Ficwad Is Closing (?) -- Long Live Archive of Our Own

In the past I have recommended two different alternatives to ff.net, and both times got burned.

The first time, Ficwad, looked like a great archive, but it was buggy, neglected, and may be losing its domain name in March. That will kill links to anything posted there. There are unconfirmed rumors it may shut down altogether. Considering the admin hasn't been seen in years, that seems likely sooner or later.

The second time was Fanlib, and I nixed my recommendation after everyone pointed out why it sucked raw eggs.

So my track record isn't exactly super. But third time's the cure?

I want to recommend that Everyone who has stories on Ficwad take the time to download them, upload 'em on Archive of Our Own.

If you've checked my Index to All My Fanfiction page lately, you'll notice I've been doing exactly that. I was only halfway through, but this is the kick to get me to finish.


[ETA: Aha, Wayback Machine to the Rescue!]

It appears that the Wayback Machine last crawled Ficwad in May 2008. That gets a lot, although not all of the Final Fantasy fanfiction posted there. It's still be better to have it more accessible elsewhere.

Random Observation: Games as stories vs. games as games

I've run into a couple things lately that gave me a half-formed thought about fanfiction.

First, I  ran across a bunch of comments on some random site where Anons were discussing RPGs (I will never get used to that term in reference to video games). The discussion went something like this:
A: I don't like Final Fantasy [#], it's too linear
B: Those are JRPGs (Japanese), which are more linear than WRPGS (western). They tell stories. Both have merit.
A: I don't like story-centric RPGs.
B: I do like story-centric RPGs.
C: Isn't it a shame how RPGs have been differentiated between JRPGs and WRPGs?

Second, I was reading owlmoose 's "Exchange" fic about Balthier and Vaan.

In trying to articulate what I liked about it, I started to say that she treats the characters as characters within stories, rather than as characters within games.
 
I'm not sure if that comment makes sense. What I'm trying to get at is the different ways people approach games.

( Stating the Obvious, But... )