Aye, Captain

somewhere along the line i became a pens fan DrAwesome on AO3 lawyer, 28, bi, and ready to finger-gun my way through life 👉👉👈👈 hdr img credit

[omgbardplease]

happy pride to this bitch

[omgbardplease]

god griffin mcelroy has the best cliff hangers like jesus fuck!!!

[olderthannetfic]

A New History of Fandom Purges

On November 24th, 2018, I posted a list of major deletions of sites or of content on sites that stripped fandom of its history. A bunch of pro-shipper blogs had just been deleted, and people were nervous. I suppose I was thinking “All this has happened before…”

On December 3rd, 2018, Tumblr’s Department of Irony announced the NSFW ban. Thanks for providing this salutary lesson to The Youth and a billion reblogs to me, I guess.

Today, we have AO3 for writing. Audio, images, and video are in as much danger as ever, yet fans attack AO3 every donation drive. For those of you who forget our past…

HERE IS WHAT HISTORY HAS TAUGHT US!

1992 - Chelsea Quinn Yarbro forces a zine to be destroyed

1995 - Viacom/Paramount goes after fansites

1995 - Anne Rice gets IWTV fic deleted everywhere

1997 - Fox and Lucasfilm go after fansites

1998 - AOL goes after X-Files fansites

2000 - Warner Brothers goes after Harry Potter fansites

2000 - Anne Rice anne rices again

2001 - Tripod Massacre

2001 - Anne Rice goes after IWTV fic on FFN

2001 - The Bronze shut down as Buffy changes networks

2002 - FFN bans porn

2002 - FFN bans RPF

2003 - Gryffindor Tower implodes

2004 - FFN bans script format

2005 - FFN bans CYOA, Readerfic, 2nd person, Songfic

2005 - Sheezyart bans adult content; y!gallery founded

2005 - Viacom/Paramount goes after fansites again

2006 - Sakura Lemon Archive suddenly closes

2007 - Strikethrough, Boldthrough on Livejournal

2007 - Youtube institutes Content ID, deleting many fanvids

2008 - Slash Cotillion closes, taking much historical m/m with it

2009 - GeoCities shuts down, taking old fannish websites

2009 - Greatestjournal shuts down; RPGs deleted

2009 - Marvel gets scans_daily deleted

2009 - imeem, major vidding hub, closes suddenly

2010 - FFN forums purged for inactivity

2010 - DeviantArt purges adult fanfic

2010 - Literate Union goes after Twilight fandom on FFN

2011 - Delicious destroyed by Yahoo’s incompetence

2011 - China arrests women for writing m/m; destroys danmei.org

2012 - major FFN crackdown on porn

2012 - Megaupload deleted for piracy; also destroys vids, podfic

2013 - Max-Dan-Wiz.com purged of fan-generated content

2014 - Quizilla shuts down

2014 - China purges m/m story websites; arrests female authors

2014 - Blip.tv deletes vids

2014 - Viddler deletes vids

2015 - Journalfen’s servers become fully robust, deleting Fandom Wank

2016 - y!Gallery deleted

2016 - Elfwood goes offline

2016 - Audiofic Archive corrupted; major blow to podfic

2017 - Chinese author jailed after being ratted out over fandom drama

2017 - Parents get queer Warrior Cats fic purged from Wattpad

2018 - Tumblr deletes pro-shipper blogs

2018 - Tumblr announces NSFW ban

2018 - Wattpad deletes accounts/fics without warning

2019 - China purges weibo of m/m; more women jailed

This is only a small taste of the many times that:

Fannish moderators got bored, ran out of money, or had a falling out, deleting a site/list/forum along the way.

Sites got bought out and closed for being unprofitable.

Fandom got hit as governments targeted piracy or political dissidents.

Fans grudge reported each other.

Official forums got deleted when the canon finished.

It’s not always malicious. It’s not always about us. But we lose every time.

Some of these purges hit everyone. Many of them hit m/m content specifically or female gaze-y material in general. This is why antis are dead wrong. This is why anti-fujoshi policies end up being anti-m/m policies. This is why we need clear labeling, not content restrictions.

This is why we need AO3.

And it’s why we need a solution for audio, visuals, and video too.

[totallysilvergirl]

So grateful for the historical memory and the long view on a phenomenon many of us have come to late, and/or take for granted.

And this is why AO3 generates twice its goal amount in just a few days: they are irreplaceable.

[breelandwalker]

Friendly reminder that the resounding refrain through all of these purges was a condescending, “If you don’t like it, go make your own site.”

AO3 IS THAT SITE AND IT MUST BE PROTECTED AT ALL COSTS.

