My Thoughts on Yaoi/the OTW

[rodo]

Firstly, I have to admit that yes, I did volunteer for the OTW. My reason for doing so was neither my belief that what they do is the best thing that ever happened to fandom, but rather my realisation that it was time to stop whining and do something. I have been in online fandom for almost five years now. But really, I drew fanart long before that. It all started when I googled for news on the fifth Harry Potter book and I ended up reading a fic about Harry and Draco having sex. I was appalled at first. But still, I could not wait for the next book, and so I looked for other, less slashy stories. I was hooked, and I stayed. During these five years, I witnessed a few skirmishes with TPTB, and neither of them ended in favour of the fannish side. The fans whined about it and migrated elsewhere. This flexibility is one of the things I admire fandom for, but my admiration never stopped me from wishing there would be no more migration, that we would all live happily ever after in our own perfect place. And that, in essence, is what the OTW offers. That does not mean that I agree with all their ideas, but I realised that I did not improve things by quietly whining in my own little corner of fandom, but that I have to work with them to make sure they take the direction I want them to. I have seen a lot of people criticising them, but only a few of them made an effort to talk to them.


“But I don’t want to get noticed by TPTB!”

I think we all agree on that one. But the problem is that they notice us anyway. I stumbled upon fandom by using google. Has anyone of you ever tried to google their own name? I have, and it is really amazing what you find that way. I found out that someone had copied one of my poems to a Lord of the Rings forum, for example. What do you think authors will find when they google the titles of their books? I suppose the results might shock some of them. And then they’re going to pull an Anne Rice on us. That’s not some remote possibility, it happened already, and it will happen again, sooner or later.

TPTB are also trying to make money off of us. There are authorized fanfics for TV shows, not to forget the rest of the merchandize. They know about us, and I think they are very well aware of what exactly we are doing. They just don’t care in most cases, as long as we spend money on whatever they are throwing at us. I think especially novels for TV shows are a way for TPTB to invade our territory. If you’ve ever read one of these, you will notice that they are really nothing but fanfics. Some fanauthors even write better than the ones who get paid for it.

So, in essence, we’re not as invisible as we think. We might be a subculture, but the more of us there are, the harder it gets to go by unnoticed. When I started reading fanfic five years ago, the site I frequented had about two to four pages worth of updated fic every day. The last time I looked it was about ten to fifteen. A friend of mine said that we are probably about to become mainstream, whether we want to or not.

This doesn’t mean you have to think that the OTW is the best way to deal with what’s coming, but I think denial won’t help either.


“I don’t like the term primarily female culture!”

Well, neither do I, but that’s because my professors love gender studies, and this is simply an academic term, as far as I’m concerned. I suppose a lot of people who have no experience whatsoever with this particular field of studies won’t understand it the same way I do. Maybe my interpretation is wrong (I did not pay as much attention to my professors as I should have). That’s not even the point, in my opinion, because the website is not aimed at fans only. They try to speak to non-fans as well, people who stumbled upon fanworks and react as I did when I read that Harry Potter fic I mentioned in the beginning. Imagine they were speaking fanspeak. Nobody would take them seriously. And don’t sound sentences like “The OTW represents a practice of transformative fanwork historically rooted in a primarily female culture” good?


“The OTW does not speak for the whole of fandom!”

I don’t think they want to, actually. The way I understand it, they just want to do something that will be of benefit to the whole of fandom. They are not speaking for anyone but themselves. That’s why their definition of what will be beneficial to the common fan is a different one than that of the common fan. Most of us probably don’t worry in the slightest about the legality of what they’re doing (I know I didn’t for a very long time). They just want to have fun. And for these fans, most of what the OTW is doing is of no consequence. Except for the archive and the legal assistance, should they be interested.

The OTW is not something that will change the very being of fandom. Fandom is changing itself all the time, and the OTW is a part of fandom that is changing itself at the moment. That does not mean that it has any effect on those who don’t want to have anything to do with it.


“Why do we need another archive/wiki or an academic journal?”

Do we? I think you should not ask if “we” need another archive, but rather if “you” need one. For me, the answer is yes, because I like archives. Presently, I use four different archives for both my fanfics and my original stories, and all of them lack in some point:

Animexx.de: Animexx has a great system when it comes to archiving. You can organise fic-writing competitions and all that, but it also has very strict rules (no essays, for example) and is predominantly German. It also started out as an anime fan club, and is thus focussed on this aspect of fandom.

Fanfiktion.de: I am not too fond of the organising structure, and they are a lot like ff.net, but they are at least quite tolerant when it comes to NC-17 slash. It’s only for German stories as well.

Fanfiction.net and fictionpress.com: Not as good at organising as Animexx, strict rules, and even though they allow you to post German stories, the navigation is in English which keeps a lot of the fans away.

