Before you post your fanfiction please heed this warning. The LoVe Shack has a no-tolerance plagiarism policy. We understand that this issue can be very confusing, considering that all fanfic is essentially writing literature with someone else's imaginative property. However, as plagarism is a serious issue that can have huge legal ramifications, we felt that it was important to clearly define our standards with respect to this issue in the fanfic forum.
To clarify, our basic definition of plagairism is: If you include frequent or significant extracts from another author's work (in television or literature or fanfic) without disclaiming a) that the reference exists and b) who is responsible for the original work. These extracts may take the form of 'paraphrasing' (abbreviating longer sections but maintaining the same order, point or plot structure) or direct quotations. We only condone extracting quotes that are a couple of lines long. Not paragraphs and definately not pages. No disclaimer will save you from a plagiarism penalty if you copy to that extent.
In order to avoid any possible legal ramifications, all authors are required to post a disclaimer at the beginning of any story. Although it may seem obvious, every fanfic author must clearly state that that the characters in the story are not their intellectual property, and should clearly identify any other references to existing works. A standard disclaimer for Veronica Mars fanfic would be:
Quote:
Disclaimer: The characters depicted in this fanfiction belong to Rob Thomas and his creative team at The C.W./U.P.N. The story is my own creative work and my intention is to pay homage to the universe they created, not to profit from it.
Please feel free to copy and paste this standard disclaimer into the beginning of each new story you author, or create your own, as long as it contains the same information. To this disclaimer you should add and indicate the origin of any other references e.g. the plot might be based on another film/novel, there may be lines of dialogue directly from an episode that should be mentioned (i.e. 'some direct dialogue was taken from the episode The Wrath of Con'), there may be lines of dialogue from other shows or works of literature (THESE lines should be directly referenced because readers won't necessarily recognize them straight away, unless of course the origin of the line was mentioned/indicated some way in the actual story).
To summarize, a reader should never be confused about who is responsible for what they are reading, who put the creative effort into thinking it up and who is ultimately responsible for what they are praising in their feedback. If an author takes a really clever line from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and gives it to Logan in a fanfic, then someone leaves feedback saying "that line was SO funny - you are so good at dialogue!" then that author is being paid a compliment that isn't truly theirs. They didn't write that line. You can be complimented for a great reference, a great pop-culture quip so it shouldn't matter that the line doesn't belong to you if you think it works in that context. AS LONG AS YOUR READERS KNOW IT ISN'T YOURS.
It is because plagiarism is such a serious issue that we have established a firm no-tolerance policy. If the moderators at The LoVe Shack find any claim of plagiarism to have merit, the story in question will be immediately deleted, and the author in question will be suspended from the forum for a period of no less than one month. A second offense will result in permanent banning. This may seem harsh, but plagiarism is too serious an issue (with a slew of legal ramifications) to take lightly.
If you suspect that a fanfic author is guilty of plagiarism, please contact one of your friendly neighborhood moderators immediately. We will investigate the claim thoroughly before making a decision, and offer the author an opportunity to defend themselves without disclosing your identity. Please note that the fanfic in question may be removed from the forum in its entirety while the claim is investigated.
1. Stories must feature Logan and/or Veronica as the main character featured. The only exception to this rule is if a third character is reflecting on Logan and/or Veronica.
2. Since this is a LoVe site, the romantic pairing must be Logan and Veronica. A different pairing in the story is acceptable as long as the ultimate pairing is leading up to Logan and Veronica.
3. Make sure you have complied with the board's grammar policy before posting your fanfic.
4. When you post, include all of the following in the subject or in the top of your post (if there is no room for more than the title):
- Title
- Rating
- Length of fic, ie, if the story is a one-shot include 1/1. If it's a continuing story but you do not know the ultimate chapter end, put 1/?. Some people are not works in progress (WIPs) fans and would prefer to wait until the story is complete before reading.
- Disclaimer: See the fanfiction ethics section above.
Note: If a reader wants to create a feedback link because a writer hasn't -- they may do so.
We do feedback a little differently here. The authors are the only ones who should be posting in their stories' threads. Comments, feedback, etc. should not be posted there. Authors please create a Feedback link in the Feedback Forum and provide that link at the bottom of each story/chapter you write. Feedback, comments, etc. should be posted in the thread made especially for them according to story (i.e. FEEDBACK: Logan and Veronica Talk at the Beach).
If it's just one chapter:
1. In this forum.
2. Open a new post. Put the rating, summary, spoilers and disclaimer before posting your story, then in the same post, put your story. Don't post it yet though, first --
3. Open a new window (if you can) and go to the Feedback Forum and create a new post entitled: "Feedback: Name of Your Story." In the message put whatever you want to to entreat people to leave feedback. Post that. Once it's posted, open the post up and grab the address in your address box, copy it.
4. Go back to your story post and go to the bottom of your story, then hit the link button on the toolbar above the message box, paste the link from your feedback post, it will prompt you for what to name your link, go with something along the lines of "leave feedback here." Hit enter. That should pop up at the end of your story.
5. Post your story.
For multiple chapters:
1. Go to the Fanfic Forum.
2. Open a new post. Put the rating, summary, spoilers and disclaimer before posting your story in the first post. Post it. Then open that thread again and hit "add reply" then put the first chapter in that message box. Don't post it yet though, first --
3. Open a new window (if you can) and go to the Feedback Forum and create a new post entitled: "Feedback: Name of Your Story." In the message put whatever you want to to entreat people to leave feedback. Post that. Once it's posted, open the post up and grab the address in your address box, copy it.
4. Go back to your story post and go to the bottom of your story, then hit the link button on the toolbar above the message box, paste the link from your feedback post, it will prompt you for what to name your link, go with something along the lines of "leave feedback here." Hit enter. That should pop up at the end of your story.
5. Post your chapter.
6. When you update with following chapters. Go to the last chapter you updated, edit the post, grab the feedback link, add a reply to the thread, insert your next chapter and then put the feedback link at the bottom of the chapter. That way people can go to that link as soon as they are done reading.
Note: Authors DO follow our rules in setting up feedback links or after a warning any feedback will be deleted. Readers note that you can set up a feedback link yourself if you don't see one, but writers, again, note, that any feedback placed within your story thread because you did not create a link will be deleted after one written warning.
