The DoggShit Website

Website
Name:	The DoggShit Website
Owner/Maintainer:
Dates:	June 2001
Type:	hate list
Fandom:	X-Files
URL:	it WAS here and titled "hatethedog"
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The DoggShit Website was a short-lived website. It was created as a screed, a witch hunt list of authors who had written fiction with a focus or possibly even mild mention of the X-Files character John Doggett.

The DoggShit Website was online for a short time the end of June 2001, possibly the beginning of July 2001 , and was present for a contentious time for many X-Files fans. In March of that year, Laurie Haynes had banned the archival of any Doggett-centric fiction at Xemplary, the alt.tv.x-files.creative fiction repository. This was due to her intense hatred of the character, one she carried over to the rest of fandom.

While the website was a primitive hate-site and should be regarded as such, it is also a reflection of the intense opinions of certain fans, as well as the new-found freedoms the relatively new "online" culture provided. While trollish wanks happened on every USENET list, the splinter groups of the bigger internet world made it possible for fans to not get along even more. The schism came at the same time that Livejournal began to rise up and take the place of the old Yahoo lists.

While the owners/creater/s of the DoggShit website are unknown, many fans speculated it was Laurie Haynes alone or a combination of her and her supporters. At the very least, the fire flamed by her anti-Doggett comments were the spearhead for this website. For some of this anti-Doggett controversy see Xemplary.

The Content of the Website

While the site itself had been recently taken offline, a fan reposted its content to alt.tv.x-files.creative on June 13, 2001.

DoggShit Authors:

One thing that really pisses us off is that we can't even settle down with a good fanfic anymore without the fear of DoggShit popping up partway through without the courtesy of a warning. Anyway here is a list of some known DoggShit authors so you don't start reading any of their stories by mistake. Some of these people like to try to trick us and sneak DoggShit in because they know it's the only way they can get us to read their writing. We have to fight back. We're not sure what is worse, this kind of deception or DoggShit/Scully romances written by deluded individuals who call themselves Dippers. It is our duty to make sure these people know this behavior is not acceptable and we will not put up with it. We do not condone or promote violence against these authors, we just think that we shouldn't have to put up with what they are writing and we have a right to say this.

Do not contact the authors on this list. This list exists solely to inform DoggShitHaters about which authors to completely avoid. Some of them write exclusively DoggShit fiction. Some even stick DoggShit in a perfectly good MSR. Some of them sneak DoggShit into their stories without the courtesy of a warning and then cry foul when we object. The best thing to do is study this list and learn which writers to ignore. You never know what they'll do next. Also if you write a story it is great to include a note that DoggShit is not in it so we know we are safe. We suggest DF for DoggShit Free. Your readers will thank you for it! Alternately bonus points to those who kill off DoggShit in their fic or otherwise reveal them as the evil he is. We recommend Kelly J. Thompson's classic stories, available at Ephemeral and Gossamer. We apparently have made a mistake in including "Trajan" on the list of DoggShit authors to avoid. Trajan has written to us to say, "I don't like the character of Doggett, and I've said so numerous times. That's why I writ the fic, to remake the character into something I can stomach. Why else would I torture him so much? I've also said publicly that IMO, RP does not do justice to what little there is to the character." We apologize to Trajan. Trajan's fic is now recommended for DoggShitHaters.

We would also like to commend Angela W. for her story "Pieces of the Puzzle." AngelaW writes in her notes, "I'll warn you right now, I have yet to "warm up" to Dogsbreath and this story reflects that. If you're a big fan of his, bail now. Don't flame me for failing to portray him in a sympathetic manner."

MeridyM has written and asked to be included on the list of DoggShit authors. We have done so. We have also added dozens of new names. We know there are more out there. Send them in!

