1. I know the OTW isn't out to get anyone.
2. I didn't completely do my research and, as a result, said stuff that was completely wrong about the OTW--namely, that they're trying to speak for everyone. I was incorrect, and I made a mistake by not being 100% sure of the things I was saying.
3. I don't have it out for the OTW or people that support them/share their beliefs. At all.
4. My big issue with the OTW is mostly that if I get a take down notice, I want to listen to it. They don't. Hence, why I don't want my work up on AO3.
5. I don't expect other people to react to take down notices the same way.
6. I wish I hadn't started talking about legal arguments and all that stuff, because I know jackall about it and it probably just made my ultimate point--see #4--a lot muddier. You can't take back stuff on the internet, but wow, if you could, I'd probably nuke most of that stuff off the face of the earth and come back with something that was more consistent.
The detailed post is below the cut.
( 1. I know the OTW is not out to get anyone. )Everyone has their own stances on the topic, and honestly, my responses--especially my responses to people I disagreed with--weren't ever meant to be "I'm trying to change your mind!" sorts of responses. If they came off that way, then I messed up in communicating my point. They were mostly:
--Me trying to figure out the reasons behind why I thought the way I did,
--Me trying to put those reasons into words,
--Me responding to points I hadn't considered, which involved going through those first two steps.
In retrospect, it's probably not surprising that my posts were unclear and sometimes contradictory.
4. At the end of the day, my issue with the OTW has always been one point, even if I've made that point muddy and unclear throughout my posts: I think there should be a measure of respect toward the creators if they ask for stuff to be taken down, because they put the time and effort into creating whatever work I'm basing my writing off of. Someone says take the fic down, I'll take it down, because, for whatever reason, it makes them uncomfortable to have derivative works of their creation(s) publicly available and I'm not out to make people uncomfortable*. I might disagree with why they find it uncomfortable, but I respect and trust them enough to heed their wishes**.
To this end, it makes sense that I wouldn't want to put my work up on an archive run by an organization that a) pretty clearly does not agree with this opinion, or, at least, the end result of it (take down notice = my stuff's getting taken down), and b) would not have taken my work down if I'd gotten a C&D order for the fic I had posted on AO3. I'd also be incredibly uncomfortable with going back to my AO3 account after making such a big show of wiping it clean.
*There's a lot of nuances to this statement, and I don't particularly want to try and explain each one. Basically: There's a difference between someone being uncomfortable because the work is challenging some sort of norms and someone being uncomfortable because the work's doing something wrong. The only kind of reader discomfort I'm okay with is the first, and that only if everything's being handled properly.
**This isn't to say that people who don't share this view don't respect/trust the creators. I'm not even about to start throwing generalized statements like that around.
5. I understand the preceding point isn't a view other people share, and that's fine. I'm not trying to shove this down people's throats, since it's more based in my personal..."preferences," I guess. On the flip side, the personal basis behind this stance means that, while I can understand the logic behind take down notices being out of line because public works are out of the creators' hands and appreciate seeing the other side of the matter, I'm probably not going to agree with it.
Again: I'm not out campaigning for people to be required to follow my personal standards. I'm not out campaigning for anything. I'm a tired woman talking on the internet. That's it.
6. Yeah. Not a lot more to say than #6 on the outline. I suppose the entire thing was a lesson well learned, though.
EDIT:
(Possibly) relevant comment I posted.
EDIT (8/21/18): this is so far after the fact, but...you know how sometimes when you're trying to fall asleep, your brain just reminds you of things you fucked up in the past? this is one of the things i occasionally just get mentally blasted on. it comes up more now that i'm looking into reposting some of my stuff on AO3.
i still generally stand by the sentiments i wrote above. definitely feeling the "wow, did not handle this well" sentiments a
lot more with the benefits of hindsight, age, and experience. didn't do a great job of expressing myself succinctly and clearly, did a lot of the classic internet mistake of forming whole opinions without getting a clear idea of the situation or its details. that's still my bad. i won't take it down because i think that's sketchy--and also because nothing ever
really goes away online, so what's the point--but still. i want to make the "i didn't approach this the best way, or, arguably, particularly well at all" disclaimer very prominent.
anyway. yes, i'd still take my work down if the creator didn't want derivative/transformative works of their creations out and about. i don't hold that as a standard or a measure for other people, but it's what i'd personally feel most comfortable doing. i know this is fundamentally against what OTW is all about. would it make sense, then, to keep off of AO3 and to not post work on the Archive? yes.
but honestly? i'm lucky enough to live and write and read in a time where this is generally not the norm for how creators interact with their fandoms. it would be truly a shock to me for any of my fandom's creators to take this stance. i can enjoy myself knowing that, for the most part, my favorite fan works are more likely to be deleted by their creators closing accounts/cleaning shop/etc. than by C&D orders. in many ways, that's a gift, and i know at least in generalities that the OTW is part of the reason this is the current fanwork climate. so, yeah, i'm less inclined to take a hardline stance on avoiding AO3. we disagree on principle but we can still fuck with each other, y'know?
that, and to be completely, 100% honest: i'm tired and broke and one of the small joys i have is reading fic of women getting with each other, and nowadays if you want to find any fic whatsoever you're pretty much stuck with AO3. you can't avoid it. it's the dominant fic archive out there right now and for the foreseeable future. at the moment, cutting yourself off from AO3 generally means losing 90% of your potential audience. do i write primarily for myself and my own enjoyment? yes. do i want other people to find and enjoy my work? also yes. the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, and honestly, even if they were a little more even i'm not sure if it'd be a fight i cared enough to try and "win." so what the hell, y'know? what the hell.
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