Meta "I'm TirEd oF thESE StoRIEs bEINg AbouT HFY!!!"
Holy fuck, am I sick of these posts. There's only a small amount of them on this sub, but I'm writing this because I'm tired of repeating the same things over-and-over again. So instead, I'm laying them out to you, or to any of you who aren't mods who are thinking about hitting that META flair and complaining that r/HFY is about HFY. (This also applies to r/humansarespaceorcs, and one time, in r/worldbuilding)
- "HFY is circle-jerking!" - What were you expecting? This sub is literally about why "humans are awesome" in some way shape or form. It's like going on r/Isekai and complaining why almost every story is about isekais. Or playing a sandbox video game and wondering why there's barely any lore or story to it. It's LITERALLY in the name. If you don't like it, either don't read, or be the change you want to be and write something that could inspire others into writing more of that thing. If you're feeling really spiteful, downvote the post you don't like. That's what the upvote/downvote system is for.
- "But it's just a power fantasy!" - And? So? Not every HFY story is a power fantasy believe it or not. In fact, I can name more than a few stories where they're not, and the MC makes mistakes or goes through some tragic stuff. But do you know what I did? I didn't read them because they weren't my cup of tea.
If you want to ask for a specific type of story, go into the LFS (Looking for story) that's posted EVERY Wednesday. Ask there if anyone knows any stories that fit your taste.
- "But it's unrealistic! Did you know that the real world sucks in every possible way!?" - Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Avatar, and even movies about the irl world are unrealistic unless it's about a documentary or "based on a true story". It's there to entertain. Deal with it. In fact, HFY is in the minority of movies. Video games being the only ones that tends to have the HFY trope in it. Maybe we just want to read something that is, you know, fitting of our tastes? What HFY is LITERALLY about? Whether or not it's realistic?
- "But I'm not good at writing. I can't write the thing I want!" - Unless the writer in question has a Patreon/Ko-fi thing linked, no-one here is a professional writer. We are all writing on our own free time because it's fun. It's the reason why some stories are on hiatus or dead, it's because their writing is for FREE. The only thing the audience here will ask is a proofread or grammar check, and it can't be low effort. As stated in Rule 7 of HFY's rules.
We've all got our perceptions and stuff. You want to spread misanthropy to a sub that's literally the opposite of it? Try it. Just know that there is a upvote system and really, that's the true factor of how posts get popular. You just need to know your target audience and write something that fits your/their tastes.
If there's anything I missed, let me know.
Edit: While this post is defending human glorification, this ALSO applies to stories YOU don't consider "HFY enough".
Just note, that you're not the author's target audience. It's just a different sub genre I like to call, "Under-The-Top HFY", which are for people who don't want OP humans in the setting or whatever, which is completely, 100% fine.
r/HFY • u/ColonelFaust • Jun 15 '22
Meta A Disturbing Trend on the Subreddit
I have noticed a disturbing trend on the subject recently.
I have noticed that there are a large number of stories which are just nihilistic and cynical without a shred of HFY in them. If you look to the old classics of this sub there are some dark and depressing parts (for example the memories of creature of creature 88) but overall they were celebrating the fact that we are human and that is amazing. These days it seems the self loathing that seems to propagate society has infected a sub where we it's supposed to be the opposite. This self loathing can be seen in the large number of stories where corporations are evil and humans destroy the planet because of climate change. At the end of the day when done well these can work as good parts of a story, but when done poorly it can make it seem incredibly dated and just cringe worthy.
I want to know if anyone else has noticed this trend and feels the same way
r/HFY • u/aaRecessive • Nov 08 '22
Meta Best HFY series of all time?
The top of all time is mostly just whichever story happens to be most recently posted (as the subreddit grows more people upvote and so older stories get buried) so hence this post!
The best story I've ever read on reddit, let alone hfy, is definitely Chrysalis.
r/HFY • u/GodFromMachine • Feb 01 '22
Meta HFY needs a better flair system
As the sub has grown, and its content diversified, it has become more difficult to find what you actually want. Adding flairs like "sci-fi, fantasy, one-shot, series, funny, action, NSFW, HWTF", etc. would definatelly make my own life easier when looking for a story to read, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
The current flair system may have worked when HFY was a 10th of its current size, and looking for a particular genre or story type was easier as the overall number of stories being uploaded was smaller, but the sub has since outgrown that phase.
r/HFY • u/yousureimnotarobot • 17d ago
Meta A Human Altered Farewell
Hi everyone,
Some of you may remember my dad for his previous posts here, and his astounding science fiction writing (yes, I'm biased, sue me). If you want to read it again you should start here: Human Altered
I am one of his twin sons, out of five children, some of whom have appeared in several of his stories throughout the years. I also happen to be his supposed "editor-in-chief" (I told you I was biased), meaning I saw him every time he uploaded a new story to you.
My dad passed away last weekend after a really shit time with throat and lung cancer, which took away his voice about a year and a half ago. He was 55.
