Would you like some cheese with that WHINE?!

[azurite]

Okay, let's bring everyone into this. It's fun, and I love discussions. Plus I need to figure out who all the people from SMRFF are here on LJ, and haven't told me.

Here is the Legend of Sueric, in a nutshell (think CliffsNotes version, but ya'll know CliffsNotes are copyrighted, so go on and buy them! I don't own their company or the name, heh heh heh!):

Setting: The Inuyasha Fandom
Characters: A number of "original characters" that are the children of the canonical characters Inuyasha and Kagome, from above fandom. Sueric, the author of the (infamous) Purity series. Her "fans" (read: Legion of Terror). A variety of other individuals, including wankers, trolls, people who know what they hell being in fandom means, you, and me.
The Situation: Sueric's Purity series features original characters that are intended to be the offspring of canonical Inuyasha characters Inuyasha and Kagome. Likely there are other original characters involved, but needless to say, the "fanfiction" she's written has a life of its own now, and as far as I can tell/have heard, it is not so much of an Inuyasha fanfiction, but a fandom within itself.

An adoring fan (age: 14) "asked"/"announced" (subject to debate) if she could use a plot line similar to Purity #'s, because the story inspired her. Sueric's beta sent said fan an email saying that such a thing would be considered plagiarism. The Fangirl changed things about her story (including character names and locations) and continued to post. Sueric found the story and... went berserk. She claimed that the Fangirl was plagiarizing. Various Legions of Terror (henceforth LoTs) went after the Fangirl, prompting her to change her name (and possibly create a third pseudo-account that supposedly belonged to her "sister). Eventually, they found her under her new SN, and got the girl to remove her stories. Sueric was still bitching and wailing though, because the Fangirl apparently had moral apathy, which is the greatest sin of them all (in her Bible). Apparently the Fangirl's admiration of the Purity series had Sueric in stitches, because she plagiarized.

Worse, Sueric didn't seem to think it was okay that the Fangirl had changed the names or locations of things; she stole the plot, she stole the characters, she did so willingly. A reader at the MediaMiner.org forums pointed out to Sueric that fanfiction is the exact same thing, and authors must be careful when accusing fellow authors/readers/fanits/whatever of plagiarism, else the authors WE base our work off of come after US! Sueric had no mind to hear it, and spouted contradictions left and right.

