Hey guys. Just posted my first little tale here; if you get a chance.
The reason for this entry is a thought that has been spinning around my tiny mind for a little while. I notice many of you wander around several sites and comment or post a discussion topic from time to time. The main 3 I peruse are FM, Saphire and now here.
And I notice some differences in 'flavour'.
FM seems a more 'male' site, Saphire more thoughtful and 'centrist' and Big Closet more 'female'. I use those words deliberately, as opposed to Masculine or Feminine.
This is an observation from afar looking at general tone and feel of stories, comments connected to them and the overall slant of the site. I would be interested to see if anyone else feels similarly or totally disagrees.
Note this is not a criticism of any of the named sites but may explain my tendency to look here first of late. Also I appreciate the edit facility. I have an embarrassing typo in my first entries synopsis on FM, there for all eternity.
BigCloset TopShelf
TopShelf TG Fiction in the BigCloset!
The Hatbox
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Comments
Forgot one?
Story Site is NOT dead, it just had an update on the 20th. Do you not go there? Or didn't mention it because of the lack of regular updates?
Maybe, I'm not as sensative to the idea of gender push at one site or the other, I don't know.
I do enjoy the stories given to us by the authors and remember once in a while to leave a comment.
Site Differences
I think you may have something there. I'd say the differences are subtle and vary from time to time, but generally you are right. My own of the sites:
BC/TS: smaller group but fairly tight, with civility the rule. It's the closest of them all to a community. I do notice a lot of "nice" stories from nice people, with corespondingly nice comments. The comment to read ratio is very high. This is the site where the author replying directly to the commentor is part of the culture, and I like that. :) There is no "board" per se, but it has a lot of forums. Naturally, one of the greatest advantages is that the author can post their own material and edit it.
Sapphire: No discussions there, but the comments are perhaps marginally more direct. (centrist and reasoned might be good words for it - with quite a few negative as well as positive) This is probably due to a slight increase in readership, as I postulate a greater anonymity equals greater directness. It could also be due to the generally longer stories because there is simply more to say about a long story. The story quality is generally quite high: the authors are established talents or talented newcomers generally, and are hand-picked. I'm a little surprised that more people don't comment there. It likely has something to do with the way it is set up: readers can only comment on the entire story, not individual chapters.
FM: A huge clearinghouse for stories of all description. I would say that you have a point on the male factor if you mean directness on the hyperboard. There are commentors there who don't hold back. Mix this with a healthy dollop of political correctness, and voila! The topics are all over the map, TG issues, writing, questions, public interest, and authors with a beef. The comments are fairly mixed, and pretty decent: some are very well-reasoned and others are a one line thanks. Oddly enough, though, I get about the same number of comments on FM as I do on TC, and FM has at least 10x the number of readers.
Storysite: Another very large mixed bag clearinghouse of stories. The Cyberboard isn't used quite as often as often as FM's Hyperboard. Crystal lets people say more than the guiding lights at FM, and politics breaks out on occasion. It also tends to be more angst-ridden than the Hyperboard. I hope I don't get a flack over that, but it's true. :)
Aardvark
"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."
Mahatma Gandhi
Site Flavors
I check most of the TG fiction sites that I know of (and some Anime) often. Ok I’m addicted. My favorites or at least the ones I check most often are: Sapphire’s place, BigCloset, FictionMania and StorySite. I have noticed a definite differences between the sites, although it didn’t occur to me that they may be gender inclined. I have noticed that while I find enjoyable stories on all the sites my all time favorite is Sapphire’s place. (although BigCloset is next in line). I find that more of the serial stories are completed and/or active.
As far as comment mine tend to go to stories that I really like or stories that annoy me.
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Jenna
Sites
Sapphire is selective. Sapphire has the TG Fiction mailing list she moderates as a slush pile; of all the sites, Sapphire's is most like a magazine because she has editorial policies and she actively solicits contributions from specific authors. I seldom do that; Crystal and the Task Force don't really have the time to do that.
BC is run more as a Writer's Workshop with an audience. :) Which makes it more like the TG Fiction list than like the other sites.
I do things like host movies and galleries that the other sites would have problems doing. Each site, including ones not mentioned here, is different and contributes to the community in different ways.
I like that.
- Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
FM vs. BC
BC nurtures. FM plays macho "gotcha" games to decide who is "king" for the day.
Sapphire's Place is all about Sapphire. While Erin remains readily available to lend support, the authors are BC's focal point. Erin understands how authors feed on the scant comments they receive. By the placement of the comments in a prominent spot on the site, the authors get maximum reward for their efforts. What a thrill it is to open BC and find a comment titled "Amazing" and then discover that it was written about one of your stories.
