Em City

From Fanlore
(Redirected from EmCity)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Archive
Name: Em City
Date(s): c. 1999 - mid-2001
Archivist: Shug/Sugaree
Founder: Shug
Type: Fanfic
Fandom: Oz (HBO)
URL: http://emcity.slashcity.net (via Wayback), https://sugaree.simplenet.com/ (via Wayback)
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Em City was an adult fanfic archive for HBO's prison drama Oz.

printed in the 1999 zine, Contraband Oz

It was part of The Adult Fan-Fiction Webring, the Slash Fan Fiction Webring, and The Oz Ring.

The Em City archive was closely associated with the Em City Mail List.[1]

It was hosted at slashcity.net.

Flamewar and Closure

EmCity used to be the fandom's largest archive. It was abruptly closed shortly after a flamewar erupted on the affiliated Em City Mail List. Conflict arose over the predominance of Beecher/Keller fic, primarily because many fans believed that stories not featuring B/K or stories featuring other characters, period, weren't welcome or appreciated by the fandom:

Basically, the Third Season finale brought a flood of fresh Beecher/Keller converts, many of whom had barely watched the show, only watched it for B/K and/or never watched it and just modelled their fic on popular fanon. These people were mainly interested in A/Us that took place outside of the prison itself or domestic fluff that took place after both characters were (somehow) released. All other ships dropped away; rarepairs disappeared; the already slightly bitter divide between gen, het and slash-oriented fans became toxic very quickly. The main Oz email community blew up in a flamewar that lasted months. Eventually Sugaree, the creator and maintainer of the Em City archive, flounced and took the site with her over the way that B/K shipping had "deformed" the original gritty, multiracial, super-political canon source into something she no longer recognized. It happened so fast that it amazed me, and I was there from the start, so I got to see it all go down. Never before or since have I witnessed anything of the same magnitude, but that may be attributable to the fact that I've never been in a fandom quite as passionate since, and also no longer allow myself to get quite so attached to anything. [2]

References

  1. ^ Posting and List FAQ
  2. ^ Re: ITT: Your first and/or more memorable ship wars (Accessed Feb. 19, 2013. Thread started 2013-02-19)