A favor, please...

[dreamflower]

I got a PM from a reader at FFN, and they said the links don't work on my profile. All of them work for me, but I am not sure why they might not work for others. They specifically mentioned the links to my Hobbit Names and to my Hobbit Ages essays; but indicated others.

Here's the link to my profile page: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1335626/dreamflower02

If some of you could check and see if the links work for you? Then just comment on if they did or not here?

Thanks ever so much!

Comments

[mrowe.livejournal.com]

The links eventually work for me, but I have to click a warning/permission on a pop-up/script thingie first ("You are about to visit an unsafe external link"), so perhaps the reader has pop-ups and/or javascript disabled?

(For what it's worth, I'm using Firefox)

[dreamflower]

Thanks! It appears to be a new FFN thing.

[engarian.livejournal.com]

I got the same "unsafe" message to click through first and I use Chrome. I suspect that she is using a computer that either will not allow her to click through on a warning like that, or is in a public place where they won't allow bridging links.

- Erulisse (one L)

[dreamflower]

Yep. Apparently FFN is using that on the only place they allow links, the profile page.

[the-winterwitch.livejournal.com]

The first three links and that to your Hobbit essay are working. I'm going to check them all, but my internet is very slow today so it might be a while.

Probably the person who had problems was trying to right-click the links to open them in a new tab, which is what I do by default; that doesn't work since FFnet has put something in between warning of outgoing links. Or whatever access the user is using might cause a similar problem; but the links I tested are perfectly all right.

[dreamflower]

Yes, it looks like FFN has decided to be "helpful".

[danae_b]

Worked for me too, but as mentioned there was a warning/pop-up type thing, so I'm guessing they might not have a browser that supports that, or a blocker of some sort that doesn't allow it.

[dreamflower]

That's what it looks like!

[ellynn-ithilwen.livejournal.com]

I didn't click all the links, as there are many, but I did click several (including the two that you specifically mention). They didn't open immediately, but first I got the message:

"Unsafe External Link
You are about to visit an external website outside of FanFiction.Net. Please verify the link below and proceed with caution."

And below each message was each link that I clicked, so when I clicked them for the second time, they opened normally.

[dreamflower]

This seems to be another new feature at FFN. So annoying; and you don't even find out about it until something like this happens.

[shirebound]

Like the others, I got a 'warning' message from ff.net, but had no trouble accessing the hobbit ages page.

[dreamflower]

Thanks! Sometimes FFN is so weird.

[the-winterwitch.livejournal.com]

Well, FFnet is rather late with that, it's fairly common nowadays. I think it's pointless because it won't discourage those who want to go to the content behind (often it's used to put in an extra warning for 18+ content), but some legal details sometimes demand it. I'm hosting my own website, so I'm legally responsible, and according to German laws I would either need to put things like these in, or make absolutely sure nobody underage had access.
I'm just surprised the user asking you hasn't encountered it before, or has problems with it.

[dreamflower]

Thing is, they just put it in without letting anyone know. So I could not figure out what the problem was.

FFN just does things randomly without telling anyone. (Such as making it impossible to copy/paste stories, and disabling FLAGfic.)

[the-winterwitch.livejournal.com]

FLAGfic, what is that?

You're right, though, it's annoying that they don't announce things. TBH I've long since given up on FFnet as a reliable and enjoyable Fanfic archive for exactly that. You can't even rely on your fic staying as you posted it - back in my Potterverse day I often came across older fic where randomly words had been taken out because they now were on the black list, but without any indication, and the text just looked badly-written all of a sudden. Or at one point the eliminated letters with French (and perhaps other) accents, with the same result. It was my first archive, and for this reason I'm still posting there, and am following some authors and stories. But if I can, I'm decidedly going elsewhere to read their fic.

It's also not nice to know they don't really care about a single writer or their fic, and indecent/spam reviews and such. I got an obscene review about a year ago whihc I wanted removed, but I gave up after reporting it for the fifth or sixth time. No reaction whatsoever, and, of course, nothing ever happened. I just count myself lucky it was just one review and not more.

[dreamflower]

I've been posting there for less than two years, and it has definitely increased my reader base. I have reached a lot more people.

BUT there are a lot of headaches I did not anticipate. I had always worried about flames and anonymous reviewers--but I've had no problems with that. But posting and formatting are a hassle, I don't like not being able to publicly respond to reviews, and I don't like them making arbitrary changes without notification.