Now I hope that the OTW archive will be a lot like Animexx (which is for fanart and dōjinshi as well, and which is the website of an association), but with less focus on anime fandoms and better rules. I have also been told by someone in the OTW that they want to make it more international than ff.net, which is what I volunteered for.

I don’t think that they should make a new wiki, however. I think it would be better if they worked with the current one and tried to improve it. I know a lot of people don’t know that Fanhistory.com even exists and that it has some problems with its objectivity, but I think it has a lot of potential.

The academic journal interests me, but only as a fan of meta. I suppose it’s more an acafan thing, but I think it might help fan culture to move beyond the Trekkie image. I am also very sick of being told by journalists that I am either a teen with nothing better to do or a bored housewife. I think being active in fandom is a thing to be proud of and nothing that you should hide from the rest of the world, but it’s horribly annoying that people still ask you why you’re wasting your time on it when you could do something original instead. I write more original fiction than fanfics, but the few fanfics I wrote mean a lot to me.

Academic study might improve the image of “the fan”, and even if not, I think it would make an interesting read.


I know that I did not touch upon a lot of the criticism I read, but these are the most common points, I think. I apologise for the sheer length of my ramblings and the mistakes I likely made.

doro_chan

Comments

[lenija.insanejournal.com]

First of, you have my respect for writing this. I couldn't force myself to get up and take a stand yet.

this is simply an academic term, as far as I’m concerned.
I think you're right on this, I just didn't realise it before, because I'm too deep inside this academic system myself and thus understood without thinking twice why the OTW were using that phrase and what it was supposed to mean (although I very much prefer the way you phrase it here to the version that's still on their homepage.)

I'd be interested in what exactly it is you do for the OTW, if you want to tell me. Maybe I can be of use, too. I just didn't volunteer because it still costs me more energy to discuss complicated things in English than in German, and I have my thesis to work on. But if I knew exactly what to do to help...

[rood.insanejournal.com]

I couldn't force myself to get up and take a stand yet.

That took me quite long as well. And I am nowhere near as busy as you are.

I'd be interested in what exactly it is you do for the OTW, if you want to tell me.

I offered to help with translations and anything that had to do with German. I've no idea if they ever need me, but I think it would be cool if they translated the website and such.

[franzeska.insanejournal.com]

Actually, there was just a request for QA (http://community.livejournal.com/otw_news/21009.html) volunteers. I'm sure it would be really helpful to have input from someone like you. After all, there will probably always be some non-native speaker fans using the English language interface.

--Franzi (on the content committee, but I don't know exactly what the technology people are up to)

[hector_rashbaum.insanejournal.com]

(via metafandom@LJ)

I don’t think they want to, actually. The way I understand it, they just want to do something that will be of benefit to the whole of fandom. They are not speaking for anyone but themselves. That’s why their definition of what will be beneficial to the common fan is a different one than that of the common fan. Most of us probably don’t worry in the slightest about the legality of what they’re doing (I know I didn’t for a very long time). They just want to have fun. And for these fans, most of what the OTW is doing is of no consequence. Except for the archive and the legal assistance, should they be interested.

One of the reasons given for creating the wiki was to provide context for outside people poking into fandom. From what we've seen of mainstream coverage of fandom so far, we know a majority of journalists find one big archive and stop looking; knowing that, and knowing OTW intends to set itself up as an easy resource it's safe to assume plenty of journalists will stop there.

That's more of a problem for me than journalists judging based solely on, say, fanfiction.net, for two reasons:

- ff.n isn't purposefully setting itself up to be representative; if they ignore or misrepresent chunks of fandom it's because that's what they want for their archive and no other reason (I don't have a problem with ff.n actively excluding RPF; I did have a problem with OTW accidentally excluding RPF through the language it used)

- I don't really believe anyone can advocate for something they don't understand - and that's not factoring in people who are fed up with OTW from earlier arguments and don't see a reason to HELP them understand (I should say, I'm one of those people - I don't feel like they're listening so I've stopped trying to make them listen). So when OTW advocates for the legitimacy of fandom, what they'll end up actually legitimizing is the fandom they represent - and what does that do to public perception of those groups OTW can't or won't speak for?

[rood.insanejournal.com]

if they ignore or misrepresent chunks of fandom it's because that's what they want for their archive and no other reason (I don't have a problem with ff.n actively excluding RPF; I did have a problem with OTW accidentally excluding RPF through the language it used)

Well, I agree with you that this could become a problem. Which is why I think it's important that people who think some group of fandom might be misrepresented don't just give up. That is one of the reasons I volunteered. I am not wildly enthusiastic about them (yet. Who knows, it might change), but if I don't volunteer for translation work, who will? It always annoyed me that there was no archive that was truly multi-lingual, and I hope the OTW will change that.

Plus, I thought I read something about Naomi Novik saying that they do intend to include RPF. But that might just be my imagination.

