If you have any questions or problems, please read this page first, and then contact us if you still have concerns.

• About the Site
• Viewing and Changing Layouts
• Registration
• Password Problems
• Your Account
• Submission Rules
• Genres
• Search Function
• Uploading Fanfiction
• Fanfic Formatting Problems
• Managing Your Current Fanfics
• Series - Creating and Managing
• Can't Edit Fanfic: "Warning: fopen(stories/penname/xxx.txt): failed to open stream: Permission denied" error
• Challenges
• Deleting Your Account
• Update Feeds (aka: what is ?)
• Linking Here
• Contact Us

Command Dynamics is a Stargate Atlantis John Sheppard and Elizabeth Weir fanfiction archive. It opened May 2005 as part of Affinity, a John and Elizabeth fanlisting and fansite. The current administrator of the archive, who also runs the main Affinity website, is Robin. Special thanks to Noelle, former co-administrator of the site.

The fanfiction archive is powered by eFiction.

Currently, there is more than one layout from which to choose. On each layout, there is a drop-down menu that allows you to quickly change between layouts. You can also set your preferred layout for your account by going to Account Info, Edit Preferences, and then choosing a Skin.

Please note that you may encounter some issues if you are using Internet Explorer 6 or lower. We recommend using a browser like Firefox to view the site.

To create a new account, click here. You don't need to register in order to read fanfics, but you must register in order to upload or review fanfiction. Registering also gives you other abilities, listed below.

PLEASE NOTE: The Sparky fanlisting and fanfiction archive run on separate databases. If you've only joined the fanlisting, you are NOT registered in the fanfiction archive. You must sign up for a separate account for the fanfiction archive.

If you have trouble logging in, please first clear/delete your browser cookies and sessions for this site. Then try logging in again. If that still doesn't work, then please follow the next set of instructions on resetting your password:

If you have lost your password, please reset it using the Lost Password function. If you never received a password when you registered, or if it has been over 5 hours since you requested a new password, then please e-mail us with your Pen Name and registered e-mail address. We will reset your password and mail it to your registered address. You can then change your password in your profile.

If you used an AOL e-mail address to sign up, please contact us with a NON-AOL e-mail address and include your account name and registered e-mail address.

Once logged in, access Account Info from the top menu. From your account's menu, you can:

• Add your Fanfiction to the archive
• Add new chapters to pre-existing stories
• Edit or Delete stories
• Create a new fanfic universe (called a "Series" in the script), either for your own personal use or one that others can participate in
• Start a Round Robin, where other authors add new chapters to the story
• Edit your Personal Information
• View and Reply to fanfiction reviews
• View your stories' statistics
• Manage your Favorite Authors and Stories

Registering also gives you the ability to:

• Issue fanfic Challenges and respond to Challenges
• Review and rate other authors' fanfics

We have a few basic submission rules:

• This archive supports the John Sheppard/Elizabeth Weir relationship, whether platonic or romantic (though with a definite leaning towards romantic). As such, anti-Sheppard/Weir or non-Sheppard/Weir fanfiction will not be accepted.
• Fanfics must focus on the Sheppard/Weir relationship, or Sheppard/Weir must be the predominant relationship in the fic. Friendship, UST, RST, etc. are all welcome.
• All fanfics must be properly rated and marked. Please include genres, warnings, and rating. Non-Sheppard/Weir pairings and spoiler warnings should be added to the fic summary.
• Please check your grammar and spelling before submitting. We reserve the right to remove fanfics that fail to adhere to basic spelling/grammar standards.
• We reserve the right to remove any fanfic from the archive for any reason, with or without notice.

Fanfiction can be listed under multiple genres when uploaded, as few or as many as necessary. The ones listed are common to Stargate fandom.

There are two types of searching: Simple and Advanced. Simple is key word searching pen names, titles, and summaries. Advanced allows you to search by Genre, Ratings, Warnings, Word Count, and Search Term. You can now search multiple genres, ratings, and warnings at once (by holding CTRL while clicking multiple terms), and you can also exclude certain genres and warnings from your search. You can also choose whether to sort your results alphabetically or by recency.

• You must first create an account and log-in.
• Access Account Info from the top menu.
• Once in your account menu, click "Add New Story."
• All stories must have:
  • Title
  • Summary
  • Rating
  • The Fanfic
• Note that the Summary and Rating are for the entire story, including all further chapters. You cannot include separate ratings and summaries for individual chapters.
• Everything else is optional, but it is recommended that you include Genres, as well as Warnings when relevant.
• Author's Notes will be displayed at the top of the fanfic page, underneath the title and author's name, but above the text of the fanfic itself. You can write different author's notes for individual chapters.
• You can select co-authors for your fanfics. Type in the first few letters of the author's name, and then select the author from the pop-up. You can remove authors by clicking on their name in the next box. Please note that co-authors have full rights over the fic and can remove, edit, or add to the fics, just as you can.
• To add the Fanfic itself, either:
  • Upload the fanfic as a .txt or .html file, or
  • Cut and paste the fanfic into the Story Text area
• Fanfics and each individual fanfic chapter must be at least 20 words.
• To add chapters to a story, go to "Account Info," click "Manage Stories," and then choose "Add New Chapter."