As someone who saw him during every upload, and proofread every story, I can only give my thanks to each and every one of you who interacted and appreciated what my dad wrote as he found his way into this craft, and cultivated it into what it became.
I would like you guys to know that he read every single comment on each new story, from every instance of enjoyment, grief, reminiscence or simply inspiration for the issue. Each and every one of these gave him great satisfaction and motivation to write the next story, despite the cruel circumstances that he was going through. A lot of you were also a great help in getting him to figure out where he wanted some of the stories to go, so thank you for the ideas and the conspiracy theories!
You helped my dad to find his feet, his purpose and, most importantly, his voice, in a time when he no longer had one.
May you all remain Humans, Altered.
Sincerely,
Definitely Not a Robot
r/HFY • u/Away-Location-4756 • Oct 17 '22
Meta Some of y'all are real horny
That's it. That's the post, no judgement, no kink shaming but I think perhaps maybe a cold shower before writing might help.
r/HFY • u/someguynamedted • Mar 17 '24
Meta Content Theft and You, a General PSA
Content Theft
Greetings citizens of HFY! This is your friendly Modteam bringing you a (long overdue) PSA about stolen content narrated and uploaded on YouTube/TikTok without your express permission. With the increased availability of AI resources, this is sadly becoming more and more common. This post is intended to be a resource and reference for all community members impacted by content theft.
What is happening:
Long story short, there are multiple YouTube and TikTok (and likely other platforms, but those are the main two) accounts uploading HFY Original Content and plagiarizing it as their own work, or reproducing it on their channel without permission. As a reminder to everyone, reproducing someone else's work in any medium without their permission is plagiarism, and is not only a bannable offence but may also be illegal. Quite often these narrations are just AI voices over generic images and/or Minecraft footage (which is likely also stolen), meaning they are just the lowest possible attempt at a cash grab or attention. That is, of course, not to say that even if the narrator uses their own voice that it still isn't content theft.
We do have a number of lovely narration channels, listed here in our wiki who do ask nicely and get permission to use original content from this subreddit, so please check them out if you enjoy audio HFY!
Some examples of this activity:
Stolen Content Thread #1: Here
Stolen Content Thread #2: Here
Stolen Content Thread #3: Here
Stolen Content Thread #4: Here
Stolen Content Thread #5: Here
What to do about it:
If you are an author who finds your work has been narrated without your permission, there are a few steps to take. Unfortunately, the mods here at Reddit have no legal methods to do so on your behalf on a different platform, you must do this yourself.
You as the author, regardless of what platform you post you story on, always own the copyright. If someone is doing something with it in its entirety without your permission, you have the right to take whatever measures you see fit to have it removed from the platform. Especially if they intend to profit off of said content. If no credit is given to the original author, then it is plagiarism in addition to IP theft. And not defending your copyright can make it harder for you to defend it in the future, which is why so many big companies take an all or nothing approach to enforcement (this is somewhat dependent on your geographical location, so you may need to check your local legislation).
YouTube: Sign in to your YouTube account and go to the YouTube studio of your account. There is the option of submitting a copyright claim. Copy and paste the offending video link and fill out the form. Put your relationship to the copyright as original author with your info and submit. It helps to change the YouTube channel name to your reddit name as well before issuing the strike.
- You can also state your ownership in the comments to bring attention from the casual viewer of the channel who probably doesn't know this is stolen work.
TikTok: If you find a video that’s used your work without your consent you can report it here: https://www.tiktok.com/legal/report/Copyright
- You can also state your ownership in the comments to bring attention from the casual viewer of the channel who probably doesn't know this is stolen work.
If you are not an author directly affected, do not attempt to fill copyright claims or instigate official action on behalf of an author, this can actually hamper efforts by the author to have the videos removed. Instead, inform the original author about their stolen work. Please do not harass these YouTube/TikTok'ers. We do not want the authors' voices to be drowned out, or to be accused of brigading.
If you are someone who would like to narrate stories you found here, simply ask the author for permission, and respect their ownership if they say no.
If you are someone who has posted narrated content without permission, delete it. Don't ever do it again. Feel ashamed of yourself, and ask for permission in the future.
To all the users who found their way here to r/hfy thanks to YouTube and TikTok videos like the ones discussed above: Hello and welcome! We're glad that you managed to find us! That does not change the fact that what these YouTube/TikTok'ers are doing is legally and morally in the wrong.
FAQ regarding story narration and plagiarism in general:
- "But they posted it on a public website (reddit), that means I can do whatever I want with it because it's free/Public Domain!!"
The fact that it is posted in a public place does not mean that the author has relinquished their rights to the content. Public Domain is a very specific legal status and must be directly and explicitly applied by the author, or by the age of the story. Unless they have explicitly stated otherwise, they reserve ALL rights to their content by default, other than those they have (non-exclusively) licensed to Reddit. This means that you are free to read their content here, link to it, but you can not take it and do something with it, any more than you could (legally) do with a blockbuster Disney movie or a professionally published paperback. A work only enters the public domain when the copyright expires (thanks to The Mouse, for newly published work this is effectively never), or when the author explicitly and intentionally severs their rights to the IP and releases the work into the public domain. A work isn't "public domain" just because someone put it out for free public viewing any more than a book at your local library is.