And when the OTW says that they wish to legitimize fandom, I think they will try to include all parts of it, even those they don't like and those they are not familiar with. It's a matter of principle, in my eyes. I suppose that might be one of the reasons for the Wiki (which won't be edited by OTW personal only, I hope).

[hector_rashbaum.insanejournal.com]

Which is why I think it's important that people who think some group of fandom might be misrepresented don't just give up.

What it really comes down to is I don't have the time or energy to pay that level of attention to something that even if all the problems get fixed I doubt I'll use, to deal with the most rabid supporters who take any dissent as the highest insult, to distance myself from the dissenters working out of gross misunderstanding or personal grudges. Wank is draining anyway; at that level for God knows how long, it's that much worse.

I do, even though I've said I'm done with OTWanking, keep an eye on the discussions, and if the mood strikes I'm happy to politely correct a misunderstanding or outline my arguments for people I think have presented their side in a way that doesn't have me backing away from the brewing wanksplosion :) Because I do, in the end, still think my arguments are reasonable and are big problems for OTW, and if I can get people thinking about them without it getting wanky, yay!

Plus, I thought I read something about Naomi Novik saying that they do intend to include RPF. But that might just be my imagination.

Mmhm, they've said from the beginning they're a-ok with RPF. Which, funnily enough, is why I have issues with their language - if they'd said "sorry, no RPF", I would've shrugged and moved on.

But what they're doing (and they HAVE made some awesome changes in this area) is saying "we welcome and support RPF" but not backing that up with their language.

I used this analogy once before - say you started a club for people who liked movies, but instead of saying "movies" you say "videos".

Now, "video" can be read as "movie", and there are people who will read it like that. But it can also be read as "VHS", and if you don't make it clear you mean "video" as "movie" rather than "VHS", all those people whose movie-loving is DVD-based are going to pass your club right by.

And your options, when someone says "hey I like DVDs, why can't I be in your club?" are really:
a) explain to them video=movie
b) change your promotional materials to define video in a couple places
c) change "video" to "movie" wherever it appears

A is pretty good, except you're gonna have to do that every single time someone asks. B isn't bad, it's wordier than it needs to be and it might bug people who are really adamant in their belief that video=VHS. C, to me, is the best - you avoid that confusion in the first place, and don't have to deal with the "but DAMMIT, video is VHS and it's ALWAYS been like that and how dare you redefine words I use" crew.

It's an "actions speak louder than words" idea for me, really. They can say they support RPF all they want, and with the amount of people in fandom who think RPF is icky and creepy and wrong I'm glad they're at least saying it, but until their actions show at least a desire to understand RPF it's just talk.

And when the OTW says that they wish to legitimize fandom, I think they will try to include all parts of it, even those they don't like and those they are not familiar with. It's a matter of principle, in my eyes.

Oh, certainly. I think even if they don't WANT to legitimize everything, they'd be stupid to tell any chunk of fandom "sorry, you're too nuts, buh-bye". But I wonder how much you can work towards legitimizing something you yourself don't understand, and even if you can I'm not sure how good an idea it would be, because if you convince someone to be okay with x based on a trait it turns out x doesn't HAVE, you probably haven't really done any good.

[rood.insanejournal.com]

I totally understand that you sometimes just avoid saying anything because you fear the wank. Been there, done that. And really, I think some of the concerns are quite valid. Some I don't understand, like the fear that the OTW is going to support plagiarism. I can see how the Heidi-factor might influence such thoughts, but most seem to fear this because the OTW wants to make fanfic "legal". This just makes me think that plagiarism = transformative work = WTF.

I suppose most of these issues is the result of the language the OTW uses on its website. There's a lot they could in this respect, and I hope they will. It's not as if they would have to rewrite everything, or change their opinions, but maybe they should just put "movie" instead of "video", or elaborate vague terms like "media". It should not be that difficult, but I guess since they're an organisation it might take a while to discuss the new exact wording. And perhaps they will just update the FAQs accordingly.

It's an "actions speak louder than words" idea for me, really.

After the whole LJ-drama this summer that's understandable. I'm willing to trust them beforehand, but not everybody is as trusting as I am. That doesn't mean I'm naive and that I'll stop paying attention to the faults they have. Neither will they, or otherwise this whole endeavour would lead to nothing. And I'll keep hoping for foreign fans, fanartists and fanvidders to become more involved, I just don't expect it to happen all of a sudden.

[watersword.insanejournal.com]

I'm so glad to read this! We need people like you, people who weren't completely convinced by what's already happened, but who see enough potential in the OTW to be worth their time and energy. (I volunteer for OTW, but am not speaking for the organization right now.)

[rood.insanejournal.com]

I think being sceptical can only help the OTW. If it was perfect already, why would anyone put effort into improving it? And in my experience, there's always something that should be improved.

At the moment, both sides seem to be stuck in a situation where nobody's talking to anyone, which is sad, because some of the criticism is well founded. It just gets lost between all the animosity.