stargore.txt
What is a textfile?
Just what it says on the tin: a digital file that only uses text, with no html, css or programming languages. They're often associated with hackers, software developers, and retro computing. .txt is a typical file format name.
I have decided to make several of my fics available as textfiles.
Why textfiles?
While browsing old 90s/00s fic archives like DSA and Cell Block 5, I noticed that text-only versions of fics were offered - sometimes they were the only versions of the fics that could still be accessed, due to decaying databases and broken code.
The idea of storing & displaying fics in a text-only format stuck with me, & when I set up my own website & started thinking about how to display my fics on here, I came up with the idea of turning them into textfiles.
Are textfiles more convenient? More accessible?
No, is the short answer. Because the text of my fics is available either in a word document or HTML, I have to paste them into a textfile and manually edit them into the right layout. Those old archives that made fics available as textfiles were usually linked to mailing lists. I assume the fics were exported in text form from the email client, or were served from a text-based email client.
As for accessibility, I suppose the files are high contrast and can be zoomed in on, but anyone who needs high contrast and a big zoom can just...read the fics on Ao3. Or download the fics from Ao3. And the layout format I'm using makes these fics inaccessible to people who use screenreaders.
The files are relatively small and lightweight, but I think that's much less of an issue now than it was in the 90s. Also the formatting totally breaks on mobile phone browsers, which is where a lot of people read fics, and where I assume a lot of people who have poor internet access read fics.
So why textfiles???
The real answer is that I have liked ASCII art for a long time but I have never been able to work out how to do it myself. For me making a textfile of a fic, and making it look nice, is like a form of ASCII art, one with an easier learning curve. It's like my version of fanbinding, but cheaper and quicker and easier and overall lower effort.
You can currently find my fic textfiles on my fic page.