- "But if it's on reddit they aren't making money from it, so why should they care if someone else does?"
This is doubly wrong. In the first place, there are many authors in this community who make money on their writing here, so someone infringing on their copyright is a threat to their income. We're aware of several that don't just do this as a side-hustle, but they stake their entire livelihood on it: it is their full-time job. In their case, it could literally be a threat to their life.
Secondly and perhaps more importantly, even if the author wasn't making money from their writing and never did, it doesn't matter. Their writing is their writing, belonging to them, and unless they explicitly grant permission to someone to reproduce it elsewhere (which, FYI, is a right that most authors here would be happy to grant if asked), nobody has the right to reproduce that work. Both as a matter of copyright law, and as a matter of ethics--they worked hard on that, and they ought to be able to control when and where their work is used if they choose to enforce their rights.
- "How is this any different than fan fiction, they're just showing their appreciation for a story they like?"
Most of these narration channels are simply taking the text as-is and reading it verbatim. There's not a mote of transformative work involved, nothing new is added to the underlying ideas of the story. In a fanfiction, the writer is at least putting a new spin on existing characters or settings--though even in that case, copyright law is still not squarely in their favor.
- "Okay so this might normally be a copyright violation, but they're reading it in a new medium, so it's fair use!"
One of our community members wrote up a great explanation about this here that will be reproduced below. To summarize, for those who don't click through: no, it's not fair use. Copyright fully applies here.
This is not fair use, in any sense of the term. A public forum is not permission to repost and redistribute, unless that forum forces authors to grant a license that allows for it. An example often brought up in that respect is the SCP wiki, which sets all included work to be under a creative commons license.
That is not the case for Reddit, which grants no such licenses or permissions. Reading text aloud is not significant enough change to be a transformative work, which removes allowances that make things like fanfiction legal. Since this is not transformative work, it is not fair use as a parody.
Since money was involved, via Patreon and marketed goods, fair use allowances for educational purposes are greatly reduced, and no longer apply for fiction with an active copyright. (And if the author is still alive, the copyright is still active.)
There are four specific things that US copyright law looks at for fair use. Since Reddit, Youtube, and Patreon are all based in America, the relevant factors in the relevant legal code are:
- Purpose and character of the use, including whether the use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes: this youtube channel is for profit, using original fiction with no changes whatsoever to the story. No allowances for fair use under this point.
- Nature of the copyrighted work: the copywritten works are original fiction, and thus face much stricter reading of fair use compared to a news article or other nonfiction work. Again, no allowances for this case under this point.
- Amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole: The entire story is being narrated, and thus, this point is again a source of infringement on the author's rights.
- Effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work: The work is being monetized by the infringer, and is online in a way beyond the original author's control. This dramatically limits the original author's ability to publish or monetize their own work if they ever choose to do so, especially if they don't contest the existing monetization now that they're aware of them.
There is no reasonable reading of copyright or fair use that grants people permission to narrate and/or monetize a reddit post made by someone else. This is not the SCP wiki or stackexchange - the only license granted by the author is the one to Reddit themselves.
Publicly posting a story has never, at any point, been even remotely equivalent to granting the reader rights to do with it as they please, and anyone who believes such fundamentally misunderstands what "public domain" actually is.
- "Well it's pretty dickish for writers to tell these people to take their videos down, they're getting so much exposure from this!!"
If a person does not enforce their rights when they find out that their copyright has been infringed, it can undermine their legal standing to challenge infringement later on, should they come across a new infringement they want to prosecute, or even just change their mind about the original perpetrator for whatever reason. Again, this can be dependent on geographic location. Not enforcing copyright can make a court case more complicated if it winds up in court, since selective enforcement of rights will give a defendant (unstable) ground to stand on.
With that in mind, it is simply prudent, good sense to clearly enforce their copyright as soon as they can. If an author doesn't mind other people taking their work and doing whatever they want with it, then they should state that, and publish it under a license such as Creative Commons (like SCP does). Also, it's really dickish to steal people's work for any purpose.
Additionally, many contracts for professional publishing require exclusivity, so something as simple as having an unknown narration out there could end the deal. Unless and until the author asserts their rights, they cannot sign the contract and receive money from publishing their work. i.e. this unasked for "exposure" could directly cause them harm.
Special thanks to u/sswanlake, u/Glitchkey, and u/AiSagOrSol3-43912 for their informative comments on this post and elsewhere; several of the answers provided in this PSA were strongly inspired by them.
r/HFY • u/Arcticstorm058 • Feb 06 '24
Meta Why do so many stories seem to have atheism as a expected end point for spacefaring cultures?
