I never know when to keep my mouth shut...

[elspethdixon]

Posting a rant while violently angry never works out *sighs* I should have known better than to rant about how much I hate it when people erase their fics from the net for no reason (i.e. no C&D letter involved, not publishing it as a book, just yanking it apparently for the hell of it) and think it's rude to other fans and earns one a place in the Archivist Special Hell on fanficrants--the comments saying that I'm an arrogant bitch with an entitlement complex just keep on coming.

Fine then. I am at peace with my arrogance. I am likewise at peace my entitlement complex, since it's the same principle that makes me write and read and believe in the concept of fanfic and fandom in the first place (the idea that stories, once shared, are a part of a greater literary landscape that has some amount of communal ownership, rather than the personal property of the author).

Comments

[elspethdixon.livejournal.com]

But if they want to throw their work on the flames while Savonarola cheers, that's their right, and should be respected. Just like it's Anne Rice's right to insist that nobody write fic for her, and her wishes should also be respected and she's not experiencing delusions of authorial goddesshood at all. And it's Stephen Joyce's right to exercise complete control over the Joyce literary estate, and he's doing nothing improper or wrong.

All opinions that have been expressed on the thread, and by the lights of those who while-heartedly believe the above, I am acting entitled.

I'm hoping the rude people are responding to ewhat they think was the confrontational tone of the original post (typed while I was doing the equivalent of throwing a temper-tantrum over the mass deletions from the Wayback machine), and wouldn't be that bitchy at someone who expressed their opinions in the proper diffident and self-effacing manner. I've gone back and toned down the post a bit (though not changed any of the opinions expressed therein).

[seanchai.livejournal.com]

I have this unfortunate suspision that there are a lot of people that just get rude when confronted with an opinion that doesn't match their own. Witness pretty much all debates concerning religion or politics ever.

[elspethdixon.livejournal.com]

While some of us suffer from the misconception that all rational people will surely agree with us if only we explain ourselves correctly, and that disagreement obviously comes from us not using the right arguments--leading us to repeatedly state the same point/concept in slightly different words, hoping that, this time, the poor, deluded other poster will understand.

They never do. And when head-of-the-it's-my-fic-and-you've-no-right-to-read-it-if-I-change-my-mind-about-posting-it school brought up Anne Rice's right to request no fanfic and fans' responsibility to abide by that, I knew further argument was pointless. We clearly are on opposite sides of the artiste/storyteller divide.

[seanchai.livejournal.com]

I'd far rather be on this side. I don't think I could live with myself if I was ever labeled an artiste. Luckily, I think writing things with exclamation points in the title may prevent that.

[werewolf-lib.livejournal.com]

Anne Rice is, honestly, one of those writers I'd pay to delete the majority of their works. Please, Ms Rice -- think of all the wannabe goth kids you'll save from developing occasionally disturbing vampire fixations! Won't anyone think of the goth kids??

(still, watching her take the crazy train off the track is rather entertaining)