Forum alert/psa
Jan. 5th, 2010 11:33 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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lkh_lashoutsThe LKH Forums will be undergoing an upgrade. I got this lovely email the other morning:
I don't know if it's a lack of tech savvy skills in being able to preserve things during the upgrade, or just a chance to wipe the slate clean (personally, I think it's the latter), but the point is: if you want anything from the forums, now is the time to copy/screencap. If there's anything in particular that you'd like us to save for posterity on the Lashouts site, let us know. At the very least, I'm going to be saving the long list of rules about not calling Anita a Mary Sue/whore etc, just in case things get changed in the overhaul.
Hello Friends,Bold emphasis is mine.
I wanted to send out a quick reminder that the Laurell K. Hamilton Forum will soon be upgrading the version of vBulletin that we use to vBulletin 4.0. This will mean a few things for you and I wanted to make sure that everyone was aware of them. The first is that the Forum will probably be inaccessible for a few days, but we will be back soon and you will have lots of new things to play with and explore. This brings me to the next thing that may impact you; when we come back it will be to a completely new forum and we anticipate that we will not be bringing any of the posts from the old forum with us. So it's HIGHLY advisable that if you have any posts that are valuable to you and you don't want to lose, that you come back NOW and save them. I know that most of you put a lot of time and effort into your posts and we want you to be able to post that information again on the few forum. The other thing that is very possible, is that we may NOT be bringing user names to the new forum with us. This means that when we are back up and running, you will have to re-register your user name. These things are not set in stone, but they are very possible so I wanted to make everyone aware of what could be happening so that you know what actions you might need to take upon your return.
I don't know if it's a lack of tech savvy skills in being able to preserve things during the upgrade, or just a chance to wipe the slate clean (personally, I think it's the latter), but the point is: if you want anything from the forums, now is the time to copy/screencap. If there's anything in particular that you'd like us to save for posterity on the Lashouts site, let us know. At the very least, I'm going to be saving the long list of rules about not calling Anita a Mary Sue/whore etc, just in case things get changed in the overhaul.
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no subject
Date: 2010-01-05 02:47 pm (UTC)My fourth thought is -has Hamilton EVER hired anyone well qualified for the post they fill? I'm not dissing her employees but she seems to feel the need to hire people that are more friends to her that actual employees.
Was that clear? I feel fuzzy this morning.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-05 03:01 pm (UTC)Inorite? Any geek worth his salt would be able to do the upgrade and keep the database intact. I even read about a case where a Sims forum got taken over by some clueless guy who bought it from the original maintainers and planned to turn it into a for-profit endeavor. Instead, somebody who had admin access spent a few days downloading all the data and setting it back up on another server entirely. Posts and passwords remained intact. And this was without the new 'owner' even realizing it until it was already done. Surely somebody doing a simple upgrade would be able to do the same.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-07 12:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-05 03:02 pm (UTC)From my experience with that particular moderator that sent out the email about the forum upgrade has been that she's...very delete-happy, even for people with legitimate posts and they might not know the right thread to post it to. She's also been systematically getting rid of all traces of Darla.
So it's all very fishy to me. But c'est la vie, they'll run it how they see fit. They haven't caught wind of me, so I'm quietly confident in my lurking abilities.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-05 05:28 pm (UTC)So, no, there's no excuse for not keeping the old boards from a technical POV. I could believe it was incompetence or technical limitations if it was switching between different platforms, but it's very much likely to be on purpose in this case.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-05 10:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-05 10:59 pm (UTC)oh, puh-LEEEEEEEEEEEZE
Date: 2010-01-06 02:56 am (UTC)Been in the hospital for the past month, but I found the same notice in my INBOX. What's going on over there is the same thing that went on a couple of years or so ago when BTTG and Darla revamped the forums and got rid of most of the role-playing clubs and (MILDLY) critical forums. It's not strangely anything, it's a concerted effort to get rid of everybody that is even mildly questioning what's going on with lkh, her horrificly bad attempts at writing, and the non-selling books that are turning more and more into pure bad porn.
Mr. Green is supposed to be the SysOp with Carri helping him on both the plog and the forums. He and she both are supposed to be tech wizards that can do anything. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be either the case OR the truth, as cyanidefish pointed out. They don't WANT to save anything. They DO want to get rid of people/posts/opinions that don't jibe with whatever the official lkh line is at the moment.
Given that DM died within less than a month, and the local used bookstores won't buy either one of the two latest books any more, I'd venture a guess that she's finally figured out that her writing has become unreadable and that her readership has fallen off drastically. OF COURSE the best thing to do in those circumstances is to . . .wait for it. . . FIX THE FOUMS!
Wonder how much longer her publishers are going to put up with this nonsense.
-,'-,'-,'--@
Re: oh, puh-LEEEEEEEEEEEZE
Date: 2010-01-06 05:40 am (UTC)I am willing to bet that they are quietly sifting though the slush piles looking for ripe new talent to fill out the publishing schedules and maybe somebody to replace LKH when her contract runs out.
I seriously doubt that she's going to get the sweet fat deals she has gotten in the past this time around.
