RockFic
| Archive | |
|---|---|
| Name: | RockFic |
| Date(s): | |
| Archivist: | Heather, Mad Andy, Hector_Rashbaum and Allana (and others?) |
| Founder: | ScrewTheDaisies |
| Type: | fanfiction archive |
| Fandom: | RPF |
| URL: | main site is here message board is here |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
RockFic is an archive and community for fans of rock band fiction.
It went online April 26, 2004.
The message board community is free to all registered users. On September 28, 2005, Rockfic.com became a subscription site, charging $2 for one year of access to the fiction archive or $20 for lifetime access. This was in response to the web server the site had been on repeatedly becoming slow or unavailable. The subscription fees were used to finance more reliable web hosting.
In March 2007, the site implemented a 48-hour free membership, but this was discontinued in October 2008 as too many people were abusing the system to avoid paying for access to the stories.
In 2015, fans had to register to read the fiction, but this registration was free. It is unknown when this was implemented.
"RockFic is a Limited Liability Corporation. It is not a non-profit." [1]
Archive Policies: 2009
The site has "Minimum Submission Standards" criteria that required stories have few or no spelling, basic grammar or basic punctuation errors. Basic formatting rules are also applied to ensure readability. Stories by new authors are vetted by the admins or moderators before they can go "live" on the site. The vetting requirement is waived for any author who shows she/he could meet the minimum submissions standards on their own.
Access to Rockfic.com is restricted to ages 18 and over.
Rockfic.com only accepts fiction about rock bands (real or "original").
Stories with explicit sex between a minor and a character more than 5 years older than the minor are not allowed. Stories with explicit sex involving anyone under 14 is not allowed.
Archive Policies: 2015 Plus An Update
Rockfic.com reserves the right to remove any fics posted to the site for any reason and without notice. However, the most likely reasons for removal of fics include:
Rockfic.com does not police the content posted to the site. If you believe a fic has violated one of the rules above or for some other reason should be removed from the site, please contact Rockfic.com's administrators. You will need to provide the title of the fic, the name of the author, and the reason you are reporting it.
- Explicit sex involving anyone under the age of 16
- Explicit sex between an adult and a minor
- Plagiarism or other intellectual property rights issue
- A request from the musician(s)/band(s) or any other real person whose name was used in the fic
- The fact that the posted "fic" wasn't actually fic. (People come to Rockfic expecting to read fanfic about bands; anything else posted to the archives will be removed. Repeated offenses can get your account suspended.)
- The fact that the posted fic didn't have anything to do with bands or musicians (real or fictional).
The policy regarding sex and minors was updated in March 2017.
New Rule
As of 11th March 2017 all characters involved in relationships that involve any kind of sexual contact (kissing, touching, anal/oral/vaginal penetration etc) must be over the age of 18. No exceptions. Any member found to be breaking this rule will be banned.
All previous rules on the age of consent no longer apply. The site's submission rules have been updated to reflect this.
FAQ
What about the stories I've already written?!
They'll stay in the archive. Anything written after the above listed date will be deleted and the user will be banned and their details handed over to the relevant police force.
But I have a multi-chapter story with characters under the age of 18. What do I do?!
You have until June 30th to finish it. If it's not finished by then, you will be banned.
But what about XYZ character? They were under 18 when they did XYZ scenario?
Sorry, but there's no exceptions. This includes anything that a particular character did before they turned 18.
What do I do if I find underage stories posted after today?
Report it to one of the admins and they'll deal with it. [2]
The "Passive-Aggressive-Bullshit Rule"
New: Sitewide Passive-Aggress-Bullshit Rule
From time to time, interpersonal problems crop up on the site, and they can often fester. Over the years I've come to the conclusion that the single biggest contributor to this festering is under-the-surface, hush-hush, passive-aggressive bullshit. So from now on, Rockfic is instituting a No Passive Aggressive Bullshit rule.
If you have a problem with someone on the site, here are your options:
- Speak to them directly
- Contact us if you think I can be of help
- Post your side of the story on the message board, with names, to get it out in the open and open up discussion
- Discontinue interacting with them (and if anyone wants to know why, your answer can range from "It's a private matter" to explaining the whole story--just leave out the vague, drama-stirring bullshit)
We approve of and applaud any of the above approaches.
If you choose to allude to a person/problem in order to stir drama, you risk having your account banned for 3 days (or until I remember to unban it, since it has to be done manually). This pertains to the message board, the fic archive, and--if someone logs the chat and sends it to me--in the #rockfic chatroom, as those are all public areas.
If you harass someone, publicly or privately, you risk having your account banned permanently.
If you engage other people in harassing someone, publicly or privately, you risk having your account banned permanently.
Rockfic is now a passive-aggressive-bullshit-free zone. Feel free to report anything posted from today onward that violates this policy. [3]
Relationship to Rockfic Press
In March 2006, Rockfic Press was started as an offshoot of the archive and site. Rockfic Press published band fiction in trade paperback.
Archive Size
2007
As of November 2007:
- over 1650 stories posted on the archive
- 255 active subscribers
Bands with the highest counts of archived stories were:
- Metallica (339)
- Guns N' Roses (222)
- Bon Jovi (128)
- Iron Maiden (90)
- Gamma Ray (86)
2008
As of December 2008:
- 1836 stories posted on the archive
- 238 active subscribers
The five most popular fandoms remained the same (with one new one tied for 5th), and their updated story counts were:
2009
As of July 2009:
- 1923 stories in the archive
- membership had dropped to 199
2015
- 5,239 stories by 746 authors
2021
As of July 2021:
- 8,376 stories by 1194 authors
Top bands:
- Metallica
- Guns N Roses
- Megadeth
- Foo Fighters
- Bon Jovi
Reactions and Reviews
RockFic is kind of one of my ideals. I heart the archivists. I like what she's done. I love the community feel to it. The quality of the material is great. They foster a climate to encourage better writers and the archivist and her staff support them. They keep out the minors. The site doesn't make money but she's committed to the site and will pony up her own money to do that. It had RockFic Press which sells BandFic novels. The authors are paid for their works, getting a certain amount of money based on every sale of the book.
And I can't say enough good things about Heather and RockFic.[4]
I can join dozens of bandfic-related lj communities and maybe find one or two stories a week, if I'm lucky, I can stomach reading through the bad formatting, horrible grammar, completely soap-opera style writing, etc. In contrast, I go to RockFic and while I may not love every band represented, 9 out of 10 times I can at least read a story there without cringing or hitting the back button out of frustration. That makes it a hugely appealing venue for reading and posting to me. It's not like someone's taking a red pen and insisting authors change their every word to be posted there, it's just making sure stories meet minimum guidelines and that author's are willing and open to improving their skills if they don't at first meet them. [5]
Meta/Further Reading
There are many comments about Rockfic, including those from its creators, in the posts: I want my MTV; or Money for Fanfic; archive link page one; archive link page two; archive link page three by telesilla (May 1, 2007)
References
- ^ May 25, 2007 comment by partly bouncy at Archives and not wanting to say "but"; archived
- ^ ALL CHARACTERS MUST BE OVER 18 – EFFECTIVE MARCH 2017, Archived version (accessed September 11, 2018)
- ^ Help, WebCite, unknown date
- ^ May 25, 2007 comment by partly bouncy at Archives and not wanting to say "but"; archived
- ^ May 24, 2007 comment by Sidewinder at Archives and not wanting to say "but"; archived