FanLib: 101 Reasons to Stay Away

[liz_marcs]

Back in March, I was made aware of FanLib when entrenous88 was dinged with an "invite" to join the site. I was dinged about a week later.

Reading the ToS of FanLib, I figured that I had to be seeing things. It was that bad, and that unfair to fanfic writers. If anything, it looked like a con. entrenous88 graciously gut-checked me and backed up the itchy feeling I had about the whole thing.

Let's just say I was relieved that I wasn't the only one who was just a leeetle leery about this.

Then I just let it drop. I wasn't interested. The site looked like it was nothing more than a fraud at best, or a way to bilk fanfic writers out of money at worst.

Guess what?

FanLib falls into the "at worst" category. While Buffy-related fanfiction wank was eating my corner of LJ and mold allergies were eating my brain, FanLib officially opened its doors.

Somehow, I don't think FanLib was expecting a round of raspberries and Bronx cheers from the very people they hoped to scam free content out of, do you?

Funnily enough, that's exactly what happened. Fractious fandom suddenly turned into the United Federation of Fandom Universes and gave FanLib the big-ol' stink-eye.

Then they started talking and spreading the news. Being writers and readers, that means there were raging discussions about FanLib, with people claiming to be associated with the site making comments in people's journals.

If these people are actually "employees" of FanLib, they seriously need to go to charm school...or at least figure out who they're talking to. Most fanfic writers are not teeny-booper fanbrats, so stop talking to us like we are.

I was going to put together something myself, but thanks to FandomWank and Fanthropology I don't have to do damn thing.

(Be sure to read the self-identified FanLib gnomes defending the company on Fanthropology. Note that the really tough questions about who's making money, copyright issues, and the question of who actually owns the fic that gets put on the site are left unanswered. Also note from the comments that it's blindingly clear that FanLib did almost zero market research on fanfic writers.)

To get up to speed on the whole FanLib scam (and yes, it is a scam — I don't care how many legit backers they have): icarusancalion has outlined the primary problems with FanLib in a most excellent article. Be sure to read the comments, too.

stewardess has a link-o-rama of opinions and discussions around LJ. Comments on this and all posts are also very much worth the read.

Yes, it'll take several hours to read through (possibly several days). However, I urge you all to read through everything and decide for yourselves.

Let's make something clear: While this is certainly the most aggressive attempt I've ever seen to make money off the backs of fanfiction writers, you can be absolutely certain — with the same certainty that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west — that it most definitely won't be the last.

ETA: ladycat777 calls out these post by telesilla as deserving of special attention. She attempts to engage the FanLib braintrust in comments, but doesn't get anywhere. Her posts do appear on stewardess's collection of links, but I agree that she has a take worth paying attention to.

ETA2: On the advice of humbleminion I've removed the link to FanLib. It appears they earn ad revenue based on page hits. I've got no desire to give them money.

ETA3: marenfic points to this excellent blog entry that excellently puts into words the problems I have with FanLib from the perspective of a woman who's both a fan and a well-educated professional.

One note of interest in the article from FeministSF marenfic points to: One of the FanLib founders is associated with SixApart, which just so happens to own LJ. Well, well, well. That is an interesting nugget of information to consider. And I don't mean that in a good way.

Comments

[entrenous88.livejournal.com]

If these people are actually "employees" of FanLib, they seriously need to go to charm school...or at least figure out who they're talking to. Most fanfic writers are not teeny-booper fanbrats, so stop talking to us like we are.

Oh man, YES! The people who allegedly work for FanLib commenting here and there have made such asses of themselves -- yes, these are NOT the people you want to give the rights of your work to.

What's weird is checking out their archive -- because I did look, after seeing some of the metafandom-linked posts -- and seeing, yes, a few names I recognized. I'm incredibly curious (and somewhat aghast) that anyone has taken them up on their offer, considering what a crappy position it puts the writers in, and what sort of endeavor (read=money-grubbing, poorly-planned, and hopelessly-doomed) they're getting involved in.

Also highly troubling is how much it's come out how dominated by men FanLib's organization is -- and how easy they thought it would be to walk into the "Girls'" party and just pick off all our good stuff without us raising so much as a peep.

[liz-marcs.livejournal.com]

What's really killing me is that there are already several studies that have been done by fanthropology programs at universities that would've given FanLib a ton of information about fanfic writers. It's out there. It exists, for Christ's sake. The fact that they marketing to fanfic writers doesn't seem to go beyond raiding the FF.net and LJ rosters for writers is mind-boggling.