Re: oh, puh-LEEEEEEEEEEEZE
Date: 2010-01-06 06:53 am (UTC)tomes of epic craptitudebooks is she slated to push out for the publisher(s)?Though I have the feeling she's gonna lose the Merry publisher soon enough, given how she was slacking off and whining when it came to just trying to get DM out. *waits with glee like a vulture for the fallout from that fiasco*
Re: oh, puh-LEEEEEEEEEEEZE
Date: 2010-01-06 05:55 pm (UTC)Hell they come out like roses if they pull that stunt, despite all the trouble she's caused they still want to renew just that LKH can't suck it up in this hard market like the rest of them have to.
Re: oh, puh-LEEEEEEEEEEEZE
Date: 2010-01-06 04:44 pm (UTC)From LKH blog on 6/11:So, when I finish up the new contract I just got which is #16, #17, and #18 Anita Blake novels, respecitively, we'll then turn around and negotiate for #19 through #21. Oh, and why do we count BLOOD NOIR as sixteen when contractually it's #15? Because MICAH was done as a sepearte contract, since it was sort of a suprise for all concerned and not long enough to full-fill one of the slots in the contract I was writing at the time.
----------
Since Flirt is short as well she probably got a separate contract for that one as well so Bullet should be the last one.
If Merry is on the same 3 book schedule it should be after the next book as well.
Re: oh, puh-LEEEEEEEEEEEZE
Date: 2010-01-06 05:53 pm (UTC)If her Agent is smart she'll already have the "Economy is so bad they can't afford to pay you what you are used to...so you might have to take a little less per book this contract..." speach. Cuz you know that poor woman is not looking forward to those negotaions post the mess of getting the last Merry Book FINISHED.
Re: oh, puh-LEEEEEEEEEEEZE
Date: 2010-01-07 08:15 pm (UTC)I'll BET that the publishers are sifting through the slush piles, trying to find an author that actually WRITES interesting, fun books and who is disciplined enough to meet deadlines, take editing advice, go on signing tours lasting longer than two days, and who, generally, is more concerned with doing her/his JOB than sitting on a throne surrounded with toad-eaters, lickspittles and sycophonts.
Judging from all the twitidiocities that were put up over the summer, including the plogging about the three personal visits that her present agent did during this period, I'd expect that lkh's career, such as it is, has about run its course. My wife was in one of the big used bookstores, getting me some different books to read while I'm recovering, and there were 12 - 15 people there with lkh books trying to sell them. The store owner wouldn't pay them for the copies, just gave store credit. WonderWife asked him what on EARTH??? and he showed her a 6' tall, 5' long, 6 shelf bookshelf that was crammed full of lkh books. Two of the shelves held nothing but ST and DM.
DM has been out less than a month. Draw your own conclusions from that.
I'm with you, I don't think that lkh is going to get another multiple book contract, and I'd also be willing to bet that there will never be another NO EDIT clause in any contract that she's offered.
That's so very sad. I pity the lot of them with my whole heart. I especially pity lkh.
-,'-,'-,'--@
Re: oh, puh-LEEEEEEEEEEEZE
Date: 2010-01-08 12:22 am (UTC)Oh, boy, I can just imagine how that could turn out...
Agent: Ms. Greene, you'll notice there's some differences in the new contract. If you'll read here carefully...*points*
LKH: I have to let some mere mortal touch and EDIT my golden words?! Never! You're just jealous, you can't see the greatness of my
magical vaginamagnificent works! Never!Agent: Are you sure?
LKH: Yes! Never!
Agent *shoves her swivel-chair out the office exit and locks it behind her* Next!
Waiting with Glee
Date: 2010-01-06 01:29 pm (UTC)I have a feeling both publishers are poised like hungry lions waiting for Hamilton to screw up just enough to justify breaking their contracts. With three hardcovers scheduled for 2010 this could be THE year.
Re: Waiting with Glee
Date: 2010-01-06 05:51 pm (UTC)I DO bet that Merry's publisher at least will not give her a sweet heart deal just the bare bones they can get away with it. Not much her Agent can do about it either since they have plently of reasons. And if LKH tries a Flounce they will have no problems pulling another out of the slush
In fact I bet that's what they are counting on, offering a less than ideal deal in hopes that her massive ego will make her refuse it outright and let her take her Merry Series to another publisher, and she already has a massive rep as a diva so it won't be as easy as she thinks it would be.
Re: Waiting with Glee
Date: 2010-01-07 08:22 pm (UTC)No, the publishers don't count returns or sales to the used bookstores - BUT REMEMBER that the best means of advertising is word-of-mouth. If there are enough people out there that are up on forums and lists saying that the newest book in a series is absolute crap, then that book is going to sink.
There's been enough said about the lack of quality in the last THREE lkh ABVH books, not to mention the furious discussions of the last 2 MG books, that the publishers are noticing. For the first time, an lkh book was heavily advertised - print, TV and radio - and already copies are showing up in used bookstores. That says something to me, doesn't it to the rest of you?
-,'-,'-,'--@
Re: Waiting with Glee
Date: 2010-01-08 05:08 am (UTC)*gags*
As long as that happens, as long as she still sells they will keep her around she will need to fubar her deadlines AND the book flops before they will drop.