Things you really don't care for in fan-fiction

[Crescent Pulsar S]

Complete and utter nonsense. It's like saying anarchy is okay just so long as no one is allowed to barge in and massacre your family. The simple fact of the matter is that it's not the fault of the mechanics that reading words is boring, but how a writer uses those words, because it is flexible. (Yeah, a given medium may accommodate certain things better, but that's irrelevant.) If for some reason that's not good enough for someone, when years and numbers of people using it prove that it's working just fine, then the issue doesn't lie with the language but with the individual. Particularly for such superficial reasons. If someone wants something "not boring," maybe they should try one of those languages that look like "funny doodles."

And it's simply wrong to use purple prose as if it exemplifies all written works of the kind being referred to. Especially since it's just one of many styles of writing, and other forms of writing shouldn't be put on the chopping block because of it. That's simply being silly.

You say that the language works and I say that it doesn't, so I make things more interesting. And if it pisses you off, well, that just makes me want to do it more. ^_^

That makes you a villain within this context. I want to protect the peace (aka: the standard of writing). You think peace is boring, so why not ruin it? You enemy of words with clear definitions and sentences with structural integrity, you!

To get back on topic, I also don't care for those times where there are a number of male and/or female characters but the author keeps using pronouns rather than proper names to distinguish which person is speaking, or they don't even use pronouns and we're left to wonder who that quoted text belongs to (especially when it's all by itself).

[Spokavriel]

Anarchy is dangerous. There are acceptable minimum requirements. Like agreeing on which alphabet to use. Going with too few of the agreed to requirements you can lose the ability for others to understand your writing.

Sort of how the Articles of Confederation was too little of a rule book and it lead to months of debate and some prayer before working out the US Constitution to make a government that was just enough control to avoid anarchy. Too bad we stopped following its restrictions strictly more than 100 years ago. There is a Safe Minimum beyond that there is trash.

[Konsaki]

That makes you a villain within this context. I want to protect the peace (aka: the standard of writing). You think peace is boring, so why not ruin it? You enemy of words with clear definitions and sentences with structural integrity, you!

Incorrect, you are currently standing in a Lawful or Order based stance while Noy Telinu is holding the exact opposite: Chaotic or Chaos.
Both of you are also using logical fallacies to promote your own side of the argument: Ad Hominem, Appeal to Common Practice, Appeal to Fear, Appeal to Ridicule, Appeal to Tradition, Biased Sample, Circumstantial Ad Hominem, False Dilemma, Slippery Slope and Straw Man.

I'll be making a post covering this topic if anyone wishes to move the discussion over to it: viewtopic.php?f=64&t=7182

[Noy Telinú]

...

Well, I dislike purple prose. I find it annoying and a reason why I dislike novels. And finding them in fanfiction causes me to skip entire paragraphs.
[url]
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PurpleProse[/url]

[Crescent Pulsar S]

Incorrect, you are currently standing in a Lawful or Order based stance while Noy Telinu is holding the exact opposite: Chaotic or Chaos.
Both of you are also using logical fallacies to promote your own side of the argument: Ad Hominem, Appeal to Common Practice, Appeal to Fear, Appeal to Ridicule, Appeal to Tradition, Biased Sample, Circumstantial Ad Hominem, False Dilemma, Slippery Slope and Straw Man.

First, I'd argue that at least some of your assessments are wrong, or at least too unspecified for all of it to cover either I or Noy. Also, arguing that fallacies makes an argument false is also a logical fallacy. So, welcome to the club.

And I'd like to see people communicate ideas and understand what's sent and received without order. I mean, honestly and seriously here. Is this what the youth of today is like? XD

[Noy Telinú]

The youth today are young. ^_^

Also, I'm not "Whooo! Chaos!" I'm more of "it's BORING!" more of a balance. Continue to improve it, but realize that it has to make sense.

The english today is totally different then shakesphere or even 1777 version. Colour anyone?

[Konsaki]

First, I'd argue that at least some of your assessments are wrong, or at least too unspecified for all of it to cover either I or Noy. Also, arguing that fallacies makes an argument false is also a logical fallacy. So, welcome to the club.

Both of you are also using logical fallacies to promote your own side of the argument:

I never stated that your positions were wrong when I stated you were using logical fallacies, so please don't try to use another fallacy to undermine my character.

[Noy Telinú]

I don't really care for tics in Spanish. Mostly because I don't speak it.

[Crescent Pulsar S]

I never stated that your positions were wrong when I stated you were using logical fallacies, so please don't try to use another fallacy to undermine my character.

So... You just felt like keeping score just because? There was no purpose to connect the listed fallacies with our stances? Yeah... It's not easy for me to believe. I'm cynical like that. You must have had something to gain from it! Don't hide it! *_*

Anyway, it's news to me that I was undermining your character, seeing as I had nothing relative to the argument to gain from it. I thought I was being inclusive by welcoming you into the club you set up for us. And if -- by now -- you don't notice that I'm mostly joking, well... And, no, I will not elucidate what I mean in regard to the "mostly" part.

I think we cleared most of this up with that poll topic of yours anyway, so...

Colour anyone?

That's still used, actually. Not so much in American English, though.

[PCHeintz72]

Sorry Noy Telinú I also disagree, though for probably different reasons...

Back when fan fiction was mostly on personal websites. Everyone had their own ideas on fonts, styling, formatting, and what not... it was horrible... and one of the reasons to this day I preferr copying any non TXT story into a TXT exitor and reading it that way...

Hard fonts and custom colors do not malke things more memorable, they make a story harder to read. Making a story harder to read makes me more likely to stop reading... not more likely to remember it (except likely to remember that its horrible custom fonts and colors and whatnot made me stop).

Relying on pictures rather than words is not nessecarily a good idea unless what is being conveyed is a simple concept... A picture is worth a 100 words is likely true... but it is a different 1000 words to each person viewing it... King of like getting two art critics to critic a complex painting... You will get two different descriptions.

[Té Rowan]

.boom { font: 4em "Mutant Supermodel"; text-align: center; }

...

<p class=boom>BOOOMM!!</p>

...makes for an awesome BOOM in the text. 'Course, ya gotta have Mutant Supermodel installed or webfonted.

[Konsaki]

If you dont... it looks pretty lame and confusing.

Anyways, another thing that really irks me about some fanfics, if you could even call them that, is when the author posts a chapter of around 100 words. What the hell can you do with just one hundred words?!
I used 49 words to write everything above this!

[PCHeintz72]

.boom { font: 4em "Mutant Supermodel"; text-align: center; }

...

<p class=boom>BOOOMM!!</p>

...makes for an awesome BOOM in the text. 'Course, ya gotta have Mutant Supermodel installed or webfonted.

And it would need to be read on a device that could recognize the encoding format of the story, and find the font, the font be in a format it can read, and it be able to display that font, and resize it correctly, and ccenter it correctly.

Proving my point.

[Té Rowan]

:-Þ

You do not have a web browser that groks web fonts?

[Té Rowan]

Oh, an' Noy (could'nae resist...):

Don't rely on using hard-to-read formatting/fonts. It only works with a captive audience.