[FFML] Fic archiving and FF.net

[Richard Lawson]

> 	That would be awfully nice.  But I suspect that, in the era of FF.net 
> and its ilk, RAAC is losing relevance.  We seem to have a new generation 
> of authors who aren't even aware of its existence.

This.

One of the last anime conventions I went to a couple of years ago, everyone on the fanfic panel blasted Fanfiction.net.  I felt the need to defend it because I have a couple of my Ranma fics posted there.

The general feeling was that no one should be allowed to profit from fanfiction.  A hosting site that earns ad revenue for its owners goes against the very concept of fanfiction, which technically violates copyright.  The only way fanfiction should be allowed to happen is when it is freely available in a format that doesn't earn money for anyone.

The problem is that the internet isn't free.  Usenet is going the way of bulletin boards; there are a niche of people who still use them, but because they are awkward to access and not well-moderated, they're not generally useful.  More and more ISPs have given up on Usenet altogether, and who can blame them.  It required a lot of infrastructure for a seldom-used feature.

Free, non-ad-revenue-generating hosting sites aren't the answer either.  This thread alone shows how ephemeral such sites are; here one day, gone the next.  Honestly, about the only way a long-term fanfiction hosting site is going to exist at all is if it generates revenue for the owners.

There are exceptions, loving fans with money to spare to host a site for a certain fanfiction genre - I can think of at least two.  But I honestly think the future is going to be sites like Fanfiction.net.

What this means with regards to copyright I don't know.  Most publishers turn a blind eye to fanfiction because they realize it keeps interest high, and the more fanfiction there is the more likely people are to seek out the source material.  Down the line, however, FF.net may find itself facing a Cease & Desist order from a persnickity author.  We'll have to wait and see.

In the meantime, if you want a particular piece of fanfiction reliably archived, FF.net seems to be the way to go.

All right, back to writing my Enchanted fanfics.  =)

-Richard
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