Fanfiction.net

Unleash your imagination.

Possibly one of the most well-known fanfiction writing sites on the web, Fanfiction.net has certainly stuck around the longest. Propelled by their unique site organization system and strong fanbase, it has made it through many fanfiction phases and seems geared to keep up with the ever-changing fanfiction scene.

Divide and Conquer

Fanfiction.net is clearly a site for the readers. Its intricate story categorization system is a pretty blaring indication of that. Its search consists of several applications and is, by far, the site's best feature. Readers are invited to search for stories by fandom, world (novel or film, if it applies), language, content rating, genre, pairing, word count, and status. This ensures that all readers find exactly the kind of story they're looking for.

Author's Needs

Aside from a great search system, fanfiction.net also possesses a few other useful features, one of which in particular provides a great service to writers. FF.net's beta-readers list allows for certain members to sign up as official betas, and from this list writers can find betas that specialize in their fandom. Though criticism of the beta selection suggests that the site’s criteria (a user must be a member of fanfic.net for a month and have posted at least 6000 words to the site before being a beta reader) are too lax, the simple fact that FF.net offers and supports official beta services at all is a step up from most writing sites.

Alerting the Readers

Another feature of fanfic.net is its reader alert system. Not only do readers have the option of subscribing to stories (and being alerted when they are updated), but they can subscribe to authors as well. This means that fans of any particular author can receive e-mail alerts when that author posts a new story, ensuring that readers can continue to read the work of the authors they admire.

In addition to story and author alerts, readers can also view the favorite authors and stories of their favorite authors. For people looking to find good stories in any given fandom, this function makes searching for recommended work much easier and allows authors to give even more to their readers.

The Issue with Posting

While FF.net certainly has its shining points, it isn't exempt from problems. Issues with posting revolve around a tricky uploading situation, and content limitations. Unlike many writing sites, Fanfiction.net doesn't allow for 'copy + paste' posting. All users must upload a file of their story/chapter before posting to the site. This means that users must have access to a word processing program. The process of uploading files to the site and then transferring them into the story seems to entail tedious and unnecessary steps, especially when it comes to editing published works – the author must re-upload the piece and then edit the story, rather than just copying and pasting the edited work directly into the chapter.

But the real irritation occurs with formatting errors. For some, after uploading the chapters to Fanfiction's document manager, the formatting (spacing, italics and bolding) often disappears, causing the author to have to repeatedly re-upload their work or manually edit the chapter before adding it to a story. It's safe to say that dealing with Fanfiction.net's document manager is my least favorite part of the experience.

Limitations

As with any site that focuses on a small niche, FF.net has its content limitations, the most obvious being no original fiction. As its namesake suggests, Fanfiction.net is strictly for fanfiction. But even within that, there are more limits in the form of a 'no-fly' list for specific works of fiction, and a ban on real-person fiction – this includes bandfics and fanfiction based on celebrities or other non-ficticious persons. For many fans, this restriction is a big let-down.

Other issues with Fanfiction.net stem from staff and managements inadequacies – usually in reference to a dispassionate stance on flaming, bashing, and user-to-user harassment. In the past the site has done little to prevent it and nothing to stop it. Though the site has installed options to limit who can comment on your work, if a user is found to be flaming or bashing another user or their work, nothing is done about it.

What's the Use?

Despite its flaws, Fanfiction.net is a perfect place for fanfiction lovers. Like a library, the site specializes in getting you in, helping you find the perfect story, and getting you out. If you're looking for a fanfiction fix for your specific fandom, Fanfiction.net is definitely the best place to start.

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