Fictionmania is down, who knows for how long. Few more days perhaps at the best but thats what was said already a few weeks ago. last i heard the server was there and the Task Force was doing the programing. Did they hit a snag, Did it not get across the border? How long will it be down. Unknown.
Crystals Site updates every 6 months at best. I wish i could get an update on whats going on with that. Is crystal having serious personal problems. Its still very sad, She really needs to get some volunteers to help her. I know some have asked but shes unwilling to delegate. Its still good to read some of the past stories. there are thousands of really good storys but id like to see new ones too. Her queue keeps getting longer.
Except for sapphires, Erin is our last hope for a site to post new stories and read new ones. I commend Erin for her efforts at this site. :) if i had any money left over i would donate to her she deserves it. But sadly i don't. I hope some day i can and i will if im ever able to spare enough.
Its a very sad time now :( I hope to see Fictionmania back up very soon.
Comments
Au Contraire
Whilst loss of the other sites means a relative lack of choice, the stuff posted there doesn't compare with the quality available here. There are still other sites if you want badly written masturbatory fantasies, which thankfully are few on this site. This is by far the best site on the net for Tg fiction.
Angharad
Angharad
On the Contrary
I do believe you do need some variety, Angharad. This "lack of choice" that you suggest isn't an issue because there's SO much good stuff here? Well, for you it might be an issue, but as they say, ignorance is bliss. If you don't know what's out there, then I guess you can be perfectly happy with what you have. I am not trying to flame or bash you, just simply saying in a matter of fact way. Not trying to be HOSTILE with this post, even though some may see it that way. Only FM and Crystal's site was mentioned... Umm, I'd like to say there are TONS of other TG fiction sites, personal and otherwise, that have appeared and then been lost to oblivion with a high churn rate. Some of them, in my own opinion had even better specimens of TG fiction than what may be found here. I also would like to say in recent polls I've seen, there are large numbers... VERY large numbers of people who only want the masturbatory fantasies. I find it a little detestable, but that's what a great majority may want, so some try to cater to it. Simple supply and demand. I know an author personally who wrote a few raunchy fics (more as a test) and found they got more reads. She was also looking for reviews, but that didn't really happen anyway. Something brought up as a general problem on another thread.
To boil this down, I'm saying that BC here may not be the greatest overall, but it may be seen as the greatest to those who don't see too too much else. The main issue is that TG fiction is on the decline, and that's been shown various ways. The high churn rate of TG fiction sites, to see major sites that used to be so active either not very active anymore or simply dead/on life support, the general consensus of what is found most preferred by the general public, which encompasses most other sites AND this site, etc. It IS a Sad time for TG fiction. I think we need to support these authors more. Here and elsewhere. And we need to support growth because... at this point, compared to maybe half a decade ago? There's not much else that it can do except grow. Only some much shrinkage can occur with the TG Community as a whole (another issue brought up in many posts on multiple sites) before it reaches a critical minimal mass...
You didn't read my comment properly
There are loads of sites out there, not all are selling porn, or even giving it away. But having visited many over the years, this is the best one I've seen and the most user friendly to authors.
I have posted at only three sites because they have a policy of not posting things like child abuse stories. There are other good sites, but this is, in my considered opinion, still the best (including it's sister sites Stardust & fictioneer).
Angharad
Angharad
Why Fold Tent
Your comments are on point. Not so much in refutting Angharad, in that her perspective has validity. BC certainly is the best active TG site in that it has many fine authors who contribute frequently. It's weakness might be that as a community it tends to drive authors into a box. This is not a slam at Erin, who has often demonstrated her BIG Closet mentality. It is more of a statement of what it means to be part of a community.
If spoken here several times about the unfortunate number of readers looking for sexual stimulation. One of the reasons I've decided to stop writing TG fiction is the natural tendency to want to adjust your writing to your audience. If you are not aware of the reader, writing is self defeating. I don't want to write one-handed fiction. Yet, I can't help feeling disappointed when my stories are so poorly received. I recently posted Shannon's Course. It has received over 1600 hits, but only seven comments and nineteen votes. That means between ten to nineteen people took the time to give me a pat on the back. I'm assuming all who commented also voted, which might not be true.
