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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.'"

13 of 178 comments (clear)

  1. LJ by Turn-X+Alphonse · · Score: 2, Interesting

    What about the recent news of the LJ fanfic writers flare up? LJ have deleted a massive amount of accounts and well known communities (some 5 years and older) over night with no explination or reason given.

    --
    I like muppets.
    1. Re:LJ by mdwh2 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      See here.

      And not just fanfic communities, I've seen adult/fetish communities also suspended, and support sites for survivors of abuse may be at risk (since they list keywords such as "incest" or "rape"...).

      LiveJournal has yet to make a statement, but I find the quote from Six Apart's CEO given in the article rather worrying:

      "Our decision here was not based on pure legal issues. It was based on what community we want to build and what we think is appropriate within that community and what's not."

      Righto, so Six Apart are saying it doesn't matter if it's entirely legal, they're going to start banning journals based on what they think is "appropriate".

  2. I hope they write their fanfic... by AKAImBatman · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ...better than they write their complaints. I can barely make heads or tails of the linked article. The "Read More" link isn't much better. From what I can tell, Fanlib is big and corporate, which scares away people who want to write slash fiction. Oooookaaay.

    --
    Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
    1. Re:I hope they write their fanfic... by MenTaLguY · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The commenter you quoted understates his point -- not only are collectively-authored myths and Shakespeare's adaptations a human norm, but even what we would properly call "fan fiction" today has a longer history than many people suppose. I first realized this when someone pointed me to this book about the widespread nature of what could only be called 18th-century fanfic.

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      DNA just wants to be free...
  3. I had no idea that most of that stuff was by women by drinkypoo · · Score: 2, Interesting

    If I had, I probably would have mocked it less when I was young, dumb, and running from hole to hole like a golfer on crack.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  4. I Don't Doubt the Story... by Pantero+Blanco · · Score: 2, Interesting
    ...but the author of the article seems to be writing for an unrelated reason, and pulling some of her info out of thin air.

    Fanfiction dates back to Star Trek: The Original Series (ST-TOS) when fans published their own "fanzines" - anthologies of stories, complete with artwork.Written almost exclusively by women, fanfic is the fore-mother of user-generated content.

    They distributed ads with adolescent boy appeal that the women hated.


    The second quote links to someone's LiveJournal, and it's not the only one. This seems like a Cyber Sister storm to me.
  5. Don't know about quality by Shadow+Wrought · · Score: 5, Interesting
    But these are the numbers off the front page for quantity:
    1. Harry Potter (514)
    2. Stargate: SG-1 (159)
    3. CSI (153)
    4. Supernatural (153)
    5. Stargate: Atlantis (140)
    6. Star Wars (136)
    7. Buffy: The Vampire Slayer (135)
    8. Battlestar Galactica: 2003 (115)
    9. X-Men: The Movie (107)
    10. Original Fandom (103)
    11. Thunderbirds (94)
    12. West Wing (92)
    13. Lord of the Rings (86)
    14. Gilmore Girls (85)
    15. Star Trek: Enterprise (84)
    16. Pirates of the Caribbean (76)
    17. X-Men: Evolution (62)
    18. Sailor Moon (61)
    19. Friends (60)
    20. Naruto (53)

    2500+ odd stories in 2 weeks certainly makes one wonder if some of the fanfictioners didn't get the memo that they were supposed to be ticked.

    --
    If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
    1. Re:Don't know about quality by Reality+Master+101 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      2500+ odd stories in 2 weeks certainly makes one wonder if some of the fanfictioners didn't get the memo that they were supposed to be ticked.

      That doesn't totally suck, I guess, but it's worth nothing that fanfiction.net has almost 300,000 stories -- in the Harry Potter category alone (granted, that's over many years).

      I wonder how much advertising money they spent for that 2,500.

      --
      Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
    2. Re:Don't know about quality by Phanatic1a · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Looking at that list, I can't figure out how these execs are thinking they're going to be able to dodge copyright issues. I mean, YouTube has it tough enough, with the RIAA sending takedown notices for short clips that simply include copyright music playing in the background, but each and every one of those stories is a derivative work of a well-known existing and maintained copyright.

      NB: I'm not saying fanfic is all a copyright violation. There's plenty of well-known fanfic about characters whose copyright has long since lapsed, or those for whom copyright never existed in the first place. Hell, real respected authors like Tim Powers and Guy Gavriel Kay make a living writing what is essentially historical fanfic. But if you have a site with 2500 stories on it, and those 2500 stories are all fanfic involving Harry Potter, the X-Men, and Friends, you are going to get hammered by the rightsholders.

  6. How is this "exploiting" exactly? by antifoidulus · · Score: 2, Interesting

    They created a service that if people use would make them a profit, and if people don't, then oh well. The only real beef in the article seems to be about some overzealous advertising, which can be annoying but hardly exploitative. It's not like they are chaining fanfiction writers to their desks, forcing them to churn out 20 Harry Potter fanfics a day or else they will be deported.....Can we please lay off the overly emotional language?

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    Monstar L
    1. Re:How is this "exploiting" exactly? by Scutter · · Score: 4, Interesting

      You apparently missed the part of the brochure they sent as marketing. The part that says "Managed and Moderated to the Max" or the part that says "Full monitoring and management of submissions" or perhaps even that part that says "Completed work is just 1st draft to be polished by the pros".

      In other words, fans take something they love, write extensions to it for their own not-for-profit amusement, hand it to FanLib, and proceed to get completely exploited. Oh, but in return they'll maybe get a free t-shirt or something. No thanks. Clearly, they have no concept of what fanfic is and are completely out of touch with writers in general.

      --

      "Tell me doctor, with all of your defenses, are there any provisions for an attack by killer bees?"
  7. Re:They tried to herd cats by Derekloffin · · Score: 2, Interesting

    You know, although I'd be a little ticked about losing money, if someone would take my fanfiction and turn it into a real show I'd be overall very happy. Of course, they'd probably butcher it, but hey, I could still claim bragging rights.

  8. Correction by lastchance_000 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'm sure the lawyers for the actual copyright holders would have something to say about #3.