Alt.comics.fan-fiction FAQ
Robyn Goldstein
======================================
Last modified January 21, 1996.
Welcome to alt.comics.fan-fiction! Alt.comics.fan-fiction (hereafter
referred to as acff) is a newsgroup for people to write and post
original stories about their favorite comics and characters, and for
others to read and respond to them.
This group is _solely_ for the posting and discussion of original
fan-fiction about comic book characters. Posts regarding the selling and
buying of comics, current comic stories, or information regarding
upcoming comics belong in rec.arts.comics.marketplace,
rec.arts.comics.misc, and rec.arts.comics.info respectively. Please
direct your traffic to the proper group.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section 1: Story Guidelines
1a: Adult themed stories
1b: Formatting of stories
1c: Headers
Section 2: Story Disclaimers
Section 3: Fan-Fiction Archives
Section 4: Where to find this FAQ between postings
Section 5: Acknowledgements
Section 1: Some basic guidelines
======================================
Section 1a: Adult themed stories
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Acff exists as a place where stories that just wouldn't, or COULDN'T be
done in normal comics can be posted. Essentially, this means stories
involving sexual content, and other issues that would be deemed too
"adult" for the real comic. If your stories DO include some sexual
content, please mark them as such by using code words in the title header
for the post. This way, people that are not interested can choose to skip
the stories. For example, if the title contains keywords like [sex, m/m]
and that is not your cup of tea, then just DON'T READ IT.
Above all, Do NOT:
-demand that the story be removed
-insist that no further stories similar subjects be posted
-say profane derogatory remarks about the author
-impose on others your sense of "decency"
Do not read the stories that you will not enjoy.
Section 1b: Formatting of stories
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It is important to make sure that your posts are legible on all
machines. Make sure that your line lengths are 79 characters, or less.
If there are more than 79 characters, many systems break the lines up
into multiple sentences, which can be hard to read.
Make sure that your paragraph breaks look like paragraph breaks. Don't
end a paragraph, and then only add one or two spaces at the beginning of
the next line to indicate a new paragraph. It's very hard to read when
that is done.
Section 1c: Headers
++++++++++++++++++++
Make sure that your header is descriptive of your story. If you are
writing a story about Batman, make sure that Batman is in the header. If
you are writing about Xmen 2099, put that in the header. Also indicate
what chapter you are posting, along with how many chapters there will be
(if it is known).
For example:
BATMAN: "Crisis Continued, Chapter 1/10"
XMEN: "Days Forever Past, Chapter 5/?"
There are, as mentioned above, sexual stories on acff. Mark in
the header, as well as the body of the post, if there is sex in a story.
For example:
BATMAN: "Crisis Continued, Chapter 1/10" [SEX]
Section 2: Story Disclaimers
=============================
You should include a disclaimer at the beginning of each story. Make
sure you acknowledge the fact that you are borrowing someone else's
characters, and mention which characters are yours, and yours alone.
For example:
This story features ______, which are trademarks of ____. This is an
unauthorized work and no profit is being made on this work. This work
is copyright of me.
Section 3: Fan-Fiction Archives
================================
Hawk maintains an archive of all the Xmen fan-fiction at
http://gwis2.circ.gwu.edu/~hawk/fanfic.html. There is a mirror ftp site
of this page at ftp://joeshaw.bevc.blacksburg.va.us/pub/fan-fiction/.
The mirror site only contains the finished Xmen stories.
There is another fan-fiction site called the "Ultimate Fan-Fiction"
site, and all stories posted to acff are automatically archived
there. If you do not want your stories automatically archived, email
Peter Gallacher at p...@inforamp.net. It is also recommened that you
state in your post if you don't want your story automatically archived.
Section 4: Where to find this FAQ between postings
==================================================
This FAQ is archived on Hawk's web page at
http://gwis2.circ.gwu.edu/~hawk/faqdir/ACFF/acffFAQ. If you do not have
web access, you can email Hawk at ha...@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu and ask for a
copy if you so desire one. Or you can wait til it is posted again. At
the moment, it is posted about once a month, though it can be posted
more often if there is a demand for that.
Section 5: Acknowledgements
============================
This FAQ has been created and is maintained by Andy Jones
<psy...@southwind.net> and Hawk <ha...@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu>. Comments and
questions are welcomed!