#gemma lectures

[gemmahale]

Ficbook.net and Unauthorized Translations - An Update

Update to the update: some of the fics have been removed! 🎉 This happened before I finished this write-up even!

You may have seen this post last night about some CoD X Reader fics having unauthorized translations posted to the Russian site ficbook.net. @karlachismylife was monumental in helping me understand what's going on, and there's some explanation in that link from her POV as well.

Basically - multiple people have copied and translated fanfics into Russian and hosted them on ficbook.net. They're rough translations, some going as far as to use literal translations for turns of phrase. Most likely, they were run through a translation software (Google Translate or similar) and then roughly edited. (Juju mentioned that there is a subset of jobs in Russia where that is your job description. 😖)

Most of them have come from Tumblr posts, some from AO3. Very few had attribution beyond "tagging" the original author. (Aka - no consent was given for these translations.)

@syoddeye took the time to compile a list found here (google sheet). At the time of writing, 65 fics CoD x Reader fics were found - we know there's more but we only have so many knives in a day. (Sy did not look into slash fics either.)

Authors that have been tagged in the comments: I'm sorry you found out this way. I wanted to tell you in person, but given Tumblr's likelihood of thinking I was spamming you, I felt that this was the best option to alert you, provide you with options, and let you determine how you wish to move forward.

So what can be done?

If you already have an account, please report the fics! I'm told that spamming reports gets it taken down. Also consider messaging the author and ask them to remove them - they do not have the author's consent to publish them.

If you want to make an account and report the linked fics, you can. I have chosen not to, because I don't want to give Ficbook any extra support I otherwise might by doing so (clicks, ad views, account numbers).

If the author does not have closed comments (or you have an account), you can leave a comment on the fic.

Russian: Автор оригинала лично подтвердил, что не давал разрешения на перевод и публикацию. English: Author of the work personally confirmed that they did not give permission to translate and publish.

Finally - check in on your author friends that are on that list. It's devastating to find out your work has been plagiarized, translated and hosted somewhere else without your consent. Reblog their work, share comments, hype them up!

A couple of notes: (Juju correct me if I've fucked any of this up 💚)

The posters are likely not making money off the unauthorized translations. The website and their owners definitely are (ads, "premium features", promotion tools, etc.)

Ficbook.net is the biggest Russian language fanfiction platform - somewhat akin to AO3, but it doesn't have a great reputation within Russian circles because of the stealing and underhanded practices the owners use.

AO3 is banned in Russia, and Tumblr is one of the few places Russians can easily (aka without VPNs and Mirrors) read English version of fanfic.

CoD isn't the only fandom affected - there are dozens that have more posted, and we only scratched the surface in our list.

Finally, if you want to translate works, TALK TO THE AUTHOR. A lot of folks don't like having their work shared without their consent. Even if you feel like you are doing a good thing spreading it to a wider audience, YOU NEED THE AUTHOR'S CONSENT. If they've deleted their presence and their stories from hosting sites (tumblr, AO3, etc) - you don't get to pretend you're doing them a favor by reposting them. Respect their decisions.

[gemmahale]

Okay - re Ficbook.net and the (unauthorized) Russian translations.

I spoke with @karlachismylife (who is a gem and a delightful person).

You have to have an account to report fics there, and the author that I was told about has locked comments.

If you want instructions (and to make an account), I'm happy to help you with what needs to be done. Basically, it's spam the report until the system locks you out.

Juju's gone ahead and:

messaged the author about it, asking them to take the fics down since they don't have author approval.

messaged her friends (who are also Russian and have accounts) to report the works. (note: it is also very late/early in Moscow, so it may be a bit before they wake up.)

She told me (verbatim) that it is a very bad translation - it is not adapted to Russian and used a phrase verbatim instead of the intent.

Most likely, this person threw it into Google Translate, adjusted some of the super egregious stuff, and threw it up. It happens in other fandoms too - to the point there are ads out there looking for people to do exactly what this person has done.

If you're one of these people that has copied works over to ficbook.net or similar sites, I hope you perpetually stub your pinky toes and your shoes are always a little leaky/socks are always damp. Fuck you.

People put so much love and passion into their work and you decide to try and make a dollar off their back (when in the US, fanfic cannot be monetized)? How disgusting, awful, and shitty of you. That is how you lose those fics and those authors in the first place - by plagiarizing, copying and translating works without consent.

I'm sorry I don't have more concrete actions for us non-Russians to take - I was hoping making an account wasn't necessary, but I refuse to give that site more clicks and revenue and accounts that support them.

[gemmahale]

Look. I’m gonna be that cool friend of yours that sits on the seat backwards to talk to ya. Because we need to make some things clear.

Don’t be a jackass to people. Block or back out.

This is an 18+ space for legal reasons.

This is a queer positive space.

This is a sex positive space.

