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.