skyehawke
| Archive | |
|---|---|
| Name: | skyehawke |
| Date(s): | around 2000 – Nov 2021 |
| Archivist: | Tien Riu |
| Founder: | Fiona Lim (fionatjlim) |
| Type: | Archive |
| Fandom: | Multifandom |
| URL: | Skyehawke a LiveJournal Community http://www.fortunecity.com/rivendell/darkness/268/ http://www.fortunecity.com/rivendell/darkness/268/stories.html http://skyehawke.com http://skyehawke.com/test/archive/ http://archive.skyehawke.com/ http://skyehawke.com/archive http://forums.skyehawke.com/ http://skyehawke.com/forums/index.html http://skyehawke.com/forums/index.php |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
skyehawke was an automated archive for multifandom fanfiction and original fiction, which consisted of three divisions: an archive, a forum and a LiveJournal.
It was, according to the founder Fiona Lim, "unlike other archives on the internet, skyehawke dot com :: archives is Australian based, running on (what I believe to be) the first fiction rating system tailored for written rather than visual media." [1]
It was staffed by four admins: Ashe (since June 2005), Calvin Hobbes (since July 2003), Teyla (since March 2005), Tien Riu (since 2001), and a group of volunteers.
On the 22nd of March, 2003, the site changed its URL, and this successful installation signaled the closure of Castle Skyehawke Archives (1994 - 2003). The new URL was automated and, other than one known bug (Microsoft Word HTML files causing strange appending problems), met the objectives first set for Castle Skyehawke Archives: a place for well written fiction from a diverse selection of writers.[2]
This archive was based in Australia. The website runs on Dragon Bulb, "an amalgamation between iodesigns' Storyline version 1.8 and Dragonware's Dragon!Bulb version 1.0".[3]
The Forum was a place for archive users (and the "general public") to interact and chat. As of October 28, 2016, the Forum was not operational but fans continued to occasionally upload stories to the archives.
The LJ Community was first introduced in 2003 to address gaps that would arise when there were website host provider downtimes. It was mainly an admin site. The last update dated June 14, 2015.
The Archive
The archive was skyehawke's main attraction. Fiction could be posted to six main categories: animation/illustrated, book, tv/movie, original fiction, original non-fiction and games/comics.
There were generally few rules as to what fiction can be posted, as long as it was "well written". To ensure a level of quality, skyehawke was a closed community. One must had to invited by a registered user to get an account. All registered skyehawke users could create accounts, but:
V. We ask that registered users do not invite their best friend, girl/boy/fluffy werewolf they met, strange person down the street (etc) unless said person has previously written a piece of fiction (or non-fiction) that is 'well written').
- (a) 'Well written' is not defined because it is a subjective term.
- (b) But it would be nice if grammar, spelling and sentence structure was 99% correct.
- i. The 1% is because even the best beta readers/spell checks miss a few.
- ii. We're not going to actually calculate that 1% error rate - we'll assume it, because, as we said in [I], 'in good faith'.
- iii. The Administration Team are very aware of our own fallacies. We ask that we be forgiven for being mortal - especially when we attempt humour and irony and receive fifty emails from those who have missed the point about spelling mistakes.[4]
Regarding Ratings
Ratings Explanation:
As you might have noticed, skyehawke dot com :: archives does not use the normal rating system used by most fanfic archives (the American rating system of G - NC-17 for visual media). This is because the administration feels that a rating system developed for visual media (for instance: tv, movies, plays, films, cartoons and anime) is not suitable for stories. Especially as stories are read rather than watched and visual images (the source and basis of any visually based rating system) are depended on the abilities of the reader's imagination.
The system skyehawke dot com :: archives uses is based on the Australian rating system for visual media (because the owner of the site is an Australian and is most familiar with this sytem [sic]) with modifications created from broad methods used by libraries to divide books into age-group categories (children, young adult, adult).
The Rating System:
G - general fiction for all audiences. Deals with situations and themes suitable for young children.
PG - fiction suitable for teenagers (from ages of thirteen upwards). Potentially suitable for children though parental guidance is recommended. Contains references to subjects normally considered inappropriate for minors (drugs, violence, horror, sex and death).
M - fiction for matured audiences (from ages fifteen upwards). Contains subjects normally considered inappropriate for minors (drugs, violence, horror, sex and death) in non-graphic detail.
R - fiction that is rated R for containing graphically described situations revolving around subject matter considered inappropriate for minors.
X [V,S] - fiction that is rated X for containing extreme situations pertaining to [V]iolence and [S]ex. [5] [6]
Fandom Sponsors
A distinctive feature of the archive was the use of Fandom Sponsors, users that acted as moderators for a given fandom. Sponsors could post news about their fandom and do some maintenance work (like adding or editing characters for their fandom).
A sponsor is simply a member of the skyehawke dot com :: archives who is responsible for championing the category/fandom he/she selects. A fandom benefits from sponsorship in that the sponsor will make a concerted effort to introduce new authors and their story contributions to the fandom, thus growing it.
The concept of sponsorship helps to structure skyehawke :: archives by making each sponsored fandom like a little community dedicated to a specific book/comic/movie/tv show/etc...[7]
Archive Content
skyehawke was a popular archive for Harry Potter fanfiction[9], but it also offers a home to rarer fandoms, like Ursula Le Guin or Die Hard.
Harry Potter fic by itself accounts for 65% of material on the archive.[10]
Other large fandoms were Stargate, Buffy & Angel, and Lord of the Rings, each of which accounted for about 2%.
In addition to original fiction and more conventional fandoms, skyehawke also hosted original nonfiction including editorials, essays, fanfiction guides and tips, and journal entries.
See: Statistics via Wayback Machine.
Content Abuse/Reporting and The Illiterati
All users - whether they be authors/members or readers have the right to complain about anything at skyehawke :: archives. There are special procedures in place however, should a user perceive: Conduct that violates the Code of Conduct Content that violates the Terms & Conditions (please see "3. Content" in the Terms and Conditions)
That a user has abused their power in relation to skyehawke :: archives[11]
In 2005, Australia passed stricter child exploitation laws and the archive revised their terms of service to allow people to challenge fanfic by requesting that the fiction be removed. They created a review board called the "Illiterati." However, the site's revised list of banned fiction went beyond child exploitation and included a wide range of objectionable text including non-con fic between adults written to sexually excite the reader. This caused much confusion.
- See Illiterati for much more.
References
- ^ skyehawke dot com News, Fiona Lim (2003?)
- ^ Excerpt extracted from the website skyehawke dot com :: archives.
- ^ Dragon Bulb Software Profile, accessed May 5th, 2009 and archived at July 29, 2017.
- ^ Code of Conduct, accessed May 5th, 2009 and archived at September 21, 2017.
- ^ from Ratings Explanation
- ^ a slightly different version is here
- ^ Fandom Sponsorship, accessed May 5th 2009 and archived at June 5th, 2020.
- ^ These figures are based on the counts on the category pages and the total fic count given in the site stats page on 4/9/2010.
- ^ The story with most hits and reviews is aspeninthesunlight's A Year Like None Other, as evidenced by the Statistics Page, accessed May 5th 2009 and archived at June 16, 2017.
- ^ This calculation is based on the number of fics, not wordcount or other factors.
- ^ skyehawke :: Reporting Abuse (Complaints)