This document is an attempt to answer some of the more common questions posted to rec.arts.anime.fandom.
Comments, corrections, and suggestions for improvement should be sent to the FAQ maintainer, Rob Kelk.
Where can I find this FAQ?
What is on-topic in rec.arts.anime.fandom?
Can I post my anime-related fanfic here?
All right, where can I post my anime-related fanfic?
Can I talk here about fanfics posted to other newsgroups?
What about fan art? Where can I post that?
Where can I find someone else's fanfics?
I'm looking for a ride to an anime convention - can I ask here?
Are there any anime clubs in my city?
Can I sell my old anime fan stuff here?
This FAQ is currently posted monthly, on the first of the month, to the newsgroup rec.arts.anime.fandom.
It is also available on the FAQ maintainer's website, at <http://robkelk.ottawa-anime.org/raaf.html>.
Here's the body of the control message that created rec.arts.anime.fandom, posted on April 18, 1996:
rec.arts.anime.fandom is an unmoderated newsgroup which passed its vote for creation by 243:89 as reported in news.announce.newgroups on 13 Mar 1996.
For your newsgroups file:
rec.arts.anime.fandom Important issues concerning Japanese animation fans.The charter, culled from the vote result announcement:
An unmoderated newsgroup for issues and topics of interest to anime fandom. For conventions reports, anime club concerns, and legal matters. Discussion of fan artwork, and fan literature. For the organization of fan translations projects, and discussion of fansub projects (availability, technology, etc). Advice on the creation and maintenance of Internet and WWW fan resources, and pointers to the same. For the discussion of important fan issues, such as starting a fan club, organizing conventions, editing newsletters and fanzines, etc. This group should not be used for the trading of fansubs nor for the posting of binary files.
Somehow, that "etc." at the end of the list has been read to allow for what many people call the "Stupid Fight Thread" - discussions of which character from one anime could beat up which other character from another anime.
We'd rather that you didn't, actually. Fanfics tend to be hundreds, if not thousands, of lines long, and a discussion group like r.a.a.fandom isn't the right place for messages that are that big. Remember, not everyone pays for their Usenet access by the month, and long posts take more time to download than short posts do.
Besides, while the charter says that discussion of fan literature is on-topic, actual fan literature is not on-topic for the group.
That depends on whether you think the story is finished.
If your fanfic is still a work in progress, then you want to find some pre-readers for it. Try posting a short message to r.a.a.fandom saying that you're looking for pre-readers, and then e-mail a copy of your fanfic to the people who reply. Alternately, you could subscribe to the FanFiction Mailing List, or one of the mailing lists that formed after the first shutdown of the FFML - links to these mailing lists are available here.
If you consider your fanfic to be finished, then you should post it to rec.arts.anime.creative (after reading that group's FAQ). This is a moderated newsgroup, so your fanfic won't show up immediately! That group's moderation team is pretty good about getting fanfics posted to r.a.a.creative within a week of them being submitted - if it takes longer than that, then there's probably some sort of problem with the way your fanfic was posted and they're trying to get in touch with you.
Of course, you can also put a copy of your fanfic on your website, whether the fanfic is finished or not. Please post a short message to r.a.a.fandom saying where to find your fanfic if you do this. For example:
I've put a copy of my alternate-universe Oh My Goddess / Tenchi Muyo
crossover fanfic "Ah! Mihoshi-sama" on my website. You can read it
at <http://robkelk.ottawa-anime.org/fanfics/mihoshi.html>.
Certainly. "Discussion of fan artwork, and fan literature" is specifically mentioned as being on-topic for this group.
The rec.arts.anime.creative newsgroup sets the "Followup-To" header in posts made there so that discussion of the fanfics is automatically sent to rec.arts.anime.fandom.
Like fanfiction, that depends on whether you think the artwork is finished.
If it is a finished work, then you can post it to rec.arts.anime.creative, exactly the same as a finished work of fanfiction.
If it isn't a finished work, then you can post it to alt.binaries.pictures.anime, then post a short message to rec.arts.anime.fandom saying that you've done so.
And you can always put your fanart on your web site. Again, please post a short message saying you've done this.
They could be in any number of places.
The first place to look is in the rec.arts.anime.creative archives. Every fanfic posted to rec.arts.anime.creative can be found there.
There is a list of fanfic sites in the DMOZ Open Directory Project.
The Anime Web Turnpike also lists fanfic sites.
Certainly. While asking for a ride to a convention isn't specifically mentioned in the charter, it is a fan activity and is thus on-topic.
Just be warned that you're going to be asking everyone in the world for a ride, so be careful about how much personal information you give when you ask. The safest way to ask for a ride is to say which convention you want to attend and which city you're leaving from, and ask people to e-mail their ride offers to you. You can then learn something about the person offering the ride, and if you decide to accept it, then you can set up a mutually-agreeable place and time to be picked up.
That's a short question, but the answer is far too long to give in a FAQ. The Anime Web Turnpike lists anime clubs.
Readers in the United Kingdom will likely find it easier to use BritAnime's list of anime clubs.
No. You're looking for rec.arts.anime.marketplace, which is a much older newsgroup than r.a.a.fandom.
Last update: 22 February 2005