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wyntir_knight... Okay, second attempt at writing this. The first one came across as a total pity party and I am moving away from all that this year. I will stop comparing myself to other writers and stop letting comments (or lack thereof) define my self-worth as a writer.
So, onto the topic at hand: I was reading through the Snowflake Challenge replies and general comments and I came across something I had never thought of before. One of the Admins (Akamine_Chan) commented on the idea of blanket permissions in Fandom and the need for us to provide them.
See, we may find ourselves in a situation where a fellow fan will want to base a piece of art on a fanfic, or will want to create a podfic. Some may even want to play in our little corner of the sandbox. So you (as the fan in question) send an email to the creator and maybe you get an email back, maybe you don't. Maybe they say yes, then take offense that you wrote slash when they hate slash ... you get the idea. If the original creator had a blanket permission set up then you know what they will and won't allow and you don't need to worry about it.
I thought that this was generally a good idea, and then I started really thinking about it. And that's when I asked myself, 'Why?'. I write Transformers and TMNT fanfiction, but I have never once sent a letter to Bob Budianski or Kevin Eastman asking for permission. I just write the fic I want to write and post it. I play in their sandbox and don't really care that I didn't ask permission first. After all, it's not like they specifically told me I couldn't (like George R.R. Martin did). And yet, I would never consider writing a Crackalackalicious fic without Ladydragon76's permission, even through I have this vague idea for a TFs as human fic and playing in her sandbox would be easier than building my own. So why is that? Why do we show this kind of respect to our fellow transformative artists and not to the original creators?
Anyway, that was my rambling and I never came up with a proper answer. Instead I have decided that the idea of a blanket permission is a good idea and I should probably think on what I will and won't allow. ... Even though there is a small voice in the back of my mind telling me that this is presumptuous of me and that no one would ever want to do anything with any of my works. I know that that's not the case and I need to find a proper ball gag for that little voice in the back of my mind.
I'm also going to have to put together a sticky post list of my works so that they're easier to track. And while I'm at it, fix the tag system. ... Oh, also, feel free to comment on the ramblings. I'm always happy to hear other points of view and curious if any of you have (or have considered) putting together a Terms of Service/Blanket Permission and why or why not.
So, onto the topic at hand: I was reading through the Snowflake Challenge replies and general comments and I came across something I had never thought of before. One of the Admins (Akamine_Chan) commented on the idea of blanket permissions in Fandom and the need for us to provide them.
See, we may find ourselves in a situation where a fellow fan will want to base a piece of art on a fanfic, or will want to create a podfic. Some may even want to play in our little corner of the sandbox. So you (as the fan in question) send an email to the creator and maybe you get an email back, maybe you don't. Maybe they say yes, then take offense that you wrote slash when they hate slash ... you get the idea. If the original creator had a blanket permission set up then you know what they will and won't allow and you don't need to worry about it.
I thought that this was generally a good idea, and then I started really thinking about it. And that's when I asked myself, 'Why?'. I write Transformers and TMNT fanfiction, but I have never once sent a letter to Bob Budianski or Kevin Eastman asking for permission. I just write the fic I want to write and post it. I play in their sandbox and don't really care that I didn't ask permission first. After all, it's not like they specifically told me I couldn't (like George R.R. Martin did). And yet, I would never consider writing a Crackalackalicious fic without Ladydragon76's permission, even through I have this vague idea for a TFs as human fic and playing in her sandbox would be easier than building my own. So why is that? Why do we show this kind of respect to our fellow transformative artists and not to the original creators?
Anyway, that was my rambling and I never came up with a proper answer. Instead I have decided that the idea of a blanket permission is a good idea and I should probably think on what I will and won't allow. ... Even though there is a small voice in the back of my mind telling me that this is presumptuous of me and that no one would ever want to do anything with any of my works. I know that that's not the case and I need to find a proper ball gag for that little voice in the back of my mind.
I'm also going to have to put together a sticky post list of my works so that they're easier to track. And while I'm at it, fix the tag system. ... Oh, also, feel free to comment on the ramblings. I'm always happy to hear other points of view and curious if any of you have (or have considered) putting together a Terms of Service/Blanket Permission and why or why not.
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Date: 7 Jan 2014 21:34 (UTC)It's a really interesting point you raise. LD76's suggestion seems right to me, I wouldn't think twice about enjoying playing with characters a professional has been paid to create, but I wouldn't use a fan's OC or setting etc without asking first. That said I wouldn't expect to be asked. I've had people riff on my stuff without asking, and I was ridiculously flattered (still am, to be honest). I know not everyone would feel that way though, so I'd want to err on the side of caution before doing it myself.
Not sure about podfic. I can be weird about audio stuff, although I don't think I'd want to stop anyone if they did want to do a recording, especially if they wanted to do it for people who couldn't access text so well (not that I'm supposing there would be any interest in my stuff, but stranger things have happened). I probably wouldn't be able to listen to it myself though.
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Date: 8 Jan 2014 03:43 (UTC)Podfics ... yeah, as I said to LD76 above, I'm really not sure I'd want anyone proving their interpretive spin on my work vocally. It just has so much potential to really change everything ... though, yeah, reading it for those who can't read it? Yeah, that's different.