I just would find it sad if this site dies or fades into irrelevance just because of things like this. Fanfiction is something I love and others do too. So I think if we could work together we can work something out.
I totally agree with this. I feel like I've been watching what was once the most active BSB fanfic site on the web die a slow death over the past few years, and I think the lack of reviews is a large part of that. Like you said, when you write for free, feedback is like gold. I know there are still other ways to give it, like here on the forum or through email or other websites, but let's be honest - only the most dedicated readers (or fellow writers who understand the value of feedback) are going to jump through hoops to do that. One of the wonderful things about AC and the eFiction script it uses was how easy it was to give feedback right there at the bottom of the story.
Unfortunately, from what I understand, the eFiction script is outdated and no longer being updated or supported, which is part of the reason for the spam problem. The site has been more glitchy lately; I've heard other users complain about their accounts or stories being randomly deleted. That said, I haven't had anything like that happen to me personally and have continued to post my stories here without any problem. I'll continue to do so as long as the site is around. Judging by the read count, there are still people who come here to read.
I've done some research on this issue to try to help the mods find a solution to the spam problem, and it looks like there are several options:
https://efiction.org/forums/index.php?topic=9148This thread from the eFiction forum has several possible solutions, involving changing settings on the registration form and installing new "mods."
Edit: I think this is the same link I shared here before; Julilly said most of this was already in place and hasn't stopped the spammers.
http://www.adastrafanfic.com/https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/ad-astra-fanfic-updates.302103/This fanfic site's solution was to disable registration on the main site and set up a Google Form users fill out to request an account, which the mods must then set up manually. For a fanfic site that's not getting inundated with new users every day, that seems doable with a small team of dedicated mods.
http://www.starskyhutcharchive.net/news.phpThis site also disabled registration and just has an email address set up for people to request an account.
My point is that it seems like every fanfic archive that uses eFiction is having these issues, but there are sites out there that are still active and have found ways around it without just turning off reviews. It doesn't seem like the owner, Ash/Chaos, is really involved anymore beyond apparently still paying for the domain and site hosting (thanks for that, Ash!), and although the mods both still check in here, neither are writing fanfic anymore. I wonder if they would consider adding new mods to help with deleting spam accounts and trying out some of these solutions. I would be willing to help, and it sounds like you would too, Sin. AC's been around a long time, and there are a lot of great stories here. I would rather do something to try to save it than watch it die.
