evildrem: (mockyou(lanning))
([personal profile] evildrem Mar. 16th, 2004 10:59 am)
As some of you are aware I've not actually been active in the Highlander fandom for that long. I think its about a year a bit now. I'm still very much a newbie really. As such I'd like to relate one of my 'newbie' experiences to you all.



When I took that first swandive into the Highlander fandom I did the usual thing of going to Y!Groups and joining as many HL slash lists as possible. Obviously one of these lists was ODM (OnlyDuncanMethos), which is run by [personal profile] lastrega and the other was SDM (StrictlyDuncanMethos) which is, or was, run by [profile] mslasha.

Upon receiving the FAQ for SDM I was somewhat startled by the fact that one of the rules was that there was to be no mention of the writing of or discussion of the person known as [profile] tritorella on list. There was also a selection of her other aliases given just to avoid any confusion. At this point, I hasten to add, I didn't *know* Trit. I had seen some of her posts on other lists and read some of her fic but I'd no actual personal experience with her.

This seemed a little *odd* as a rule for a lists so I actually took the step of emailing the mods/owner and asking what on earth this was all about. One of the mods replied as did [profile] mslasha personally with a lengthy explanation of their grievances and also a link to webpage (now removed) which had excerpts of emails from Trit amongst other people and purported to be examples of trollish behaviour. Now this disturbed me.

Firstly, I was very uncomfortable with the fact that someone was posting emails on a webpage like this. Secondly, I admit quite freely that I assumed that there is no smoke without fire and that Trit must be a fairly difficult person and done something fairly bad to warrant this sort of treatment. So, I made some comment about how shocked I was, I even offered my services in a legal capacity should the owner or mods of SDM suffer any similar problems in the future and then I went my own sweet way and forgot all about it.

Okay, lets fast forward a month or so. I'm now easing my way into the fandom and big tart that I am, I manage to attract the attention of various lovely people who invite me to join some private HL related lists. One of these people is my darling [personal profile] lastrega who invited me to join a private list she modded. It turns out this list was actually owned by Trit. I thought nothing of it really as I had no actual beef with Trit and liked her stories.

Move forward another month or so. I get involved in writing a Round Robin with various members of Trit's list including [personal profile] lastrega, [profile] tritorella herself , [personal profile] litalex, [personal profile] dkwilliams and [personal profile] darthhellokitty. This eventually evolves into Comes A Scotsman and is posted on various lists.

Imagine my surprise to then receive an email from one of the mods of SDM which asked me if I was indeed a member of Trit's private list. I replied saying "Yes" and asking, "why she wanted to know this?" I then got back a decidedly snippy email accusing me, amongst other things, of being a spy for Trit on SDM and associating with people known to be sympathisers with her. As you can probably imagine my response to that was somewhat less then civil. It's also worth mentioning at this point that at no time on Trit's list had [profile] mslasha or any of her friends been mentioned nor the disagreement that existed between them been alluded to. Anyway, I exchanged various mildly irritated emails with the mods and the owner of SDM and I did think that the situation had been resolved as I heard nothing further from any of them.

At the same time I was less then polite on Trit's list. I basically posted something along the lines of, "what the flying fuck is all this crap and why am I getting dragged into it?" *That* was the first time I actually heard the 'other' side of the story from both Trit, herself and from [personal profile] lastrega. Taking all this on board, I'm afraid my response was pretty much still, "all well and good but frankly I don't *care* what happened or about what someone has or hasn't done and bollocks to the lot of you, leave me out of it!"

Shortly after this, I attempted to access the SDM archive and found I was no longer a member of the list. When I tried to email [profile] mslasha to ask why I had been removed from the list, my email was returned because my email address had apparently been blocked.

So I washed my hands of the whole affair and moved on.

Over time I have got to know [profile] tritorella better. She is without a shadow of a doubt, an acquired taste. She's opinionated, she's blunt and sometimes she is rude. I have on occasion disagreed vehemently with things she has said on lists. This does not however stop me regarding her as an excellent writer, a great contributor to fandom and someone I have the utmost respect, admiration and friendship for. Of late she has kindly volunteered to host my Kink!Fic Challenge on her webpage and also to update it for me, even though she now has left the Highlander fandom.

I can't comment on what has caused all the animosity between Trit and [profile] mslasha and her friends. I wasn't around when it happened. I can however make the following observations:

1. Disagreeing with someone, even hating them is understandable. We are not all going to like each other in fandom and sometimes this will involve frayed tempers all round. I am as guilty as anyone of this. Look at the whole J-Blo mess! That said, posting lists of email addresses, IP addresses and various aliases publically on the web, of people you don't like, is *not* acceptable for *any* reason. It's an infringement of personal privacy and doubly so if you cannot even get these correct and implicate people who have nothing to with your little fight.