You may encounter the following problems while formatting a fic:

• The text all runs together without any paragraph or line breaks.
  • If your fanfic is an html file (.htm or .html), please first make sure that your HTML tags are all correct. Then try re-uploading the file. If that still does not work, please try copying the entire fanfic (ctrl + a to select the entire fanfic, then ctrl + c to copy it) and pasting it (ctrl + v) in the story (text) box.
  • If your fanfic is a text file (.txt), please make sure that your fanfic has proper paragraph breaks. If uploading the file does not work, instead try selecting all of your fanfic's text (ctrl + a to select the entire fanfic, then ctrl + c to copy it) and then pasting it (ctrl + v) in the story (text) box. Please make sure your fanfic has proper paragraph breaks.
  • If your fanfic is in any other format, such as a rich text file (.rtf), Microsoft Word (.doc), or WordPerfect file, uploading the file will not work. If you wish to use the archive's upload function, you must first convert your fanfic to a .txt or .html format. OR you can simply copy the text of the entire fanfic (ctrl + a to select the entire fanfic, then ctrl + c to copy it) and then paste it (ctrl + v) in the story (text) box.
• Your fanfic ends or is cut off prematurely.
  • This may be the case of you have a stray < symbol (less-than symbol) in the fanfic somewhere. The script will interpret the < symbol to be the beginning of an HTML tag. First, please make sure that all HTML tags are closed in your fic. If you would like to use < in your fanfic fic outside of an HTML tag (e.g., if you want to make a heart, like <3), please use the code & lt; [WITHOUT the space between the & and lt;] instead of (or in place of) the < symbol.
  • If you don't have any extra < symbols (less-than symbols) in your fic, either the server may have timed out during the upload or your fic may be too long. If you suspect your fanfic is too large, try cutting up the fic and posting it in separate, smaller parts/chapters.
  • Please note that if you edit your fanfic later, any stray < symbols may screw up again, so you will have to make sure that all < symbols are once again replaced by & lt; instead [WITHOUT the space between the & and lt;].

If you continue to have problems, if any of the above solutions do not work, or if you have different problems, please e-mail us with a description of the problem (or a link to the fanfic).

You can edit your fanfics, including the story itself and how it is listed on the site, by logging in to your account and clicking the "Manage Stories" link. You can also add chapters to your fanfics or delete fanfics. If you have multiple chapters, you can also reorganize the order in which they appear. If you want to create a series (i.e., a fanfic world in which several of your stories take place), you can do that, too.

Editing Fanfics: In the "Manage Stories" section, click the "Edit" link next to the story you wish to edit. On the first page, you can change the name, summary, ratings, genres, etc. for the entire story (which will include all subchapters). To edit the text of the specific story or chapter, scroll to the end of the page. Click the "Edit" link next to the chapter (if there is only one chapter, then it will be the only link under the "Chapter" subheading). That will take you to the next page where you can edit the text of the story, along with the story (or chapter's) author's notes.

Managing Chapters: In the "Manage Stories" section, you can see all the chapters for all your fanfics by clicking the "View Chapters" link at the top of the page underneath the Manage Stories heading. (You can obviously hide the chapters by clicking "Hide Chapters.") Alternately, you can click the "Edit" link next to the story you wish to view the chapters for, then scroll to the bottom of the next page. Either way, you can re-order the chapters of your fanfic or edit each chapter's individual text.

"Series" refers to a fanfic author's mini-universe. For example, you might have a universe in which John and Elizabeth are vampires, or in which they own pet squirrels, or in which they never join the Atlantis expedition. You may have several stories all set within that same universe (or "series"), but the fanfics themselves can stand alone. If you'd like to group your fanfics into a series, you can do so in this archive. Furthermore, you can create a "closed" series, in which only you can post fics, or an "open" series, in which other registered authors can post fanfics that take place in that same universe.

Creating a Series: In order to create a series, you must log in to your account. You must also have uploaded at least one fanfic already. In the Account Info page, click the "Add New Series" link. You will be taken to a page where you can name the series and give a summary describing the series. You can also choose genres and warnings, then select whether to make the new series "open" (any author can add a fic to the series) or "closed" (only you can post to that series). Click "Submit." On the next page, you will select the fanfics you wish to add to the series.

You can also manage your current series - adding new fanfics to the series or removing currently listed fanfics from the series - by clicking the "Manage Series" link in your Account Info.

If you are trying to edit your currently archived fanfic but get a "Warning: fopen(stories/penname/xxx.txt): failed to open stream: Permission denied" error, please e-mail us with your registered pen name and your story ID (the "xxx" number in the error message). We will fix the problem and e-mail you back. It is unclear why this error sometimes occurs, but it usually affects only older fanfics in the archive.

If you are a registered member of the archive, you can issue fanfic challenges or respond to challenges by viewing the Challenges page.

Viewing Challenges and Fic Responses: All current challenges are listed on the main Challenges page. Click the challenge name link (e.g., "Penguin!Fic") to view the fics that have been submitted in response to the challenge.

Issuing Challenges: On the Challenges page, click "Issue a challenge!" You must include a title to your challenge and a summary describing your challenge with your requirements.

Responding to Challenges: To respond to a challenge with a fanfic that meets the requirements, you must first upload your fic to the archive. Once it's been uploaded, find the challenge you wish to respond to, then click the "Respond to the Challenge!" link. You will be taken to a page with all your uploaded fanfics; checkmark the appropriate stories, then click the "Submit" button. Your fics will be added to the challenge page's response page.

If you would like to delete your account, please e-mail us with your account name, your registered e-mail address, and your password. We will delete your account for you.

On the index page and the Most Recent page, you can see the cute little icon . This is actually a link to the archive's update feeds. If you have a feed reader, you can add our feed link to your list and get updates of the newest stories that have been added to the archive. You can download various feed readers from the web, such as FeedReader or the Feedbro extension for Firefox. Please note that the feed may not work with all feed readers - for example, it does not work with gmail.com's feed reader.

If you'd like to link to Command Dynamics, you are free to do so. Please link to http://www.sheppardweir.com/fanfics/ You may also download and use the following button (please do not direct-link):

If you still have concerns or questions not answered here, feel free to e-mail us.