How Story Approval Works · 8:19pm Mar 13th, 2012
WARNING: This post is a little very outdated.
Hi, I'm Poultron, founder and CEO of Poultronic Industries. I'm sure a lot of you have asked yourself at one point or another, "How in the gosh darn heck do they approve those stories on the web sight!?" Well don't worry kid, because I've got the hookup for ya. Let's go!
The first step in our approval process starts with You. Yes, You, the loyal Fimfiction user! After you write a story, upload it to the site, and comply completely with the rules of FIMFICTION DOT NET A SUBSIDIARY OF POULTRONIC INDUSTRIES INC., the first step is that you must Submit it to the site! By hitting the Submit button, you enter your story into the Approve Queue.
Once a story is in the Approve Queue, the entire staff can look at and review it. We check primarily to make sure that you haven't violated any of the RULES OF FIMFICTION DOT NET A SUBSIDIARY OF POULTRONIC INDUSTRIES INC. This includes things like making sure your category tags are not conflicting (say, Random and Dark), that you haven't tagged too many characters, and that your story has something to do with Friendship is Magic.
If you pass the staff review, your story will be approved! This means that the story is sent to Mr. Post Queue. Mr. Post Queue is actually a robot whose only job at FIMFICTION DOT NET A SUBSIDIARY OF POULTRONIC INDUSTRIES INC. is to post stories to the front page. Mr. Post Queue will post one story to the site every 10 minutes. This ensures that stories get as much exposure as possible on the front page before another one replaces it.
HECKACOOL BONUS TIP: You can see your position in Mr. Post Queue's Post Queue on your story's page once it has been approved!
So, to summarize, when a story is Submitted to the site, it first goes to the Approve Queue where an admin reviews it, then, if it passes the review, it's sent off to Mr. Post Queue, who posts one story every 10 minutes! The process is much simpler than it appears, but until now, we haven't really exposed it anywhere! Hopefully this helps you understand better the inner machinations of FIMFICTION DOT NET A SUBSIDIARY OF POULTRONIC INDUSTRIES INC. Happy writing! Or not! Whatever. I'm not your dad.
Wow, advanced and yet cool
i dont understand
i thote that ur story post was done 4 me not ur auto system???
y dont u post my stuff faster i don't get it why 10 minite wate that just makes it take longe!!!!!!!!!!!
31309
Get out of here ponyfucker.
31311
Everyone saw that right? I'm being discriminated against because of my sexuality!
What is this, 1950? What's next, you're gonna say I can't vote? Fucking hypocrite.
Somepony needs to do a dramatic reading of this post.
31313
You people can vote!?
This is a curious website.
31317
only on the smaller issues, local elections and referendums and so on. We're locked out of anything national-level for our own safety.
31322
Disgusting.
31314
Ok.
Posting to confirm that I've read the post.
Now, put the puppy and marker pen down, there's a good chap.
I found this topic strangely entertaining. I approve.
I'm imagining Mr. Post Queue as some kind of steampunk robot complete with constantly spinning cogs and flashing lights
31370
that's my fetish
I find this kind of information cool. Now I know it's not just an automated thing letting in all the hilariously poor troll fics fill the site
.
I'm just kidding. I have full respect for not wanting to hinder creative users by saying "we don't like your style. GTFO" or the like. I even find myself enjoying these kind of stories from time to time. Good to know what goes on behind the scenes
I'm gonna take FIMFiction's secrets and sell them to Pony Fiction Archive
31379 WHAT
This is kind of stuff most of us already knew already... I think people were more curious about the guidelines of what you use to decide what is "acceptable" and what "isn't".
Also from a personal conversation I had with Poultron, I feel it necessary to say before it arises: although the staff allow trollfics and stories that would otherwise be blatantly offensive, it does not mean that they condone them.
This however leads me to a question I thought of recently: if a story that is meant to offend is perfectly okay, then are comments meant to offend alright? I mean what's the difference between me making a story to piss someone off, and making a comment to piss them off? If the comment gets deleted I can just make a story that I know will piss them off. Also if people can not do anything about a story that pisses them off, why is it they are permitted to do something about comments? I mean I could make a story about how Fluttershy is a stupid character and how anyone who likes her is a retard, and it would pass queue and my right to post it would be protected, but if I were to tell someone in the comments that posted they loved Fluttershy that I think Fluttershy is stupid and they're a retard for thinking otherwise, I could be committing a bannable offense. What's the difference? Sure people could argue that they have the right to ignore my story, but they also have the right to ignore my comment.
Basically it kind of equates to you can piss anyone off, and antagonize them as much as you like as long as it's in story form. Which really is far more damaging than comment form as the story could ruin their reputation because it would be viewed by more people.
Not trying to say we should eliminate trollfics, but I am saying that where is the line drawn? If we're going to allow trollfics and freedom of speech I think we should also allow people to say whatever they like in comments without punishment.
31394
blogs.discovermagazine.com/sciencenotfiction/files/2010/11/dr-evil.jpg
31409 NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
31402 I don't remember that comment being that long
you're not my dad....That's fine with me
31425 Can you see my point though? If we allow people to troll each other and piss each other off through fictions, why should comments be any different?
Anyone else read this in the voice of Cave Johnson?
31430 I understand completely, everywhere you go there will always be someone who likes to rile people up just for the sake of it. Poultron sets a bad example
31443 Oh yeah I totally get that, I'm just saying if it's fair game for one side, it should be fair game for the other.
I DON'T UNDERSTAND
It's called a "web site" or "website", not a "web sight"
31448 We'd love for it to be that way but sadly the internet is not a fair place
Wait wait wait... what the hell do you mean, you're not my dad? Papa, you lied to me!
