(no subject)

[rusty_halo]

New rule for AllAboutSpike: when someone submits a story, they can choose from two options if I decide to reject it. Option one: I don't inform them at all. Option two: I reply with "No thanks." That's the only explanation they'll get. They can choose which they'd prefer when they fill out the story submission form.

I'm no longer sending detailed explanations as to why I reject stories. If I'm going to keep running the site (which is still kind of up in the air right now) I need to get rid of the aspects that send me into the kind of stressed out panic that makes me never want to turn on my computer again. And this is definitely one of those.

I'm so sick of the rude, angry, bitter, and/or on-the-surface-polite-but-underhandedly-pissed passive-agressive responses that I receive just about every time I reject a story. I feel bad because a few writers have told me that they appreciated my detailed explanations, but I can't do it anymore. I have several hundred stories to sort through; do you have any idea how much time it would take me to 1) read every story thoroughly, 2) analyze all the reasons why I don't like it, 3) write all those reasons down in a way that is clear, detailed, and polite, 4) debate back and forth with the author as to whether my reasons *really* apply to their story? I'd never get *anything* done. And look, I know, when you create something it's precious to you and it hurts to hear it criticized, but I can't archive *every single story* that gets sent to me! And ultimately it's not worth putting my time and effort into something that will only serve as an excuse for someone to bash me/demand that I remove all her stories from my site/announce that she'll never allow any of her stories on my site in the future.

Yeah, I know, I'm whining again, but on the plus side, I found a solution. Hopefully this will help me get over the mental block that has prevented me from even *looking* at the "Recommended Stories" folder in my email box lately.

I should also mention that it's really no fun to carry two heavy bags of groceries up six flights of stairs in swelteringly hot weather because the elevator that you're paying insane amounts of money for isn't working AGAIN. So that may have affected my mood a little bit when writing this post.

Comments

[witling.livejournal.com]

Oh, chica. You sound like you need an iced coffee, a working elevator, and possibly a neck massage. Or maybe another squib of fic. Sorry--I've been busy. More squib soon.

And I'll just leave this nice iced coffee right here on the end table, for when you want it.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Fic? Always good. So good. And I appreciate it very much. (But please don't feel obligated or anything.)

Mmmm ... *enjoys iced coffee*

You're always giving me yummy food stuff. Someday I'm going to have to make it up to you by baking brownies for you, or cookies, or maybe a cake ....

[mintwitch.livejournal.com]

Well, brava to you for running the site in the first place and accepting submissions; many sites are invitation only.

Stick to your guns chickadee: you are doing the Net & Netizens a favor, and no one has the right to make you feel like crap for going out of your way to be nice. Heck, the world should be deeply grateful, if for no other reason than you are *much* nicer than I would be in your shoes.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Thanks. :)

I really do try to be nice. I worry, though, that I'm getting so stressed out that I start to get snippy or rude. It's probably just best to just cut out that aspect entirely and make it a simply "yes" or "no"; much harder for people to argue, and also saves me time. (And yeah, the site was *meant* to be invite only originally ... but then people wanted to submit stuff, and I thought it would be nice to set up a form ... )

[monanotlisa.livejournal.com]

New rule for AllAboutSpike...And ultimately it's not worth putting my time and effort into something that will only serve as an excuse for someone to bash me/demand that I remove all her stories from my site/announce that she'll never allow any of her stories on my site in the future.

Definitely sounds like a plan.

Yeah, I know, I'm whining again, but on the plus side, I found a solution. Hopefully this will help me get over the mental block that has prevented me from even *looking* at the "Recommended Stories" folder in my email box lately.

I should also mention that it's really no fun to carry two heavy bags of groceries up six flights of stairs in swelteringly hot weather because the elevator that you're paying insane amounts of money for isn't working AGAIN. So that may have affected my mood a little bit when writing this post.

Ack. You need a foot-rub, girl. Go grab some family member or trusted mate of yours! & :-)

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

You need a foot-rub, girl. Go grab some family member or trusted mate of yours!

Heh, I wish! Besides, if I had family nearby, I would've made *them* carry the groceries up the stairs in the first place....

But thanks! :)

[diva-stardust.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a good rejection process idea to me. Hope you end up doing this. The less stress for you the better!:D

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Definitely doing this. Changed the webpage and everything. Hope people understand...

Thanks!

[hazel75.livejournal.com]

You do what you need to do. Personally I want you to do whatever it is you need to do to keep up the archive because I think it's the best one out there. I know when I go to your site whatever fic I read will be wellwritten, thought-provoking and lovely on some level. I never have to wade through any crap.

So, whatever it takes for you to keep the bastards from getting you down I say you do.

Sorry that this hasn't been fun for you lately. Keep your chin up and do what you need to do.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm really glad you like the site. I do definitely want to focus on the actual finding stories and archiving them, and less on the extraneous details. Hopefully this will help me get back on track. :)

You know, here's something...