2. Squealing constantly on lists and in LJ about how badly the person you disagree with has treated you and how they are 'stalking' you, starts to wear slightly thin after the first year or so. Particularly when the person you disagree with hasn't mentioned your argument at all, anywhere.

3. It's a good idea to have clear proof that someone has done you wrong before you start waging a campaign of hate against them across several fandoms. Funnily enough uninvolved third parties might actually consider behaviour like that as stalking and troll-like.

4. Accusing people you don't know of spying for your enemies is pathetic. It may come as a shock to you but many people could not care less about your dispute, nor do they want to hear about it.

[profile] mslasha, [personal profile] wickdzoot, [profile] houseofsnark, and [profile] xander_spike you have brought all this on yourselves by your ridiculous behaviour. I have no sympathy and I certainly shall be regarding any of your future whines about being stalked and harassed with a very large pinch of salt. I see that now, you have deleted most of the controversial comments from your LJ's. I think that says it all.

Everyone involved in this hideous mess should take a deep breath, get some perspective and back away from the argument before things get seriously nasty. I know it's a hard thing to ask for mature behaviour in fandom but you know, I live in hope! I'll leave it up to whoever reads this to make their own minds up about who is telling the truth. If you want to abuse, shout, comment or talk to me about what I said please do. I have simply stated the facts as I see them. Undoubtably I'm going to be accused of bias in favour of Trit because of my interaction with her. I think however the majority of people who read this will realise I have no axe to grind.

There is one thing I would like to add to this. The comment here made by [profile] gabixenafen about Trit is a complete and utter lie. I don't care how 'reliable' the so-called source was. I was at HLDU5 with Trit and present for all her interactions (which were few) with the various guests of honour. I can state categorically that this *never* happened! Spreading lies like this is malicious and nasty and says more about the people who make them then anything about Trit. The organisers of HLDU5 would be equally horrified to see that false accusations such as these are being made. I strongly suggest to the owner of this LJ that this comment is removed.

Now, lets *never* speak of this again.
ext_19186: Dean the demon hunter (Default)

From: [identity profile] candygramme.livejournal.com

Re: Here's the text from SDM FAQ#11...and my comments


SDM FAQ:

1. What is a FAQ?
For all your newbies out there, a FAQ means Frequently Asked Questions. Meaning if you don't know what the list guidelines are, look at the FAQ, more than likely it will be there -- along with other pertinent information about that individual list. So, if you've just joined a mailing list, it's a good thing to read the FAQ of each particular list you are on, as each list's FAQ's will vary. Most of the time a FAQ will include the premise of the list, rules, regulations and fiction posting guidelines. And that is exactly what the SDM FAQ has in it, so read on.

2. Why is the SDM list by invite-only and why is membership restricted to 105 members?
Well, the SDM isn't really by invite-only. Anyone is allowed to try and join, however, membership can be denied by the moderators. Membership is restricted to 115 members (excluding the list moderators) as the list owners and moderators wanted to keep the SDM list small and informal, meaning they wanted to create an intimate feeling on this list where friends met and greet and talk about their favorite topic -- Duncan and Methos!

3. If membership can be denied, isn't that making the SDM list selective?
No, lots of mailing lists have restricted membership policies. This one is no different. Because of the sensitive nature of our content – ie, slash – we do not want underage subscribers to be exposed to our content. Therefore we have to make our best effort to keep the membership adult.

4. So then, who are the moderators?
The original list owner on Yahoo Groups was Holly Lynn (MethosChickee@aol.com), but she has decided to bow out of Highlander fandom for various reasons and turned the list over to Jennie (JennieeMcG@aol.com). But because of real life commitments, Jennie has a moderator, Sue (sashworth@shaw.ca) to help her with administrative things. Holly is no longer involved and has not been for some time.

Either of us can be contacted by list members if you have any questions or concerns. All moderators have the power to approve/disapprove pending memberships and pending posts.

5. So then, the list is set to moderating each post that is sent to SDM?
No, all of us moderators are way to busy to approve every single e-mail that is posted to SDM, but new members are moderated for the first month. Then, that feature is turned off after the month is up.

