I've only ever belonged to more serious writer's websites. The only site I belong to that allows fanfiction is gaiaonline.com and I guess it's kinda overrun by fanficcers... but it's overrun by teeny-boppers as it's geared towards teeny-boppers. :P Would there be a way to control the influx of fanficcers? Maybe help them develop their writing skills into more original avenues? Maybe we could say, we allow fanfiction but we don't encourage it as we are an original writing forum. I dunno. I just like to compromise. :?

MoquanMercenary wants to post a compromise, but he can't get on his computer right now, so I'm doing it for him: Since we already have a rule that one has to post two reviews before being able to post their own work, I propose a similar compromise for fanfic writters: they have to post two original works for everyone one fanfic they post. That way they can continue to have their fun, while still developing their literary skills and contributing positively to the community as a whole. I second the Moquan's idea. That's why I'm posting it for him.

one has to post two reviews before being able to post their own work Oh dear! I must have skipped that part when reading the rules. :( I'm not good at reviewing other's works...

I would like to express my thanks to our Shadowy friend for posting for me while I was unable to get online, and say that it was indeed my idea. I would also like to say that I am still staunchly against the idea of allowing fanfic on our site, but my above suggestion would be an acceptable compromise in my opinion.

I think it's a good compromise. A nice way of encouraging original works without being snobby about it. :P

I dig the compromise! O.o We've got some good heads on our collective shoulders here.

I posted yes, because, though fanfic isn't really my "thing", it would widen the appeal of the site. I can see all the negative aspects, though, so I don't mind a huge amount which way it goes.

Hmm. I do like the proposed idea. On the other hand, some good points were made, specifically by Ennui and Takewalker. I think that if we were to add the fan fiction section, it would appeal to more of my friends, or at least one that I can think of, but at the same time I'm not certain as to whether or not it would really do anything for the board as a whole. There are a lot of other message boards out there that have sections for fan fiction and are overrun by the fan fic writers who think they are soooooo good, when they're really not, and the original fic writers hardly get any attention. The old days of fanfiction.net, when it had a section for original writing before it expanded to fictionpress.com, are a good example of this. Even now, if I were to write a Star Wars fan fic using my original characters, I would hardly get any reviews. But if I were to use canon characters, my bet is that I'd get a crap load more reviews, and I base that on my experience in fan fiction writing. I think that if we were to have a fan fiction section, the site would eventually be overrun with younger writers who think they're soooo good at writing, and we would lose our originality as a board, even if we were to try out the compromise proposed by Moquan. ...Damn, my computer randomly shut off on me and now I forgot what I was going to say next. o.o The whole point in asking this question was because someone had asked about helping us out, possibly with promotion, and they mentioned fan fiction boards...but right now, the board doesn't appeal to fan fic writers, and the more I think about it, the more I think we should probably keep it that way. There aren't many message boards out there for original writing that don't have fan fiction sections where fan fic writers can come and overrun them. Based on the replies here, I think we have more people willing to read fan fics than actually write them, so I'm not certain there's much of a point in making a section for it.

Well considered, and I applaud the decision. I'm glad to have helped. :)

Glad to hear you've come to a decision, especially one that I am in favor of :)

I just want you to know, in case I sounded harsh or anything, that I'm really not against well written fanfic. As I've told other users, such as Olram, I have friends who do it. One of their favorite fanfic things was Harry Potter and Ron Weasley with squirrel tails and dating each other. And that's like writing blasphemy. So, I'm not against the friends of yours who are actually good writers, I would actually love to read some good fan fiction. But, I just don't want something you and most people on the site have put a lot of time into to turn into something where 13 year-old girls post their creepy fandom fantasies. I still think we should advertise on Fanfic sites, though, but advertise as a forum for writers bettering themselves. If nothing else, we'll get more people to look at it and word might get around. Once again, sorry for being so rude about fanfic writers. I shouldn't made such a blanket statement when I know that there are people like you, Danny, out there.

Good decision, all in all, I think. I don't have a problem with fanfic writers, but you're right, if they really want to write it then they can go to fanfiction.net or Mugglenet. no point in clogging an original writing site with rip-offs.

One of their favorite fanfic things was Harry Potter and Ron Weasley with squirrel tails and dating each other. LOL WOW. O_o that's a bit.. er.. disturbing.

Oh, it was...it was. The weird thing is, they thought it was brilliant. And they'd tell me all about it, because they wrote a vast number of these things. And, apparently Ron and Harry started being able to sleep with other characters and give them tails, or something. And that's a huge reason I made detrimental comments about fanfic writers. It hurts my brain.