On the other hand, I've seen stories that had been poorly written with nothing going for them but wish fulfillment receive several times that number of votes.
Since I don't want to adapt any more than what I have already, I have no choice but to quit writing TG fiction.
In a forward to a CD anthology, it was stated that any TG fiction story which results in the protagonist wearing a dress isn't worth reading. I don't agree, but I applaude the thought. This site embraces stories that are comfortable and predictable. That's a bit dangerous, don't you think?
Any way. . .one of my favorite sites is still Transformation Story Archive. http://tsa.transform.to/tg/
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
It ain't necessarily so.
Shannon's Course is a major piece of writing and one not easily read at one sitting. At least 3 of those 1600 accesses are mine and I haven't finished re-reading it yet. Consequently I have neither voted nor commented as I surely will eventually. I'm sure I'm not alone. As Angela knows I also saw a lot of it before posting some time ago, so I humbly suggest that my appreciation of her writing is second to none - few, anyway :) That surprisingly few readers bother even to vote, let alone comment, is true. My meagre offerings are getting steady downloads even now (probably because of FM's and Story Site's hiatus) but neither votes nor comments.
It's also true that the range of story types here is relatively limited, tending to 'sweet and sentimental' and semi-realistic. Lots of them are well written, I enjoy them myself but I also like stories with a harder edge (which are not necessarily 'one-handed', to be euphemistic) and they tend to be fewer in number. That isn't anyone's fault but just the way it is. I still rate BCTS as the leading source for TG fiction. The standard here is generally high.
What ever happens in the coming months, there will surely be sources for all types of fiction. There's a market that someone will satisfy - even if it's just for the satisfaction of doing so. We should all be grateful for that.
Geoff
I'd like to add...
Most people don't comment. I've written several books which sold many thousands of copies (which was good -- nothing approximates the warm fuzzies one feels when your fans contribute to a royalty cheque) and have printed my web site and e-mail address prominently on each. Over span of many years, I can count the number of inquiries or comments on very few hands. Obviously, I ought to have been writing romance novels, which do attract fan clubs, but be that as it may be, I didn't, choosing instead boring non-fiction of interest to nerds and geeks whose social skills, and desire to be sociable, are notoriously low-level.
Any Internet site requires at least a small amount of geekiness to access or be comfortable navigating, so there you go. QED
On a site like this, at least some readers will be reluctant to leave any traces, even though, as everyone agrees, the site doesn't encourage "one-handed" stories. There you go again.
In addition, the process of voting isn't terribly obvious. I have been a member for two years, and only recently discovered that the little "Vote" box at the bottom of stories isn't just a report of "the vote," but a means of causing votes to happen. This probably seems silly, but there you go.
It takes a level of effort to respond that many, in our new era of couch potatoes who expect to be endlessly entertained with no more effort required than the minute flexing of one's thumb, are unwilling to expend. That's not the way the telly works, nor even the way public performances work. No thought is required, ever, only the odd clap or two, perhaps the waving of a flag or a programme, rarely a shout or a cheer, none of which will be graded on concept or execution.
Comments require performance, and many people are shy. If they weren't, we'd all be writers, musicians, actors, and the like. But we're not. And those of us who aren't writers, musicians, actors, and the like are dependent on those of us who are.
In a curious reciprocity, lack of any coherent response is to be expected, ingratitude is to be expected, just as we feed infants, change their nappies, and raise them through adolescence, only to be thought incredibly dense, even irrelevant at times, and hateful adversaries on the odd occasion. Rewards are for suckers. If we have the ability, entertaining, educating, serving, is our duty.
Puddin'
--------------
How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is
to have a thankless child.
--- William Shakespeare, King Lear
But nothing new...
-
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
Oddly enough...
That was mine as well. Are they still active? Last I looked, they hadn't had any updates in years. After following your link, and then looking back at the root, it still seems to be in hiatus.
Oh, well.
Sic transit...
Puddin'
-
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
Angela, Your tent is torn
Angela
You seem to be torn between so many opposing principles: you want lots of people to enjoy your stories, yet you don't want to write popular fiction!
