OTW and fanfic and Scalzi and stuff

[sholio]

I can't believe that I just spent three hours reading all 400+ comments at John Scalzi's blog entry on the Organization for Transformative Works (and there are probably a lot more comments now, but I WILL NOT READ THEM because I have to sleep at some point).

It was actually a remarkably civil, reasonable and pleasant discussion. Or maybe I've just been unlucky enough to get sucked into exceedingly unpleasant discussions in my earlier fannish existence, when the topic of fanfic came up between fanfic people and pro writer people.

I actually created this fan journal back in '04 in large part because a lot of the readership of my original journal, glacierdust, had been involved in those discussions, and a few of the people who knew me in real life (who I still wanted to stay on good terms with) were vehemently anti-fanfic. I didn't use my glacierdust journal for my fanning because I didn't want to get into a fight every time I posted something fanfic-positive. Looking back on it, I think I might have been unreasonably sensitive on the topic; still, there had been some nasty fights on the comics message board where I used to be (and technically still am) a co-moderator, to the point where the other mod and I actually banned the topic of fanfic completely, because people couldn't discuss it in a civil manner.

It made me happy to find everyone (well, almost everyone) on Scalzi's board discussing the topic like reasonable adults. It also made me happy to see the fanfic side being represented by a lot of articulate, smart, well-spoken people, and most (not all, but most) of the WTF-ery happening on the "anti-fanfic" side.

One of these days, I want to make a long thinky post about fanfic vs. original writing, and my relationship to both -- the changes my opinions on both have gone through over the years, the ways I've shuffled back and forth between the two of them until coming to the rewarding balance that I have now (which may change again in the future), the way that I feel they complement each other rather than being in opposition. But right now, I'm sleepy and I have the last 50 pages of Temeraire book 3 to finish, so I think I'll go do that instead.

Comments

Re: Rambling and reminiscing...

[parisntripfan.livejournal.com]

Well I have seen some based attempts on real issues (such as some people being upset about interracial relationship being listed as a kink)but for the most part it seems to be anything is OK - until it offends me and then it needs to stopped.

I hadn't heard that much about the "clip theft" thing. I mean I do know that it is considered wrong to steal sequences - but I hadn't realized that one shouldn't even take a signal clip or make a vidcap. That is taking things to far...

Re: Rambling and reminiscing...

[derry667.livejournal.com]

such as some people being upset about interracial relationship being listed as a kink

Well, since my parents were an interracial couple, that's a bit confronting for me. Then again, I suppose I'm fairly thick-skinned about it and consider that it's the people who consider it a kink that have a problem and not me or my parents.


but for the most part it seems to be anything is OK - until it offends me and then it needs to stopped.

Isn't it always the way? Don't you dare inhibit me, but how dare you do something that offends me! I'm not inhibiting you. You're just WRONG!

Re: Rambling and reminiscing...

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

I think that particular round of fannish feather-ruffling was a terminology issue -- over using the (outdated and offensive) word miscegenation to describe that sort of relationship. Although it kind of spiraled out from there...

but for the most part it seems to be anything is OK - until it offends me and then it needs to stopped.

And yeah, that's the way it seems to go, isn't it? One thing I find interesting about following those sorts of things is how the same people end up on different sides of different conflicts ... they're all about the "anything is okay" until it's their own sacred cow getting speared.

Re: Rambling and reminiscing...

[parisntripfan.livejournal.com]

There was some debate over the term, but I also saw some posts where people were offended that by the idea that interracial pairing such as Dean/Luna could be put in the same category as Harry/Dobby.