Fanfiction Trolls strike again!

Mass Deletions on FF


Found this on another FF blog I read, seems FF is yet again being dogged by prepubescent bullies who have nothing better to do than berate and bully writers of FF stories into removing their efforts for fear of being reported and having them removed. To top it off the plonkers who actually do moderate FF are in many circumstances listening to said bullies. It makes me wonder if said moderators were late in the line when common sense was handed out.

Having worked both voluntarily and professionally as a moderator for a major ISP (admittedly my area of expertise was child protection and not story telling) anyone with half a brain cell would know that you investigate a report of wrong doing, and only when you find EVIDENCE of such do you act. Otherwise you have a nice chat with the person who did the reporting about wasting time, telling tales and respect, reminding them that the rules work both ways. Repeat offenders don't get to play again.

It seems to me that the FF mods need to go through some training.

As for these bullies, because that is what they are, they will soon learn that 'campaigns' like this will eventually bite them in the arse. What started out as a way of looking all 'big' and 'clever' with their 'friends' will soon go as toxic as the foul words they're throwing at the numerous undeserving writers on FF. You see in the big wide world, were GROWNUPS pay taxes and do JOBS, these sort of antics show them to be exactly what they are. An attention seeking child who's mum or dad who didn't hug them enough and couldn't say no to them out of guilt.

Just remember, even if your rubbish is spouting in some innocuous site off in the arse crack of nowhere, your ISP will have record of your visit. Should you push too hard and take your harassment over that imaginary line of acceptable behaviour, you may just find yourself in deeper trouble than just being suspended from a random website. I'm sure Mum and Dad will be thrilled when they're Internet goes bye bye due to your idiotic activities. You might laugh now, but I've seen it happen. Conditions of service teams at major ISP's spend a lot of time weedling out trolls, and in some extreme cases have been known to press charges. How far are you prepared to push?

Grow up, learn some respect and if you don't like what you've been reading, there's an X in the corner or you can hit the back button and go somewhere else. That is the joy of the Internet, you're not forced to stay in one place, so instead of acting like mindless sheep, go do something constructive, because Internet trolling is so 1998.

M :o)

Zombies Zombies! Everywhere!

Hallo!

Well I've been a little on the quiet side since I finished IA back in September. That doesn't mean I haven't been lurking about playing with plot bunnies, because I have. This one may not go anywhere, but it's in my head, so I'm playing with it. It won't be updated regularly, I'll post as and when I get something down in type.

The idea? Edward Masen (yeah I know he's not a Cullen) is a Marine Biologist on the Scientific Research Vessel 'Aurora'. There has been much unrest between Europe and China over the months and it comes to a catastropic head when China drops bombs on various important European cities. This is Edwards Diary of those dark days that follow.

I'm sure the regular players will join the fray, but I have no plan what so ever on this one, it's purely by the seat of my pants, so who knows what my adled brain will come up with. Here's a little teaser...

Personal Journal – EAM

Marine Research Vessel Aurora

Philippine Sea - Mariana Trench – Lat: 17°45'0.00"N Long: 142°30'0.00"E

11^th November 2011

I remember the day the bombs fell like it was yesterday. If I’m going to keep this account correct. It wasn’t yesterday of course. It was 327 days ago.

Tensions between the West and China had been at an all time high for months. We were all aware that their nuclear capabilities were strong. However the western governments underestimated just how strong they were. They never for one second expected to find out in the way that they did.

It was the week before Christmas, December 19^th 2010 when diplomacy finally failed. Although thinking back I doubt it ever had a chance. For months politicians and diplomats had wagered their drawn out verbal battles, exchanged platitudes and attempted to sway the Chinese. Looking at it now, it could’ve been ended by using one simple word. Sorry.

It’s too late now of course. London was lost first. It’s nothing but an oversized crater, fissures and fractures pushing outwards in all directions nothing but a desolate wasteland.

Brussels, Paris and Berlin followed its destruction only minutes later. They had no time to react, no warning.

One minute people were sitting glued to the newscasts, going about their daily routines. The next, the horizon was filled by blooming mushroom clouds, a vacuum sucking the air from the former great cities and leaving nothing but death.