I'm not certain how popular Joyce and Beckett were in their day, but I don't think they compared with Agatha Christie's sales. So what? Did that stop them writing? (I have to say that given a choice of the three authors, I'd choose Agatha every time, so you can see where I'm coming from.)
You dismiss fiction you do not like as one-handed fiction, but I have to say I've seen hardly any on this site - perhaps you're looking for it harder than I am (a joke, OK!).
You don't agree that fiction with the protagonist wearing a dress is not worth reading, but you applaude the thought. Why? In fact, why even mention a statement with which you don't agree? (Personally, it's the only kind of fiction I enjoy on this site!)
Stop blaming the readers of this or any other site. Instead, decide what fiction you want to write and write it simply because you enjoy writing. If a few readers enjoy it, that's a bonus.
That will be far preferable to you looking for a solution to impossible situations, and then getting frustrated with everybody because there isn't one.
Best wishes
Lindale
VERY large numbers of people
Indeed, although this may be apocryphal, it's said that the failure of the technically-superior Consumer BetaMax format from Sony was down to the fact that they refused to allow their products to be used by pornographers. VHS, on the other hand, had no such qualms, and look where we are today.
Although various Beta formats are still important in the professional world, Beta disappeared completely from the consumer end of things.
Cheers,
Puddin'
-------------------
No one ever went broke underestimating
the intelligence of the American public.
--- Henry L. Mencken
-
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
Maybe, but . . .
My understanding is that Sony saddly underestimated the home recording market, thinking that consumers would only need three or four tapes. They would record a show, watch it, then reuse the tape. The companies behind the VHS standard, on the other hand, saw to it that blank tapes were plentiful and widely available. The consumer went with the easily available product.
I do know this: as of five years ago the single biggest market for stolen broadcast Betacams was the porn industry. At the prices then for good condition used Betacams, it was far cheaper for porn makers to buy a stolen unit and dump it later on. I saw the tape from one station that was doing a report on the popularity of stealing Betacams for the porn industry; they set up one of their news units in a parking garage with a hidden camera watching it. They got some great video of the break-in, but the thief got away with the bait Betacam and it was never recovered. That was an expensive story! Back to you, Puddin'.
They know they can survive
Different things
A Betacam uses a professional format only vaguely related to BetaMax -- indeed the oldest versions used the same cartridge, since grown -- but superior to it. They are much used for tapings in the field, where a studio camera would be difficult or impossible to handle. They're still around, and still used by many newsrooms and other field operations, but aren't the sort of thing you buy to take movies at your cousin's wedding, as the recent models are similar in price to a rather nice automobile, around $50,000, without a lens.
In the studio, Beta formats are being supplanted by direct digital recording to hard disk in MPEG-2 format, also by Sony, using a technology called MAV, Multi Access Video Disk Recorder. They run around US$60,000 or more, without a lens.
-
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
No, really?
DUH!
They know they can survive
Really
You seem to have a habit of posting dismissive and/or rude comments directed at me. I find this unfriendly.
Your own comment about Betacams was completely off the point, yet I took the trouble to answer it fairly, since you'd invited that response, and without pointing out any putative lack of perspicuity and or intelligence on your part, much less monosyllabic responses worthy of Homer Simpson.
As Holly astutely points out, the reasons for the failure of BetaMax were complex. The tapes allowed only one hour recording time, too short for a movie, but Sony was none-the-less hampered by a lengthy and very expensive lawsuit instigated by the major film studios, who were in an absolute funk about the possibility of consumers trading copies of Hollywood films as they do books. By the time Sony won, Victor's VHS had a clear playing field, and Sony had worked out all the bugs. In the end, they were similar products using similar technology. The smut market was only one piece of a large pie-in-the-face for Sony, but it didn't help.
Of course, in the long run, both formats "lost," since DVRs are the new standard for home recording, and Sony (along with the other members of the Blu-Ray Disc Association) seems to have picked the right side in the Blu-Ray battle.
Cheers,
Puddin'
-
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
Cheers
May I point out that you are the one who brought VCRs into this topic. You have a habit of commenting at great lengths on various subjects, no doubt eagar to share your vast knowledge with us humble people. Should anybody dare to demonstrate that they might have some knowledge on your chosen topic, you rush right in to disabuse them of that idea.
