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Fandom and Fanfiction Etiquette
Please take the 10 minutes to read or listen to this it is important.
The recording is what is state below I did it really quick so yeah. This is something I am passionate about finally got off my ass to actually do. I hope I don't sound preachy or condescending, that was never my plan, this is just something that I care about.
No shame to not knowing AT ALL, we all enter these space and learn as we go by seeing posts like this one.
I’m going to sound like a broken record here, but with how many new people there are, and the things that are being said in PUBLIC spaces about work that is given for free by authors/creators, it is not okay. Yes a majority of people are incredibly kind, positive, supportive, all the good stuff. However there is a degree of entitlement demonstrated by some that needs to be addressed.
There is this wonderful analogy that floats around every few years from authors: creating fanworks is like inviting people over for dinner. As a host you put so much love and care into a meal that you want to share because it means something to you. As a guest you know the etiquette is not to say to the host that the “food was terrible” or critique how they made it. You may discuss your opinions with other guests in private space such as text, or in the car on the way home, but you DO NOT say it in a place where the host may hear just as common decency. The same goes for if it was the best food you ever ate you will likely tell the host such, ask for the recipe, rave to friends who may mention it to the host in passing which makes them feel all the warm fuzzies. You don’t tend to say nothing to the host and then rave about it in spaces where they’ll never see or hear about it.
All this to say the basics of fanfiction etiquette are simple.
Dos:
Don’t like, don’t read.
Always read the tags!
Give kudos, comment, rave about the art with your friends online in public spaces, have fun discussions about head cannons and where you think the story might go (and never get upset if it doesn’t go the way you want it to).
* Respect the author’s wishes and boundaries, it’s the quickest way to not lose a creator in fandom.
Remember there are people behind these stories; they could be any age. The content you are enjoying may be the thing that is the only bright spot in that person’s day.
Suspend your hold on reality, some things will be written and make NO sense in the real world. THAT’S OKAY! This is escapism for a lot of people. Do not demonize a creator for not adhering to the exact way things would happen IRL. Yes, heavy topics should be addressed with sensitivity, BUT they may not be written exactly how they would go down IRL - this is fiction not reality. Don’t go after the creator about this, they’re doing their best and maybe that is just how they wanted to explore the topic. Fanfiction is not meant to be a place of education but rather a place to explore creativity.
If something should probably be tagged but wasn’t (e.g. noncon, major character death, illness, mental health issues, specific kinks, abuse, etc.), then it’s okay to politely(!!) request an added tag.
Don’ts:
Don’t tell an author in THEIR comments/DMs or in public spaces such as social media that you hate their work, how you think someone is out of character, how you would have written it, give it a review, etc. Creators exist in these spaces too, and the last thing they want is to see something they did FOR THEMSELVES that brings THEM joy shit on. If you really want to have those discussions have them in YOUR DMs with others who feel the same. This IMO goes for large discord servers as well, if you find people who feel the same and want to dissect a work, make a group chat and do it there; the creator could end up in that server or be there already.
Don’t offer constructive criticism if not asked for; if nothing is said about it from the author then assume they don’t want it.
Don’t badger authors for updates, let them cook. I promise the food comes out way more delicious if you do.
PLEASE DO NOT POST FANFICTION ON GOODREADS, STORYGRAPH, or any place where a ranking system is in place PUBLICLY. Again keep those opinions in private spaces. I know we all love tracking and there is a wonderful tracker that is fanmade (and a few others) I am happy to link them if people are interested. Fanfiction is not done with a team of professionals, its by amateurs writing or taking voice notes in the moments they can while they walk their dogs, their kid is taking a nap, a stolen moment on a lunch break, who love the characters and world enough that the brainworms have taken over and they have a story/idea to share, maybe they get lucky and have someone beta reading for them.
* DO NOT BUY BOUND FANFICTION, do not pay someone to do it. Trades are generally okay just check the author’s policy, they may have a no binding policy in place. Binding is a really fun hobby (I am a binder myself and am happy to talk about it and give resources if needed) with a VERY large community over on instagram.
