfic doesn't solely consist of underage Pottersmut and RPF. Because, just for the record, those squick me as well. So what I do when I don't want to read something: I don't go looking for it. Heck, I've been in fandom for 10 years before I even learned of the existence of 'chan', let alone what it means... I never stumbled across it, and if I ever do I'll know how to hit the back button.

Speaking of Lee Goldberg and ~~blogging~~ boggling: He actually speaks rather favourably of the fan-made Star Trek New Voyages movies. I'm quite surprised at the balanced tone of that post. Here's an article about the movies by Wired Magazine that he linked to.

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The post in question is 't3h ebil fanfic'.

That's completely bizarre. I wish that the people who have issues with fanfic would realize that it's like anything people create. Ninety percent of it is crap. Of the remaining 10% only a fraction will appeal to each reader, if any. Like you said, if you don't want to read it, don't look for it.

Thanks for the link to the "Wired" article. This is the first I've heard of the "New Voyages" eps. Amazing! Even though I'm not into classic Trek, I'm gonna watch them because of the makers' sheer dedication. And hats off to Paramount for having a clue. :)

The ST franchise has always been more or less open regarding fan efforts. If you don't already have, their 'Strange New Worlds' anthology is worth checking out, particularly the earlier volumes. They are collections of published fan stories about all the ST series, chosen in a contest and properly edited. Average quality is high, and you have a wide range of themes and styles. My favourite is 'Whatever you do, don't read this story' - a story from the POV of... a story.

'Whatever you do, don't read this story' - a story from the POV of... a story.

*raises eyebrow, Spock-like* Fascinating. :) Thanks for the rec!

I often argue with myself about the merits of fanfic. But I don't think it's nearly as ebil as others do, obviously. ;)

I hear you had an interesting post re: Tim Minear and his story-breaking seminar. (Little Heaven linked me back to the original post-er.) I was interested in his statements that most writers aren't very good and that it's best to break a story by thinking of it as 3 acts, instead of 4. I'll have to go back to your post and see if anyone commented on the Cordy stuff. ;)

Also, I realized the other day that I never did answer your question about Bonesfic, mainly because I haven't found very much good stuff out there. Entrenous has some nice pieces at bones_theseries but I'm still waiting for the really great, long casefile-style fic to kick in. If I find any I'll let you know, for sure!

But I don't think it's nearly as ebil as others do, obviously. ;)

We're a menace. A menace, I'm telling ya.

I found the Minear post fascinating, too. Very insightful and inspiring.

I'll have to go back to your post and see if anyone commented on the Cordy stuff. ;)

Hm. I did most of the commenting on that, mostly along the lines of 'does it even matter?' *g* Hey, feel free to add your thoughts.

re: Bones fic... yeah. Thought as much. Very hard still to find anything good. Entrenous' and Yhlee's stuff early on was excellent and made me optimistic, but so far that was it.

but I'm still waiting for the really great, long casefile-style fic to kick in.

So... thinking about jumping into the breach *nudge wink?*

(Tssk. The spellcheck tells me that 'ebil' is not a word.)

We're a menace. A menace, I'm telling ya.

LOL Someone has to be. It may as well be us!

Hm. I did most of the commenting on that, mostly along the lines of 'does it even matter?' *g* Hey, feel free to add your thoughts.

It mattered to me, but only in the sense that I'm such a CC fan. But not like, Oh! Evil Tim! More like, hey, that's kind of cool. We have a new CC ep! I was even more interested in the Firefly ep we missed with the Reavers.

So... thinking about jumping into the breach *nudge wink?*

Well, I have half a casefile written. I've just been waiting for this next ep to air to have enough canon to hang it on. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it b/t Christmas and New Year when I'm on vacation.

And obviously spellcheck is ebil! ;)

(Tssk. The spellcheck tells me that 'ebil' is not a word.)

I've always wanted to be a dangerous subversive.

Yeah. I'm rather impressed at my own sneakiness. Fooled myself for sure. Here I thought I was indulging my fun, creative, on occasion wanky hobby... to realize that all the while we all had this hidden agenda to poison the mind of our young. Da-yamn.

Aw, too bad it's so small! It'd be a nice addition to the L Goldberg saga over at you-know-where. /hint.

Oh... want, take have. But as you said, probably too small. Not enough splooge. And, while Goldberg is always entertaining in a way, I find these people less amusing. Wanky, yes, but in a disturbing way. I see they moved on from veiled threats to not-so-veiled ones. I mean, they accuse us of taking fandom too seriously (which I doubt anyone here would actually argue with *smirks*) but I think they got us beat there.

I find these people less amusing. Wanky, yes, but in a disturbing way. I see they moved on from veiled threats to not-so-veiled ones

You know, I kind of got that, too. Teh_ebil sounds like he's trying to call people out. Admit you're pro and involved in fanfic, and you'll be crushed for it! The way he mushes up fandom, fanfic, slash, chan, and God knows what offenses in one depraved witches brew is disturbing. I was tempted to respond but refrained for that very reason.

Well, that and the fact that laughing without responding is my golden rule, for the most part. :)

The really cool thing is something I'll send you in email -- ('bout my JOB, Teh_ebil, which is a thing you clearly lack. :)