And now, Sueric has inspired everything from wank to lengthy discussions in the deep of the night.
cyperian: oh god, this issue has gotten SO huge...
cyperian: Sueric really stepped in it this time.  she's lost dozens of fans over this and there are so many 'coming out
cyperian: as former fans
cyperian: that got fed up with her
the_sweet: I wanna see people say they don't like her anymore!
the_sweet: What is a BNF?
cyperian: dude, go visit the wank...  we have like a dozen people with those messages
cyperian: big name fan
the_sweet: *nod nod*
Miss Androny: ...no one's stopping her from writing.
Miss Androny: Just as she cannot stop everyone else from pointing and laughing, she is free to write.
the_sweet: I hate how authors think others control their world
the_sweet: You write and post if YOU wanna write and post
cyperian: i know.  even though they should... ^_~  actually, people have been writing to FFN telling them that she is violating the TOS (which she is) and flaming FFN on tons of sites and in her bio in an effort to get her removed
the_sweet: I'm surprised-- FFnet USED to do stuff about plagiarists, but really-- Sueric does seem to have a point when she says their staff is lazy
cyperian: oh THAT is true
the_sweet: It's one thing to wait a bit longer for more than one abuse report to come in for an author or a story
cyperian: FFN really does need to have its own plagiarism squad to check out claims and such.
the_sweet: But Sueric had a point in pointing out the whole girl stealing her plot, essentially, Not that anyone owns (even with artistic license or immediate copyright) anything created in fanfiction, but...
cyperian: but see that's the thing...
the_sweet: it's sad, FFnet doesn't have columns anymore
the_sweet: I wanted to do one
the_sweet: This would be a great topic
cyperian: the girl didn't *steal* anything really.  the series of events played out as follows...
cyperian: Inugirl-chan (a 14 year old) has been reading her Purity series which is now all about her original characters (I/K's offspring)
the_sweet: If you announce you're going to steal something, is it still theft? (Today on ask Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne!)
cyperian: she got inspired to write a story about them because, Hell, Sueric's made them into massively huge deals in her fanbase.
the_sweet: But the concept of "The Next Generation" is as old as sin
the_sweet: even in fandoms like IY
cyperian: She reviewed Sueric and ASKED if she could do it.  to this Sueric's beta shot the girl an e-mail and told her that if she posted the fic as it was she would be considered a plagiarist
cyperian: the girl apologized and changed some of the details and proceeded to post
cyperian: she never took any of Sueric's words, mind you.
the_sweet: I looked at the MediaMiner forum though, and assuming Sueric didn't change the OP, then the girl didn't ask so much as "announce" she wanted to write something similar
cyperian: so basically, this girl wanted to write a fic about her original characters
the_sweet: And even changing the details (North American youkai --> Chinese) is still not really doing enough...
cyperian: well the point is that she alerted Sueric to her intentions (something that we as fan fic authors don't do to the original creators).
the_sweet: Very true
the_sweet: And when I did a doujinfic, I asked the creator clearly, in an email, not in a review
cyperian: so she puts it up, probably not realizing it's plagiarism because after all, how is using someones' AU and characters different from writing a fic?
cyperian: after she posted it, Sueric labeled her a plagiarist and then sent her minions out to rip the girl a new one
the_sweet: Well I always cite where I get "inspiration" from if something rings too close to another's work
cyperian: now, Sueric is 36 i believe.  this girl was *14*
cyperian: as do i
the_sweet: @_@ WTF, Sueric is... OLD?
cyperian: yes
the_sweet: why is her brain in her ass then?
cyperian: she's in her thirties and has kids
the_sweet: ph33r.
cyperian: then she wrote this ENTIRELY self-important e-mail to FFN demanding that the fic be taken down
cyperian: but the girl beat her to it
cyperian: she took it down herself and then reposted it under a different alias
cyperian: the rabid fans tracked her down and hounded her AGAIN
cyperian: then she took it down for good
cyperian: the girl is STILL getting reviews and e-mails from rabid fans, and Sueric posts this long involved thing about how much this hurt her feelings
cyperian: i'm sorry, but if someone wanted to use my OC's?  i'd be flattered...
cyperian: and we have authors in IY that have let other authors use their OCs (Terri Botta, for instance)
the_sweet: I think if someone gets so overprotective over OCs, they need to write original fic
the_sweet: This is why I stick to mostly-canon fics, in terms of the characters I use'
the_sweet: Then if people get inspired by my plot, pairing, or whatever, fine-- it's fanfiction
cyperian: but because Sueric has such a huge following, there was a danger in labeling what this girl did as 'plagiarism'.  after all, we're all copying someone ELSE'S OCs by writing fic in the first place.
cyperian:  we do not need to label OURSELVES plagiarists...
cyperian: yeah, i don't use OCs often either.  most series have so many characters to choose from, why not use one already created?
the_sweet: exactly. And at least this hasn't turned into a "Well, your OCs aren't OCs anyway; they're archetypes of characters that exist in canon/Mary-Sues/whatever"
cyperian: so 'Angelica Pierce' pointed out to Sueric that while she had every right to be angry that this girl took her OCs and used them even after she was asked not to, but that the plagiarism word shouldn't be applie
cyperian: applied even
cyperian: after all, fan fiction is ALREADY under attack
the_sweet: I wish doujinshi were legit in the states
cyperian: if we start attacking each other, we're friggin doomed
the_sweet: I'd love to turn my fics into doujinshi
cyperian: i'd need to be able to draw for that to happen
cyperian: ^^;;
cyperian: lol
the_sweet: Well me too, but... I can dream
cyperian: well, Sueric replied with this self-involved banter about how this is all about her and went on to contradict herself about what plagiarism was in the first place
cyperian: then people started finding things that she had said on other sites and to other people... 
cyperian: turns out she has a history of using her fans to hunt down people she doesn't like AND gets angry every time someone gives her less than a perfect score on a fic review
