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discussions:bingo

Anti-Fanfic Bingo Poll Row 2
As ciderpress noted yesterday when she posted Row One, we're drawing the Anti-Fanfic Bingo response challenge to a close after three weeks of lively discussion and intelligent and often downright hilarious responses ("Ah, fuck you!").

Throughout this week, we'll be asking you to vote for your favorite responses to each square, one row at a time. Please check your favorite responses (as many as you like!); we'll be collecting the results and announcing the favorites at the end of the week. I've been assured that there are plans to do something very sparkly with the bingo card and the winners.

Once again, we'd like to thank ithiliana, half_elf_lost, kitsune13 and cofax7 for creating the card and giving us permission to use it.

Note the First: I'm formatting the poll a little differently today. We noticed in Row One that when we clicked on one of the links (for a long response), all the existing ticky box check marks had disappeared when we returned to the poll. So...instead of a direct link in the poll itself, I'm providing links and the full-text of each choice below the poll.

Note the Second: If you don't have an LJ, feel free to leave your responses in a comment below. We'll be including all responses in the final tally!


Poll #1121782 Anti-Fanfic Bingo Poll Row 2
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: None

Row Two, Square One: It's a waste of time; you should be learning how to become a Real Writer!

Row Two, Square Two: It's totally different if the author is dead!

Row Two, Square Three: How would you feel if somebody wrote fanfic about YOUR story?

Row Two, Square Four: It's like you came by my house and stole my car!

Row Two, Square Five: You have to THINK of the CHILDREN!

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Row Two, Square One: It's a waste of time; you should be learning how to become a Real Writer!

1. Writing is a verb; a real writer writes. That's how you know they're a real writer. (cesperanza) (link)
2. If learning to be a Real Writer means trading free membership in a community of thousands where people will line up to edit, read, and critique my work for a spot in a degree program where I have to get in line to pay someone certified to provide the same services, then thanks, but I'll stick with being a Fake Writer. (the_drifter)(link)
3. I have no desire to be a professional writer, if that's what you mean. I have a job. I went to school for a long time to get it, and I'm really, really good at it. I write for fun. And if that's a problem, you'd better tell all those kids who will never be pro sports players to stop playing. (cereta) (link)
4. It's called a hobby. Get over it. (penguin_attie) (link)
5. "I have no interest in becoming a 'real writer' if by that you mean a professional, paid writer. I've already made my career choices; I write fanfic to entertain myself and others, and because I love ths source material and would love more of it. I am not embarrassed by that -- so why is my career any of your business?" (shayheyred) (link)
6. It's not a waste of time if I'm having fun. (themadfish) (link)
7. Are things only worth doing if we do them professionally? Should all the people who enjoy playing tennis give up because they're never going to play at Wimbledon like the Real Tennis Players? Should all the amateur musicians playing Mozart or the Beatles (music they didn't write!!!) let their instruments gather dust just because people don't pay to hear them? And the distinction isn't always a matter of talent. There are plenty of gifted fanwriters who just happen to have other careers they're committed to, or who simply prefer to write as a hobby.(kindkit) (link)

Row Two, Square Two: It's totally different if the author is dead!

1. Well yes in the sense that they can't complain about it anymore. Otherwise, not so much.(_stolendreams_) (link)
2. ::shakes head:: I don't wish death upon authors; what are you, some kind of freak?(perfica) (link)
3. No it's not! The heirs can still protect copyrights. So I can copy Van Gogh's paintings if I want, huh? He's dead isn't he? Dead or alive has nothing to do with anything. Andre Norton Died last year or the year before last and her copyrights are still valid. Robert Heinlein is dead and his copyrights are still valid.You need to get your facts straight. (doingsoso) (link)
4. Yes, because if it's such a disrespectful and immoral thing to do, it's so much better to do it over someone's dead body!(vassilissa) (link)
5. Why? Why is writing published additions to or explorations of a dead author's universe considered an homage, while the same thing written for a living author is theft or something along those lines? (sullensiren) (link)
6. This leads from the "fanfic hurts the pro writer personally!" stance, I think. The thing is, fanfic doesn't affect you personally, or at all, except to the extent you choose to be offended by it. Kind of like the way gay people getting married doesn't actually affect the sanctity of hetero marriages. Someone lacks the ability to properly analyze the cause/effect relationship here. (erinya) (link)

Row Two, Square Three: How would you feel if somebody wrote fanfic about YOUR story?

1. My story's too boring to fic. (elfwreck) (link)
2. Thrilled that I'd built a world good enough that someone else wanted to play in it.(the_drifter) (link)
3. They did, and I danced around the room for hours. Someone liked my story enough to want to write something! WOW!(cereta) (link)
4. I suspect this question really means 'if someone wrote fanfic you didn't like.' And the answer is: I would be more OK with that than I would be with trying to prevent people from writing fanfic. Of course I've read fanfic I disliked and disapproved of - fanfic involves expressing opinions about works, and not everyone's opinion is the same as mine - but that doesn't mean I think they shouldn't have written it, or had an opinion in the first place. (vassilissa) (link)
5. Like I've hit the big-time and should have a big party to celebrate. "Everyone! I have fans! And they're writing! Crack open the champagne!" (kangeiko) (link)
6. a) Like 99% of authors in the world, I wouldn't have a clue, so why should I care? b) Flattered (perfica) (link)
7. It happened to me twice over the same story sequence. On the whole I was flattered. It meant that I'd written something that resonated with its readers, that had provoked a response in them, that had enough emotional punch for them to want to continue playing. Cool. (starry_diadem) (link)
8. Extraordinarily pleased that someone found my work inspiring enough to go 'well, what if...' and write down where that train of thought took them. I'd probably take the Pratchett approach (i.e. don't expect me to read it, the better to prevent murky legal waters), especially if it were for an ongoing series. But I started off writing fic, so I can hardly tell my potential fans no, now can I? (minkhollow) (link)

Row Two, Square Four: It's like you came by my house and stole my car!

