NEW RULE

[bloodytearslife.livejournal.com]

It has come to my attention that there have been posts asking for a specific stories that are no longer posted online due to the author taking it down. I have been contacted by an author who didn't like that someone was giving her story to everyone and anyone that asked for it on this community. The author had taken it down in order to have it reworked and published and I have been asked to have you all respect the wishes of those authors.

So please, again, if you are looking for a story that an athor took down for a reason, please do not ask for someone to email you. Try contacting that author.

If you guys have any question please post a comment!

Thanks!

bloodytearslife

Comments

[xeelia.livejournal.com]

What if you aren't sure or don't know that that is the reason it isn't posted any more? Such as an author who just stopped writing and/or whose work was on a site that is no longer up.

[the-nites-gurl.livejournal.com]

I have done this. I truly apologize, I didn't stop to think that it might not be okay. Again...sorry :(

[riccadonna.livejournal.com]

What xeelia said!
It's going to be hard to know who disappeared because they were not interested anymore, and who went pro.

[xc-runner50.livejournal.com]

I was one of the guilty party. It was months ago, but I am pretty sure I wasn't paying too much attention to what the story was, I just asked for a copy of it to add to my offline collection of fan fiction stories. Can't go without if the internet stops working, which it seems to do often here. I'll make sure to watch out for this and report it if I see it. Pretty much all I can do.

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

I'm also a guilty party and I apologize.

[inxsomniax.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure a lot of us are guilty of this one way or the other. But we all know as well, that none of us ever meant any harm or disrespect. Some people just do not understand or know how things work in regards to working-net-etiquette.

Although, mistakes like this happens only because we don't always know WHY those stories are no longer online. Some have the reasons of no longer being in the fandom. Some of course, have been reworked in to originals and they're the ones that we should NOT try to re-distribute without the Author's permission. We should understand of this reason from the fact that some other of this author's work are STILL available online. This simply means that they're still active and we can always talk to them about their work.

But when none can be found online, we could only think, that they're just no longer active. The desperate action here then, being taken. Asking people if anyone has a copy.

I am guilty of asking on this community about getting a copy of a few fics as well. And I did try to contact the Authors for copies before I posted anything here. This place is my last resort for some assistance in finding some fics that I really enjoy!

That being said, I guess from now on we need to communicate more about why some work can not be found. We should actually discuss this in our request when we make a post of request. Find out why, and maybe discuss it in private when someone has more info regarding the requested work.

Example: If you have a copy of a fic that's being requested, PM that person who request it and discuss it in private. Then if others see the post and also interested in getting copies, they should contact the poster privately and ask if they found a copy of said story.

Thought I'd give my input of how this issue should be solved in the future. That way no one would get hurt. :o)

[katkot81.livejournal.com]

I know this might sound like a stupid question but what does PM stand for?

[inxsomniax.livejournal.com]

PM stands for Private Massage. If you go to a user profile you can send private messages to the user. :o)

[http://users.livejournal.com/liliana_/]

Honestly, IMO, if you've posted something openly online, it's fair game and you can't put the genie back in the bottle. So I'm not feeling guilty over it. *shrugs*

[jmarie1074.livejournal.com]

I'm sure I'm running the risk of pissing someone off (probably becuz this is heavy on the snark), but I totally agree with you. Once it's out there - it's there. What has been seen (or saved to hard drive) cannot be unseen.

I find it hilarious this is an issue. *shrug* It's not counter intelligence secrets - it's fanfiction. The exchange of fics is a friendly thing - not some contrived plot to steal or publish someone's Buffy porn.

If the author turned it into a original fic - good on them. We still know you that wrote about Buffy bouncing on Spike's cock with abandon. If they decide they're embarrassed now they spent hours hunched over their keyboard typing Buffy smut and want to erase any trace of their lusty former life - those be the breaks, man. We still know.

Sorry folks, I don't feel bad. *shrug* Sue me. I have appreciated every person that has taken the time to make a deposit in my spank bank (both authors and those that share their saved fics), and will gladly offer up what I have...

Just not here. Cuz it's WRONG. Feel free to flame away. I'm wearing my non-combustible big girl panties.

[cydeira.livejournal.com]

If they decide they're embarrassed now they spent hours hunched over their keyboard typing Buffy smut and want to erase any trace of their lusty former life - those be the breaks, man. We still know.

I don't think that's an issue at all. As much as I agree with you that once you put something on the net they're pretty much out there for anyone to take and use, etc. But the issue here is that they are writers/authors who go pro under completely different profiles than what they used when they were known as Buffy authors. The issue here is more serious than that. Not everyone reads Buffy fictions. Some read only those of original work. But what if one day, they stumble upon a Buffy fiction online that previously has been removed and reworked into an original - But see, they don't know this and they would assume 'plagiarism' in the work. These authors use different pen names and if you don't follow them close enough you wouldn't know this little detail at all.

I don't think they're ashamed of the fact that they used to write Buffy fictions. I've seen some of their profiles do mention that they used to write fictions for or based on certain fandoms in their earlier years - but who knows who and who, unless you're 'friends' with them, right?

