Subject: sporking etiquette
Author:
Posted on: 2011-07-15 20:19:00 UTC
I think I remember reading somewhere on the PPC wiki that you shouldn't spork a fic if the author discontinued it because they realized it was bad. But is it okay to spork a fic if the author discontinued it for other reasons?
Specifically this section.
Not that this guide is a black-and-white list of rules, but pretty much everything in it was discussed before it went up, so that was the general opinion at the time... er, a year ago? Whenever I actually wrote the thing?
Anyway, there is absolutely no reason I know of that you can't spork a fic that's been discontinued for other reasons. Most fics aren't finished. Go right ahead :)
Wasn't it more about the author attempting to remove the fic than discontinuing it? In most cases even after an author tries to remove a fic it's still archived somewhere, and I think it was considered kind of mean to spork a fic that was at least attempted to be taken down.
I do recall at least one mission where the agents were in the middle of the fic while it was being deleted. Can't remember which set of agents it was, sorry.
I guess the Rule of Funny applies, as in everything PPC-based.
The second one I think? I was halfway through writing it when it was suddenly gone. They had to scramble to get out without being deleted themselves.
If it's clear the author wised up in the middle of a fic, it sort of ruins the climate for sporking it. "THIS MARY SUE IS SO BAD... oh wait. It just self-terminated."
A fic I sporked got discontinued because the author returned the game it was based off of and didn't want to finish it, or even finish the game she was playing. If that doesn't betray how little care the story got, then I don't know what does.
A lot of Suefics are never finished anyway: merely forgotten and never updated.
There was that one PotC Youfic where the Suethor actually listened to concrit and changed the story halfway through. The Agents were impressed and let it off with a warning.
If only that happened more often.
The PPC would save a fortune on anti-sparkle ammunition.
I have to get some Anti-Sparkle ones, though. They can be handy.