[ginmar.livejournal.com]

You don't owe anybody an explanation. They're not paying you, are they? No. So, nope, no explanation required. If I may be so bold, they owe you an explanation. They should explain why you should archive their stories, and there are some basics that should be a given. But ultimately, you don't Owe. Anybody. One. Fucking. Thing. It's your damned website, right? Are they paying you? Well, I didn't think so. Really, they're the ones that should be feeling bad. I keep telling you, turn the uppity ones over to me. They won't know what hit 'em.

Six Flooors?! Where the hell do you live? Moscow?! Babe, I'm wishing for air conditioning for you right now. Plus a working lift.

Re: You know, here's something...

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Hehe, thanks. Okay, next fic writer that throws an immature hissy fit, I'm siccing you on 'em. :)

I live in NYC. East Village. Love it here ... mostly. My apartment is on the top floor of a six story building, so all the heat gathers in here. The A/C isn't doing much, but it's better than nothing. It's usually not so bad when the elevator works, but lately the elevator breaks when you so much as breathe on it wrong.

[chase820.livejournal.com]

My condolences over all the cold pricklies people are giving you. I think your plan to come up with a basic formulaic response is perfectly logical and justified. There's a reason publishing companies and agents and the like have those, you know. It would be positively soul-numbing to have to respond to every person in detail.

It's your archive, and your webspace. I say do what you want.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Thanks. :)

[janedavitt.livejournal.com]

I'm with everyone else. Your site, your way or the highway. I'd really hate to see it come down. Your rejection letters are things to prize as they're miracles of detailed f/b but they must be incredibly time consuming and there's not the slightest reason why you should do them. If someone's going to get pissed off after those letters, they're the type that would get on their high horse if someone said 'good morning' the wrong way.

And the groceries? Been there. It's exhausting. Cool bath, long cold drink and pamper yourself ::hugs::

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Jane! I appreciate it a lot.

I know I still owe you fic responses too. I'm planning to sit down and read through everything on your site, I just haven't had a chance yet. But it's on my list, and I'm really looking forward to catching up with everything. (Also I'm really enjoying the current S/X WIP).

[kellyhk.livejournal.com]

Laura, All About Spike is one of the strongest and diverse archives on the net. Kudos to you for screen all the fic and really maintaining such a high standard. Honestly, I didn't know you could submit. I thought it was by invite only. (needless to say I was tickled when you asked to archive my stuff)

Anyhow, you get to run it however you want. That's the beauty of being the sole archivist. And, seriously, you don't need a long winded letter explaining your rejections. Don't let people make you feel bad for your decisions. Stick to your guns, sunshine!

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Kelly. I appreciate it.

AllAboutSpike was originally invite only, but a few people asked if they could submit stories, so I decided to set up a form to make it easy (and to make sure I got the correct information and didn't have to go asking them for all the little details like summary and rating and all). It's mostly still invite only; I read lots of fic and ask if I can archive the ones I like. I've just added the submissions to the fic that I already read, and if I find something good it saves me the trouble of having to ask. Although I haven't been keeping up with it so well lately; there's something like 300 unanswered messages in that folder...

Speaking of your stuff, are you still writing? I haven't seen anything from you in ages. I really love the stories that you've written.

[http://users.livejournal.com/skylar_/]

Never forget that it's your site. You have to explain yourself to nobody. I really hope that you continue to keep this site because it's very unique. It's obvious that you put a lot of hard work into it, and it has a well-earned reputation of high quality.

You certainly don't have to put energy and time into arguing about what you want on you site and what not. And you should certainly not stress yourself over it.
I think the new submission system is a good idea. You might even want to get that far that you don't accept people submitting their own stories. Instead you could set it as a premise, that you only consider a rec by another person, this way you don't have to be confronted with the author if that's a problem for you, but that's just an idea.
The main thing is, that you never forget that you don't have to justify yourself for denying a story/author.

six floors?!
::hands you an ice tea::

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

*guzzles ice tea*

Mmmm ... thank you. I have my air conditioner on high and it's still too hot in here. Stupid top floor; all the heat in the building gathers in this room.

Thanks for the feedback!

I'm hesitant to disallow submissions, because I've found some really lovely gems that way. (Gems hidden among a lot of, uh, not-gems, but still.) I really try to find new or less-known authors intead of just archiving fic that everyone's already aware of or that has already gotten recognition. I worry that disallowing submissions would limit that too much and might make my site a bit too elitist. I'm really hoping that, if I do it this way, it'll be a lot less time consuming and I won't get so many authors upset at me. Here's hoping.

Thank you again!

[herself_nyc]

What they all said. You're within your rights to reject without apology or explanation. And as I told you the other day, your site is beautiful and wonderful; please don't let the rudies get to you. You're a star of this fandom.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Thank you. That means so much, especially coming from you. I appreciate it a lot; I hope I expressed that in person when we talked.

Just have to mention: I LOVE your icon. Yummy.

Also: Just finished reading "Disenchantment." Wow! May I archive it? I'm so glad that you were inspired to write something long again. It was definitely worth the wait. I liked your more mature Buffy, and although I dislike the idea of human Spike, I was getting into it despite myself. And then the end was just awesome. :)

[harmonyfb.livejournal.com]

So that may have affected my mood a little bit when writing this post

Well, I'll have a bit of Spike-fic for your birthday on Saturday, so hopefully that will cheer you up. :)

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Oooh, harmonyfb fic! Yay. :) Looking forward very much. Definitely cheers me up.

