But since fanfic exists in a "don't ask, don't tell" kind of space, it does make me nervous to have more attention drawn to it from the outside world. The thing is, fanfic is getting higher-profile whether we like it or not, and if we must get the recognition, it's nice to be getting it in the context of something like OTW rather than, say, LJ getting sued for a Harry/Snape/Dobby S&M pornstravaganza.
Yeah. In some ways, I suppose I have some problem with people trying to drawn fanfic into the light and make it a "respectable" and hence legal endeavour - because it was okay when we were all doing something "not exactly legal, but causing no harm so no one bothered us".
I went back and reread the article in the cool light of day (as opposed to the brain-fried skip-reading that I did last night) and I do understand the points that this Scalzi dude is making. In fact, I don't disagree with much (if anything) he says in this particular article.
There *is* a worry that if fanfic writers suddenly feel legally entitled to do what they do, then the gloves will come off and an all out battle for "draconian" intellectual property rights will ensue. We'll lose our "but they never specifically said that we can't" excuse.
And that worries me because I do lean on that excuse more from a moral standpoint than a legal standpoint. A lot of the stuff I list under my personal "squicks", I find iffy paritally because I feel that it in some ways disrespects the creators (writers and actors). I feel that if I couldn't admit to them that I'd written/vidded/iconed/whatevered it with a clear conscience, then that extends beyond where I'm prepared to go as a fan. And I suppose that I take solace in the fact that for most of the areas that I've been fannish about, they do profess the "turn a blind eye" philosophy - and I'm just not throwing my fannish works in their faces rather than hiding them away in a secret corner. Hmmm... Am I making any sense with that argument.
I've got a metric ton of respect for Novik in particular because, although she doesn't go around advertising her fannish identity, she's also quite open about the fact that she does write fanfic. It takes quite a lot of chutzpah for a best-selling writer to spearhead an organization like this one.
Agreed. I do applaud her ideals. I'm just a little concerned about the fallout in the Real World (which is where I think Scalzi seems to be coming from in this article). But where Novik may be just trying to give fanfic a little more credibility, there is a very real danger that some fanficcers with go "power mad" from even small amounts of entitlement. Scalzi in the article actually mentioned the chick who tried to sell her Star Wars fanfic novel on Amazon and couldn't seem to see why a) Lucasfilm and b) the fanfic community would object.
*deep breath*
*puts on flame-repellant asbestos overcoat*
I hate to say it, but there are a lot of fanfic writers out there who are rabidly histrionic drama queens with hugely overinflated senses of fannish entitlement. Anyone questioning or even not 100% approving of their work and they hit back with what they think their "rights" are and "don't you repress me" and "you're just inhibited" or whatever. They really have no sense of responsiblity or self-control - and they don't think they should have. I can almost understand it in teenagers, but the same applies to people whose children are my age or older! Which is when they are tossed into the "you're just an idiot who doesn't want to really think at all" basket as far as I'm concerned.
So if those kind of people can suddenly quote a respectable author or organisation and twist it to say that they can do basically anything as long as it's in a fannish context and maybe even try to sell it because it's legitimate art... Well, I actually don't think that's a good thing.
I do think fanfic should have limitations - legal and moral ones. The legal will, of course, be set by others. The moral will always be a case of each individual setting them for themselves. I suppose I don't want the legal ones to be set too narrowly nor the moral ones to be set too widely.
Re: Rambling and reminiscing...
Yeah. In some ways, I suppose I have some problem with people trying to drawn fanfic into the light and make it a "respectable" and hence legal endeavour - because it was okay when we were all doing something "not exactly legal, but causing no harm so no one bothered us".
I went back and reread the article in the cool light of day (as opposed to the brain-fried skip-reading that I did last night) and I do understand the points that this Scalzi dude is making. In fact, I don't disagree with much (if anything) he says in this particular article.
There *is* a worry that if fanfic writers suddenly feel legally entitled to do what they do, then the gloves will come off and an all out battle for "draconian" intellectual property rights will ensue. We'll lose our "but they never specifically said that we can't" excuse.
And that worries me because I do lean on that excuse more from a moral standpoint than a legal standpoint. A lot of the stuff I list under my personal "squicks", I find iffy paritally because I feel that it in some ways disrespects the creators (writers and actors). I feel that if I couldn't admit to them that I'd written/vidded/iconed/whatevered it with a clear conscience, then that extends beyond where I'm prepared to go as a fan. And I suppose that I take solace in the fact that for most of the areas that I've been fannish about, they do profess the "turn a blind eye" philosophy - and I'm just not throwing my fannish works in their faces rather than hiding them away in a secret corner. Hmmm... Am I making any sense with that argument.
I've got a metric ton of respect for Novik in particular because, although she doesn't go around advertising her fannish identity, she's also quite open about the fact that she does write fanfic. It takes quite a lot of chutzpah for a best-selling writer to spearhead an organization like this one.
Agreed. I do applaud her ideals. I'm just a little concerned about the fallout in the Real World (which is where I think Scalzi seems to be coming from in this article). But where Novik may be just trying to give fanfic a little more credibility, there is a very real danger that some fanficcers with go "power mad" from even small amounts of entitlement. Scalzi in the article actually mentioned the chick who tried to sell her Star Wars fanfic novel on Amazon and couldn't seem to see why a) Lucasfilm and b) the fanfic community would object.
*deep breath*
*puts on flame-repellant asbestos overcoat*
I hate to say it, but there are a lot of fanfic writers out there who are rabidly histrionic drama queens with hugely overinflated senses of fannish entitlement. Anyone questioning or even not 100% approving of their work and they hit back with what they think their "rights" are and "don't you repress me" and "you're just inhibited" or whatever. They really have no sense of responsiblity or self-control - and they don't think they should have. I can almost understand it in teenagers, but the same applies to people whose children are my age or older! Which is when they are tossed into the "you're just an idiot who doesn't want to really think at all" basket as far as I'm concerned.
So if those kind of people can suddenly quote a respectable author or organisation and twist it to say that they can do basically anything as long as it's in a fannish context and maybe even try to sell it because it's legitimate art... Well, I actually don't think that's a good thing.
I do think fanfic should have limitations - legal and moral ones. The legal will, of course, be set by others. The moral will always be a case of each individual setting them for themselves. I suppose I don't want the legal ones to be set too narrowly nor the moral ones to be set too widely.
*jumps into a foxhole*