They were the lucky ones. They didn’t know what hit them and they didn’t live long enough to experience the aftermath.

Over the following weeks, very few survivors surfaced. Those that did were horribly burnt and succumbed to their injuries quickly.

It wasn’t until midway through February that ‘they’ appeared, the first of the walking dead.

The desolate craters had all been avoided for fear of radiation. The affected countries had erected ‘exclusion zones’ nothing within a 200 mile radius of the craters would be touched. Not for a very long time.

Europe had suffered heavily in the attacks and now it faced a new wave. The re-animated corpses of the nuclear dead slowly spilled from the cities. There weren’t many to start with, as most had been incinerated by the bombs.

When the first few staggered out of the ruins, no-one thought that they would pose a danger other than a risk of radiation poisoning. That is until the first of the medical and rescue teams were bitten. Limbs were torn from bodies, internal organs, strewn about like macabre holiday garlands. Those that weren’t eaten changed. They joined the ranks of the undead horde.

News was sporadic at best, at its worst non-existent. I was fortunate or atleast I consider myself so. I’d been stationed on the research vessel ‘Aurora’ for the past 3 years. We were at sea when the shit hit the fan.

We didn’t know anything had happened until London went silent. No warning or anything. Just dead air, like someone had flipped the switch off at the other end. I was on watch in the radio room. I’d been talking to Tanya who was based at the Science Institute in London, when suddenly she was gone. Not that it was a bad thing as she annoyed the hell out of me. It was inconvenient. We were due to head back to London in about a month. I’d been tasked with arranging logistics for when we reach port. I was long overdue some shore leave and we had tons of samples to deliver to the less adventurous scientists at the institute to examine.

The sudden dead air confused me. One minute I’m telling her that my visit was strictly professional and that I had no intention of ‘hooking up’ with her, the next, nothing, not even static. I figured I’d pissed her off. She should’ve been used to my declining her advances by now. Three years is a long time to be saying no to someone. She probably just turned the radio off.

I tried another channel, if I couldn’t get Tanya back, then maybe someone else at the institute would help me finalize preparations for our return. I tried for hours, getting nowhere. Logically I knew that something was wrong. It’s pretty obvious that things are amiss when you can’t even get static when you dial onto what should be a strong signal. The suddenness of it is what shocked me. One second all is well, the next nothing. There was no rhyme or reason that I could envisage for it.

I was joined some hours later by an American colleague, Emmett McCarty, a huge bear of a man, but exceptionally kind and loyal. He tried just as I had to pick up a signal, when he found he couldn’t get anything that was proof enough to me that I wasn’t doing anything wrong. He suggested we tried someone closer, so we turned the dial for the Australian Science Institute. It took several minutes to get someone, but at least it wasn’t dead air. What we heard will remain in my memory for the rest of my life.

“G’day Aurora, sorry to be the bearer of bad news but the reason you can’t get through to anyone is because London and many other European cities are gone.”

We sat in shock as the magnitude of that announcement sank in. Gone, but how, why? The Australians told us all that they could, although even they were at a loss to just how bad things were. They’d had contact up until a few hours ago, but since then, no information was coming out of our home port. They had little hope for survivors and we were advised that it would be best to avoid Europe at all costs, choosing to dock in Australia should we require provisions and assistance from now on. It’s not a decision we could make on our own, and once the rest of those on board were up and around we would have to discuss what we would need to do from now on.

Once we’d signed off with Australia, we sat for what seemed hours, neither of us talking; there wasn’t really anything we could say. Home was gone, we needed to move on and decide what to do next, and whether the research mission would continue as is or what we would do now.

I had chuckled mirthlessly at myself as I thought the words spoken by a favourite film character. 

“As if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened.”

The truth in that thought wasn’t lost on me then and as I write this account it seems all the more apt.  Something terrible had happened.

Yeah so um, it's not much at the moment, but who knows it might go somewhere eh?Oh and the piccy, is NOAA research vessel 'Gunter', its how I see the Aurora.