I want to talk about art theft, mostly because there seem to be a few people out there that just. Don’t. Get it. More than that, there are still more people out there who claim to be “fans” of artists plagued with reposting issues, and still criticize the people who speak up about this.
First, let’s discuss the community etiquette of being that “fan” who can’t support an artist you appreciate, and instead ridicules them. You’re part of a community, and it IS part of a community’s job to police deplorable behavior (and I’m not saying this doesn’t go too far in the other direction sometimes). Reposting is art theft, against most sites’ community guidelines, and in some cases copyright infringement. For artists, sometimes it’s a lost potential lead back to their gallery, to a portal that will actually pay them money, to a paid bill. Fanart is done for love, for pride, and sharing it is a mixed basket because you know others might appreciate it, but you secretly like the encouragement. It does keep you going, even if you don’t post things for it. So, where fanart can’t be used for profit on a lot of cases, the price you pay for it is instead, kudos and likes and comments.
Which means, when you repost an artwork, you’re robbing an artist of either real of community currency.
I want to talk about my least favorite phrase: “Everyone does it.”
Most people reblog, comment, like, whatever. Most people leave it alone and enjoy it when (and where) they come across it. It’s a relatively small group of people who show such a lack of consideration and critical thinking skills that they don’t see anything wrong with taking someone else’s artwork, lopping off watermarks, posting them in other places, and claiming them as their own.
Neither would an artist, who has taken time and energy and put it into fanart of any kind, EVER do that to another artist, no matter their skill level, attitude, or popularity.
I want to talk about what it takes to keep beating a drum, even when you get gutless anonymous messages that effectively say “you’re not that popular so why do you care so much?”
Because there is such a thing as principle.
Sometimes, there’s a certain way to go about things, and people fail to really hit that mark, but kudos to all who fucking try. Kudos to the people so passionate about something that they will confront people who wrong others, call out the assholes in their own fandom directly and get shat on for it, sometimes by people they wouldn’t expect. But most of all, kudos to the people who continue the fight despite vile, spiteful, downright stupid anonymous messages. You don’t have to win the award for Most Notes On A Post to be worthy of respect, and you don’t have to be a BNF to speak up about an important issue.
Kudos to everyone who ever dared ask, “if not me, then who?” and then stuck to it.
If you’re someone willing to send anyone an anonymous message that basically calls into question why they fight loudly for a cause near and dear to them despite “not having as many notes as some others” and “not being in x fandom,” then fuck you. Unfollow me now.