I think the thing that's getting overlooked (by both sides, believe it or not) is that FanLib is, in essence, asking fanfic writers to do them a favor by providing free content. Jesus! I work in publishing! I know for a fact that content is currency! FanLib, in essence, expects people to give them content (remember, free currency!) which they can then use to make a profit.

Without even getting into the fact that FanLib proposes to make a profit off fanfiction (which is a very dark grey area in copyright law at best) based on a legal theory that's never been tried in U.S. courts, you'd think they'd give slightly more consideration to the people feeding them content beyond a t-shirt.

Now, given that FanLib is asking us to do them a favor by feeding them content, you'd think they'd actually be polite about it. But they're not. When people bring up legitimate questions, they are ignored or get some kind of rude, circular answer. It's maddening.

I don't want to even get into the whiff of sexism that I'm starting to pick up. I'd just raise my bloodpressure into the level of stroke.

As for familiar names, I know some people have registered, if only to cybersquat their names, but don't intend to send content to the site. I'm not sure that's a wise move, since it gives them some kind of "population" they can sell to potential advertisers. What's more, it might be counterproductive if, say, Universal or FOX, decides to start hunting for scalps on select properties.

[entrenous88.livejournal.com]

Right! No, I'm with you on that. They think we're going to fuel their money-making venture, and there's really no other way to say it, because there's zero in it for us, and quite frankly, a lot to lose if litigation takes place.

Yes, they've been total asshats in responding to people. It's interesting, actually. They're having what are typically stereotyped as women's hysterical responses, while the women are asking all the very reasonable, rationally wary questions. As I said to invisionary below, I get the sense that they're thinking, "Can't you see all that we're doing for you?" In my reading, that they are ending that question in their heads with you annoying bitches is implied.

[invisionary.livejournal.com]

Also highly troubling is how much it's come out how dominated by men FanLib's organization is -- and how easy they thought it would be to walk into the "Girls'" party and just pick off all our good stuff without us raising so much as a peep.

If it's any comfort, there are men in fandom who aren't anything like the people running FanLib. I, for one, frankly can't believe what they're trying to do. And I find their attitude, not just toward women, but toward fans in general, fairly disturbing.

[liz-marcs.livejournal.com]

See, I know that. ^_^ Hence me getting my back up whenever the boyz get a beatin' on the TwOP boards with some broad-brush strokes.

The issue I have is that FanLib has none, zero, zip, zilch women in the upper echelons for a site that's supposedly trying to entice a part of fandom that's overwhelmingly female to provide them with free content. What's more boggling, is that we're all getting the metaphorical pat on the head and told not to worry our pretty little heads about it.

[invisionary.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I can hardly believe their attitude, especially considering it's toward people they want to work with. It seems... counterproductive, at best.

[entrenous88.livejournal.com]

If it's any comfort, there are men in fandom who aren't anything like the people running FanLib.
I absolutely agree! And it is a comfort, seriously, because we have some great guys in the Buffyverse fandom alone, not to mention other fans in other fandoms I've run into.

I just think these particular guys are a bunch of men who have never so much as dipped their toes into fanfiction-fandom, and had no clue that it would consist mostly of women, or how to talk to that demographic without sounding patronizing. I think also that because they thought it was mostly women, they were the sorts of guys who assumed they could come in and start structuring, and ...um...we'd just jump up and follow along? Be their cheerleaders? Work for free?

I don't think they were expecting anyone to be skeptical or ask serious questions or have a reasoned reaction against it. And their reactions to some of those reasoned responses have been a little angry, on the order of "Can't you all see what we're doing for you?" O_o.

[invisionary.livejournal.com]

I just think these particular guys are a bunch of men who have never so much as dipped their toes into fanfiction-fandom, and had no clue that it would consist mostly of women, or how to talk to that demographic without sounding patronizing.

Yeah. You may very well be right about that. And it's problematic, because they clearly want to exploit fanfiction writers (by making money off their work while giving them nothing in return), and since they're men and fanfic writers are (mostly) women.... I guess I can see how that situation might take on sexist overtones. And the way they've been talking to fandom at large hasn't helped any.

Whatever the reasons behind the way they've acted, I don't want anything to do with them, and I'm not surprised that there are lots of other people out there who feel the same way.