Because of the nature of fanfiction and the grey area of the use of the original IP money can never be made off of an IP that is owned by someone. Buying bound fanfiction is one of the biggest (if not the biggest) threat to fanfiction.
Don’t treat fanfiction like it’s a published book.
Don’t publicly share epubs (like link to a google drive as a comment), sharing it in DMs is more acceptable. This is more on an author by author basis, and for transparency this is one I don’t see talked about a lot so this is more of my own opinion. If I was an author I would not like my work shared publicly in spaces I did not put them. Hell as narrator that is where I stand, please do not repost my work. You are welcome to link to the AO3 or the Internet Archive but do not reupload a downloaded file to a Google Drive, Soundcloud, Internet Archive, or any audio hosting site.
Don’t witch hunt! Yes it can be frustrating and you can be upset at another member of the fandom space, but don’t track someone down and yell at them even if you feel they are in the wrong (and even if they clearly are). Again KINDLY voice your view point, don’t bully people. Muting and blocking people is fine and acceptable! Protect your sanity and don’t feed the trolls.
Regarding AI
Since this is such a hot issue currently, remember AI was fed fanfiction. I was there for the great scraping of 23/24 where authors locked fics, removed them, put statements about not consenting to their work being fed to AI. I know we are all inundated with it, and at this point the immediate thought is that something could be AI. Just because an author has preferred words/phrases that they like and will repeat throughout a story, chapter or paragraph, does not mean they are using AI. Some authors just like to use that as a narrative device. Look at House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski that book is a shitshow of chaos, it was written by a human who was experimenting with writing. Unless it is blatantly obvious, and there are signs of lets say 100k words be posted daily for months, or something is clearly plagiarized, don’t just call someone out because it “feels” like AI. I’ve talked with many writers who are afraid to publish new works because they are afraid their writing style will be scrutinized and picked apart. We all lose when the writers stop writing.
FYI:
Learn how the search, filtering, and tagging function works on AO3 when looking for fics. I promise it’s awesome! Looking for something specific like “one bed” search for it in the additional tags bar. Only want to see explicit stories? Check that box. There is an "exclude" version for all this as well, and the ability to look only for completed works and so much more.
When bookmarking something on AO3, the creator can see what you wrote as well as anyone else. The exception is when you private the bookmark.
Money should NEVER be exchanged for fanfiction; fanartists live in a different space where this is okay.
* A little history:
I saw this most recently in the Harry Potter fandom when author’s wishes were not being respected, there was a mass exodus of high profile works that were pulled or deleted, some authors never returned, some did after very long hiatuses but some never reuploaded their stories.
The reason why selling anything fanfiction related is a big no is because the owner can sue the author of the works being sold (I don’t think it’s happened BUT it could). Don’t ask me how everything works with fanmade merch being okay to sell, I don’t get it, and I know some of those things do get cease and desist orders.
In the early 2000s Anne Rice made a statement saying that she did not allow fanfiction, that her characters were copyrighted, and it upset her that fanfiction was being created with them in it. She then had her lawyers issue cease and desist orders against high-profile fanfic writers forcing them to remove their work. It then escalated to her lawyers threatening Fanfiction . net to remove all of the works with her characters, which they did.
More recently with the uptick in binding fanfiction, there have been people who have started selling it on sites like etsy and others with some copies selling from $60-$150, by using print services, mostly this has been most prolific in the Harry Potter fandom but I have seen others pop up. This puts both the author and fandom at risk for the above reason.
Remember creatives in fandom are just humans, trying to do their best, doing something that brings them joy and brightens their day. It’s not their profession, it is their passion. Be kind that’s the biggest thing be fucking kind and considerate. Be as kind to them as you would want others to be to you if you were the one putting something you made in your spare time with love out there for others to enjoy. There is something incredibly special about art creating more art, and fandom can be a wonderful, fulfilling and fun experience when everyone is respectful to each other. Show you creators some love today, in the future and all the fucking time. Have fun and enjoy these spaces.
And if you have questions ask, it's okay to still be learning
As always go out and be a positive influence on someone today.
If you feel there are other points to be added let me know.
There's probably typos but I have a doctor's appointment, i'll fix them later