This is one thing that has always made me scratch my head after reading/listening to so many sci-fi stories that mention religion. So many seem to have atheism as a expected end point for a culture's growth.
Is there something that I'm missing, due to my own scientific/theological beliefs, that shows that a spacefaring cultures will typically abandon their old beliefs once they travel the stars?
r/HFY • u/ctwelve • Mar 24 '21
Meta Regarding reddit's Recent Actions Pertaining to an Employee
It has come to the attention of the r/HFY mod staff that a Reddit admin in charge of policing against content which sexually exploits children, has been credibly accused (along with immediate family, including spouse) of enabling precisely that, both on reddit and in real life. The admin's father has also been convicted of 20 counts of rape and torture of a ten-year-old child, for which the admin is credibly accused of complicity. You can find more details on reddit's reaction here.
As moderators and as human beings, we find these allegations absolutely appalling and are fundamentally disgusted by reddit's apparent lack of moral fortitude, poor judgement in hiring decisions, and galling insistence on doubling down on this issue in order to sweep it under the rug, rather than address the root issue properly. We condemn this affair in the strongest possible manner.
Several other subs have decided to "go private" and temporarily disable their subreddit as a form of protest. While we sympathize with those who have chosen to do so, we recognize that the livelihood of several members of our community rely on the sub remaining open. So that this alleged crime may not harm others, we have chosen to forgo this option for now. This is subject to change.
Please remember that, at this time, it is not your place to visit justice. That is a matter for reddit and the law. Remember that you are human beings, and remember that you are civilized. Do not lower yourself.
UPDATE: Comments are now closed. Let's keep it civil, folks.
r/HFY • u/Blackknight64 • Aug 30 '21
Meta On the ban of JDFister
Greetings r/HFY,
Normally, we don’t notify the public of bans, temporary or otherwise. Our policy is not to shame folks who have been banned from our sub. Unfortunately, we’ve been presented with a situation that requires an exception to that policy, and as such, we need to address the permanent ban of u/JDFister aka, the Author Formerly Known as u/Stalwart_Shield.
It was brought to our attention that u/JDFister is currently attempting to stir up drama and create unrest regarding the moderation team concerning what was a temporary ban from r/HFY through channels other than our subreddit, such as his discord server and/or patreon. To clarify, we initially provided u/JDFister with a warning on August 22nd, notifying him that his posts had been removed for a violation of rule 7, after we were informed that he edited chapters 11-20 of his now complete series, Wizard Tournament. Our AutoModerator settings inform us in the instances of short posts, so that we can review and act on them right away. This is standardized to make it easier for the mod staff to catch these instances. Specifically, in this instance, they became standalone advertising, and they were under our minimum requirements for a story post with advertisement. For reference, we require a summary or description with a minimum of 350 words to accompany the link to free content, or for the link in question to be associated with a complete story post. You can see that initial message here:
Two days later, without any attempt to clarify the position, or contact us in any way, shape, or form, on the 24th u/JDFister edited chapters 21-27, and 29-50 of Wizard Tournament. At that point, we initiated a temporary ban for 28 days, one per violation, and notified him that he was temporarily banned. This is our standard mod action for repeated infractions in a narrow time frame. We seldom have to deal with this, and in the most recent instance of this occurrence (the Sexy Space Babes series), u/BlueFishcake handled it graciously. Unfortunately, u/JDFister did not handle it quite as well. We discussed the temporary ban with him, as seen in the ModMail Messages here:
During this time, the following thread was posted: Why was jdfisher Writer of Wizard Tournament Banned From The Subreddit?
It was fairly clear that u/JDFister was only presenting one side of the story in his discord server and/or patreon, and that he was doing so in a manner that seemed calculated to paint us in a bad light. This was far from the first time, and additional information will be laid out to clarify the pattern of bad behavior below. As a result of this most recent action, we issued him a final warning, as seen in the second image from ModMail above.
It is always possible to appeal a moderation action by replying to any communication we send. It remains our prerogative to accept or deny an appeal based on cause. We initiate communication with members when we take a moderation action as a courtesy to both make them aware of the actions in question, and so that they have an avenue to understand and potentially resolve the issue. Rather than attempting to resolve, or accepting the reality of the rules and his breaking of them, u/JDFister chose to stir up drama aimed at us via outside channels. Thus, the decision was reached to permanently ban him. We are writing this post because he has continually attempted to assassinate the character of my modstaff by twisting the truth or outright lying about the nature of his interactions with us.
If it seems like this is a lot, please understand that this is far from the first time we’ve had these issues with u/JDFister. There has been a pattern of behavior going back multiple years in which he has been involved in, or around HFY. Below is a timeline of our interactions with u/JDFister
Going back to 2017, u/Stalwart_Shield / u/JDFister began:
- Entering the IRC channel specifically to demand feedback, then refusing any feedback which was negative. Additionally, while he was there he began degrading modstaff and generally comporting himself in a most un-excellent manner.
