tinpra

I'm reading a fic by an author whom I generally avoid for a couple of reasons, the least of which is I generally don't like her writing. Like the plots are interesting, at least in summary, but then I start reading and I'm bored kiss of death in fiction and fashion. Except now I'm reading something and, like, dude! Interesting! So how wrong would it be for my comment to be "Finally something of yours worth reading!" or something along those lines. Because that's honestly the first thing that popped into my head when I got to the comments :-/

I know, I know...not helpful in any way shape or form. *coughcough* Luckily there's a few people I need to go back to and review, so maybe by the time I circle back thisaway I'll have something more constructive to say. Fingers-crossed.

Secondly....I forgot what the second thing was. Could it be the weird tingly, inner-skull-itch this crazy weather is creating? The smokin' hot guy at my new job(!) who stopped by to drop off some necessary paperwork, and how proud I am of myself for not melting into a puddle of goo until after he left my cube.

NO! I remember now. I'm feeling like a fic-challenge--mostly because I don't feel very ficcish at all. So tired. But I'm hoping I can crank out 100-200 words for somebody. Anywho...( under the cut. )

Is anyone else on the flist using An Archive of Our Own or AO3 for short? Even if you aren't, does anyone have thoughts on the site? Anyone participating or following yuletide will know that the seasonal challenge has moved its archive over to the AO3 site.

If you don't know how I feel about it. I remember when the site started making self-announcements via various comms, and I wasn't sure what I thought about it then. If for no other reason than having to remember to post a fic in one more place is a pain in the petard, I was reluctant to join. However AO3 is affiliated with, or is the working arm of, the Organization for Transformative Works, or the OTW. My issue with the OTW lies partly with their premise of fanwork being a transformative work, transformative works being important and legit, and thus fanwork is imp and legit.

I have no problem with saying fanwork is transformative: it can be. I have no problem with saying fanwork is important: it can be. I am saying, however, that we are by and large treading on someone's intellectual property (as all you flist-y people know I'm a fanfic writer/reader, and I used to make very poor graphics), which makes what we do illegal to a certain extant. Hence all those lovely cease-and-desist letters that authors, corporations, etc., can send to sites and writers. So with that in mind, that fans producing fanwork are treading on thin mushy legal ground, I am wary of jumping on either the AO3 or OTW bandwagons, though I completely understand where they're coming from. God knows I have sometimes labored (perhaps much too hard) on some of my fanworks, and that I have read some stories that have deeply effected and affected me. My fanfic is important to me, but I realize the tenuous legitimacy it has.

And it this point it would have been nice for the OTW to clearly define "transformative" in it's legal terms, which are the ones it is using, vs. it's popular one. According to Wikipedia (that bastion of all knowledge): In United States copyright law, transformation is a possible justification that use of a copyrighted work may qualify as fair use, i.e., that a certain use of a work does not infringe its holder's copyright due to the public interest in the usage. Transformation is an important issue in deciding whether a use meets the first factor of the fair-use test, and is generally critical for determining whether a use is in fact fair, although no one factor is dispositive.

There are certainly court decisions, legal happenings and university studies regarding fannish work, but I still don't know what that means for the guys and gals on the internet street. Not in the long run at least. Some people, and by ppl I mean TV folks and writers and corporate folks, etc, don't seem to much care what we do. Or they encourage it b/c it helps ratings. I dunno. Other ppl care desperately--both for and against.

So...after all of that ( :s ) what do you guys think of AO3? Just another fansite? The greatest thing to happen to fan-writers ever? Something that's going to come back to bite us on the collective fannish butt some time in the future? Will AO3 even be able to sustain itself? Look at all the concessions and changes FF.net has had to make in its tenure that had less to do with fan and system-server needs, and more to do with legal pressures, etc.

(On that same note, since I am a member of AO3 (all '09 and future yuletide writers are) I have AO3 invitations if anyone wants one.)

I have no idea what’s wrong with me, but I’m going to do this anyway:

If you reply to this post I will write you a drabble or double-drabble for any of the following fandoms (some of which are old and thus "obscure" for me), for your character of choice. Or gen if you prefer. And mayhap a situation? Just keep the won't-writes in mind if you're going to suggest a topic. The only things I won’t write are, well, the things I won’t write ;) Fandoms and won’t-writes are under the cut.

This post is open to both f-listers and curious strangers. Because, like I said, I’m a nut.

( Read more... )

Also, please let me know if I'm free to post the drabble elsewhere or you want to keep it to yourself. You can make the decision after seeing the final product. All replies will be made in-comment.