Time Turner.net
| Archive | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Time Turner.net :: A MWPP Fanfiction Archive |
| Date(s): | 01 April 2004 – c. March 2011 |
| Archivist: | Carissa, Lady Chi, Pineapple Queen, Duck the Duck, Hufflepuff, Dark_Pidgeon |
| Founder: | Carissa |
| Type: | primarily Marauders era fanfiction & fanart |
| Fandom: | Harry Potter |
| URL: | www.timeturner.net (Wayback Machine link)
 |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Time Turner.net (also written Timeturner.net) was a Harry Potter archive for "quality fanfiction featuring characters from the same generation as the Marauders".[1] It also hosted fan art.
The site is named after the Time-Turner, a magical device from the series that allows its user to travel in time.
After the publication of Deathly Hallows, the archive expanded its scope to also accept fanworks about the canonical next-generation characters.
The site also included a forum.
History
The site was founded by Carissa, who first publicly wrote in March 2004 of her intention to start a new HP website after the demise of Gryffindor Tower (at which she was an admin).[2] She officially opened the site on April 1, 2004, though its first few weeks were marred by technical issues.[3] The archive ran on eFiction 1.1.
The site was updated in July 2004 with a new default skin featuring art by Marta and some additional features.[4]
In March 2005, Carissa received a cease and desist letter from the Motion Picture Association of America regarding the archive's use of the MPAA ratings system ("G" through "R"). As a result, the archive switched to a more generic age-based system ("Everyone" through "16+").[5]
Over the course of the next year, Carissa recruited a team of admins to help evaluate fanwork submissions: Lady Chi became an admin in May 2005, Pineapple Queen in August 2005, Duck the Duck and Hufflepuff in January 2006, and Dark_Pidgeon in April 2006.[6]
The site started experiencing technical issues in June 2006[7] then again through much of 2007,[8] due to issues with their web host and multiple server moves. This resulted in occasional downtime and forced the archive to temporarily stop accepting submissions for certain periods. Making use of one of these periods when submissions were turned off, in February 2007 the site was upgraded to eFiction 3.1 and given a new layout design featuring art by Makani.[9] There were also issues with the forums, which reopened in March 2007.[10]
The archive temporarily closed to new submissions surrounding the releases of both Half-Blood Prince in July 2005 and Deathly Hallows in July 2007.[11] Following the release of Half-Blood Prince, the archive's Submission Policy was expanded to officially allow works about Marauders-era characters set at any time, including canon-contemporary Remus/Tonks fics.[12] Following the release of Deathly Hallows, the archive's Submission Policy was updated to allow two additional types of stories: Snape/Lily friendship fics (emphasis theirs) and fics that feature the "Epilogue Kids".[13]
In March 2009, story validation was turned off indefinitely, meaning that new submissions would be automatically added to the archive without needing to be approved by an admin. Carissa noted that this was because she had become too busy to keep up with the submissions queue, but that she would still monitor new works to make sure they were in line with the archive's policies.[14]
On November 23, 2010, Carissa announced that the site would be closing when the domain name expired the following March. She invited anyone interested in taking over the site to contact her.[15]
As of January 2011, there were 343 stories by 169 authors on the site.[16]
Images
Main page of the archive as it appeared on June 7, 2004.
Main page of the archive as it appeared on August 30, 2005. Layout art by Marta.
Main page of the archive as it appeared on January 7, 2011. Layout art by Makani.
Archive Policies
The archive only accepted "quality" fanworks, as judged by site owner Carissa and the admin team. Carissa wrote that she did not accept all submissions because "the focus of this site is on quality not quantity and I'd rather not compromise this just so I can have a large archive."[17]
The archive did not accept stories with the following content:
- Slash
- Adult Content, described as stories that "contain very graphic descriptions of violence, or sexual acts"
- "Fics that do not adhere to canon", including out of character fics
- AUs or crossovers
- Stories not well written (e.g. those containing "numerous grammatical errors"), or works that do not "match the scope and focus of the site"[18]
From the FAQ:
- Why don't you accept slash? Or stories rater [sic] higher than "16 and older"?