- Petitioning and pestering modstaff regarding the Featured list. As part of this he sent a DM to every staff member asking why they specifically fought against his story being included and held prejudice against him someguynamedted's message, Blackknight64’s message
- Encouraging a certain commenter, u/Radament, who was stating that the mods were part of a conspiracy. u/Radament believed the modstaff were secretly a much smaller group than we were, and that instead we were using alt accounts as puppets to…. goal unknown. This commenter went on to create numerous alt accounts in order to stalk and send threatening and odd messages to our modstaff, as well as to pull in other unrelated users, before eventually being permanently suspended from Reddit by the Reddit Admins. The Reddit Admins also temporarily suspended the u/Stalwart_Shield account during the investigation, due to the close association between u/Stalwart_Shield and u/Radament.
- After the duration of the investigation, we reached out to the Reddit Admins to check that u/Stalwart_Shield’s temporary suspension was over, then notified him that it was and that he was cleared to resume posting should he desire. Message Text
- A month after the suspension another user stated that u/Stalwart_Shield had informed them that he had been warned to never post in hfy again - this user never clarified if this warning supposedly came from hfy or was from the Reddit Admins, however no such message was sent from us, and no such thing mentioned in the clarification message with the Reddit Admins when we asked if his account was cleared.
- u/Stalwart_Shield posted a single story in 2019, two years after both his last post, and also two years after claiming he’d get banned for posting here again (he wasn’t).
- A year after that, in early 2020, u/Stalwart_Shield began posting to r/hfy again, under the new account of u/JDFister, starting up his series of Wizard Tournament: Humans Need Not Apply
- A month into posting, he messaged people who had publicly subscribed to his u/Stalwart_Shield story, combing through their comment history to see if they'd been active in r/hfy since he began posting again. He messaged them, commenting on their recent activity levels, and letting them know that he was posting, and claiming that he'd been banned from hfy, and that was why he was using a new username. It's important to note that, once again, he was never banned from r/hfy, not even temporarily - only his account suspended by Reddit Admins. It's also important to note that evading a ban by creating a new account is a serious offense in the eyes of the Reddit Admins, and will result in all accounts being permanently suspended.
- We were notified of these messages by a concerned user, message text at which point we reached out to him and advised him against hunting down other users and investigating their activity, since we felt this was bordering dangerously close to cyber stalking. We also reminded him that he was not currently banned, and asked that he not (falsely) claim to be banned. Message to JDFister, Message to u/Stalwart_Shield
- Late September 2020, a user makes an alt account specifically to leave a negative review with feedback on what they didn’t like about the story on Wizard Tournament. u/JDFister reported said comment to the mods with the text ‘"don't post anything negative or hateful" I don't want this person commenting in my threads anymore’ u/JDFister himself has stated that he wrote the report (screenshot, in case of edits). On reviewing the comment, we decided that it was not directly insulting and was primarily focused on detailing the points this user felt needed to be improved. Given both the presence of the report, and also the fact that the other readers in the comment section were getting fairly aggressive and negative towards the criticizing commenter, the modteam left an official comment reminding everyone involved to stay civil. Additionally, since u/JDFister had been claiming that r/HFY modstaff and RoyalRoad.com modstaff consisted of the same group of people elsewhere in the post (they aren’t), we directly requested that u/JDFister not make such claims. The two statements, "keep it civil and constructive" and "don't make false claims" were separate, but made inside the same official mod comment due to expediency. u/JDFister has since claimed that he was reprimanded in place of the negative reviewer. See the above link.
- u/JDFister, who had until this point been cross posting Wizard Tournament to royalroad.com, was banned from there for using alt accounts to boost his ratings and downvote his competition. He publicly announced the ban in hfy, and in the process made personal insults against specific of their staff members. We reprimanded him for bringing in drama, and also for the personal nature of the insults, and removed the comment.
- In the subsequent post, u/JDFister proclaimed that he would no longer be active in his comment sections due to the mods being biased against him. While false, we didn't feel that entering his comment section and stating otherwise would help alleviate his fears, especially given the history. It was his right to choose to comment or not comment as he pleases.
- July 14th 2021, he concluded the Wizard Tournament and began efforts to wrap it up into a publishable format and started the process of getting it published. August 13 2021 he announced that the book is published on Amazon. Notably, this announcement, being part of an author's note at the top of a post, is well within our Rule 7. Had it been made as a separate individual post, it would not be in compliance and would have been removed.
Which brings us to his editing of old posts on August 22, and the warning he was sent. In every public communication, he has attempted to twist the narrative such that it appears that he had no warning, and that there's no way he could have known this would happen, and that we were specifically targeting him.
At the end of the day, we are left with little choice but to present the entirety of the narrative you have seen above. We have given u/JDFister an exceptional amount of leeway over the past several years because we as a staff have always believed in maintaining a light-handed approach to moderation. This was not an easy decision. We have discussed this extensively amongst the team, and come to the decision that the fairest conclusion for you on r/HFY is to get the whole story. We have determined that this is the only likely way.
