To Our Gentle Readers
April 8, 2011

The SHADO Library has been online for nearly fourteen years and is the largest and oldest repository of U.F.O. fan-fiction on the internet. That is a long and proud history - especially for a web-based archive. In that time we have turned down one (1) submission to the Library and that was for lack of originality among other things. We have had one (1) author who has chosen not to be associated with the SHADO Library.

Here you can find works from authors no longer with us, authors new to the fandom, authors who have been writing U.F.O. fanfiction since the show was first aired. We have stories here (and stories that are linked to) that explore the character of the characters; death, life and resurrection; the past and future of SHADO, magic, technology, and even sexuality. We have authors here who have faith that the characters can have a happy life at some time and others who recognize that the duty of protecting the planet is an awesome and awful responsibility.

But in all the years this Library has been in place, never have we assumed that you, our gentle readers, needed to be coddled or protected from what you might find here. We assume that you are familiar with Gerry Anderson's U.F.O., the characters and situations and are here because, like the authors here, you want more. We assume that you recognize that a story marked 'Adult' may contain sex or violence or both. We assume you recognize that despite the bright colors, U.F.O. was not, in fact, a children's show and sometimes dealt with themes not suitable for children and stories found here may explore many of the same themes.

We assume all this because we believe that you are intelligent beings and can recognize when a story is not to your taste, or a character is written in a way that appears at odds with how that character was portrayed on the show. We assume you recognize that some authors like to explore death, mayhem, and even alternative life-styles.

We assume you know how to use the 'back' key when and if you find a story is not to your liking. We also hope that you will pass your constructive observations on to the author as to what caused you to stop reading their story, assuming there is an email or feedback link on the page or site.

That said, there are people and sites out there that apparently believe that our gentle and intelligent readers need to be protected and coddled. That you need to be told that a story has characters acting 'out-of-character', you need to be told the plot of the story, and you need to be told if a story is set in a future or universe not exactly like the one Gerry Anderson might have envisioned for SHADO had he thought about it.

We here at the SHADO Library choose to believe that you, our gentle readers, are smarter than that. That you can recognize 'reviews' that are written to belittle the author in question and will choose to come here and see what the story is really about.