Adia, Agent L, Agent Myers, Agent X, alanna, Alice F. Burton, Ambress, Amy Vischner, Andie Stabler, Anjou, Anne Hedonia, Branwell, Brenda Antrim, bugs, Callicott, Calliope, Cameo, Cassie, Charlton, CindyET, Circe, Claudette, coolbyrne, Dasha K., David Hearne, Dawg Barn, Diana Battis * is a DoggShit trick author, Donna, DS, Entil'zha, Fialka, Frank Woods, Gwinne, Halrloprillalar, Hamilton, Hans, hillster, Horatio, Hunter, Jackie, January, Jenna Tooms, jeri, Jintian, J.S. Michel, Julie Jekel, Karen, Kel, Kelly Keil, Kelly Moreland, Kelsey Smith, Kim, Lara Means, Lauren Belmont, Lee Burwasser, L.M. Shard, lorna8, Luperkal, mako, Marguerite, Mary Greten, M. Edison, MeridyM * added by author request, Miss Mars, ML, mountainphile, MP Easton, Mrs. J, mulderache, Nadia Sernas, PD, Pteropod, Rachel Anton, Rush, Sabine, Sandy, Scarlet Baldy, senegal, shebegee, Sophia Jirafe, spookycc, Squirrel, Suzanne Turgeon, vamped, Vampyre Girlie, verdanza, XWriter * is a DoggShit trick author

Fan Reaction

A few fans thought the website was a parody, but many more saw it as just one more attack on a character and fans who supported, or even tolerated, that character.

Some fans were glad to be warned of Doggett fic. Some fans were thrilled to have an easy list of authors/stories they would like to seek out.

A few fans wrote a quick Doggett/Scully fic that would assure that they would be on the list.

Several fans commented that they were proud to be on the posted list, citing the good company they found there.

Comments at alt.tv.x-files.creative (June 2001)

[Sharon Cheever]:

Compling [sic] a list of "doggshit authors", especially including authors whose

contriubtions [sic] to the XF community over the years have given thousands much pleasure and entertainment, seems more than a tad paranoid to me. And asking people to write in and narc on suspected "Doggshit authors" just seems weirder than weird. And demanding that writers "warn" people about stories, or write only in a mode that pleases a single group of people is bizzare [sic]. Writers don't *owe* any special consideration to one over-reactive group.

You don't like Doggett? Just hit edit/find when you open a story and look for the name. It can't get any simpler.

[Lisa K.]:

But this nasty site goes deeper...it is also an attack on Robert Patrick (by all accounts, a wonderful, sweet man) as well. I can understand disliking a character, but hating the person portraying the character? Whoa, that's beyond beyond. I'm all for IDIC, but I don't appreciate a group of misguided neo-nazis telling me what I *should* be reading or telling authors would they *should* be writing. Have any of these Duchovbots thought about what their hero would think about this site? My guess? I'm of the opinion that Mr. Duchovny would find it disgusting/pathetic. That site is way too scary to contemplate for any length of time.

[Teddi Litman]:

Nah, just a bunch of childish nonsense. If the owner of the site is over 14 years old, I'll be surprised. Nothing scary about bad mannered children really; they are just an annoyance. Either way, readers should check out their list of banned authors; there are some really good ones there. I'm not a big fan of The "New" XFs myself; but avoiding all *these* writers simply because they wrote some stories featuring Doggett is just denying oneself really good fanfic.

[Laurie Haynes]:

>What bothers me most is that there is apparently a large and growing number of people out there who have managed to forget that it was DUCHOVNY'S CHOICE to leave TXF. Robert Patrick did not drive him away. And no amount of Doggett boycotting/name-calling will bring Duchovny back.

>Hey, I miss him, too-- but it was no fun to watch him sleepwalk his way through much of the past two seasons, radiating his dissatisfaction with his job. - philippa, battening down the hatches

Uhh, you don't get it. We're GLAD David has decided to leave the dreck that X-Files has become. He did a fantastic job for eight years, though in Season 8, he wasn't given much of anything to do. He was ready to move on to other things, and his fans support him in that.

I personally don't like Doggett, don't like to read stories about him. Robert Patrick himself leaves me cold and I find him completely unattractive and uncharismatic. However, I don't stop reading non-Doggett stories by an author just because they sometimes write stories with Doggett, not do I encourage others to do so. Not sure who the person is that created the website, but whatever. The person is taking posts from public message boards, so I guess the material is fair game. But the persons quoted there are responsible only for their own quotes, not any opinions of that webmaster.