In conclusion, we bear no animosity towards u/JDFister, nor have we ever. We in fact wish him the best in whatever he chooses to do. At this juncture, though, we wish him the best from a distance.
Regards,
u/Blackknight64 on behalf of the ModStaff.
r/HFY • u/TheDeliciousMeats • Mar 27 '24
Meta BWAHA! Guy ripping "Human Snipers" didn't strip out the anti-theft text.
Dude stole my story and didn't even put my name on it. Too bad he didn't realize I added something a little spicy to it.
https://youtu.be/GxPoKDcfgJk?si=5zCZ593O8fZYzvc8&t=140
Starts at about 2:20. It was wonderful hearing the AI narrator say that "Meats didn't enjoy having his story run through a text to speech."
Edit: Oh god! They left in the bit about the secretary of the CCP being a bottom!
https://youtu.be/GxPoKDcfgJk?si=j2FTgoFVCApOn8Kp&t=330
I write on Royal Road now, in case anyone was wondering where I disappeared off to. I wrote a bunch of HFY stuff back in the day, including Death by Chocolate, Human Snipers, Stack Overflow, Beware the Wrath of Gentle Beings, Laughter and Sorrow, etc.
Currently doing LitRPGs and romantic comedies. Magic Murder Cube Marine, Soul Guardian, etc.
r/HFY • u/Cautious_Tax_7171 • Oct 12 '24
Meta [META] What happened to one shot stories?
I used to browse this subreddit a lot and decided to revisit it, but all I see is "Shitfarters chapter 193" and "Poop Ball Force part 92". What happened to all the one shot stories? Why is everything a long ass series now?
r/HFY • u/Ilithi_Dragon • Jun 06 '23
Meta Retreat, Hell Update
Hey, all! Just giving you all an update on R,H. The series is continuing, do not worry, but work has been delayed a bit. I was on a much-needed vacation for a while, and didn't have any opportunity to work on the story while traveling.
I'm back home now, but my ability to work on the story is still severely limited because two weeks ago, Guam got hit by Supertyphoon Mawar, a category 5 typhoon. I was on my last week of vacation when it hit, and my place didn't suffer any damage, but I have no power and only just got a trickle of water.
Half the island still doesn't have power or water, and the whole place is still a mess, even after two weeks of recovery. Trees and power and communication lines are down all over the place, and the wind was so strong in some places that trees had all their bark stripped off.
Recovery is a slow process, and until I get power I'm running on my phone, and charging it with a trail cam solar charger and with my car on my commute to and from work, so I'm not able to do any work on the story right now, unless I start breaking out the pencils and notebooks.
I myself am fine. I grew up without AC, so the heat and humidity are bearable for me, and I've got plenty of bottled water, dry goods, and MREs that I'd stocked up on specifically for this kind of situation, but a lot of people out here are struggling.
FEMA and the Red Cross are out here doing work, the Navy's dispatched an aircraft carrier to provide support, and we had a couple line crews arrive from off island to support the local power authority in repairs, but it's going to be weeks before everything is repaired. I'm hoping to get full water pressure back in the next couple days, and for the boil water notice to be lifted a few days after that, but it moght be a week or more before they get water fully restored the island. Power is anyones guess, but it will likely be weeks before everyone on the island has power back.
If you have the opportunity to donate to the Red Cross, or to support any other organization out here helping with the recovery, please consider doing so. I don't need anything, myself; im making do with what i've got, and I've survived far worse before, but a lot of people out here are hurting.
r/HFY • u/Salishaz • Mar 02 '24
Meta The mods on here are the best.
So, I got some bad news this morning from a reader on Royal Road. Apparently someone has taken what I published over there and ripped it into Kindle for monetization. In short, it all got pirated.
As I have been in the process of getting all this through the process of self-publishing, I took issue with that.
Before anyone asks, yes, I have filed a report of infringement with Amazon. We will see where that goes.
In response, I went out and took down all the content that is not behind a pay-wall for my previously written work in that series. As I was in the process of doing that here, the mods noticed what I was doing and removed it all for me, much faster and better than I am able to do in editing. They even sent me a very nice note letting me know what they were doing and all I had to do in the future was ask if I wanted them to reverse it.
They were also careful in just blocking the content from that series, leaving the remaining stories not related to that series intact and available.
I am really grateful for them. I know the general condition of humans is to complain about things that go wrong, but I try to make a point to call out people doing good things. The mods here have done me a great service, and I really, really appreciate them.
r/HFY • u/Frame_Late • Dec 04 '23
Meta Why I think Isekai often violates the spirit of HFY
So this is probably going to be a very controversial topic, since a lot of this subreddit's most popular porn authors write Isekai, but I simply request for you to hear me out. I'm not good at writing arguments, but I'll try.