[shadowlass.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a really good solution, Laura.

[snoopygirll.livejournal.com]

Option one: I don't inform them at all. Option two: I reply with "No thanks."

If I might suggest? Do up a rejection spiel that is going to make both you and the author feel as good as possible about the "no thanks". Something standard:

"All About Spike would like to thank you for submitting your story. Unfortunately the sheer volume of stories. . .blah blah."

Your a clever, caring girl, I've no doubt you can come up with something suitably warm because as nasty and undeserving as some authors may be, we still feel for them hey. Well I do, and I think you do too or this wouldn't bother you so much. :)

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah I always do something like that. Usually it's along the lines of "Thanks for sending the story. I enjoyed reading it, but I don't think it's right for my site." That's kind of the written equivalent to "No thanks" in my mind.

Thanks for mentioning it. I do definitely want to keep the author's happiness in mind; that's why I was taking such trouble to send detailed explanations in the first place. I felt that it was rude to reject something without (politely) explaining why. Unfortunately that didn't work out so well.

[wickedprincess3.livejournal.com]

::cheers::
I'm glad you're taking this step, if it means that people will be less rude than hurrah. While I treasured the help you gave me when I first started out (and you had every right to smite me since it hadnt even been beta read!) a lot of people think the world owes them stuff. Not cool, kudos for not letting them get you down :D

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Thanks. :)

[bubonicplague.livejournal.com]

Yeah, well, your site sucks and so do you, you horribly rude bitch. ;)

Seriously, there's no need to write out detailed explanations for rejecting a story, as reasons for rejection can come from a myriad of causes. Such as, you don't like Spike-as-human fic, or a story isn't redemptive, or a story just sucks ass. Your site, your rules, and I like the way you run it thankyouverymuch. You owe no explanations, and it's polite of you to even bother responding in the first place.

Carry on and great work. You are appreciated.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :)

I did think for a long while that it's rude to reject something without explaining why. But yeah, ultimately, it's not worth it, and it's not the point of my site anyway.

[cbking.livejournal.com]

You run an amazing site, and shouldn't feel the need to apologize for the way in which you choose to run it. All of us in fandom are richer for its existence.

[ladycat777.livejournal.com]

Feel the need to just point upwards and say "what they said" but. . . it's *your site*. If they don't like it, screw 'em. You pay for it, you take the immense time to take care of it, from picking new fic to add to making sure the database functions. That's work, all of it unpaid and unasked for.

AAS is one of the best archives there is. Period. Run it the way you want it to be run. *smooch*

*offers a/c unit plus strong boy-type to lug it up and install for you*

[spikewriter]

Y'know, there's a reason in publishing that rejection letters which contain actual comments on the book/story just rejected are so treasured -- it's because it takes time to write the comments and phrase them in a way that will be (hopefully) positive and constructive.

I didn't realize you'd opened up for submissions, but I think your two options are the best. Sounds like it's either that or stop accepting submissions. Of course, refusing to accept submissions probably wouldn't stop the people who whine and complain, so your two options are definitely the best.

Do what's best for you -- this isn't a business; it's a hobby and as such, it sound provide at least some enjoyment. It certainly shouldn't provide stomaches each time you turn on your computer.

[shapinglight]

Just wanted to agree with everyone else, and to say that I love your site. It's by far the best archive of BtVS stories I've come across in terms of quality, and the lay out is great too. You're doing us all a favour by running it, and anyone who doesn't realise that is probably not worth your politeness anyway.

Sounds like the right idea to me...

[jaydk.livejournal.com]

And definitely don't torture yourself over it. It's your archive, there's no obligation to anyone to explain or justify your decisions, especially when some folks don't appreciate the effort. You've been a lot nicer for a lot longer than I ever would be ;-).

[st_salieri.livejournal.com]

Just wanted to add in my voice to the support you've been getting. Your site is the first one I check when I'm looking for Spike fic. I've been consistently amazed at it: the high quality of the fics, the speed at which it is updated, the wonderful layout, everything. Please keep up the good work, and don't let the nasty comments or the flames get you down. Whatever you've been doing, you have a wonderful site that contains excellent fics, so in my book you're doing it right. Thanks for all your hard work.

[scarlettgirl.livejournal.com]

I just wanted to reiterate what everyone else has said. Your site, your decision. Period.

That being said, I just wanted to let you know that I consider AAS the benchmark for fanfic sites. It's the first place I turn to look for well-written, diverse Spike stories. You are doing an excellent job and your site gives me more pleasure than you can imagine. Keep up the good work.

[lumenara.livejournal.com]

That is *so* beyond within your rights. I've just wandered by your journal for the first time today, but I had to stop and say something. I thought I was happy before, when I got your request to archive-- now I'm so damn flattered it's not funny.

You are providing a service to fandom at large. You don't owe anybody anything. *points above* And what they said.