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@kiwilapple said: Yo wtf if the author is deleting their shit that usually means they want it gone, not secretly passed around like a high school joint.

Normally I'd probably completely ignore this comment, but 1. this is the second time this week someone has said something like this to me, and 2. I am running on fumes due to a full week of insomnia and high pain, so fuck it, I'm answering.

You're wrong.

I'm sorry, but you're very wrong. There are as many reasons to delete as there are people, but there's an apparent belief among the people who delete for one specific reason - namely, because they want it gone forever - that everyone is like that.

They're not, and that people like you assume it causes more problems than it solves.

Actual reasons I know of that people have deleted:

1. they've left the fandom and they just don't want to be involved anymore, but don't care what people do with their work.

2. they've left all fandom, and don't want to risk an employer or family member or whoever finding their work, but they're proud of what they're created and they're more than happy to have some version of it shared after they leave, as long as it can't be tied to their identity.

3. the website they posted the work on changed their policies (looking at you, fucking LJ) and they just can't be fussed to re-post it to a different place.

4. having it up makes them sad, reminds them of a time when they were more able to write, brings back memories of friends who've left fandom, etc, but again, they don't mind if people read it, they just can't bear to see it any more.

5. they don't realize orphaning is an option (or they didn't post on AO3 in the first place) and think it's the only way to get the content not associated with them.

6. they're suffering depression or other mental issues, and they think everything they've ever done is absolute shit and should disappear from the world (a proxy for self-immolation, perhaps?) and then two weeks or two months or two years later when they feel better they regret it.

7. THEY didn't delete it - they're accounts were broken into or otherwise accessed by people who want to harm them, and THOSE people deleted.

8. they got a book deal to convert the work into original fiction, and distribution of the fanfic would be a violation of their contract terms, so they need it deleted and copies buried.

9. And, yes, some people delete because they want the work gone and they don't want anyone to have it for any of who-knows-what-other-reasons.

All of these, and any other reason people have, are valid! But if they don't tell us their preferences then we don't fucking know them, because no one can read your fucking mind and this bare assumption that "the only reason to delete is because they never want it seen again" is, using the nicest vocabulary I can manage right now, simplistic and reductionist.

Unlike you, I don't make that assumption - instead, I actually fucking investigate to try to find out because - again - not everyone is the same as you and not everyone does things for the same reason you would.

I make posts like the deathbanjo post, and others, because, unlike what your ill-thought-out two-second comment suggests about your actual interest and level of engagement in this topic (and hey, I don't know you any more than you know, if you're actually deep in this shit good for you and I'm glad to hear it but I'll own atm I'm extremely skeptical), I actually do give a shit what an author prefers and - when I'm able to get a hold of them at all - about as many say "do whatever you want" as say "please don't." And, if clearing houses of information like this side blog of mine (hi, my main is @unforth) don't exist, then no one fucking knows that the author even has a fucking preference, especially if they've eschewed social media and haven't made an announcement. Like, seriously, how do you see my post begging for information about their preferences and go from there to "secretively passing it around" when that's literally the exact fucking opposite of what I'm doing.

You know what happens if something like this post doesn't go around, and no word is heard from the author?

Everyone who has it shares the work, covertly, through whatever means they can. You know, like you're accusing me of doing by commenting on my (checks notes) extremely public post saying "I won't distribute if they say don't distribute" that has 700 notes.

Downloading works is an inherent function of AO3, and the instant an author chooses to post there, they lose the ability to control what happens to copies of their works. Honestly, asking preferences as I do is a fucking courtesy, and one that I personally think is really fucking important, which is why I do it, and why I insist that people who interact with me and who ask for resources from my archive respect those preferences. But if an author really never wants a PDF made they should never upload to AO3 in the first place, because the ability to convert any fanfic into an e-book is literally a single button click that cannot be disabled, and the vast majority of people in fandom don't make a fraction as much effort as I do to be respectful.

I know I'm being repetitive, and swearing too much, I'm sorry, I got less than 3 hours of sleep and I'm a fucking mess and, unlike you who get to make a pithy comment and then fuck right off and never think about it this again, I've been wrangling with the ethics of how to handle this for four fucking years and I'm also the one who fucking routinely has to tell people, "sorry, I won't make an exemption, even for you, because the author has said 'don't distribute.'"

The existence of my post, and my archive, is literally the opposite of what your fucking idiotic comment suggests. In a vacuum of information, common practice is that everyone shares whatever they have and they have virtually no recourse to find out the author's preference even if they care. I

I've created a single, well-known, ever-growing resource that conserves stories for a specific ship in a specific fandom, organizes them, stores them, maintains them, investigates deletions, publicizes issues, outreaches to authors, and then once I know I do my absolute fucking damnedest to both spread the news about their preferences and enforce their request. Also, if I find out (for example) that they've chosen to sell convert the work to original fiction, I help boost and spread the word that their original work exists, and if someone asks me for the fanfic, I say, "no I won't give it to you but here's the link to where you can buy the edited, original fic version1"

So, which of us do you think is doing more to help authors maintain autonomy of their works? To gain monetary remuneration for their efforts? To protect fic, promote writers, and support readers as well? Tell me, what the fuck do you think is the better alternative to "Hey I found out this is deleted, I'm gonna spend a month trying to find out more information, and if I hear even a whisper of don't distribute, I won't, so don't even ask" cause hey, I'm all ears. I'd love to hear more of your bullshit-stupid-ass opinions.

#the destiel fic archive #i've spent sleepless nights over this #because i fucking care #and i fight back against people who I see asking #and i spread the word that works shouldn't be shared #what the fuck do you do #other than spout off #i can't believe i'm typing this #i should just block you and move on with my life #but good judgement went out the window at midnight when i was grappling with how to handle what I now KNOW about deathbanjo #because get this #the one who'll have to deal with the blow back and the responses and the anger #isn't you or anyone else #it's fucking me #and i care enough to do it #what do you care enough to do other than come at me #for absolutely no fucking reason #like seriously is your reading comprehension in the negatives