I keep track of a wide variety of online publications because I both enjoy reading short fiction and need to know what magazines are publishing for my work with the Million Writers Award. One magazine I enjoyed several years ago--and which also published two of my own stories--was Fiction Warehouse. Like many online publications, Fiction Warehouse petered out and eventually stopped publishing new issues. Now, though, it appears Fiction Warehouse has done more than just cease publication--their site has gone bad.
Google's search engine has a relatively new function which notifies searchers if a site may try to install malicious software on your computer. According to Google's search results for Fiction Warehouse, this is what their website now does. And if you feel lucky enough to still click on that link, you are routed to a final message screaming in bold font: "Warning--visiting this web site may harm your computer!"
I commend Google for this new feature (assuming they are accurate in their assessment of these sites). But this also made me wonder what other online magazines and publications were now "bad" per Google's warning. I'm pleased that my magazine storySouth receives an all clear, as did all the major online magazines I frequent every month. But if anyone else notices other online magazines which have gone bad, please let me know.