[olderthannetfic]

Goodness. I didn’t realize how much this was still circulating!

#op has an extensive list (2nd person pov there!!!! i was there for that rip)#but it cuts off at 2020 when the xz fans imploded + mass reported fics to the (chinese) government for lgbtq content -> govt ban on ao3#truly a disgraceful moment lol

The original post is from October 15, 2019. I have no doubt that we could fill in every year since then with more of this same bullshit. It never lets up.

On the war of attrition side, some Spanish language sites have disappeared for tired moderator reasons. That one SGA archive never did come back either, did it? On the snitches side, fans continue to grudge report each other, whether that’s low stakes like tumblr or the Chinese government continuing to go after original danmei.

Truly, in making an illustrative but non-exaustive list, one is spoiled for choice.

[fruitypieq]

Quick what are you doing RIGHT now (besides scrolling Tumblr)

[t4timekeeper]

[what-even-is-thiss]

Why is my country being run by people who never outgrew being self centered 14 year olds like how did we get here

I mean I know how we got here because I was there for it but still how did we get here

[what-even-is-thiss]

Growing up during the Obama administration set my standards too high for how a leader ought to act.

Yeah he had a lot of issues just like any other president. I just assume that anyone willing to be president of the United States is at least slightly evil.

But at least he spoke in coherent sentences and at least pretended to have a shred of empathy. He surrounded himself with people that were so boring and competent that you didn’t need to hear about them most of the time.

And now the FBI director is a fucking podcaster

[transcmd]

love ref cam lots and lots and lots

[hyperpixating]

[tysonfurybattlepass]

public defenders get behind me. i’ll defend you this time

[tysonfurybattlepass]

“so you like criminals?” I LIKE THE RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL.

[catmask]

i dont consider myself a 'fashion guru' by any means but one thing i will say is guys you dont need to know the specific brand an item you like is - you need to know what the item is called. very rarely does a brand matter, but knowing that pair of pants is called 'cargo' vs 'boot cut' or the names of dress styles is going to help you find clothes you like WAAAYYYY faster than brand shopping

[catmask]

this also goes for aesthetic or -core titles. 'y2k tank top' is going to get you resellers and fast fashion brands advertising to people looking to meet a current trend. 'thin strap crop tank top' is going to get you a diverse group of results and not upcharge you to hell and back

additionally, shop second hand when you can, second hand and thrift sites typically organize clothes by the cut and color. theyll be more affordable than a depop seller curating you a style to sell you

[daftpatience]

useful terminology for different kinds of clothing shapes :)

[cutabello]

here are more terms! these are all from enérie. it is a really good blog that has lots of fashion terminology and it's a good mix of menswear and womenswear! they also have a book as well compiling all their diagrams. you could also look into getting a visual fashion dictionary for terms as well!

[despazito]

Are we calling women who read shitty harlequin romance novels porn addicts now?

If you read one paragraph of vintage victorian smut you'd hurl.

[despazito]

God forbid women read a lame book with sex

[despazito]

people have been writing fucked up erotica for hundreds of years. of all porn consumption habits to label as an addiction i think reading erotica books is like.. one of the least applicable examples and written erotica is one of the least exploitative forms of porn out there. stop pathologizing things that give you ick, you're allowed to just say you dislike something

[stormsbourne]

again I must stress that ten or more years ago mormon leaders put out a statement that reading romance novels was equivalent to porn addiction and both would send you to hell

you guys are not progressive you're just mormons in disguise

[melsglasses]

Another Comm of Frank and mel at the penguins game! give me money i’ll draw u anything!

[melsglasses]

Another Comm of Frank and mel at the penguins game! give me money i’ll draw u anything!

[lilylilium]

Reblog to give the person you reblogged this from a Croissant (🥐).

[lionofchaeronea]

Croissants for all, and all for croissants!

[moxxmotion]

i don't know how tumblr works

[shiverandqueeef]

if you aren't best friends with your lover and a little bit in love with all your friends than what's the fucking point

[joss-the-boss]

besides the whole hockey phenom thing, sidney crosby really is the most guy ever. he loves to fish. his favorite topic is military history, specifically WWII. his “can’t miss” shows were vikings and ted lasso. his guilty pleasures are chocolate and pizza and chicken parm. he likes white-girl pop and espresso martinis but also slow country and cold beer. he goes on hikes and takes shitty pics of the landscapes but still sends them to his friends because… nature. he’s a terrible driver. he picks superman over spiderman bc the outfit’s better. he has a genuine lust for life and joyful presence. god i hate him, what a loser. i need that basic bitch carnally.