6. What is a troll?
A troll is someone who joins a mailing list with the specific intent to start a flame war or cause trouble on the list. Frequently they join under false names and e-mail address and like to cause trouble on lists just for the sheer fun of it, and then unsub after the fur gets flying between members!

Trolls will not be tolerated on SDM list. If you want to cause trouble, please go somewhere else. Anyone thought to be a troll will be warned first to please stop that behavior. If they continue, they will be suspended from SDM for a period, their posts moderated indefinitely and if they continue to act up, they will be banned for life.

7. What are the list rules about flames?
They will not be tolerated. And be sure, the moderators are well aware of what flames are. A flame is not constructive criticism. A flame is, "You suck as a writer, do the world a favor and stop writing!" or "Nobody on this list likes your stuff, post it elsewhere or better yet, stop writing as you cannot string two sentences together!" That is a flame to a writer.

Constructive criticism is more like, "I think your characterization of Methos on page 3 of your story, Duncan and Methos Go Camping was a little off base. Since when is Methos afraid of snakes? Is that in canon? I think maybe you need to reconsider his motives for his acting like a girl and screaming when he saw that snake! Perhaps you would consider rewriting that scene?"

[Error: Irreparable invalid markup ('<sidenote:>') in entry. Owner must fix manually. Raw contents below.]

SDM FAQ:

1. What is a FAQ?
For all your newbies out there, a FAQ means Frequently Asked Questions. Meaning if you don't know what the list guidelines are, look at the FAQ, more than likely it will be there -- along with other pertinent information about that individual list. So, if you've just joined a mailing list, it's a good thing to read the FAQ of each particular list you are on, as each list's FAQ's will vary. Most of the time a FAQ will include the premise of the list, rules, regulations and fiction posting guidelines. And that is exactly what the SDM FAQ has in it, so read on.

2. Why is the SDM list by invite-only and why is membership restricted to 105 members?
Well, the SDM isn't really by invite-only. Anyone is allowed to try and join, however, membership can be denied by the moderators. Membership is restricted to 115 members (excluding the list moderators) as the list owners and moderators wanted to keep the SDM list small and informal, meaning they wanted to create an intimate feeling on this list where friends met and greet and talk about their favorite topic -- Duncan and Methos!

3. If membership can be denied, isn't that making the SDM list selective?
No, lots of mailing lists have restricted membership policies. This one is no different. Because of the sensitive nature of our content – ie, slash – we do not want underage subscribers to be exposed to our content. Therefore we have to make our best effort to keep the membership adult.

4. So then, who are the moderators?
The original list owner on Yahoo Groups was Holly Lynn (MethosChickee@aol.com), but she has decided to bow out of Highlander fandom for various reasons and turned the list over to Jennie (JennieeMcG@aol.com). But because of real life commitments, Jennie has a moderator, Sue (sashworth@shaw.ca) to help her with administrative things. Holly is no longer involved and has not been for some time.

Either of us can be contacted by list members if you have any questions or concerns. All moderators have the power to approve/disapprove pending memberships and pending posts.

5. So then, the list is set to moderating each post that is sent to SDM?
No, all of us moderators are way to busy to approve every single e-mail that is posted to SDM, but new members are moderated for the first month. Then, that feature is turned off after the month is up.

6. What is a troll?
A troll is someone who joins a mailing list with the specific intent to start a flame war or cause trouble on the list. Frequently they join under false names and e-mail address and like to cause trouble on lists just for the sheer fun of it, and then unsub after the fur gets flying between members!

Trolls will not be tolerated on SDM list. If you want to cause trouble, please go somewhere else. Anyone thought to be a troll will be warned first to please stop that behavior. If they continue, they will be suspended from SDM for a period, their posts moderated indefinitely and if they continue to act up, they will be banned for life.

7. What are the list rules about flames?
They will not be tolerated. And be sure, the moderators are well aware of what flames are. A flame is not constructive criticism. A flame is, "You suck as a writer, do the world a favor and stop writing!" or "Nobody on this list likes your stuff, post it elsewhere or better yet, stop writing as you cannot string two sentences together!" That is a flame to a writer.

Constructive criticism is more like, "I think your characterization of Methos on page 3 of your story, Duncan and Methos Go Camping was a little off base. Since when is Methos afraid of snakes? Is that in canon? I think maybe you need to reconsider his motives for his acting like a girl and screaming when he saw that snake! Perhaps you would consider rewriting that scene?"