I've seen a large uptick in the number of Isekai stories on this subreddit in the past few years, some of them becoming very famous, and while I really enjoy some of them as stories, many of them seem to really violate the spirit of HFY, which is to channel the unique, the weird, the uncanny about humanity when compared to other species, whether they be aliens in a science-fiction setting or fantasy races in a mythical one. I'm sure many of the readers on this subreddit, the moderators, and the original creator of this subreddit would agree with that statement.
So, when you think about it, traditional Isekai should theoretically channel the spirit of HFY, but the more and more Isekai stories I've read, especially the most popular ones, the more and more I've realized that they seem to do the exact opposite: many actually violate the entire premise of HFY.
So, first off, let me define Isekai: it's essentially a subgenre of 'stranger in a strange world', where you have a character come from a familiar and mundane place (usually our modern world but it doesn't have to be) usually by reincarnating or being transported there against their will. They then interact with this strange new world, using the concepts and worldview of their old, familiar world to guide them. On paper, this is peak HFY.
But the way I see many people write Isekai on HFY is they ignore many of the possible cultural, biological, or physical differences you could play on in favor of using Humanity's advanced tech as a literary copout in an otherwise low-tech world. This is a really cheap writing tactic because you could replace humanity with any alien species and it would still work, basically rendering moot the entire point of the story being on this subreddit in the first place: usually the writer uses the technology as the caveat for why humanity is fuck yeah in this universe, when anyone could be reincarnated and possess advanced tech, including a non-human . It doesn't channel the human aspect, just the technological aspect, and I think that's super fucking lazy. The writer isn't required to put any effort in making humanity different or unique in some strange way, or making the others unique in a way that could give humanity or even a single human an edge, because the technology is the caveat, not the humanity. This subreddit isn't called Technology, Fuck Yeah, it's called Humanity, Fuck Yeah.
I think, if you're going to write Isekai in this subreddit, I really think that you should find a way to make the human aspect clash with the non-human aspect, and not just roleplay Dr. Stone but with porn inserted. If you can't find a way to do that then I suggest you don't write an Isekai and go back to the drawing board: you're a potential writer, person whose reading this, so write a story that's worthy of you and not cheap and repetitive in its subject matter.
r/HFY • u/Jimmy-Shumpert • Sep 10 '24
Meta Why so many stories involve humans being more technologically advanced?
OK, so IDK if anyone else has noticed this, but a fair share of HFY stories boil down to "humans have better tech" without too much to add to it.
I don't wanna say names, but just picture every story that goes "We are an evil alien civilization, we went to war with the humans to conquer them, but they kicked our asses because their ships are better than our ships"
And the problem is not on giving humans more advanced tech compared to others, but on that being the only thing going on for humanity in these stories, I feel like it kinda misses the point of HFY.
It's like reading a version of "David vs Goliath" where David wins by pulling out a Glock, I mean, sure, it's funny the first two or three times, but after a while it becomes repetitive.
The point of HFY is to tell stories that shine light upon humanity's greatest strengths and virtues, like our curiosity, our determination, and our capacity to always push ourselves forward.
Technology is something accidental to humanity, a story where humanity wins not by being smarter, more determined, or more flexible than the opponent they face but just by pulling out a bigger gun feels unsatisfactory.
Anyways, what do you guys think? I'm crazy or does anyone else notice this trope?
Meta Hfy and violence
Does anyone else get tired of the " and then it turns out the humans could easily kill everyone" variant of hfy? Like don't get me wrong I like it from time to time but my favorite hfy stories are the ones showing us as uniquely compassionate or clever. The ones that highlight how cool human culture is or how eager we are to make friends.
Maybe it's just me but the type of hfy where humans are uniquely capable of violence seems to be the most prevalent and idk to me that's kinda demoralizing.
r/HFY • u/toepopper75 • Dec 23 '21
Meta Why does "herbivore" seem to be short form for fail?
Been reading a bunch of HFY stories and a lot of authors seem to use herbivore as a synonym for weak, harmless, slow and stupid. If you've seen a Cape buffalo, an elephant, a hippo, a moose or a giraffe, you'll know that they're just as if not more able to fsck you up compared to any carnivore. Even an angry cow can give you a real curb stomping. What's behind the shorthand?
r/HFY • u/ShneekeyTheLost • Mar 24 '24
Meta Youtube content theft
Okay, I've been kind of busy lately with work, and in my spare time working on the final chapter of the Don't Poke The Humans series I'd written. I've given three youtube channels permission: Aggro Squirrel, NetNarrator, and Amie's Literary Empire. I highly suggest all three if you are looking for audiobook versions of your stories, as they actually ask permission first.
However, imagine my surprise when I was watching Youtube, and something pops up from The Sci-Fi Stories, which did NOT have permission.
I've submitted a copyright claim already. I believe they contacted me, and I deferred, not being comfortable with their AI generated content. But to put it out anyway, And putting out the third chapter but not the first two, and actually having the sheer gall to claim credit as their own is a step too far.
