Suggestions for a separate board for Science Fiction (Mods and Members please read)

Birol said:

I have several fans who are ardent fans science fiction and fantasy and I know they use the term 'sci-fi' without flinching. I know the one who is most actively involved in the SF/fantasy community on the fan side, had never heard that it was considered insulting or demeaning.

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It makes sense that aversion to the term isn't universal, especially among younger fans. But my experience is that there is a pretty strong general sense in the SF/fantasy community (at least the parts of it that I've encountered) that "sci-fi' is an insulting term. When I joined SFWA in 1998 I was given stern advice by a number of people that I must never use it.

- Victoria

Four_Elements said:

I own copies to all three of the Rising Planet books. I think they were under the name T. R. Raylake, but I don't know what names he may be using now.

Oh yeah, Titus, weren't you once a fantasy writer?

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Not surprising that you own all three of the Rising Planet books since you are Titus, Four. Authors should own their own books, whether or not they've been published, don't you agree?

Titus. Birol has pointed out a rather vexing issue. It appears you and Four, the only one yet to claim to have seen any of these publications you say you wrote, might well be one and the same. This brings up a dilemma for us. You are presenting yourself as a pro, and dispensing advice as such. Yet we have no evidence to back up your claims of expertise. We are naturally opposed to posters passing themselves off as something they are not. Our members come here for advice they can trust, and we try to do our best to ensure that the advice given here is indeed trustworthy.

Despite that I cannot find a single mention of an author named 'Raylake' or any of the titles you've mentioned online, I will give you a chance to make your case. Please present us with verifiable evidence that you are indeed a published author. If you cannot, we cannot allow you to continue passing yourself off here as a professional.

What say you?

Doh!


Tri

Birol said:

Victoria, I've heard you say this before regarding pro speculative fiction writers and I've listened, because I have the utmost respect for your experience and knowledge, but I have several fans who are ardent fans science fiction and fantasy and I know they use the term 'sci-fi' without flinching. I know the one who is most actively involved in the SF/fantasy community on the fan side, had never heard that it was considered insulting or demeaning. Now, I'm curious. I'm going to have to poll the rest of my non-writing friends about this.

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Don't bother. Victoria's right. Not everyone flinches over "sci-fi" (unless you pronounce it "skiffy," in which case it's allowable but means something different), but it bothers enough members of the fan and pro community to be well worth avoiding.

HapiSofi said:

Don't bother. Victoria's right. Not everyone flinches over "sci-fi" (unless you pronounce it "skiffy," in which case it's allowable but means something different), but it bothers enough members of the fan and pro community to be well worth avoiding.

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Ah, but Hapi, I like to poll my non-writing friends and they like to be polled. We're just weird that way.

If someone wants to poll me, the best way to start is with drinks over dinner....

go work for delphi, you'll get polled every day.

Birol said:

Not surprising that you own all three of the Rising Planet books since you are Titus, Four. Authors should own their own books, whether or not they've been published, don't you agree?

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Did I miss something?

[Wouldn't be that much of a surprise if I did...]

Edited:

Never mind. I found the other thread. Now I'm off to wonder how on earth someone thought they'd get away with this...

Titus Raylake said:

It looks like everyone wants to keep this board as it is, but we are looking at alternatives now -- such as separating the board by sub-genres, labeling topics, etc.

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Sorry, who's 'we' exactly?

three seven said:

Sorry, who's 'we' exactly?

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"We" is a figment of T. Rayfaker's imagination.

The SF/F forum will remain as is. No sub-genre thingies to get lost, no favoritism. We will continue to discuss both science fiction and fantasy as always. If you like, sure, when you begin a thread put a notice (or warning, as the mood strikes) in the title, "SF" or "Fantasy" or whatever. I don't think it's necessary; we're all intelligent enough to distinguish the difference (mostly).

24 hours and counting since I posted the official request for proof of publication. That's it then.

Since we have received no response to our charges of duplicity, I have banned both Titus Raylake and his alter-ego, Four_Elements

We did not do this lightly. But with no evidence to support his claims of being a pro and abundant evidence to the contrary, we had no choice. The integrity of the advice offered here at AW was at stake. We cannot tolerate liars, especially those who might lead any of our members to follow advice that could detrimentally affect their ability to build a career as a writer.

Case closed.

This Thread Is Closed

Because of the deceptions of the originator of this thread, we are closing it. We could have just deleted it, but there are responses here that may be valuable to others. However, to continue any of the topics discussed here, please choose another thread or begin a new one.

Thank you for understanding.