FLAGfic was a cool and easy way to download fanfics in order to put them on an e-reader.

Since FFN disallowed them, the site has gone down. *sigh*

[the-winterwitch.livejournal.com]

Hm, I have an answer to that -there is a great fanfic downloader by a German guy (the site is in English, so no worries) which still works perfectly fine. He's also quick to adapt to any changes; if it doesn't work one just has to look for an update, or again a couple of days later.

It's here: Fanfiction Downloader.

If you have any problems with it let me know; I intended to write a short manual for it anyway, it would be a good occasion to do it.

Formatting on FFnet is rather easy in my eyes, since I can prepare my document in advance and just upload it, since I'm using Open Office anyway. But still, there is much which really is frustrating. I've been on FFnet since my fandom beginnings, 2006, and so much has changed in the meantime. I was thankfully spared most wank, but close fannish friends have had their share of flames and such. Also, I've never reached many people at all, perhaps because I never wrote in the popular corners of fandom, but it always was worst on FFnet. I'm happy it works well in that regard for you, though!

[dreamflower]

Let me know when you get the manual done! I did download it on my computer, but have no idea how to get it to work!

[the-winterwitch.livejournal.com]

It's here. Let me know if this doesn't work for you!

[rhapsody11.livejournal.com]

They work, getting the unsafe message too, but that is how ff.net rolls these days. Everything linked outside their site is seemingly considered as unsafe.

Maybe if she views them in firefox and has addblock plus as a plugin active, that pop-up could be blocked by her browser. That might be causing her prob.

[dreamflower]

Yes, apparently that is the problem! Thank you! (And NO THANKS to FFN!)

[the-winterwitch.livejournal.com]

It shouldn't be adblock, but perhaps she's using noscript, or something else. Or too tight ad filters.

(Edit: or didn't figure out that it might be a pop-up blocker, particularly if she's using FiFo).

Everything linked outside their site is seemingly considered as unsafe. Sometimes it has legal reasons (see my answer to shirebound's comment above), or when it's about each outgoing site, at least in Germany it's also for some legal reasons so you can wash your hands off any outgoing links.
I find it useless and annoying, since I'm right-clicking for new tabs quite frequently.

And I wonder when FFnet will manage to make themselves so inaccessible and complicated that people simply will stay off... *sigh*

[rhapsody11.livejournal.com]

Well hon, seriously I do get miffed when I see that FFnet deems the website of MPTT as unsafe. It is one of the safest archives out there so *pflltrrrrtttttt* (to ffnet) Especially compared to ffnet themselves where trolls and flamers do far more damage to a person than they ever want (or care) to admit. Do something about that first before you put up a pop up warning service themselves.

Whatever was going on with the nice person who gave dreamflower a heads up: something was in place that prevents pop ups/scripts whatever. I hardly use firefox these days and I have addblock enabled there. Right now I am glad the issue is solved!

*hugs*

[frodobaggins252.livejournal.com]

I just tried and the link here in your message would not work :(

[dreamflower]

Now THAT is very strange!

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

yep, like everyone else said, I get that weird pop-up warning but if you click ok, you get to the sites!

[dreamflower]

So probably the person had a pop-up blocker so they couldn't get the link to work.

[grey-wonderer.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's my browser but when I tired to access the Hobbit names, I got this warning:



Unsafe External Link
You are about to visit an external website outside of FanFiction.Net. Please verify the link below and proceed with caution.
http://www.lotrgfic.com/viewstory.php?sid=281


I use FireFox as my browser so it might be that. I'm going over again and try it using Google Chrome to see if it gives me the same thing. I will comment again after trying that.

[dreamflower]

Looks like this is another one of FFN's brilliant ideas. I would never have known if the person had not PM'd me.

[grey-wonderer.livejournal.com]

Same thing with Google Chrome.

[gentlehobbit.livejournal.com]

Same as the folk above. I use Safari.

[dreamflower]

Yes; it looks like FFN struck again. *sigh*

[marta-bee.livejournal.com]

I just checked, and they all worked but FF.net gave me a popup window warning about an unsafe link, which it then explained just meant the link pointed to something external to FF.net (which isn't the same, but there you go...)

All of which makes me wonder: could this reader have some kind of pop-up blocker and the site is waiting for a reply on a window she's never seeing? That seems the most likely explanation, though I don't actually know.