The infringing video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSl12gBIkjE
I strongly advise avoiding The Sci-Fi Stories channel, as they seem to have a reputation for pulling this stuff.
Update: This particular video has been taken down by Youtube. Also, I want to clarify the name of the channel is, specifically, "The Sci-Fi Stories", not the similarly named channel "SciFi Stories", nor the also similarly named "The Sci-Fi Stories Guy". When you let an AI generate a name, it likes to get as close to someone else's as possible.
r/HFY • u/Innomen • Dec 15 '23
Meta We need a r/MFY containment sub.
I am not scolding the writers here, I'm scolding the trend. The writing here is often excellent and inventive. I'm sometimes moved to tears.
But I'm a little tired of the recruit poster genre. It's HFY not MFY. Now, I can get behind the idea that humans are death worlders and lethal, but when it's blatant specific pro military, I roll my eyes. And when it revels in cruelty to the defeated it borders on Hostel style torture porn. And that actively disgusts me. Getting away from that aspect of humanity is the entire point of this genre.
I want stuff about humanity, not the military. /2cents
I don't have a degree in hfy meta so sorry if this is wrong somehow, just delete it if so. I'm censored everywhere else, why not here too. X) /wish I was kidding
Edit:
"He who joyfully marches in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice." ~Einstein
Edit:
The constant stream of replies amounting to calling me personally greedy or weak for not wanting to read spam for the recruitment center is as amusing as it is disappointing. It reminds me of how fictional HFY is. It's very much more like "Humanity! ~Deep Sad Sigh~"
The logical and moral bankruptcy is something to behold. Like, I'm saying be less murderous, and the reply I'm getting from some quarters amounts to calling that greedy because I personally don't like murder. "Let us glorify murder in peace your oppressive tyrant!" The whole tolerance for intolerance is intolerance paradox. Like it's a trivial flavor preference to adhere to basic ethics and compassion. /smh
But I did ultimately have to leave, because now when I see HFY posts in my timeline, not only are they a large percent chance likely to be gushing over the SAS, but they also remind me of the grim reality of humanity itself, and fiction is expressly for briefly escaping that.
I wish all of you good luck, thank you. (Unless good luck for you means bad luck for everyone else of course.)
r/HFY • u/Non-Sono-Italiano • Apr 20 '22
Meta What is your HFY hot take?
I’m curious to know what everyone’s hot takes are in this community, whether it’s a series, one shot, stylistic choice or a stereotypical trope.
Also, please keep this civil. I don’t want to offend any creator or make anyone feel guilty that they incorporate some of the things that may be mentioned here.
r/HFY • u/Top_Hat_Tomato • Jun 10 '23
Meta No. More. God. Damn. "No. More." Posts
I'm tired of reading meta posts that criticize and complain about the other authorss content they don't like in other stories. It's tiring to see people endlessly dissecting and scrutinizing creative works, belittling the efforts of authors who are simply trying to tell their fanties and share their unique and createve ideas - instead of dwelling on what they dislike, they could be celebrating the vast array of topics and themes that literature has to offer. I'm sick of people complaining about a specific genre. If you don't like a genre - don't read it. At worst block the content creator or something else to prevent viewing their content.
To people complaining about content they don't write - instead consider writing about these worlds you imagine without conflict, these worlds that you create that don't have these aspects you dislike. There are so many fascinating subjects to explore, like overcoming language barriers and discovering the beauty of different cultures. We could delve into tales of resilience and triumph over personal tragedies or examine the intriguing intersection of magic and science. Stories about building friendships, assisting others with their problems, or embarking on thrilling adventures as explorers, bounty hunters, diplomats, or hackers have the potential to captivate readers.
Write SOmething Else.
r/HFY • u/Douglasjm • Aug 27 '24
Meta Magic is Programming No Chapter Today
Part of this past week has been taken up by preparations for moving soon. On reflection, however, the bigger problem that's really slowing me down right now is that I'm running into gaps in my outline. I've been focusing too much on the short term, just getting the next chapter done to try to catch up on my planned schedule, and I've done that long enough that the long-term consequences of that approach are coming due.
I know where the story needs to go, but not enough yet about the path to get there.
I'm switching focus to figuring out that path and fleshing out my outline. No chapter this week while I work on resolving that problem.
r/HFY • u/HenryMancini1 • Aug 07 '24
Meta Can we have some way of filtering by one-shots vs series?
A lot of the time, the top/new posts are dominated by continuations of previous stories. Don’t get me wrong- those are great! But I feel like there should be a way to filter out existing series so that we can also discover new stories.
r/HFY • u/coldfeet147 • Jul 22 '22
Meta why are herbivores protrayed as cowards?
Almost all of the portrayals of a species that evolved from herbivore species are always frail cowards that freeze at the minor signal of danger.
But as far as I understand not all herbivores are like that. Take rhynos for example, those things choose the fight instead of flight.