r0x0|2! I grew up with Muchmusic, though.
I've gone and killed my Elfwood account. I was planning to leave without muss or fuss, but since the mods provided a small field to explain why I was leaving, how could I refuse such a nice gift? My letter of resignition went like so:
I have been with Elfwood for many years, and I appreciate the exposure it has given my writing. I made many new friends and fans.
I also appreciate Elfwood's need to moderate its submitted content. However, I feel the "ticket queue" is an inefficient means of doing so. Waiting for a month until I see my story published in my own library is a little taxing on the patience. I understand that Elfwood recieves a lot of traffic, but it doesn't perk me up to see messages like, "Out of 120 moderators, 50 have been active in the past five days." Honestly now.
The moderators are also very inconsistent. I had two chapters of a sort-of novel up in my library, both of which were approved manually. I tried to submit a third, and was told that "this story doesn't fit into Elfwood." Also, it took a month between the time I submitted and the time I was rejected. When I submitted my third chapter, I also updated my profile to say that the third chapter was available to read. Of course, my profile now says that a nonexistant chapter is ready for viewing, and just looks funny. It'd take another month to change my profile again.
Moderators have taken *fanart* from *Zone 47* and displayed it as their "Pick of the Day." I saw one instance where the artist specifically said, "This is a picture of Atreyu from the Neverending Story," and the drawing was posted from Lothlorien. But it was the "Moderator's Choice." Frankly, that's ridiculous.
I've had stories rejected for mild swear words. I don't see why artists are allowed to post nude pictures but I can't have the word "ass" in my story. There was one instance where my piece was rejected because of the word "splatter." I used it in the context of something "splattering" all over the ground, messy-like. Yet I was told the word was "sexual" and wasn't allowed on Elfwood. I didn't even know the word had any sexual burden until that day. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, etc.
Elfwood has also grown a hard rind around it in the past couple of years. The overall tone has changed from "Share and have fun" to, "We're doing this for you so you'd better be damned appreciative, harumph harumph." It's a shame. I've been running a submissions-based website for five years now, and even if it's not anywhere near Elfwood in the size factor, I know some of the pressures involved. People are really good at blatantly disregarding rules that are right in their faces. However, I try to remember it's all for fun. Elfwood doesn't have that friendly tone anymore. The "questionarre" in the sign-up sheet and some of the FAQ is downright nasty.
I am just one person, but I'm certainly not the only one who's unhappy with the new moderator system. Several of my friends, who have been around longer than I, left when they were disatisfied with the shabby treatment we recieve from the queue system. Elfwood may have hundreds of new applicants in a week, but losing veterans isn't a pleasant business. Even if Elfwood must remain somewhat militant, the Ticket system needs serious review. Inactive moderators, senseless rejections, huge lineups, the praise of forbidden pictures ... it needs work, badly.
I've simply been rubbed the wrong way too many times, for the reasons listed above and others. So it's time for me to move on. Although it doesn't sound it, I'm grateful for the services Elfwood provided me in the past years. I hope things improve for new applicants and they can enjoy the light, encouraging Elfwood I once knew.
And then I smote it good.