[Teddi Litman]:

You know, I take that back. I'm looking over the site again; and I'm thinking it *might* just be a spoof or satire or something like that ... you know, similar to Mary Sue Whipple fanfic. It very well might be designed to make the quoted "friends" look bad ... which it certainly does whether that effect be intentional or not. It's so out there it's kinda hard to tell.<G>

[wolfen]:

I usually don't get involved in the little wars that frequently storm the surface of this NG, but this kinda caught my eye. I went to this site, and e-mailed the owner telling them that maybe they should just put all the names of the people who don't see things their way on the web site. I have read D/S stories occasionally. I NEVER read MSR. And I totally read everything Skinner/Scully. Surely, that means I belong on that page?

[XFDragon1]:

tho I'm rather loath to get into this discussion, might I point out the obvious thought?

this is a post/site created to inflame people on purpose - why there was a need to advertise it is beyond me, since obviously there's not going to be a whole lot of support for this site...

it kinda reminds me of... well, I won't give those other sites and owners that publicity, but I think the oldtimers know of what I speak...

and look, it gets repeated every fricking response! why not just ignore the page and move along with your personal likes and dislikes instead of getting embroiled in a flame war where the creator/owner of the site won't ever see it? (or give a darn, since obviously the site wasn't set up to be loved and adored...)

just trying to avoid the mistakes of the past... if possible...

[Kipler]:

LOL... Methinks the owner/creator of the site is seeing every single one of these posts, and loving each one. That's the kind of attention these folks crave. And the strongest argument for not bothering to type in the URL so you can visit. --Kipler, always an advocate of removing power from the hands of morons by refusing to give it to them in the first place...

[TexxasRose]:

I'd just like to point out, for the record, that my name is listed on the page of "friends" of this site completely without my knowledge or permission, and the quote in question was taken from a message board, again without my knowledge or permission. I suppose the argument could be made that since it was posted to a public message board, it is fair game, but I remember a time at Duchovny Forum when one of the admins wanted to make a website for posts and recs in a certain folder, and we came to the conclusion (at least some of us did) that each person should be contacted to obtain their permission before lifting a quote from a message board and putting it on a website. It might not be "required" but it would certainly be the polite thing to do. I put up "Doggett" warnings at the Mulder in Jeopardy website to assist readers, just like I warn about character death, rape or slash. I don't do it as a judgement call, and as I told the person running that website, when I wrote to ask her to remove my name as a "friend" - I don't hate Doggett, I simply disregard him.

[Barbara]:

Damn. I'm always behind the curve on these things.

I haven't written a story where Dogget is mentioned -- yet. But I certainly reserve the right to do so anytime I damn well please.

I also don't intend to go to the website and give them another hit, but I'm begging them here to *please* put my name on their list of those who offend their delicate sensibilities. It's always an honor to be blacklisted by idiots, and I want to be honored, dammit.

Barbara, just full of evil intentions, Dogget-wise. No, really.

[Laurie Haynes]:

Good point, Texx. None of us were contacted (as far as know) for permission to use these quotes from the message boards. It would at least be the courteous thing to do. Although I won't archive Doggettfic on Xemplary, it isn't outlawed on the XF Creative Mailing List, where just about anything goes. What type of stories a person writes is their own business and I don't believe in flaming them for it, no matter how bad I may think it is.

[Mary]:

I, too, am listed at this site as a "friend", without my knowledge or consent. I won't deny my position: I dislike Doggett passionately for many reasons that are fully my own. And yes, I'd dearly love to have people "flag" their stories by at least listing the character in the Disclaimer along with S, M, or Sk, so that I know he appears and can avoid it. But I would never deny anybody a chance to write or read the fic if they want; I just choose not to. (Please don't inflict me with a thousand posts on how I'm missing out on such great fiction - fiction, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.)

As for the actor himself, I don't think a fanfic forum or any forum really is the place to take potshots at the man. As a NYer, I find his poor accent annoying, but that doesn't make him a bad person - it just affects my opinion of his acting abilities. (Why CC didn't write D coming from the south and save us all the grief, I'll never know!) Anyway, disliking the character, and taking a view on the actor, are two different issues to me.

My last point in this, I guess, is about the language on both sides. The vulgarities are so far out of hand that it makes me cringe. Now, I'm no shrinking violet, but I've always said that swearing is for people who aren't intelligent enough to find a better way to express themselves. If you like or dislike a character, you should state why intellectually and logically, not resort to name calling. I wish people like the person who created this page didn't feel they had the "duty" to tell people what they should and shouldn't read, but there's also nothing that can be done. The web, like the air, is free. So if you object, just do the mature thing and ignore them. Like the Witches, they'll go away.