This is a kink positive space.

This is a body-autonomous space.

TERF and SWERF rhetoric is not welcome here. RadFem rhetoric is exclusionary and hurtful.

Trans women are women; trans men are men; gender exists on a spectrum and we believe people when they tell us what they are.

Sex work is real work. Period. End of discussion. The exploitation of workers is not limited to sex work.

Thinking you’re morally superior to someone else is cruel and perpetuates stereotypes that actively cause harm.

Censoring your words is a violation of consent - people have tagged certain words to prevent them from seeing it. Censoring it violates their choice. (And also? Be an adult. Use the words as they’re intended to be used.)

People deserve to be cared for and have their basic needs met, regardless of status, identity or health concerns. (This includes mental health too.)

If you don’t like any of this, block or back out. Be an adult about it. This is not an airport, you don’t need to announce your departure.

Bigotry will not be tolerated.

We good? Good.

[gemmahale]

For real though: If you block me, I won't care. I probably won't ever find out.

If for some reason I do find out you've blocked me? I'm going to move the fuck on with my life. I'm not going to stalk you from another account, I'm not going to sic followers on you, nothing like that.

If I find out that people are harassing you because you blocked someone? Those people are the problem, not you. And you best believe I'm going to have a Come-To-Gemma talk with them about how that's infantile, unnecessary and uncalled for.

If you're harassing someone because they blocked someone else? Go take a long walk around the block, bud. What are you accomplishing by overstepping someone else's boundaries? What middle school games are we playing here?

Live and let live. I'm too old for these games.

Protect your peace. Safeguard it. Let this be a space you have curated and enjoy existing in.

[gemmahale]

Hey, if you need permission from an internet friend:

It’s okay to set the data down. It’s okay to walk away for a bit.

Here’s some ideas:

Make a cuppa something warm. Leave the poll results and the media face down on a table. Enjoy that warm drink.

Send a few friends (or a group chat) the worst dad joke you can think of right now. The kind that makes you groan-laugh. See if you can get into a joke-off.

Snuggle a pet/partner/stuffie/blankie. Talk about non-election things (even if they can’t talk back). Tell them about the crunchy leaves or the cool dog you saw today. (You can also call someone else).

Get a snack without checking results. Savor the flavor.

Do a craft! Keep your hands busy (and out of the device).

Put on a light hearted piece of media.

The results will be there after you do any of these. Watching them scroll in will not bring them in faster, will not change the outcome, and will not do you any good.

It’s okay to disengage for your own mental health.

If you’ve voted, you’ve done your job for now. We hold fast and wait for the next phase. You can rest for a bit. You don’t get a prize for overtaxing yourself watching election results.

Polls aren’t closed on the west coast yet. People are still voting (assuming people are staying in line. If you’re in line, stay in line!) Mail in/absentee ballots are still being counted. Do not give into despair or force yourself to stay awake to watch.

Signed, someone who watched the 2016 results roll in alone in a coffee shop (hard seat and overly cooled drink included), didn’t sleep for almost 36 hours and made herself actively ill because of it and doesn’t want you to go through the same cycle she did. 💚

[gemmahale]

Hey peeps, we gotta talk about accessibility again.

I’m so glad you’ve discovered how gradient texts work. They look so cool! (Come teach me, plz.)

But I can’t read that color-into-black gradient on my screen unless I highlight it. The text disappears. And I’m on the basic, default setting for Tumblr’s Dash.

I’m here for you matching your aesthetic! I love it! But please, for the love of my eyeballs, please make sure your constant is high enough to be legible by most people. (If I’m struggling on default, folks with migraine settings or other high-visibility tools probably aren’t faring much better.)

And please, please, please, reconsider using that gradient for your tags. I want to know what I’m walking into, and if I can’t see it, I can’t read it. Tags are a safety tool.

Make a banner! Make it an image and have the text below it! You have options!

But at the very least, please don’t use black/navy/dark grey as your second gradient color.

And please rethink using the teeny font for blocks of text. I want to read it without eye strain.

[gemmahale]

For the love of - y'all.

Remember there are people on the other side of the screen.

Not robots. Not content generators.

PEOPLE.

People with jobs and challenges and things going on beyond the screen - regardless of whether they share it or not.

Stop demanding updates. Stop treating authors like your own personal content machine that gratifies your wish. Stop being dicks and starting fights.

Just...every account* has a human behind it. Respect them.

*This does not include bot accounts and you're behind a pedantic asshole right now. Stop it.

[gemmahale]

The thing to remember about any fandom is that it’s a bunch of bubbles, all coalesced around a central piece of work.

It’s not the one unilateral behemoth some folks make it out to be.

Pick your bubbles, curate your experience, but don’t let bad actors pop the bubbles of things you enjoy.

(And always, pick kindness and patience over anything else.)