For those of you who haven't done a riff before, this is for you.
In January of 2012 RatherHomely started the 1st generation of MLP riffers with his fanfic "Mystery Pinkie Pie Theater 3000", which was a massive success until it got shut down a year later.
I am part of that 1st generation, just before the 2nd wave of MLP riffers in 2013.
Well, it's 2014 now, and with a new year and new rules I figure it would be best to try to recruit members for the 3rd generation.
For those of you who are into comedy, this is right up your alley.
If you're into script-style writing and storytelling, this might be for you as well.
As a senior riffer, I can answer any questions you have about how to start your first riff and what the rules of the game are.
Below is a short guide to start your first MLP riff in 10 easy steps.
1. Browse for any fic on the site that you find to be worthy of being verbally ripped apart. This can be either a badly written fic or one of your personal favorites that you think deserves a comical tribute.
2. Contact the author of said fic either through PMs or in the comment section and notify him or her that you hope to riff their work, and make sure to ask for permission.
3. If they grant permission, you've just completed the first phase of a riff project.
4. Assuming you have a Google account, use Google Docs to create a new document where you can write the riff.
5. Copy and paste the fic from FimFiction onto the document and reformat it to however you like.
6. Make sure to indent and bold your riffs as a measure of letting the reader know your commentary is not a part of the fic itself.
7. You can either riff as yourself, create a persona, or even use characters from the MLP universe as your riffing crew. This is where the possibilities are endless.
8. If you plan on doing plain commentary, make sure to classify the riff as non-canon. If you plan on making your own riffverse with a comedic storyline, classify the riff as canon.
9. Once you're sure you're done with the riff, make the document either go public or available to anyone who has the link, and it is recommended you also enable comments on the document.
10. To distribute the riff on this site, be sure to post a blog about it with a link to the document. The more followers you have, of course, the more people will be able to read your riffs, but if you desire a bigger audience you can ask one of the senior riffers to do a plug for your work.
And that is how it's done, ladies and gents.
Keep in mind, you can do a riff project either by yourself or you can have other people collaborate on it with you.
It's recommended you ask for an experienced riffer to collaborate with you on your first riff, as it is your first step into new territory.
If you have any questions or are interested in joining, be sure to either contact me through PMs or comment in this thread.
This is Atlas Nebula signing off.

This is something that's always been bothering me; do we need to get permission for the riff? I know that in your directions you stated that we need to contact the author of the story and get their permission before hand, but yet, on the site, I've seen riffs of stories that clearly the author wouldn't accept a riffing of. It's just that, I want to get full confirmation that it's what I need to do.

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Not all riffers agree on it, and I admit that I've not always asked for permission myself. But yes, you should ask for permission.
You are using someone else's work and it is only reasonable to ask if they are okay with this. Furthermore, it prevents a whole lot of drama if the author knows about and agrees with the riff. It's no fun if you get in a big dumb internet fight for what should be harmless fun.
And lastly, it's just the polite thing to do.
(Please do remember to keep some form of evidence that you got permission, just in case.)
Unfortunately this means that fics from authors that left the site or don't respond to e-mails are not available, but there are plenty of fics out there that deserve to be riffed, so it shouldn't hold you back too badly. And you'd be surprised at how easy it is to get permission if you ask.
If you have any more questions about this or anything else, feel free to ask.