It's more for security reasons. If I was an author, I certainly wouldn't want anyone to stir up any problems regarding copyrighted stuff. for instance if some readers accuse me of re-writing a fanfiction and claim it as my original work when I know, I was the writer for both fictions. Questions will be asked, how I should prove to the public that I'm the genuine author of those fics, since I use different pen names.

It's a simple matter. Some of these Authors are just trying to protect themselves and their work from any future misunderstandings that could lead into serious issues regarding ownership.

Besides, they don't mind sharing if we ask them for the copies of their fanfiction. They just don't want people freely spreading them around on the net out of their control due to security reasons.

[jmarie1074.livejournal.com]

If I was an author, I certainly wouldn't want anyone to stir up any problems regarding copyrighted stuff. for instance if some readers accuse me of re-writing a fanfiction and claim it as my original work when I know, I was the writer for both fictions. Questions will be asked, how I should prove to the public that I'm the genuine author of those fics, since I use different pen names.

Well therein is the rub, isn't it? If you rework fanfiction that you've posted somewhere else online, under another name - it really isn't original, is it? That is the risk you take by reheating something that can't possibly be copywrited because in all essence, you are toying with copywrited characters to begin with.

Once again - it's out there. You can try to remove it, but somewhere, down the line, someone may recognize it and you are caught. It's not my place to advise anyone to be prudent if they have professional aspirations, but there it is anyway.

If it's been out there, posted, passed around, it's fair game. It's as simple as that. I cross posted my previous comment to the my own journal and as someone else put it..

"I would be pissed if I bought a book that was originally fanfiction." I agree with this so much. To my knowledge, no former Fanfic that I've ever read made it to the NYT Bestseller list, but you can be assured that if I bought something and realized it was, not only would I LMAO, but I'd want my money back.

If I was an author, I certainly wouldn't want anyone to stir up any problems regarding copyrighted stuff. for instance if some readers accuse me of re-writing a fanfiction and claim it as my original work when I know, I was the writer for both fictions.

Just for the record, I would totally do that if I caught it. Professional writers rework their stories all the time and republish them. Granted they are their own original characters, but it does happen. However, they also provide full disclosure just in case you read the original material.

In short...nope, still don't feel bad about sharing.

[cydeira.livejournal.com]

I agree and understand completely where you're coming from and totally not against you about this. I'm just trying to clarify that the issue for this to even occur is just that. Simply because of security reasons. There might be other personal reasons that we won't know about.

With that being said, we could and should still share, but maybe in a more private way so as to not offend anyone else, in this case, the authors. I think, like what inxsomniax suggested above in her comment, we should mention something along the line of 'PM me if you have a copy?' Therefore it won't become a big sharing post sort of thing. I know there isn't much difference from the way we've been doing it, but at least we should show a little respect for the authors by showing them that we're not trying to redistribute their work to the mass. But it's simply a personal favor that one asks/gives each other in the fandom for personal enjoyment.

Does that make sense? I really suck at writing and can only read. LOL. Anyways, I just hope that this doesn't stop people from wanting to share or request fictions they love. I noticed there hasn't been any posts since this entry was posted. I'm a bit worried where this issue is taking the status of this community. LOL.

You might hear from me asking you to help me find some Spuffy fics in the future, since you don't mind sharing! xD

[jmarie1074.livejournal.com]

Lulz. No, I don't mind sharing, but I will respect the rules here and not share. Here.

Should put a notice on my LJ profile page: GIT YER BOOTLEG FANFICTION HERE!

Good grief.

[tangwstyl.livejournal.com]

Should put a notice on my LJ profile page: GIT YER BOOTLEG FANFICTION HERE!

*snorfles*

Can I get a side of fries with that?

[jmarie1074.livejournal.com]

The fries will cost ya, but there's free refills on the drinks - and we don't serve soda. >:)

[ladyofspike.livejournal.com]

And alittle something on the side to read right?

[jmarie1074.livejournal.com]

Of course. Welcome to my parlor pretty, pretty little Flies.

>:D

[menolly-23.livejournal.com]

I know i'm guilty of this, a few of us are. So here's my suggestion. I would do this myself if I knew how, can someone make a page for authors to post on when they take a story offline for the purpose of turning it into an original? Or tell me how to make one. I don't get on all the fansites, and I almost never go to an authors homepage or LJ. I find a lot of the stories I read from seeking spike and find buffy recs, or from friends sending me stories they think i'd like. If there was a page like this and a story a person wanted to read was taken down they could look on the page to see if that was the reason why. Also the arthor could put a link on the page to where fans of the story could find the original work.

[coalitiongirl.livejournal.com]

How about fics we find via the Wayback Machine? I know that when I see that someone is searching for a fic that was taken offline a while back, I actually find it fun to go and hunt it down using the WM. Often, I'll copy-paste the fic onto Word to make it more accessible, too. I understand that authors don't want their fics emailed around, but is it any different to post a link where the now-offline fic can be found?

Personally, I see both sides of the debate- I understand why an author would take a fic offline, but I believe that once it's been posted at any point in time, it's fair game for anyone online (if it isn't copyrighted). Not sharing fics is a courtesy to the author, but I don't think that it should be a blanket rule for all fics- only if the author requests it, then for her fics specifically.