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[mchand]

I've been reading fanfiction for about five years now. Mostly I stick to "active" fandoms, but about 6 months ago, I got bored with what I was currently reading and dipped my toe into reading RPF--popslash (NSYNC popslash, to be specfic). I was completely hooked, but I realized how hard it is to suddenly start reading in a fandom that many of the authors have moved on from. Mostly I limited my reading to recommendation lists, but there was a slight problem. Becuase many of these stories were written three, four or five years ago, the stories are no longer there.

This made me think about the transient nature of the internet. I've never been one to save files as I read them--I've always counted on them being there if I ever wanted to reread--like a favorite book that I can pull off the bookshelf in my office. It's never been an issue for me in active fandoms, where website and livejournals are being continuously updated, but I was shocked at how frustrated I got when following a recommendation to a dead link. And it's even worse, when I find another recommendation of that same story!

It's really made me reevaluation how I read fanfiction online. I've become much more prone to download stories that I loved because they might not be there tomorrow.

Comments

[mickeym.livejournal.com]

It is unfortunate -- and I suspect a lot of the links even on the Crackfic recs page are out of date. Meh. Are there some stories you want to list here, that I might have saved, or know of a current link? Some authors have pulled their stuff -- Amber, for example -- but in some cases, the files have just moved around.

And lots of us are still here, still writing! :)

[mchand.livejournal.com]

It's funny that you would mention Amber--she was one of the authors I was thinking of--with her stories recced all over the place. Some other authors were Prosperina, Tomilee, Marion's work at orange-jello. Like I said, I haven't read of these, I just see the names. If you know of any new links or have any saved stories, you can e-mail me at mchandfan [at] gmail [dot] com. Thanks so much for the offer!

I'm also extremely thankful that great authors like you are still writing in the fandom!

[mchand.livejournal.com]

Oh, I also forgot bitterchick as well, who is listed on your crackfic page!