I may be wrong , but I can't think of any posters who have made this type of criticism without presenting evidence from the story to support their point. Sure it's a matter of interpretation, but there has to be something in the story to have led a reader to make the interpretation Alcyone suggests (or any interpretation, for that matter) in the first place.
Evidence from the story to argue about how an author feels about Lois or Clark in a story based on how they are written dismisses the creative process. It's like a literary argument where everything is ascribed to the author's biography. Such a thing assumes the writing in question is blatantly derivative instead of something purposely arranged and worked on.
Shouldn't a writer strive for some internal logical in a story? Is it wrong for a reader to say, wait a minute not following your logic here? Sort of like pointing out a plot hole.
But it isn't about internal logic. It's about "canon."
To tackle your comments from a slightly different angle and less skillfully than the other posters...I have no problem with someone saying wait a minute you say X and Y but earlier in the story you had said B. That's what I interpret to be "internal logic." In this case though, I was referring to continuity between the series and fic, which is I think the "evidence" used to argue that certain fics from the get-go are not in the spirit or whatnot of LnC. This view of the "spirit of LnC" boils down to what the author/reader
interprets as "canon." But there have been plenty of people disagreeing on that to suggest that the notion of canon is hardly stable, the most recent example I remember being some think Clark is capable of killing and some think he is not *shrug*. There's enough evidence to support both so we can all happily co-exist and it makes fandom richer by opening up story possibilities. That being said, of course I think any story needs internal logic to work--if your story is about a happy Clark you can't just make him depressed and go killing people in chapter two for no good reason. So the "evidence" that counts for me in any critique relating to "internal logic" lies
in the fic itself rather than in the series.
Near the end you said:
It's hard to be dishonest but that's what I would be if I were just to say positives when I also had quibbles. Better not to post at all then, regardless of the positives?
If you say positives you earn the right, in my view, to mention the quibles. But the point blank criticism of "this premise isn't LnC," as I've said, is just not a useful critique to make and is rather disheartening to a writer and overshadows any other positives because it's akin to telling them they should have scrapped the central idea (which is what the _premise_ is). That there is no way it might work (as LnC) based on internal logic alone. Those are pretty crushing comments after someone has taken the time and effort to write it out, because it indicates that nothing they could have done, short of not writing *that* story, could have worked. The words "doomed from the start" come to mind.
To go back to the issue, while you may have an aspect that defines LnC for you, other people have their own parts of LnC that give it its "essence," or whatever, and these might not be aligned with yours. That doesn't mean that they aren't "Lois and Clark" (clearly there are a minimum set of traits that make it so, otherwise it wouldn't be here). Maybe they aren't
to you, which is what this all boils down to. Still, just because you don't see them that way does not mean that they are not within the scope of the grey umbrella of the series. This is the statement I have a problem with:
But the series was called "Lois And Clark", and that's what I look for in fics.
Like I said before what you look for is your
interpretation of Lois and Clark in fics. Should we pretend that there is a clearly marked yardstick of "Lois and Clark" by which we all can judge a fic? Like I said, there are general parameters the board establishes (the use of characters from the series, etc.), but within those I think there's more to gain for encouraging fic you like than discouraging fic you don't.
alcyone