1. Yeah, really? Your car is a fictional character? Then it can't get stolen can it? Now for the next question. What has your physical car got to do with writing about fictional characters? Illogical premise. Next! (doingsoso) (link)
2. And yet, somehow, you still seem to have your car. And your creation.(vassilissa) (link)
3. And it's not like stealing a car, it's like standing on a different hillside looking at the same sunset. There's enough sunset to go around. On a more practical level, fan writers who care about canon often spend enormous amounts of time and money and effort to make sure they have the source material -- buying full sets of tapes and DVDs of a series, and then more tapes and DVDs of other performances by actors who were in the series. The producers and studios do not lose out monetarily from the devotion of fans; they sell much more than they might otherwise sell. (twistedchick) (link)
4. No, it's like I made a replica of your car, tricked it out with entirely new features and put it on display (for free, to the public) because your car was just that cool. (erinya) (link)
5. Whaaaa? Fans ARE THE ONES WHO BUY THINGS. Fannish people are the madwomen and men who buy the extended collector's editions, and the comic-book prequels, and then statuettes and collect the toys. We ARE your consumer base. Just because we borrow characters to write stories about them doesn't mean we're stealing any money out of your pocket. If anything, we help add more - because we're also the ones who pimp the series/books/movies to friends, and try to drag other friends into our new fannish obsessions. (sullensiren) (link)
6. Can we please stop equating physical property with intellectual property? Please?(amireal) (link)
7. Okay, if you need more than that: if I steal your car, your car is gone. If I write fanfic based on your story, it's still there. One of these things is not like the other. (by cereta)(cereta) (link)

Row Two, Square Five: You have to THINK of the CHILDREN!

1. When I was nine I wrote a My Little Pony/Silver Brumby crossover, and it was unintentionally hilarious. When I was fifteen, I went to my parents and said "I want to read erotica on the internet. Do I have your permission?" and they said yes, because they had brought me up as well as they could, and trusted my maturity and ability to choose suitable reading material - just as I trusted them enough to ask them. And it didn't do me any harm - in fact, it gave me a community that I love and am still involved in over ten years later. (vassilissa) (link)
2. Oh, you mean like libraries and bookstores think of the children when they put big RATED NC-17 labels on books that contain explicit sex? Wait. They don't do that. But fandom does. (tacky_tramp) (link)
3. I think of children often - the children who watch twenty-five hours of television a week and can't concentrate long enough to read three pages of a challenging novel. If they're reading appropriately rated fanfic, at least they're reading *something*. And if they should pick up the pen - and compose something longer than a text message, so that perhaps future generations of video-gamers and movie-renters will have some entertainment - even better. Parents should take responsibility for protecting home computers and enforcing consequences for underage kids reading clearlyt labeled adult content, if the parents wish to do so..(piratemistress) (link)
4. ... because a sizeable number of fanfic writers start off writing well below the age of majority. Won't somebody please stop them from other depraved activities like painting and forming long-lasting friendships, too?? Think of the terrible side-effects of writing: improved grammar, better social skills, an increasing tendency to say 'thank you'! The horror! (kangeiko) (link)
5. Actually, quite a lot of fan fiction is written by children for other children. Have a quick trawl through the most popular categories on fanfiction.net, and have a guess at the average age of the authors. I myself came into fandom as a minor - 15 - and was lucky enough to have several older fans provide me with the help I needed to become a competent writer. Further, fandom already does its part in making sure that content is read by the intended audience. Over the years, a detailed system of warnings has evolved that rates fiction, not only by age but by content. These ratings are often more accurate, thorough and conservative than the ratings you will find on movies, television shows and music. A movie studio, for example, makes money based on the number of people who view the movie; the larger the audience, the more money they make. This gives them considerable incentive to ensure a movie that is intended for adults receives a rating that indicates that it is suitable for teens. Fan fiction authors, many of whom are parents themselves, do not make any money at all regardless of audience size. They have no motivation to rate below the intended audience, and thus tend to err on the side of caution. Ultimately, much like the ratings systems for film, music and television, it is up to the parents, not the works' creator(s) or distributor(s) to ensure that the age and content recommendations are followed.(dr_jekyl) (link)
6. *cough* Usually I am thinking of the children. I'm thinking, it's so nice the kids have gone to bed, so I can go read fic.(serrana) (link)
7. Let's say that we're talking about kids of say 9 years upwards. That's about the age that parents let them go searching on the internet on their own and is a convenient age for me to pick because that's the age group I work with. First of all no parent should be allowing a child unrestricted internet access if the child is not mature enough to understand what is and isn't suitable for them to be looking at. There are plenty of security programs you can use to stop children seeing things you don't want them too. Secondly believe me when I say that these children could be exposed to far worse. Finally, let me point out that children are also writing fanfic. They may not know that what they are writing is called fanfic, but I've read plenty of stories written by children where Harry Potter or The Famous Four or Spiderman or whoever the particular child's hero is saves the day. (_stolendreams_) (link)


-- femmequixotic, bethbethbeth, ciderpress, mirabile_dictu, shrift, svmadelyn.
Community Relations Committee