- Because, right now, it's just me running the site, and I only accept stories I want to read (since I have to read them all), and slash is something I don't enjoy. For the most part, I think they are out of character. Also, accepting anything higher than an "R" rated story presents its own problems in that I have to worry about who, exactly, is reading them.
The Submission Rules page also stated regarding slash: "The webmaster does not perceive a romantic relationship between Remus and Sirius, nor does she want to read about a relationship between Snape and anyone." (The FAQ clarified that "well written" het romances for Snape were permitted.[19])
See Also
- Help index as of 2006. Most of the linked pages were not archived.
- FAQ, archived from June 2007 through November 2010.
- Submission Rules, archived from June 2007 through November 2010.
Work Categorization
Original Categories
- MWPP: Stories featuring one or all of the Marauders as the main characters.
- Lily/James: Stories featuring Lily and James as a couple.
- Other: Stories featuring other characters from the MWPP timeframe.
- Fan Art: Artwork from the Harry Potter universe.[20]
Later Categories
- Remus/Tonks: Stories featuring Remus and Tonks as a couple. [Added August 2005, after HBP]
- Lily/Snape Friendship: Lily and Snape were friends in canon, not lovers. Snape would have to wash his hair first. This is the place for stories about their friendship or unrequited love. [Added August 2007, after DH]
- Epilogue Kids: Stories featuring James, Albus and Lily Potter; Hugo and Rose Weasley; Teddy Lupin; Victoire Weasley; and Scorpius Malfoy. Those rascally kids sure were cute![21] [Added August 2007, after DH]
Other Filtering Options
- Characters: Albus Potter, Hugo Weasley, James Potter (Epilogue), James Potter (MWPP), Lily Evans, Lily Potter (Epilopgue) [sic], Nymphadora Tonks, Other-canon, Other-original, Peter Pettigrew, Petunia Evans Dursley, Regulus Black, Remus Lupin, Rose Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy, Severus Snape, Sirius Black, Teddy Lupin, Victoire Weasley
- Ratings: 13+, 16+, 8+, Everyone
- Genres: Action, Angst, Drama, General, Humour, Romance
- Warnings: Language, Sexual Situations, Violence[22]
Forums
The Time Turner.net forums used Invision Power Board software, and in March 2007 switched to Simple Machines Forum (IPB had discontinued the free version of their software). The Invision boards required users to register for them separately from the archive, but the SMF boards were bridged with the archive and used the same registration.[10]
As of February 2006, the forums had 78 members and a total of 1338 posts.[23] As of March 2010, there were 1877 posts.[24] Activity on the forums appears to have slowed around 2008.[25]
Boards
Fanfiction and Writing
- Magical Mischief Makers Handbook — "A place to discuss general topics regarding fanfiction and fanart."
- The Quibbler — "A place to discuss general topic related to writing, fanfic or otherwise."
The Harry Potter Conglomerate
- The Secret Keeper — "A place to discuss the many secrets and developments of the Harry Potter books."
- Something Wicked This Way Comes — "A place to discuss all aspects of the Harry Potter movies. Let's hope the cheesey mustache on Remus doesn't ruin PoA..."
Our Community
- The Marauders Map — "Even under an invisibility cloak, the map can see you, so drop by this forum and let us know a little about yourself. (Please start a new topic to introduce yourself.)"
- The Shrieking Shack — "Come here to chat about things not related to HP or Timeturner.net."
Technical and Administrative
- The Ministry of Magic — "Let us know of any problems or questions you have concerning the site here."
References
- ^ Time Turner.net Frequently Asked Questions ("What is the purpose of this site?"), archived 24 June 2007 by the Wayback Machine. (WebCite.)
- ^ carissa_lynn on LiveJournal. How Harry has changed my life, posted 23 March 2004. (WebCite.)
- ^ Founding date per the announcement on Carissa's LJ (A Few Things..., posted 01 April 2004) and the site's 2007 birthday post (Today is the first day..., posted to Time Turner.net News on 02 April 2007; archived 19 June 2007 by the Wayback Machine). See the News posts dated April and May 2004 at the Time Turner.net home page, archived 07 June 2004 (WebCite), for some insight into the site's early challenges getting up and running.
