<nod> I'll be honest... I don't read much of the Ranma fic posted to 

the 

list. There's an awful lot of it, and obviously the newer stuff by 
unproven authors just can't compete with some of the older "classics". 
(Anybody who was in the Akon Friday night fanfic buffet will remember 
this being talked about.)

  True, but you never know when the next 'classic' comes by. 

What DO I read? Stuff by established authors, first. If I see "Leifker" 
or "Kleppe" in the "FROM" field, I'm much more likely to look that 

first 

time, instead of hitting <delete> out of hand. (Heaven help me when I 
see a "Huang" post.)

  I myself don't care about established authors. The first thing, and my 
main criteria, is if the title grabs my attention. Of course, after that 
first, important test, the first few paragraphs have to keep my interest 
(this might be part of the reason why I never got passed the first 
chapter of Hearts of Ice, sorry Ms. Perry!). After I have finished a fic 
that has successfully-kept me reading, THEN I call it a good fic (I 
believe the last one was Autumn and Spring, or something like that).

I'll look at Ranma posts with a lot of follow-ups... if people talk 
about it (and don't say "This sucks"), it's probably worth a read.

  The problem is, most people don't reply with their comments to the 
list, but to the authors directly. This is terribly-hard to judge, 
really. 

"That's my story and I'm sticking to it."--JMS, creator of Babylon 5. 
"If you go to Z'ha'dum, you will die."--Kosh, Babylon 5.
"Understanding is a three-edged sword."--Kosh, Babylon 5. 
"Never show your hand until the end."--me, being profound. 

--Razorclaw X

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