Back during the uproar about the HP porn on LJ some people saying that the (fanfic/fanart) community should be able to police itself.
Yes, as you say, it's a fine idea in principle, but with not "standards" to work with how do you "police" it? And who guards the guards, anyway?
So far, the only attempts that I've seen at policing what may and may not be used in fanworks are attempts to stop people using other fans work in their own creations.
"Clip theft" is the one that springs to mind. I kinda understand those who object to long edited sequences being taken - but there are many who object to someone even cropping out single clips or even pics out of a vid. Some used to complain because they had to rip it from the DVD themselves and so others shouldn't get the benefit without "doing all the hard work" and/or spending the money the original vidder did. I've seen witch hunts and "public shamings" over this issue - even done to those who made the transgression in ignorance because they didn't know it was such a "sin" to "steal from another fan" - who'd already stolen it from the original source, really. I must admit that rabid anti-clip theft zealotry flabbergasts me.
I've also seen some fanfic writers get absolutely rabid when another writer used one of their OCs in a fic. I've seen one fic writer who lost no time at all in killing off such an OC in a short fic a day or so after she found out - because the OC had now been "tainted" and she could never use said OC in a story again without "feeling sick".
Did I say something about histrionic drama queens?
Re: Rambling and reminiscing...
Yes, as you say, it's a fine idea in principle, but with not "standards" to work with how do you "police" it? And who guards the guards, anyway?
So far, the only attempts that I've seen at policing what may and may not be used in fanworks are attempts to stop people using other fans work in their own creations.
"Clip theft" is the one that springs to mind. I kinda understand those who object to long edited sequences being taken - but there are many who object to someone even cropping out single clips or even pics out of a vid. Some used to complain because they had to rip it from the DVD themselves and so others shouldn't get the benefit without "doing all the hard work" and/or spending the money the original vidder did. I've seen witch hunts and "public shamings" over this issue - even done to those who made the transgression in ignorance because they didn't know it was such a "sin" to "steal from another fan" - who'd already stolen it from the original source, really. I must admit that rabid anti-clip theft zealotry flabbergasts me.
I've also seen some fanfic writers get absolutely rabid when another writer used one of their OCs in a fic. I've seen one fic writer who lost no time at all in killing off such an OC in a short fic a day or so after she found out - because the OC had now been "tainted" and she could never use said OC in a story again without "feeling sick".
Did I say something about histrionic drama queens?