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Fan Fiction Writers Balk at FanLib.com

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the say-no-to-sploitz dept.

bill jackson writes "A couple of former Yahoo execs are trying to create the next MySpace by aggregating fanfiction on a website called FanLib. But the fanfic writers recognized that exploitation was written all over the idea and they've refused to participate. 'Instead of creating the Myspace of fanfic since the launch two weeks ago, FanLib.com sparked a white-hot Internet firestorm.The meltdown is a hard lesson in how not to conduct business on the Internet.But it's a firestorm of FanLib's own making because, in spite of the Yahoo pedigree (or maybe because of it), they plowed in like china shop bulls.'"

5 of 178 comments (clear)

  1. They tried to herd cats by sehlat · · Score: 5, Insightful

    and got themselves clawed.

    I suspect an awful lot of the negative reaction comes from three factors:

    1. Membership in the site would certainly have a "We own your postings." clause in the Terms of Service.

    2. *And* a "We reserve the right to censor anything you post we don't like." clause.

    and the cherry on top:

    3. An unwritten consequence of (1) would be: "If it's really good, we'll use it to make money. Thanks suckers." clause.

    And just remember, in Hollywood, "Trust us." translates to "F**k you."

    1. Re:They tried to herd cats by Original+Replica · · Score: 3, Insightful

      "I got fucked out of a $100 million box office movie script" isn't bragging rights, it's suicide watch.

      --
      We are all just people.
  2. Re:I Don't Doubt the Story... by drinkypoo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The second quote links to someone's LiveJournal, and it's not the only one. This seems like a Cyber Sister storm to me.

    Yes, that is quite a problem with bloggers in general. Most of them are stupid enough to think that you will give one tenth of one shit about a link to a blog that no one outside of their social circle cares about.

    If I'm providing a link about tech, I don't send people to a fucking slashdot comment - unless it's full of good links.

    Linking to some fanfic author's blog is roughly the precise antithesis of reputability. And I don't want to unduly hurt anyone's feelings here, but I have two major problems with fanfic in general. The first one is that most of it is shit. Most of the people writing that stuff clearly weren't paying attention in their English classes in grammar school. The second one is that these people should grow a fucking imagination. It's pathetic enough when you have a show that is so endlessly officially rehashed. Fanfic is way beyond the pale there. The primary example is Star Trek - that show ran out of ideas before the first series was even over, and you could detect ToS stories recycled in ToS!

    But what the hell, I don't have a problem with the stuff existing - only with its self-importance. It's not important to anyone outside that particular social scene, except for various studios wishing they could leave a smoking hole in the ground where authors of slash fanfic once stood.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  3. Re:LJ by Knara · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Because slashdot isn't well known for "breaking" news. It's an aggregator of news that has already been published and sourced. Moreso the better, if you ask me, since we don't have to deal with Digg/Reddit's "get it first and vote for me!" culture.

  4. This is why I don't have a journal... by Ayanami+Rei · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...on a website I don't control.

    Invariably, when a site gets popular, it attracts the attention of people who would like to ruin your shit. Things like this happen.

    Don't rely on third parties if you have speech you want to protect.

    --
    THIS THING CAN TURN ON A DIME, MACROSSZERO STYLE ALSO FUCK BETA, ~NYORON