[Discussion] Derpy Box · 4:27pm Mar 11th, 2013
srsly why r ther pokemanz in teh feter berx i call hax
Over the course of my day, I've seen the Feature Box go through many phases. There was that 'obsession' phase of old where one or two fics completely and utterly dominated our holy square. There was the 'ADHD' phase where no fic would get in the box for more than a few minutes. There was the 'balanced' phase—my personal favorite—where good stories got in the box and older, popular fics also got the spotlight as they updated.
And now... I'm not really quite sure what to make of it.
Not saying our new crossover overlords are bad, of course; popularity is often distributed where popularity is due. However, some of the recent fics in the box have been, well, just plain weird. Weird as in 'look at how weird I am' weird. Japanese anime kawaii desu weird. Ancient Japanese dragon dinosaur sea monster weird.
I know that my good friend Everhopeful has gone over the Feature box in detail (the day or two before it was changed), but that dealt with the entirely different issue of how one gets into the box, namely dealing with characters, genres, and the like. Now, however, I seem to be noticing 'strangeness' as a determining factor. Again, this isn't as much a complaint as an... Well, an observation, which I quite frankly think merits some kind of study.
So, my friends and followers, why in the world do you think the story quality has gone not up, not down, so much as sideways? Have people started brainstorming during their lucid dreams? Or is a growing percentage of the fanfiction community migrating to Colorado?
Do people take the feature box seriously? I was under the impression it was meant to be a joke.
the feature box is trolling us, no doubt about it.
I used to long for that featured box. These days, though, it seems like anything can get in. I guess, given the sheer quantity of stuff that we churn out, we've hit the heights of quality and debasement and have reached the point that we're now just looking around and saying "Okay, what haven't we done yet?" Which is pretty typical of our culture. I guess when you've gotten this far-reaching it's hard to take the entire community by storm by sheer quality any more, but innovation is always a winner.
That's how I do it.
I live in Colorado, but I have never touched the feature box. Then again I've never written a crossover involving Japanese dinosaur dragons before... Well, time to hit the keyboard!
As for the preponderance of weird, well, people will always impulsively click on what appears to be a strange or shocking thing. Simple human nature I suppose.
908674 The same way any and all raffles and sweepstakes are merely jokes. People win prizes, just never you. I suppose that's the joke.
908714 Eloquently stated.
908893 TLC's mantra.
I don't even use the feature box anymore. EqD is just an easier, more reliable way to find good fanfics. Still, EquestriaDaily has the potential to be influenced by personal bias, since there are pre-readers, as opposed to fimfiction's bot.
What are the exact variables the feature box looks at anyways? I wonder where I can find the feature box's source code...
Anymore? I look at the feature box but it USUALLY doesn't have anything im interested in. Ill hit up EqD too. I don't want to say the story quality has gone downhill..just most of the fics I'm interested in are on hiatus. Im probably biased anyway. I don't like many crossovers anyway.
Basically..I look at it, I just don't rely on it.
You forgot the ongoing phase of "CLOP: ALL DAY, ERRYDAY"
Do you guys remember when day after day there was a "prolonged sexual innuendo" story where the twist ending is it isn't sexual at all?
Ya, that got old real fast. But it seemed to everyone in the comment section that it was their first time seeing such an idea.
Crossovers are here to stay, unfortunately. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that it's a degredation of the fandom or it's taste. It's ez mode, it's cruise control, and it's the low effort content that gets voted up because....
That's where I get depressed. There are people who can't get enough of this stuff. They are so easily enthralled by pony + other thing they like that... I don't know.
909491 There are worse things on the internet, my friend. Like 909378 that. Also, crossovers can be done magnificently well; may I direct you to a certain editor-in-chief of mine. My skepticism starts when we get really weird, not-well-thought-through crossovers in the golden grate.
909241 I'd hit up Knighty, I guess. If you express curiosity, I suppose there's no harm.
909491
Hey, I put effort into my Crossover... I actually went back and worked on merging both histories as seamlessly as I could, even patching up plot holes form one with ideas from the other.
I think it's going pretty well.
909153
I've actually won about $45 total in raffles throughout my life.
921491 d22zlbw5ff7yk5.cloudfront.net/images/cm-50671-05121ccbc65171.gif