I ignore most of your commentarys, and I'll be the first to admit that I have learned a few new things from them. But every now and then one of these expositions of yours happens to cross into an area where I have some small shreds of knowledge, and I attempt to pass that knowledge along.
So, we now know that you object to comments that explain where your knowledge is lacking; and we also know you don't like quick, off the cuff responses. So be it. This is the last I'll say about any of your comments.
One final thought for you: Even a non-Simpsons watcher like me knows that Homer Simpson says "Doh", not "Duh".
Duh
They know they can survive
And here I thought the BetaMAx failed because
While it may have been superior technically, the majority of the public felt VHS quality was sufficient, VHS had longer playing times, and VHS cost significantly less for both the hardware and the tapes.
I know that was my reasoning. Sony products were/are a Cadillac/Mercedes, both of which which cost a lot more than a Chevy or Ford, for only a little or no increase in ability to go from Point A to Point B.
Yes, they do have much more luxurious interiors, but when budgetary restraints say to buy basic transportation, most people will settle for comfortable over luxuriously comfortable.
It’s not given to anyone to have no regrets; only to decide, through the choices we make, which regrets we’ll have,
David Weber – In Fury Born
Holly
It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice.
Holly
Exactly!
VHS was an open standard, embraced by several manufacturers. The higher production led to lower costs, which led to higher sales which in turn led to higher production which led to even lower costs which, well, you get the picture.
It didn't help that the higher quality of the Betamax was not readily apparent to most consumers.
Much the same is the case with the Mac vs. the PC. Arguably the Mac is a better computer than the Windows PC-based systems, but it's not better enough to matter to the average computer user. Apple is unable to take advantage of the economies of scale, and so remains a higher priced niche system.
They know they can survive
My in-laws
Were very delighted when I bought them a betamax machine in 1989. Beta was the preferred format in the Philippines.
A few years later we gave them a VHS machine. The Betamax machine was still working the last time I went to Tacloban in 2000.
Einstein described insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the result to change. Was Albert a reader of TG fiction then?
Daniel, author of maid, whore, bimbo, and sissy free TG fiction since 2000
What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.- Oscar Levant
Could not .........
agree more, BG is clearly the leader if not by size alone, also in dependability, but I would add Stardust as being highly representative of quality also.
Stardust
Is a very good site but comments are few and far between as I once noted over there. That is not Bob's fault BTW
Einstein described insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the result to change. Was Albert a reader of TG fiction then?
Daniel, author of maid, whore, bimbo, and sissy free TG fiction since 2000
What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.- Oscar Levant
Crystals.....
In her Christmas post on her message board Crystal explained why the site isn't being updated. Here's a link to that post. http://storysite.org/cgi-bin/crysboard/crysboard.cgi?action=...
Hopefully this clears up some of your worries :D
Hugs
Sammi
There's also this...
Site called TGFiction.net it doesn't have the volume many others have, but it has a number of decent pieces. :-)
P.S. Nobody paid me to mention the site either.
Wankers Welcome
...is what I'd like to see on the front page of BCTS, in 28 point font, up above the shortcuts box. When natural disaster claims our neighbor's house, do we ask if they're really "our kind of people"?, or do we do the Christian Thing and offer them a pallet on the floor for the duration? If the more libidinous fare is adequately labelled, it causes no harm. Those who are into such things will probably want to move on when they have other options, disgusted by the appalling lack of HOT STORIES here. Just don't get your goo on the good furniture there is all I ask...
~~~hugs, Laika
Well shit, I guess it really CAN happen here..,
.
A Bird in Hand
So -- it would have been the Christian Thing to give the Katrina victims a pallet instead of a mold-infested trailer? Who'd of thought.
What would wankers think is worth "two in the Bush"?
Wasn't 12:08 E.S.T. a joy?
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
fictionmania has all genres
FIctionmania had all genres of stories and a number of really great authors that posted really high quality serials.
One other site is up that I know of,
TGFiction.net located at http://www.tgfiction.net/eFiction30Beta/index.php
It is small but growing