<Sidenote: Constructive criticism is something like that! ? Ask a moderator first if you are unsure. >

ext_19186: Dean the demon hunter (Default)

From: [identity profile] candygramme.livejournal.com

Re: Here's the text from SDM FAQ#11...and my comments


8. What do I do if someone flames me on list?
Contact a moderator, contact a moderator! Make this your mantra -- flaming that person back on list will not be accepted no matter how much they may have sullied your reputation. It may make you feel better at that precise moment, but it is not good for the list. People who openly flame each other on SDM will be given a warning in private to cease and desist. If the moderators feel that discussion thread is causing problems, a note will be posted to SDM for that thread to stop being discussed. Meaning end of discussion. Period, do not cross Go, do not collect $200.

If the perpetrators ignore that administrative order, then people will be suspended for one week. If they come back to the list and continue to flame people, they will be banned. So, it's warning, suspension, banning. Once you are banned from SDM, you cannot be invited back on.

However, if after the week's suspension, you come back to the list and play nice, we forget about the incident and start all over again. Meaning if you act up again, first you get a warning, then a suspension, then are banned. Believe me, you have to basically threaten to kill someone to be banned off this list!

9. What if a SDM list member flames me off list?
Well, really, there is nothing I can do. It is not our job to 'police' SDM list member's attitudes or behaviors. We are all adults here.

I say follow the golden rule, 'treat your neighbor as yourself' -- meaning play nice with others and they will play nice with you!

However, we know that flames are very hurtful and some people enjoy sending them just to torment others. So, here is some advice: ignore flames! Delete flames, don't respond (even if you are itching to), and put that person in your kill-file (meaning ban them from sending your e-mails.) It may not be the most satisfying solution, but believe me, it is the best!

If for some reason, you have taken the high road, done all these suggestions and this person continues to harass you, what do you do? File a compliant with that other person's ISP (Internet Service Provider). It is your right. Will the SDM moderators throw them off the list in this case? Not necessarily. We will look at both sides of the story and see what solution can be reached. However, SDM moderators are not here to be mediators in personal disputes. We don't want that job, so please limit this option to very rare circumstances.

10. Can I post a private e-mail message from someone to the SDM list?
Don’t unless you can prove you have permission. If it is done without permission, you will be moderated. If you persist, you will be unsubscribed.

11. So, the SDM list only allows Duncan MacLeod/Methos slash fiction to be posted?
Yes, that's what the name says and that's what you get! As stated before, there are other wonderful Highlander lists out there for fiction that feature a pairing of: Methos/Other, Duncan/Other, Methos/Joe, Methos/Duncan/Amanda, Methos/Richie, Methos/Kronos, and Duncan/Kronos ...well, I think you get the picture. This list was created because a need was felt that there be one mailing list that was very specific in its intent and that intent is that we love Duncan/Methos fiction and discussion -- and that pairing solely. We accept no other substitute, so if you want to read some good DM/M stuff, you've come to the right place!

ext_19186: Dean the demon hunter (Default)

From: [identity profile] candygramme.livejournal.com

Re: Here's the text from SDM FAQ#11...and my comments


12. What happens if I want to post a threesome featuring Duncan, Methos and Amanda or an OMC?
Then, it is not for posting on this list. Post a URL if you like (with warnings) for your story on SDM, but do not post it to SDM list.

13. What about a story that features Duncan/Methos together and a flash back to Tessa and their life together?
That is fine. As stated in the description on Yahoo!Groups when you joined this list, the fiction here has to consist mainly of a Duncan/Methos pairing in it. If you have a question about this rule, please ask a moderator to read your story first prior to posting it to avoid a problem.

14. What happens if I post a Duncan/Other story that turns into a Duncan/Methos story and the members feel after reading it the majority of the story was the D/O aspect and not a DM/M story?
Well, if you've read the FAQ, hopefully, you won't do that. But if you do, you will be sent an e-mail off list and asked to reread the FAQ so it won't happen again. Do it again and the moderators will not consider it an accident and you will be asked to either submit your stories prior to them being posted or to leave SDM. We are not trying to limit any writers' creativity here, we just have a very specific goal in mind with this list and that's to promote exceptional
Duncan/Methos fiction!

We have offered other options if you feel your story doesn't fit the parameters of this list (see above), in order to try and make a lot of people on SDM happy. Most people who joined SDM are on other Highlander mailing lists, but joined SDM to get their DM/M fix and just that pairing, so we are trying to honor that by creating these rules.

