| Thoughts Contingent on Reader Entitlement; the fandom edition |
[20 Dec 2009|04:38pm] |
First, this: George R.R. Martin is not your bitch (Scroll down the page to the first reader letter, and Neil's response. It's ok. I'll wait.)
Now. Let's talk about the Fandom side of Reader Entitlement.
Moreover, the first and biggest defining point of this little thing we call "Fanfiction", that thing we all put in our disclaimers, that thing that keeps our arses out of court for copyright infringement: We are not getting paid for this.
Now let's take that a step further -- that means that you, the reader, ARE NOT PAYING FOR WHAT YOU READ! You are reading stories for free, and expending nothing more than some electricity, the price of your internet connection, and the time it takes you to read it. You are getting the work, worry, and sweat of every fan writer you click on, For Free.
Take a moment to think about that.
The writer, who very likely does NOT have professional aspirations, has written a story that they wanted to write -- or perhaps for a fest, they tried to write something someone else wanted to read, -- and they have shared it with the world. Yes, you've the right to your opinions, and the right to speak your own opinions, (This is, after all, probably the reason why you made and maintain a Blog Of Your Own in the first place, after all.) You are in no way obligated to like the story that's hiding behind any given link you may see on the internet, but neither was the writer obligated to write anything for you that you'd like! If they wrote the story FOR you in the fest, then perhaps there is a shadow of obligation, but people, please -- it's still fucking FREE! It's work for no pay, it took time and attention and care to create, even if the writer's skill was not up to the task, they still bothered to try! They chose to create something instead of sitting back, consuming story after story, and whining that they don't fancy what's on offer.
I mean for Cod's sake, if we buy a book in the store and we don't like it, do we show up at the writer's signing tour or release party to jump into the autograph line and heckle him? (You know, yeah, some folks just might be that kind of spiteful. Those are the ones who make me despair of humanity, and they are sure as FUCK not invited onto the Mothership when the pre-comet-impact evacuation goes down.) No, what NORMAL PEOPLE do, is to tell folks who ask that they did not fancy it. Perhaps they make a blog post to say they did not fancy it, or if they're a professional reviewer, they might tell their readership that they did not fancy it, and why. If the book crosses a line of racism, sexism, or religious offense, then yes we can expect to see the outcry against it happen on a higher profile, and at a greater volume -- up to the assassination call on Salman Rushdie for Satanic Verses.
So what is it that makes us as readers so much more ready to be spiteful about work we DID NOT have to pay for? Other than the fact that we can, and the writer in question is unlikely to have highly paid lawyers who might give us a telling-off for acting like arseholes, I mean? Is the internet really such a contempt-breeding ground that we can't even manage basic respect for effort, and the emotional investment required to create for no pay? Is it really such a hardship to back-click when we find that we don't like what we're reading (For Free,) and just go off to another story (also For Free,) which we might like better without leaving snide public notes for the writer of the first? Is it really such a hardship to express our opinions on these gifts of fiction in our own blogs, rather than showing up at someone else's Open House to complain about the canapes being cold? Is it really so hard to imagine, before we click 'post comment', what we might feel if we were to receive such a comment on our own work under such circumstance, and to temper ourselves accordingly? Is such altruism actually anathema here in Internet-land?
Okay now; there is something to be said for con-crit, yes. There's a bloody LOT to be said for it, because yes, one much make mistakes, and get feedback on those mistakes in order to improve. But there is also a simple fact -- FACT, I say! -- that there is a time, and a place for it, and when one delivers what one intends to be constructive criticism in such a way that it's publicaly humiliating and hurtful to the recipient, then it is no longer in any way constructive! The time for constructive criticism is when it can still be applied to the story in question -- in other words, when you are the beta,-- and if one must offer it retroactively, it really is best to offer it privately to the author, by way of LJ message or e mail. There is less of the author's dignity at stake in such a private approach, and your offering the benefit of your experience is less likely to come across as you being a pedantic arsehole and showing up at a party for the express purpose of pissing in the punch. Because, let's face it, That Person -- the one who busts into a conversation to tell people they're wrong, or to correct someone's grammar, or to criticize their philosophy, -- That Person is never really welcome in that conversation, even when they're Right. And That Person is unlikely to be included in further conversations either, not because they were wrong, so much as because they were just plain Rude.
For Cod's sake, could we please put a little effort into remembering that the writer does not OWE us, the readers, anything more than A Story? And that if we get A Story, there is no contractual obligation under which it will have been written to our tastes, to our preferences, or even to our level of skill or comprehension? That we are getting something for nothing, and in no way does that make the writer Our Bitch?
Common Sense Disclaimer: Yes, this was prompted by Recent Events -- not just one event, either. If you think that I'm talking to you? You might be right, but I am not talking JUST to you, as there was not a single Recent Event that prompted this, but a rising trend thereof, which I have been noticing and finding more and more irksome in the past few months. You may certainly choose to take it personally, but kindly remember that is your choice, and it creates in me no obligation to live up to any delusions of persecution on your part. This is my blog, and as such, it is where my opinions generally do belong.
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