WHO'S YO DADDY?
Not Poultron, apparently.
0,10,20,30,40,50 * * * * /srv/fimfiction/poultronisawesome/postnext.sh, something like that?
31478
I don't know man, I think it's just some technology that allows us to communicate more effectively with spiders.
31530 Yay, someone else who actually knows what cron is
31531
31402
There's a pretty distinct difference between specifically harassing someone and just throwing something offensive out there that's not directed at anybody in particular.
31566 You've said yourself multiple times though that you're trying to protect everyone's freedom of speech. So why is "harassing" someone against the rules?
I could just as easily make a story targeted towards one person and you'd have to approve it. I could make a story about User A and how they get murdered, decapitated and how stupid they are, and as you've mentioned before if it's a story it gets posted. Plus I could just as easily make a story that indirectly attacks them in a way that they and I would know, but any admins would not see it. Sort of like an inside joke that only they would catch. I could even make a story making fun of their story. There's a number of things I could do to target one person.
Basically you're saying it's okay to piss everyone off, but it's not okay to piss one person off? Where does free speech go then?
What about in trollfic comments? If you make a story intended on pissing people off, why should you be protected from the hatred they are going to spew at you?
31592
I actually wouldn't approve that story. Harassment isn't (typically) covered under free speech. There's a difference between someone targeting a specific Jewish family, sending them death threats, and generally causing them massive grief, and that same person simply saying "I hate all Jews. They are all scum!" In the second case, it's easy to ignore or tune them out. In the first, it's not so easy.
Also, I have discretion over my decisions on the site. I don't like harassment. If I catch you harassing another user, you get banned. Simple as that. No "free speech" stuff.
I still don't understand why 'Dark' and 'Random' can't go together...
I mean: Most gluefics seem to have Pinkie Pie as the psychotic killer...
31613 So why is it okay to piss off a bunch of people, but not piss off one specific person?
I don't see how that's much better. That's just harassment on a larger scale.
31592
Also, as my friend NTSTS pointed out, one can also define free speech as a freedom insofar that it is not permissible to infringe on other people's existent freedoms.
31619 Yes, but how am I imposing on someone's freedom if I call them a cocksucking assclown in a comment? They still have the right to call me one right back. I have not taken away any of their freedoms, and they have the right to walk away.
31624
You've taken away their freedom of privacy, in a sense. You're specifically targeting them in such a way that makes it difficult (not impossible) for them to ignore. This is vastly different to targeting an entire group or, in the case of fanfictions on a website on the internet, anybody who cares to read your words. Again, in the latter case, it is almost trivial to ignore the speech that you don't want to hear.
31592
...Honestly?
Anyone with enough time on their hands to write a story specifically intended to insult ONE person (who they probably don't even know outside of the Internet) is already sad enough to not require any further punishment.
In regards to all other situations of trollfics a potential victim can simply not click on the story and be free from all personal injury without having to whine and complain.
It does not seem very unreasonable to maintain different editorial standards. On the story content side, erring on the side of creative freedom, and on the comment side placing a greater premium on maintaining a civil environment. Given that the admins have final discretion on what is allowable and what isn't, and so present a clear recourse in special cases, I'm not seeing the problem.
31632 The same could be said about a comment that was meant to offend someone. They can not read it, or walk away.
31631 You're specifically targeting them in such a way that makes it difficult (not impossible) for them to ignore.
Can't the same be said about a story talking about how you hate all Jews to Jewish people?
Also I'm not really violating someone's privacy by calling them a dickhead. Sure some instances would violate their privacy and in that case it would be permissible to not approve their story because it violates another right, but I could still make a story about how I think User A is a conceited cockmuncher so long as I don't reveal their personal information and only justify it with things they've done publicly on the site. I could make a story as followed:
"It was a beautiful day in Equestria for everyone except User A. He sat in his bedroom making bad fanfictions. They were self inserts of himself having sex with BonBon"
No where in there have I revealed any kind of information that would breach his privacy. Plus I could just as easily bullshit it and just make his name User B, he'd still be able to tell it was him.
31646
>Can't the same be said about a story talking about how you hate all Jews to Jewish people?
...no? You are severely missing the point.
Whether or not you agree with my viewpoint, I have supreme discretion over my own decisions on the site. If I feel that something constitutes harassment, I will take appropriate action. As I do not feel that this violates my view on freedom of speech, I have no moral issue with disallowing harassment on the site.
31649 A story about say someone's religion and insulting it also makes it difficult to ignore. =\
All I'm saying is if I call someone an asshole in a comment, then I'm not really violating their freedoms in anyway. Also if a story is meant to piss people off and people tell the author they need to fuck off, then all that happened is the author got what they wanted.
Don't mistake me Poultron, I have respect for you, and I'm not trying to be difficult, I'm just trying to see where exactly the line is and what dictates as "crossing it." because at it stands now it's very wishy washy. You can make a story intended to offend people, but you can't make a comment? You can make a story intended to piss people off, but if they do get pissed off and call you an asshole they are at fault?
31654
The line is harassment. I thought I made that excruciatingly clear. As soon as you start to harass a specific person, you have crossed the line.
31655 See that's not clear still. What dictates "harassment"?
If someone made a story that is meant to offend people and they got offended and told the author that he's an asshole is that harassment? I mean the author ENTICED the reaction out of them, so really would he be at fault?
I mean as far as trollfics go, I generally don't read them, but they're getting harder and harder to ignore in that they are appearing more and more. Before we know it this place will be 50% trollfics. =\
31660
Are you kidding me? Yes, if you harass the author of a trollfic, you get banned. If you think that's ridiculous, don't harass people! Simple as that.