I'm going to be a bit blunt, and really want to point out that we have had a lack of library submissions, not because of laziness of all things, but rather a simple lack of 4-5 star quality stories. I've read a lot of stories that came from this thread the past year, but I would not have post them for Review. The few that actually DID deserve it, often would get a "should probably submit for review" comment and we see threads on the review board come out as a result.

This thread has in large part become the answer to "there aren't really any GREAT new fics, but I still want some guilty pleasures to read that won't make me claw my eyes out..."

And where else but here can we post it? Should we start a thread for every 3 star fic that we come across (which, the majority of them are). Admittedly, if the standards for getting into the library were lowered, I'm sure we'd see a lot more submissions. However, that is not the case. Most stories posted in this thread would get blown into flame because they simply aren't great.

This is why people mention "losing stories." Because, why bother posting something for Review while knowing that it definitely won't make it into the library? Sure, I know the mods won't mind taking the time to move them into the Recycle Bin. But really, it's the fact that we like to think we have a high standard that we avoid posting mediocre stories for review and use this thread too share with others stories that could still be a fun read.

 

Lol if you want to lose lazy members perhaps you shouldn't cater to them.

I think I've read mostly everything I'm interested in from the library, I've been a member here for ages and reading fanfiction for even longer. There's maybe 10 threads in each Library category that have even been REPLIED to in the past year, so there's not much content to go through there.

You avoided my primary concerns though (that less stories would be posted overall, and that the stories posted here were not of library quality to begin with).

All I think is that we should be as encouraging as possible of new submissions. If the Almost Recommended thread was working, then I see no reason to change that. As I said before, if people saw something in here as library quality they could submit it themselves, and if it's not then someone else might have found it worth reading anyway.

 

Leave this thread as is. You've presented your better option. If people are using it more to "find" stories, they'll be more inclined to "post" stories as new threads.

The glory days of tags and what not are behind us. I like this single thread format. There's less of a putting yourself out there. This is more of a conversation where people post what they're reading.

I looked at a few of the stories posted in the Almost Rec as separate threads. Maybe it's just conditioning but I cannot be arsed to open a new thread for a 3 star story with two comments around it. I like to rapidly scroll through my almost recs until something catches my eye.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that's how it always has been? (Besides the changing name from Recycling Bin to Almost Recommended).

Still, I think I understand what you guys are trying to do now. If there is a general attitude change toward the "For Review" where fics can be expected to go into Recycling Bin or "Almost Recommended," then yeah, I actually don't mind that at all.

Sorry I hadn't understood that. But to be honest, though it's clear in retrospect, I don't think that was really conveyed completely in the original post (it just felt like a simple renaming of Recycle Bin to Almost Recommended, period.)

 

You should probably consider updating the "Review Board Rules" -thread to reflect this change. The tone of it definitely doesn't encourage for not hesitating.

 

A series of one-shots just to find some sort of rhyme or reason to the abomination that is 'Albus Severus Potter'? I approve. Though I doubt anything will touch Opalish's explanation in The Wendell that Wasn't. I genuinely wonder if JKR was drunk when she decided the Potter Kids' names. I mean, no one in their right mind would think Albus Severus a good name for their character/kid. No one.

 

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian.

Ronald Bilius.

The list really goes on and on and on, but I was always willing to give the magical world's strange names a pass; them being bizarre was always the point, because the magical world is bizzare.

Hermione's parents, on the other hand, were just inviting their daughter to be bullied.

 

Warlocke's story-post on that is the one that amused me the most. More-so than that one-shot, at least.

https://forums.darklordpotter.net/showthread.php?p=799359#post799359

 

Didn't know where to post this since it's a reboot of "The Prince That Was Promised" so I thought I'd post it here. Apparently CxJenious is now reading ASOFAI, before he'd been writing it based off of the show alone, which was honestly pretty incredible, never would've guessed that from reading "Prince that was Promised" alone. He's editing the old chapters and adding things, so far the first two chapters appear the same.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11098283/1/The-Black-Prince EDIT: it has since been updated in WBA

 

I wonder if he will get rid of the rape bit. It did a decent job in getting Harry to use his powers, but took over the story and made it rather boring.

 

I don't know if I'd say it took over the story- it was a turning point for Harry, when he finally realized just how different the ASOIAF world is from his old one.

I think the only reason the story may seem like it was dominated by it was because there were only a few chapters afterwards that all followed the events that happened because of it. The interludes marked the time skip forward, but there wasn't anything after them.

 

The whole rape thing felt pretty forced to me.

 

Wouldn't be rape otherwise now would it?

 

I think he means that it feels like an arbitrary inclusion to force the story to be 'darker' or 'grittier' that it otherwise would be, and I agree. It wasn't very well done, so I hope the rewrite is better.

 

I think the idea was sound, just executed a bit sloppy. I do think Harry needs an even similar to that to harden him up somewhat.

 

The focus on Aeryn that the post-rape chapters have was my only real problem with the scene. I think it would have worked better if she'd died from complications or wounds or something, and Harry arrived much later to witness her death.

I understand that she's the author's sort of prophet figure and is thus an important character, but there's no reason it couldn't be someone else a little later. We all know he's Azor but it's annoying to have the author make it so unquestionable from the get go. Hopefully the change in title is indicative of such a change in mindset but it remains to be seen.

 

Down the Rabbit Hole by Accusatrix is a pretty good story with a very interesting premise, which you should read to find out. It really sets up the idea of Dark!Harry and Dark!Ginny quite nicely. I was really frustrated when I ran out of chapters to read, so the story did something right. It seems sadly abandoned, but what is there is quite good.

 

You haven't given me any reason to read this story. All you've said is that it supposedly has an interesting premise that you wont spoil for reasons, it has Dark!Harry and Dark!Ginney, and it might be abandoned. None of those things are giving me any reason to actually click that link and give this story a try. Why do you like it; what about it makes you frustrated that there aren't more chapters?

 

Well, you could, y'know, read the first chapter and find out whether the story is to your liking or not. But the main draw of the story is what I mentioned -- creating a believable scenario where Harry and Ginny actually go down a darker path than canon. So many stories have Harry deciding to go evil almost overnight to the point where it seems like a personality transplant -- this one makes you believe the only way Harry would survive is if he said 'Fuck it all' and started giving no fucks to the outside world.

I could say more, but really, there isn't much more to the story as it got abandoned when it was starting to get the most interesting. There's a reason I posted this in the Almost Recommended thread -- which is supposed to be for either decently written but below average stories or stories where there isn't much to rate. I thought the premise here was interesting (and unique) enough for the story to be posted, although there isn't a whole lot of it.