cyperian: i have a quote, actually....
cyperian: she posted this in the 'review rants' thread on her forum
cyperian: forum, even
cyperian: : goes to find quote muttering :
cyperian: Haunt ( http://www.fanfiction.net/u/649886/ )  Hello.
cyperian: I'm Haunt. I dunno if you remember, but I used to review on Purity 1 a lot. ^^; Been a long time since I've said anything, ne? Heh. Well, your A/N spurred me on to review now. 
cyperian: I love your stories. Honestly. I found you as an author in when I read Purity and was instantly hooked. Since then, I've read Torrent, Out of Time, Chronicles, and the Purity continuations. You are a fantastic writer. Honestly.
cyperian: Your plots are wonderfully written, and you pace your stories just right. You never rush, like most fanfiction writers do, and you don't drag it along until we're all tearing our hair out (XD
cyperian: Though your cliffhangers have left a lot of my friends with more than a few bald patches...) 
cyperian: Your grammar mistakes are minimal, and your stories really flow. At some points we can see the seams and it gets a little jagged, but that's natural. ^^ Overall, your fanfics are beautiful. 9/10. 
cyperian: Please don't let the reviewers get to you. Please don't think that you have to succumb to our whim. These are YOUR stories.
cyperian: I will be miserable if you remove them from the net, but if you feel you must, then that's really your choice. Also, don't think you have to pump a chapter out every day to make us happy
cyperian: I'm quite content to wait for as long as needed for you to settle whatever you have going on and get back to it. And that's saying something, considering how thin my patience is. ^^
cyperian: Please keep up the good work and try not to let us all bother you with whatever bellyaching we have. You're the author, we're the peanut gallery. You're in charge. ^-^ Think of us like your sons. Okay? 
cyperian: Keep writing!
the_sweet: What a nice review!
cyperian: agreed.  THIS was what Sueric had to say...
cyperian: Now I realize this person was trying to make me feel better. It doesn't. A 9/10 overall for all my fics. From a high schooler? or something of that nature. Holy d***. 
Miss Androny: LOL
Miss Androny: That's...yeah.
cyperian: : nods :
the_sweet: Oh geez
the_sweet: You know, she's so self-righteous because of her age
the_sweet: I'm sorry, but age = writing ability
the_sweet: I know I didn't start out great and I learned as I got older and attended more school, but that doesn't mean you are teh shit if you have an English BA/MA/PhD/WTF
cyperian: agreed
the_sweet: Practice -- more writing, more reading, more experiencing is what makes you great
cyperian: apparently she has a loooong history of this kind of bitching
cyperian: i mean a 9/10 is exceptional.  who the hell does she think she is?  Shakespeare?
cyperian: oh and then she immediately follows up with this gem...
cyperian: Sueric says: Yet another person to add to the 'block user list' on FFnet ... People like this are the reason I really hate posting anymore ...
the_sweet: My style will change as the years go on, but I will never say that I know more or better than someone else because I am older than them.
cyperian: lilxneko ( http://www.fanfiction.net/u/406966/ )  Nezumi pisses me off... she doesn't understand anything and shes a little b**** for sure... you make her like that...
cyperian: but i do love your story and i hope you update soon... i just hope you don't keep her like that cuz it makes me hate her and i know i'm not the only one thinking that either. but either by if you choose to keep her
cyperian: like that your change her, i'll still read your story cuz its really good.
cyperian: she BLOCKED the girl from ever replying to her fics for THAT
the_sweet: I will try to help and be encouraging to those who have not had the opportunities I have
Miss Androny: I'm certain I was a better writer at 16 than she is at 36.
the_sweet: but never hate them because they haven't gone to university or taken a creative writing course with a published author or read the tale of genji.
cyperian: jen, at 16, you were a better writer than 96% of the population.  that doesn't say much.
the_sweet: Fandom grows, too
the_sweet: Assuming fans stick with it from beginning (usually pre-teen or teen years) to "end" when it loses popularity and the people move on with real life, that's one thing
the_sweet: But jumping in, becoming BNF, and then getting all puffed up?
the_sweet: I don't think 36 year old fans of Inuyasha quite grasp the concept of fanfiction as well as the younger generation does
Miss Androny: I've noticed that fandom people in their 30s go to extremes.
cyperian: so yeah...  we've been uncovering tons of Sueric's dirty laundry from this wank///
Miss Androny: Either they're totally awesome or they're absolutely nucking futs.
the_sweet: I'm going to stop aging at 29.
cyperian: lol
the_sweet: I'll be a "friend" forever!
the_sweet: I think a big part of this whole Sueric thing is that, had she remained calm and not treated it like Hiroshima, she might have looked a bit saner and more like her age (and not her shoe size)
Miss Androny: I think someone who spent 15 years in fandom will know better.
Miss Androny: Also, had she kept calm, her dirty laundry would not be aired so much.
cyperian: : snickers :  that is the point.  it's not so much the fact that she was mad, it's that she chose to take it public and go as far as to THREATEN FFN
cyperian: i mean, like they give a fig's ass if Sueric pulls her work
Miss Androny: I mean, dude.  If you don't want your laundry aired, keep quiet.
the_sweet: Seriously, do you think they wail every time someone closes their account? I doubt it
the_sweet: So many people left FFnet after they removed NC17, and did FFnet go "Oh noes, wait come back!" ? No.
cyperian: they probably read it and were like, "Oh good!  Less bandwidth consumption from the asylums!"
the_sweet: Totally
cyperian: i just couldn't believe the nerve she had.  "You'll be sorry if I take down my work..."
cyperian: i'd be MORTIFIED if i ever said that
cyperian: in public, at least
cyperian: ^_~

Discuss.

NOTE: I would love if I had a JournalFen just to stay abreast of fandom_wank, but alas! No free accounts. On top of that, they don't seem to support OpenID for logging in for comments, nor do they have working RSS functionality. Sucks to be an LJ user if only for fandom_wank. Anyone else have any tips for staying on top of the funny? Otherwise-- why did f_w leave LJ?