[Cindy]:

This kind of thing happens every summer (or when there's a break in the show schedule) or at least I've noticed this pattern over the four years I've been lurking and reading the fan fiction. Sometimes it's an effort to unmask the identity of sock puppets, other times it's squabbling over characterizations of Scully or Mulder. Sometimes the heat gets personal --- name calling, blah, blah, blah, of the "You suck!" and "Oh, yeah?? Well, you, too!!" variety.

Oh, and don't forget: Most arguments will eventually drag in the Nazi and Hitler references. I'm not sticking around to see when/if this one does.  ;-) Hey, Kip or Teddi or one of the other Sages, what do you call that, anyway?

After all is said and done, it'll go away. Just leave it to f....a......d.......e a.....w........a............y.

[deleted post by Kimberly Stone]:

>Gee, Laurie, you're so moderate and sensible here. It must have gotten back to you that your name was #1 on the list of The Usual Suspects. (Hester, SirPaul, etc.) for creatin this site under a sockpuppet name. But your reply here is positively mild. Hmmm.

> What happened to the virulent hatred of Doggett and Doggett's fans you've > demonstrated in the past? Attempting to appear sane, are you?

> I trust we can still count on you for unproven allegations about who is a Witch, and who knows that their friend is an alleged Witch? Yes, I'm pretty sure we can count on you for that type of stuff. And this type of stuff - just not this publicly.

[Deslea K. Judd]:

I can't quite believe I'm defending Laurie, but I have to say - as much as I disagree with her opinions and especially with the manner in which she sometimes expresses them - she has always been civil to me on the occasions we've spoken. Doggett isn't my main area of interest, but I do work with him in art and music video from time to time, and I believe she's aware of this. I don't know enough about how she behaved during the Witches thing to comment; but my own experience of her has not been really hostile. At most, it has merely at times been disagreeable, and with two opinionated people, that's pretty much par for the course.

[Kim]:

Lucky you, [Deslea]. My experience, and that of quite a few people I know, has not been the same.

If Laurie got stung by my sharing that the grapevine said that she was probably the creator of the DoggShit Authors site, then maybe she understands the bitterness of being on the other side of accusations like the ones she has made in the past.

That was my only point. I need not have commented on the site itself. It showed exactly what *SOME* of Duchovny's more rabid fans are about, and I wasn't surprised at all.

Whatever. The waste of bandwidth is gone now, and Laurie et al can trot off into their merry Virtual Seasons which are sanitized for their protection from any mention whatsoever of the good character named John Doggett.

Comments Elsewhere

a banner proudly posted by one of the targeted authors (J.S. Michel) to their website

The first episode of the eighth season of "The X-Files" premiered on 5 November 2000 (Robert Patrick's birthday!). Mixed reaction to John Doggett. Fortunately the rational-minded Philes liked the character, and continued to watch to give him a chance. As the episodes kept rolling on, suddenly John Doggett (and *GASP* SACRILEGE! Doggett/Scully 'ship fic!). So some of those negative types took to website creation and created an archive that listed all fanfic authors who wrote John Doggett in their stories (The DoggShit Website - I [was on that] list under the name "Cassie"). It was actually really funny because their original idea of trying to (I'm guessing) banish fanfic authors from the fandom backfired and they provided a nice archive for Doggett fans to find which authors were writing Doggett fic! I'm not entirely certain that the creators of the DoggettHater's Author Hit List found that out.

Doggett fanfic authors actually took pride in being listed on this Hit List website! Graphics of being "proud" and "flamed" started popping up on fansites! Fans and authors were encouraged to save the graphics and display it on their own fansites and/or discussion forum signatures! Being included on this Hit List, at the time, was almost like a rite of passage. Even though there was so much negativity from the loud "Mulderites", "Duchovbots", and "'Shippers", it was an exciting time to be a fan of John Doggett.

Further Reading/Meta/Discourse

• What's With the Witch Hunt of XF Authors?, ^{Archived version}, conversation at alt.tv.x-files.creative, starting June 12, 2001
• With Great Disappointment..., ^{Archived version} conversation at alt.tv.x-files.creative, starting August 24, 2001