eFiction
| Synonyms: | |
| See also: | Automated Archive |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
eFiction is an open source automated archiving software that is written in PHP, combined with a MySQL database. eFiction was originally developed by Rebecca Smallwood in 2003. Versions 2.0 (2007) through 3.5.6 (2018) were developed by Tammy Keefer, Artphilia, and Sheepcontrol.[1][2] It has since been adopted by new maintainer Tyler Harvey.[3] The current version is 3.5.6.
While eFiction is designed to support multi-author archives, some authors use the software for their personal fic archive, as it is the one of the few open-source options for automated fanfic archiving.[4]
Versions
Version 1.xx
The first version of the script had the following key features:
- multi-level categories
- members can post stories and chapters
- members can add stories and authors as favourites
- stories can be rated, recommended and reviewed either by all users or only by members
- view count to indicate how often a story has been read
- basic news system
You can see this version still in action on Mirrormere. Apparently, this first version was also available as a PHP Nuke module under the name Fanfiction Module. You can see the module on Council of Elrond.
The first and second versions can not be downloaded anymore on the eFiction website.
Version 2.xx
Key Features of this version are:
- supports sorting stories into series
- view count was dropped for this version
- random story display
- TinyMCE for all text fields - can be turned on or off
- allows users to post challenges
- overall wordcount can now easily be displayed
- RSS feed for latest submissions
You can have a look at this version by visiting VOLA. The last stable release was 2.07, which could previously be downloaded from the eFiction site.
Version 3.xx
- ability to add new classifications like pairing or story length
- ability to browse by classifications
- story view count is back
- multiple author support
- can be bridged with other scripts
An install of version 3 can be viewed here.
Customization
Since eFiction is open source, users are invited to change and customize the code. The resulting modifications are called mods. The eFiction Wiki has a list of all available mods.
The look of an eFiction install is also customizable since the software works with templates. Users have full control over the layout and if they are not comfortable editing the template files, they can also choose from a lot of free templates. A good place to start looking for skins is the official eFiction forum. More skins can be found here:
Links and Resources
- List of eFiction Archives on Fanlore
- eFiction homepage
- eFiction support forum
- eFiction wiki
- eFiction German Support
For more information, see the eFiction project site. A list of fanfiction archives running on eFiction can be found here.
References
- ^ eFiction v3 README.txt on Github, Archived version
- ^ Up for adoption - Site news & updates - eFiction Community Forums, Archived version
- ^ Hey All, Tyler Here - Efiction, Archived version
- ^ Mhalachei's Writing is an example for such one-author archive. Accessed January 31rst.