- ^ "New Skin and Features!", posted by Carissa on 27 July 2004. See the Time Turner.net home page, archived 05 August 2004 by the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Carissa discussed the letter on her LiveJournal: This post is rated PG...Oops! I mean it's suitable for nearly everyone and The MPAA Again, both posted 20 March 2005. See also a copy of the letter at Lumen (formerly Chilling Effects). Carissa announced on the site:
- "Last week, I received a letter from the Motion Picture Association of America informing me that my ratings were trademarked by them. Therefore, I have changed the ratings on this site. The new ratings are: Everyone, Most Children, 13 and older, and 16 and older. They are basically self-explanatory. Let me know if you come across any problems with these changes."
- ^ See announcements May 29, 2005: New Admin; August 01, 2005: Submissions Reopened and Welcome to New Admin; January 24, 2006: Notes of Interest; and April 01, 2006: Happy Birthday, Timeturner.net. Duck the Duck appears to have left the admin team sometime before June 2007, per the site's Frequently Asked Questions ("Who runs this site?"), archived on 24 June 2007 by the Wayback Machine (WebCite).
- ^ See News items starting 07 June 2006 on the Time Turner.net home page, archived 20 July 2006 by the Wayback Machine.
- ^ See Woe is Timeturner.net, News item posted 20 January 2007 (archived 29 November 2010 by the Wayback Machine) and subsequent News updates throughout 2007 (archived 02 November 2007). Issues continued into October.
- ^ Upgrades and Updates, Time Turner.net News item posted by Carissa on February 6, 2007. (Archived by the Wayback Machine 30 November 2007.)
- ^ a b Forums!, Time Turner.net News item posted by Carissa on March 12, 2007. (Archived by the Wayback Machine 30 November 2007.)
- ^ Before the release of Half-Blood Prince, the archive first stopped accepting new multi-chapter fic on July 2, 2005, then closed the submission queue to all works on July 15th, the day before the release. Submissions reopened on August 1st. (See News items on the Time Turner.net home page, archived 30 August 2005 by the Wayback Machine; WebCite.) Following the release of Deathly Hallows, submissions were closed for several weeks from July to September 2007. (See items beginning July 27, 2007 in the News archive, archived 02 November 2007.)
- ^ News item "August 01, 2005: Submissions Reopened and Welcome to New Admin". Time Turner.net home page, archived 30 August 2005 by the Wayback Machine. (WebCite.)
- ^ Two New Categories!, Time Turner.net News item posted by Carissa on August 20, 2007. (Archived by the Wayback Machine 30 November 2007.)
- ^ Site Updated, Time Turner.net News item posted by Carissa on March 1, 2009. (Archived by the Wayback Machine 10 May 2009.)
- ^ Site Closing, Time Turner.net News item posted by Carissa on November 23, 2010. (Archived by the Wayback Machine 28 November 2010.)
- ^ Time Turner.net home page, archived 07 January 2011. (WebCite.)
- ^ Frequently Asked Questions ("Why don't you accept all submissions?"), archived 24 June 2007 by the Wayback Machine. (WebCite.)
- ^ Submission Rules, archived 08 March 2010 by the Wayback Machine. (WebCite.)
- ^ Frequently Asked Questions ("Do you really not accept any stories about Snape in love?"), archived on 24 June 2007 by the Wayback Machine. (WebCite.)
- ^ Time Turner.net home page, archived 07 June 2004. (WebCite.)
- ^ Categories, archived 28 November 2010 by the Wayback Machine. (WebCite.)
- ^ Advanced Search, archived 28 November 2010 by the Wayback Machine. (WebCite.)
- ^ TimeTurner.net (Powered by Invision Power Board), archived 24 February 2006. (WebCite.)
- ^ TimeTurner.net Forums, archived 08 March 2010 by the Wayback Machine.
- ^ There were no posts between September 2008 and February 2009 (see TimeTurner.net Forums, archived 12 February 2009) and only 16 posts between February 2009 and March 2010 (1861 posts versus 1877 posts).