Discussion

Wow. I found this = “What is Fan Fiction – and why is it making people nervous?” = and I am just stunned by this man’s complete IGNORANCE, nay, stupidity. He doesn’t even know that it’s “fanfiction” or “fanfic,” not “FanFic.”

He thinks the gender-divide is equal, when fanfiction is really about 76%+ female powered. Most writers are in their 20s-50s+. The most popular fandoms are Harry Potter, Sherlock, Marvel, Supernatural, and I want to say maybe The Avengers (Stony!), though I’d have to do some research, and that’s largely me hoping 😛 (I also want to believe that Buffy is still a booming fandom because that’s my slashy baby, but Xander will never quite be the Little Black Dress that Harry Potter or Methos have become.)

Mostly I’m curious as to why all these men that don’t know anything about fanfiction are being asked to write these asinine articles about it :/ It shows a terrible lack of commonsense on the part of the site admins. I mean, if you’re going to ask someone to write you an article, why wouldn’t you go to someone that actually knows what they’re talking about?

All you have to do is look at the comments to see that there are masses of people much more intelligent than the OP available for questioning.

Though I will tell you flat out that if you are with some media outlet – Do Not Approach A Fanficcer. (I’m looking at you Buzzfeed. You totally freaked out my friend by just randomly coming up to her and asking her for an interview. If she ends up friends-locking her LiveJournal because you can’t respect the rules, I’m going to be upset because she’s awesome and there’s so many people that would miss out if she instigated a full-cloak.)

Do your research like a regular person does: by googling “fanfiction,” maybe hitting up some websites like Fanfiction.net, Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, and just treating it like you would when you’re entering a new society or a hip cool forum that you want to join. Basically, keep your mouth shut, your eyes open, follow the rules of the community, and don’t be such a n00b.

This guy could have done the most basic of research by just searching Wikipedia. The fact that he didn’t, and chose instead to make up his own facts and figures and even his own lexicon of “FanFic” phraseology, is proof that he has a complete lack of respect for all of the people of the world, from those that love fanfiction or hate fanfiction to those that don’t have a single clue what fanfiction is but are curious about this thing that their child loves.

For the sake of the children, don’t be so ignorant in the future Stephen Downes. It makes you look foolish, disrespectful, and most of all, a lazy writer.

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The “Unwritten” Rules of Fanfiction:

1st Rule: You do not talk about fanfiction.
2nd Rule: You DO NOT talk about fanfiction.

When I was a teenager and first discovered fanfic, it was like Fight Club. It was spoken of in whispers and Yahoo groups, Fanfiction.net was “The Pit of Voles,” and the efiction code was spawning archives far and wide.

Nowadays, there are so many people in fandom that the rules have gone slack. Some writers *cough*EL James*cough* have broken the vows of silence and done the unthinkable — profited off this thing we created out of love. There are so many newheads running around that seem to think they are the first people to have ever discovered fanfiction, and they don’t know the rules that fanficcers have followed for generations or they decide that the rules don’t apply to them. (“Espechul snowflake” syndrome.)

Basically, the biggest rule of fanfiction is to write it because you love the characters and the story. Write because you have a story in your heart that you want to share. And never profit from it, because that crosses the line of fair use and other writers can become targets, and fanfiction can be rousted out by the PTBs.

EL James earned herself some backlash not just by those in Twilight fandom, but in every fandom, because things could have gone wrong. She could have rocked the boat so hard that fanfiction could have been ruined for everyone. Because when it comes down to it, the copyright holder has the power in the fanfiction relationship, and even though there are lawyers able to fight the fight, they shouldn’t have to.

Because “fair use” can become a very narrow line when money is involved. And profiting from fanfiction has always been the biggest no-no out there.

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Links of interest:

Sycophant Hex: “Avoiding Mistakes in Fanfiction Writing: A Beginner’s Guide” – http://sycophanthex.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=45&Itemid=41. Interesting little guide. Gets better toward the end.

