| So what about fic that isn't there any more? |
[Jan. 27th, 2009|03:46 am] |
While this question came to me about QAF fanfic it could apply to all fanfic.
I mistakenly spelled "triciaqaf" "trishaqaf" and ended up nearly having a heart attack when I thought that all of triciaqaf's fic was no longer on livejournal.
WTF?! (of course I can hear you say, "that's what bookmarks are for you idiot!", but I digress)
Occasionally, I troll along on getithere to see what's up in the world of what was that fic? land.
And a recent post, along with my "triciaqaf" "trishaqaf" mix up made me think.
There was a inquiry about the illusive and mystical Moondance fic by Shirley.
In the post, someone had tracked down the fic that is no longer found online anywhere.
People requested that the person who had a copy of the fic send it to them.
So here's the question, for fics that are no longer online due to any cause - withdrawn by the author, archive no longer in existance, website taken down, user no longer on LJ/IJ,
is it wrong to download copies of your favorite fics so as not to lose them?
is it wrong to share copies of a fic that is no longer online/posted with others?
if it isn't wrong to share, would it be wrong to create an archive of "lost" fics?
and if that isn't wrong, why not create a category on the archive sites for lost fics - i.e. not authored by the poster?
it is a slippery slope...
ETA: For the sake of argument, let's say the fic was not taken down or withdrawn by the author on purpose. Let's look at other scenarios where the author decided not to continue to pay for a website, or a journal and it naturally disappeared as a result.
Feel free to comment on authors pulling their fic. However, based on the responses, it is evident that people respect the right of the author to pull their fic and as such wouldn't be comfortable perpetuating something that the author expressly doesn't want handed out.
ETA 2: the debate on copyright has been retired - feel free to comment on all else, that may relate to QAF here. |
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