15. How should I label my fiction posts?
All fiction should be labeled in the subject line of your e-mail. It should look something like this:

FIC: "Duncan and Methos Go Camping" 1/2 NC-17 DM/M & DM/Tessa

The subject should say FIC (as some people only read the fiction on this list) and have the title of the story, plus a rating (G, PG, PG-13, R, or NC-17) and the pairing. Most of the time, it will be DM/M; but if you have a flashback Tessa scene, please add that pairing to the subject line in case people who choose not to read other pairing stories and just want to delete it.

16. Are 0 posts required? Meaning an e-mail that has a subject line like this:

FIC: "Duncan and Methos Get Wild on Brazil" R DM/M 0/22

No, but they are recommended. A 0 post would look like this in the body of your e-mail and introduces your story to the list:

Title: Duncan and Methos Go Camping
Author: Writer X
Pairing: Duncan/Methos, Duncan/Tessa (flashback)
Rating: NC-17
Archive: Yes, but only at SDM. (Or no if you don't want it archived).
URL: Place to put your web page, if you like.
Notes/Summary: Describe the story here if you like, this is optional.
Warnings: I only ask for warnings if the story has rape or death (of Duncan/Methos) in it. Some people don't read this type of story and get very upset if they are "surprised" by one. So, for the sake of these people, put a warning in it. Thank you.

17. What if I don't want to put a warning on it, as I like my reader not to know what is going to happen in my story?
If it has a rape or death of Methos or Duncan in it, it must have a warning on it for the SDM list. There are no exceptions to this rule. Sorry. Any other type of warnings are not necessary unless the author feels like they should add something. If you do not like warnings or zero posts on your fiction, again, you might want to consider just posting a URL to this story on SDM.

I hope that this FAQ has answered your questions. If not, contact Sue or Jennie This list was created as a safe, warm environment for Highlander fans to come and discuss, post or read about Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod with Methos, I hope after joining us you agree. So, come on in, put your feet up, sit back and relax, but most of all -- enjoy!

With kindest regards -- your SDM-L Moderators

~~~~~~~

Once again, thanks for this timely reminder that we should clean house.

From: [identity profile] tritorella.livejournal.com

Re: Here's the text from SDM FAQ#11...and my comments


An apology would be nice, but entirely out of character, I imagine.

I've reported your SDM group on Yahoo for harassment because of the contents of your original FAQ which is a clear violation of my privacy. I suggest you reword or delete that pile of shit that your 'former' owner wrote, if you don't want to have action taken against you by Yahoo Groups. How any civilised person can stomach seeing that kind of thing done by a fan against another fan, and not protest, I don't know, and I never will understand. Let's hope that there is no repetition of this crap.
ext_19186: Dean the demon hunter (Default)

From: [identity profile] candygramme.livejournal.com

Re: Here's the text from SDM FAQ#11...and my comments


Pardon me, but I was hoping to make plain by posting it, that the FAQ has in fact changed, and that the list is now under new ownership, which has no connection to Holly or whatever disagreement you and she may have had.

I hope that this will reassure you.

S

From: [identity profile] tritorella.livejournal.com

Re: Here's the text from SDM FAQ#11...and my comments


Since you didn't make it clear that you were referring to the FAQ of the Yahoo group based list, that is why I pointed this out to you. I had already reported the original FAQ to Yahoo, and if they contact you about it, you will have to thrash it out with them. I make no apology for reporting something which has been left unchecked for two years, and which, whatever exists now, was *then* an appalling document with which to confront members of any list.
ext_19186: Dean the demon hunter (Default)

From: [identity profile] candygramme.livejournal.com

Re: Here's the text from SDM FAQ#11...and my comments


Hello, again:

There is only the yahoo list as far as I know, and the /City list closed some time ago,as did the archive, when Holly relinquished ownership.

I am a new member/moderator, and I have changed the FAQ in response to comments. With respect, I would like to have the list leave behind any concerns that it may once have had, and begin to concentrate on its purpose, which is to get Duncan/Methos discussion/fiction etc. underway.

ext_8947: Bronze age Kronos face with Evildrem written in corner (Default)

From: [identity profile] evildrem.livejournal.com

Thank You



...For taking the time to come here and explain this and also indicate that you have changed the FAQ. Obviously I cannot actually verify this as a non member but I shall take your word for it.

I hope this subject never rears its ugly head again. I'm sure that would make a lot of people in fandom as well as Trit very happy.

From: [identity profile] tritorella.livejournal.com

Re: Here's the text from SDM FAQ#11...and my comments


by the way - you should delete this entry as it contains emails addresses belonging to a party who will undoubtedly reported the entry as harassment for reproducing them. Unless you have permission to name her and give out her address like this, then you should not have done thie.
.

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