Being a Gundam Wing Addiction Archivist ... Privilege or Work?

Okay, I get asked this question quite a bit (and although it doesn't address what this rant is about I believe it to be connected) ... How do I get archived at Gundam Wing Addiction? Essentially Tyr asks the authors she's interested in reading, if they would like to be part of the Addiction. I didn't seek her out, in fact I pretty much explained to her that I was HTML proficient and was planning to just put the stories on my page, but she still was interested. Guess she was right GWA's counter is at 200,000+, my page at GWA is almost at 90,000 and my pitiful page here is a little over 3000 hits (after two website changes--go figure!).

But I digress ... Tyr put out an APB to anyone who wanted to help markup the files for GWA archives in HTML. Well since I've been doing html since 1993, I volunteered my services. I was assigned two authors and myself. Then it was suggested that I download a nifty program to make marking easier (I know some folks like to call it "coding" but geeky me feels "marking" is the more accurate term). Just so you know (I know, you don't care) when I write a story I have 2 or 3 versions. My story written in Notepad as a txt file that appears on mailing lists, then I make an html version for me, one for Tyr (and if it's a Heero & Trowa story, one html file for DaMoyre and her Silent Passion page). No two are html'd alike either (thank you Notetab Light you wonderful freeware program you, it certainly saves on my sanity).

Now you're looking at me puzzled... Where's the work if you have a program that helps you out? Well that depends on my authors. Like I've mentioned, besides myself I do the work of two others. This can be a very mixed blessing. And the work can be gruesome if one decides to publish twelve parts of a thirty part story in one night. Or both authors become very active on the same day. I have to get these things marked and sent to Tyr in 24 hours. Tyr has never cracked the virtual whip, but you'll notice that GWA's site pages are updated daily. Now bear in mind that I work 40 hours a week and yes sometimes I'm nowhere near my computer (stop laughing). Sometimes I pretend that I have a social life. You finally turn on the infernal machine known as a computer to see several messages in your e-mail of stories you need to work on.

Some people are under the impression that if you volunteer to mark pages for GWA, that you will automatically become an archived author there. I'm afraid it doesn't work that way. At the present time, you have twelve (count them ... twelve) people marking the files of 77 authors. I may only have three authors (counting myself) to archive but others like Tyr mostly take on dozens. Of those twelve people at least four of them are not archived authors there. There might be more, I'm not sure.

What does it take to be a GWA Archivist?
1. Well, committment. Even if you groan at the shear volume someone sends you, you sit down and start working on it. Try to get your project finished and sent in a timely fashion. Please get a zip program because you will need to zip your html files so it won't screw up in Tyr's mailbox since yahoo mail tends to incorporate HTML into one's e-mail message, whether you want it to or not. Winzip, Dropzip, it doesn't matter.
2. Willingness to help out others. Yep, those other twelve people have computer mishaps, or want to live real life as well. Sometimes they'll ask for help with their authors.
3. A sense of humor helps on those stressful days.
4. Um... did I mention committment? If you don't pull your weight, you will be asked to relinquish your authors and leave.

So you tell me? Is this a glamour job? Or is it work?

It's work, but I don't mind because I was probably going to be htmling something anyway. ^__^

Want to make comments one way or the other about what I've not doubt hastily written? Use the form below and I'll add them. No nasty flames please. Have sound arguments and refrain from name-calling and intolerance.