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Geekosystem: “Why Writer’s Don’t Read Fanfiction of Their Own Work (It’s Not Because They Think It’s Stupid)” – http://www.geekosystem.com/writers-fanfiction/. This one is something some fans need to take a close look at, then follow up with some other articles. Why? Because you don’t take your fandom jizz to the PTB and expect them to care and/or be comfortable with what you have to say. From a legal standpoint, they don’t want to be accused of stealing your story. Remember that kerfluffle with Marion Zimmer Bradley? Yeah, that was a case of one fan(atic) ruining things for everyone. A lot of authors got turned-off of the idea of running their own anthos and zines.

It also reminds me of that Supernatural Q&A where an overenthusiastic fan asked one of the actors whether Destiel could happen. No! Bad girl, no cookie. You don’t bring your shipping obsession up with the actors. You don’t go up to the wife of one of the Sherlock stars and harass her because her husband is obviously gay for your favorite slash pairing. No. And you especially don’t want to see Fox Mulder (’cause that’s his name IRL, right?) on a national television show being surprise attacked by the host asking “Did you know there’s a whole site about Mulder and Krycek?” and then having the big screen cut to manipulated images of Mulder/Krycek taken from a fansite that immediately had to shut down even though they had some of the most beautiful R and X-rated renderings I have ever seen (those girls in Australia really know how to cut and paste. That stuff should have been hanging in a gallery.)

There are some lines not meant to be crossed. Don’t send your fanfic or fanart to the original creator. Don’t ask the actors or actresses uncomfortable questions because you can’t differentiate between real life and fantasy. Be aware that some people can be really judgy and maybe even abusive about fanfic/fanart, and if you don’t want to be mocked or bullied IRL, use a fandom name and keep it fandom-related. (Especially if you’re a high school or college student, because you know, you might want to have a job someday, or maybe you might have a family member that turns out to be really against your obsession with Hannigram.) The last thing you want is for someone to run a search on your email address and have all your fandom stuff pop up porn style — get a fandom email address, fandom LiveJournal, whatever.

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Dear Author: “Q&A with Professor Rebecca Tushnet” – http://dearauthor.com/features/essays/qa-with-professor-rebecca-tushnet/.

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Tushnet.wordpress.com: “Copyright Law, Fan Practices, and the Right of the Author” – http://tushnet.com/writings/. Scroll down the page to find the article. It is in PDF form and is titled fandombook.pdf. It’s number 35 from the top.

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Organization for Transformative Works: “FAQ” https://transformativeworks.org/faq. Click Legal and answer your own questions. They pretty much cover every concern.

Copyright is intended to protect the creator’s right to profit from her work for a period of time to encourage creative endeavor and the widespread sharing of knowledge. But this does not preclude the right of others to respond to the original work, either with critical commentary, parody, or, we believe, transformative works.

In the United States, copyright is limited by the fair use doctrine. The legal case of Campbell v. Acuff-Rose held that transformative uses receive special consideration in fair use analysis. For those interested in reading in-depth legal analysis, more information can be found on the Fanlore Legal Analysis page.

– Why does the OTW believe that transformative works are legal?

While the OTW believes in transformative works, there is a difference between fair use and for-profit.

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Center for Media & Social Impact: “Documentary Filmmaker’s Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use” – http://www.cmsimpact.org/fair-use/best-practices/documentary/documentary-filmmakers-statement-best-practices-fair-use. As the OTW say, “Best practices can successfully defend fair use rights even without litigation.”

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Ebook Friendly: “10 most popular fanfiction websites” – http://ebookfriendly.com/fan-fiction-websites/. Lists archives, and gives suggestions on how to search.

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Croatoan: “Where has Anne Rice fanfiction gone?” – http://www.angelfire.com/rant/croatoan/. A glimpse at history, and the horrors of an author going after the fans.

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Fanlore: “Chronology” – http://fanlore.org/wiki/Category:Chronology.

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Fandom Wank: “Fandom Wank Lives!” – http://www.journalfen.net/community/fandom_wank/. These guys are the reason we don’t mess with fandom. Very entertaining/reason to keep it real. What is wank? Wank is: Self-aggrandizing posturing. Fannish absurdities. Circular ego-stroking. Endless flamewars. Pseudointellectual definitions. e.g. Entertainment for the rest of us.