Okay I need confirmation about something. We all remember the most recent "FFNet is going to die!!!!" wave, right? I'm not talking about the recent problem people had with the URL of the site (that send you to a weird looking FFnet if you didn't write the "www."). Like, this wave got somehow big, I even remember you answering some asks about it and saying that indeed this "FFNet is gonna die" panic comes at least once a year.
Okay so, I because this wave GOT big the people behind FictionPress posted some things on Twitter, like some sort of roadmap for upcoming updates for the website, not the app, right? And I swear to G-d that one of those twits said SOMETHING about improving/updatind/"modernizing" the looks/IU of the website... They never did, of course.
I remembered this just yesterday and got super curious if THAT was even what they said. And I scrolled on their Twitter account... and scrolled... an scrolled... Did they delete those twits??? Did I allucinate??? I can't find them. Or maybe I passed them, but like. Is not just my imagination, right?
I wasn’t paying a lot of attention, but I know FictionPress posted something because people were linking to it going “Calm down! FFN isn’t dead!”
I don’t remember if they promised major UI changes though.
I think I know which panic you’re thinking of, and I’m pretty sure it was more than a year ago, so it could also be that you didn’t scroll far enough or that twitter is borked.
I was around when ff.net removed the storymark feature because they were going to “revamp” it. That feature has not come back. I have never seen the updates from their twitter account.
There hasn’t been any new features for a long time. The last time there was a new was when they still had their Wordpress blog that they used for updates.
I don’t really read fanfics off of here anymore but when I did, it was on Fanfiction.net. It used to be a pretty big place every one would go and I am kinda just wondering what happened…
Fanfiction.net is still around but is showing signs of dying.
The biggest thing that happened is that ads have gotten more annoying. They now show up. Also you have to tell them every 30 days that you still want emails about stuff.
There was also some domain issues where you have to type www.fanfiction.net, not just fanfiction.net. I don’t know if those issues have resolved.
Also they use Twitter for their news updates so that means there is no updates on the front page because of what is going on with Twitter. They have an app that is more updated than the website.
Considering the whole chaos with AO3 that happened recently, I wanted to write about this again since it’s been on my to-do list. Disclaimer, I am trying to be objective, but some factors may still appear as personal opinions on the matter, so keep that in mind. This is a long one, so be prepared for an extensive read, I still tried to be concise but thorough. Experts on these sites, feel free to step in and offer your expertise as well on here. Also do correct me on any potential mistakes, this was a long one…
Search by tag system, addition of major warning tags
Html support, picture and audio integration options
Copy and paste function
Zero advertisement
Engaging comment sections
Friendly UI, writer and reader friendly.
Has function to download fics for offline reading (formats: AWZ3, MOBI, PDF, EPUB, HTML)
Cons:
Tags can get cluttered
Search Bar doesn’t work as well as search by tag filter
Rusty crossover format
Rusty character/relationship involvement sorting
Cannot upload documents
No personal DM function.
Can take awhile sorting through tags depending…
Archive of Our Own (AO3) has been my personal favorite of these websites. I’ve been using it for several years and despite dabbling in various other sites, this one is still my preference.
The reason I’ve been on AO3 more than fanfiction.net is because the Ace Attorney fanfics are so much better. Fanfiction.net is full of Ace Attorney fanfics that resolve around an original character named John Phoenix. (From what I heard, the person who writes this original character has been banned from AO3 for harassment or spamming.)
Supercook - Have ingredients but no idea what to make? Put them in here and it’ll give you recipe ideas.
Still Tasty - Trying the above but unsure about whether that sauce in the fridge is still edible? Check here first.
Archive.ph - Paywall bypass. Like 12ft below but appears to work far better and across more sites in my testing. I’d recommend trying this one first as I had more success with it.
Where Is This - Want to know where a picture was taken, this site can help.
TOS/DR - Terms of service, didn’t read. Gives you a summary of terms of service plus gives each site a privacy rating.
OneLook - Reverse dictionary for when you know the description of the word but can’t for the life of you remember the actual word.
My Abandonware - Brilliant site for free, legal games. Has games from 1978 up to present day across pc and console. You’ll be surprised by some of the games on there, some absolute gems.
Project Gutenberg – Always ends up on these type of lists and for very good reason. All works that are copyright free in one place.
Ninite – New PC? Install all of your programs in one go with no bloat or unnecessary crap.
PatchMyPC - Alternative to ninite with over 300 app options to keep upto date. Free for home users.
Unchecky – Tired of software trying to install additional unwanted programs? This will stop it completely by unchecking the necessary boxes when you install.
Sci-Hub – Research papers galore! Check here before shelling out money. And if it’s not here, try the next link in our list.
LibGen – Lots of free PDFs relate primarily to the sciences.
Zotero – A free and easy to use program to collect, organize, cite and share research.
Car Complaints – Buying a used car? Check out what other owners of the same model have to say about it first.
CamelCamelCamel – Check the historical prices of items on Amazon and set alerts for when prices drop.
Have I Been Pawned – Still the king when it comes to checking if your online accounts have been released in a data breach. Also able to sign up for email alerts if you’ve ever a victim of a breach.
I Have No TV - A collection of documentaries for you to while away the time. Completely free.
Radio Garden – Think Google Earth but wherever you zoom, you get the radio station of that place.
Just The Recipe – Paste in the url and get just the recipe as a result. No life story or adverts.
My 90s TV – Simulates 90’s TV using YouTube videos. Also has My80sTV, My70sTV, My60sTV and for the younger ones out there, My00sTV. Lose yourself in nostalgia.
Old Games Download – A repository of games from the 90’s and early 2000’s. Get your fix of nostalgia here.
Online OCR – Convert pictures of text into actual text and output it in the format you need.
Remove Background – An amazingly quick and accurate way to remove backgrounds from your pictures.
Twoseven – Allows you to sync videos from providers such as Netflix, Youtube, Disney+ etc and watch them with your friends. Ad free and also has the ability to do real time video and text chat.
Just Beam It - Peer to peer file transfer. Drop the file in on one end, click create link and send to whoever. Leave your pc on that page while they download. Because of how it works there are no file limits. It’s genuinely amazing. Best file transfer system I have ever used.
Atlas Obscura – Travelling to a new place? Find out the hidden treasures you should go to with Atlas Obscura.
ID Ransomware – Ever get ransomware on your computer? Use this to see if the virus infecting your pc has been cracked yet or not. Potentially saving you money. You can also sign up for email notifications if your particular problem hasn’t been cracked yet.
Way Back Machine – The Internet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites and loads more.
Rome2Rio – Directions from anywhere to anywhere by bus, train, plane, car and ferry.
Splitter – Seperate different audio tracks audio. Allowing you to split out music from the words for example.
myNoise – Gives you beautiful noises to match your mood. Increase your productivity, calm down and need help sleeping? All here for you.
DeepL – Best language translation tool on the web.
Forvo – Alternatively, if you need to hear a local speaking a word, this is the site for you.
This here will be dedicated to everything that amuses me on the internet or how I like to say it, the interwebs. That includes some Yu-Gi-Oh, Ouran, and random fandom.
My actual first begins with A and is too common in my opinion. If you see the URL, you...
Anonymous
This here will be dedicated to everything that amuses me on the internet or how I like to say it, the interwebs. That includes some Yu-Gi-Oh, Ouran, and random fandom.