The human faces for the three sites are a study in contrast. Conjure mental images of the prun-faced hall monitor who watches over the posts on the FM board, the befuddled, money-bothered Sapphire, and the sweet, soft, guiding hands at the wheel of BC's rose VW bug.
FM is the camel aseembled by the "committee." Sapphire is the seedy store behind the enticing, frothy window displays. BC is the pink divinity struggling to be sold amongst all the dark chocolate fudge by the giggling cheerleader.
The real tragedy is that you didn't even mention Storysite. Hopefully the new computer will revive Crystal's. It was once a vibrant, sweet alternative to the hard-shelled FM. Like Erin, Crystal tried to encourage and protect her authors. Hopefullly, Crytal's will do a Phoenix.
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
FM Dinosaur vs. the BC mammal
"... pink divinity struggling to be sold amongst all the dark chocolate fudge by the giggling cheerleader."
I don't think I would have put those words together in a million years. ;) That's pretty accurate, though, and your comment was, as usual from you, refreshingly straightforward.
FM is a dinosaur, albeit a useful one for find a quick TG story "fix" because of its size. I cut it some slack for that reason, but their protests to the contrary notwithstanding, I've seen their page source code; I'm not convinced that they couldn't modernize it drastically with little effort. It would be insanity to be doing the same 60 character width formatting five years from now - it was a nutty decision to do it in the first place - but it looks like they might continue just that. It makes me want to reconnect my dot matrix printer. Amazing.
I usually go to the Hyperboard or the Cyberboard to see going on, and to FM sometimes to see some of latest stories (Sapphire rarely), but I'd never go anywhere but here for writing tips or straight talk with an author. It's the culture. Erin's comment about BC being more of a "writer's workshop" is dead on. I love the way the comments are set up, and I also like the instant access internal private message system, where all the BC talk is kept neatly separate from your regular email. It has the "busy" feel that writing.com has, but is small enough to maintain intimacy. A message board here, like the ones on FM and Storysite, would be out of place.
When you think about it, it's shocking that one person, with some occasional help from others, can handle anything so large and detailed.
Aardvark
"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."
Mahatma Gandhi
Actually Two People
<<>>
Actually there's Erin, but there's also that rascal Joyce. ;)
Both of them could use a little financial help whenever a person can afford to pitch in.
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Community
I get some technical help from Bob Arnold when I need it and there are the volunteer editors and proofreaders hat help out various artists. Gwen, Emma and Lainie have donated Premiums and people I won't name have been enormous helps financially from time to time. It really is a community here and I couldn't do it without the authors who probably wouldn't do it without the readers. :)
Community has always been the aim with BigCloset.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Site Differences
I check out both Fictionmamia and Storysite message boards a couple of times a day. I am reading two different multi-part stories here at Big Closet Top Shelf, so I have been comming here more frequently lately, to look for new chapters.
I have a look at Sapphire's about twice a year, I don't think I have ever read a story there. Most of the stories at Sapphire's are multi-part and serial stories and I usually avoid those. If I don't discover them as they are starting, then I won't put in the effort to catch up. I generally give multi-part stories a pass. I prefer finished stories in the 15 to 100 KB range. I want to read short stories in one sitting, with longer stories, I prefer reading books, rather than sitting at a computer.
I haven't read a story at storysite for many months, nothing that has been posted there has grabbed me in a long time. If a story isn't a magic/sci-fi story, then I am not usually interested.
There has been a long spell going on at FM with few magic/sci-fi stories, I hope it turns around. But, there are enough good stories in the FM archives to keep me busy for a long while, I do most of my online reading at Fictionmania.
I have six stories at Fictionmania, the smallest number of reviews I've had on any of them is eleven. Most of the feedback I've received there has been constructive and I have tried to use that feedback to become a better writer. I don't have any of my stories at any other sites, so I can't compare how they are recieved at different places.
I don't know that one could call any of the sites male, female or center. Sure they all deal with similar kinds of stories but they are different. FM is more regimented and neutral, it being run by a committee encourages that. Storysite is chaotic, Crystal being gone much of the time, it is rudderless. Sapphire's, I can't really comment on as I don't spend any time there. Big Closet does seem more nurturing, though I don't see that as an exclusively feminine thing.
Apples, oranges & pears, perhaps?
Mr. Ram
Fruits Basket
>Apples, oranges & pears, perhaps?
Mine are more grapefruit-sized. :)
- Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Site differences