But No Yeah Lets Have The Conversation:

I got this comment on a story from my Other AO3 Account this morning.

(Info redacted because I prefer keeping these accounts separate but no one follows me on the side blog I have for that account.)

The story was posted almost a year ago and is relatively “popular” by my average statistics even though it has tropes and themes that are big turnoffs for a lot of people (hence separate accounts). This popularity is undoubtedly because it’s a Marvel Loki story and that fandom is massive.

So there is obviously an algorithm or a bot scrubbing ao3 statistics and leaving this comment on fics that meet a certain metric with the main character of the fic inserted into the comment.

I had a little time to kill this morning so I decided to investigate further. And y’all this is so predatory. Come on this journey with me. It made me mad. It may make you mad.

First, if you go to Webnovel’s website, you HAVE to choose between male lead or female lead stories before you can go any further. WTF?

And that’s weird, but this gets so much worse. This is basically a pay-to-read site that has different subscription models. Which… okay BUT! The authors don’t get paid! Look at that comment again. They’re promising a supportive and nurturing community, but zero monetary compensation. It’s basically, “post your stuff here so we can get paid and you can get… nice vibes?” I mean look at this Orwellian writing:

Using the phrase “pay-to-read model” in the same sentence as “qualitative changes in lifestyles for authors” deliberately makes you think that you can get paid and maybe even make a living on this website. But that’s not actually what it says and authors will not receive one red cent.

Oh but wait, the worst is still to come. In case this breaks containment (which I kind of hope it does) this is where I mention that I’m a lawyer in the US.

I don’t do intellectual property or copyright law but I do read and write contracts for a living. So I went to look at their terms of service. It was fun!

Highlights the first, in which Webnovel gets a license to do basically whatever they want with content you post on their site. This is how they get to be paid for people reading authors’ writing without paying them anything.

Highlights the second, in which Webnovel takes no responsibility for illegally profiting off of fan fic. This all says that the writer is 100% responsible for everything the writer posts (even though only Webnovel is making money from it).

Highlights the third which say that by posting, the author is representing that they have the legal right to use and to let Webnovel use the content according to these terms. So if a writer posts fan fiction and Webnovel makes money from people reading the fan fiction, and the House of the Mouse catches wise, these sections say that that’s ALL on the writer.

So that’s a little skeevy to start off with but the thing that is seriously shitty and made me make this post was that these assholes are coming to ao3. They are actively recruiting people in comments on their fan fiction. And they are saying they are big fans of the character you’re writing about and that they share your interests.

They are recruiting fan fiction writers and giving every impression that you can make money from posting fan fiction on their site and hiding the fact that you absolutely cannot but they can make money off of you while you try, deep in their terms of service which no one but a lawyer who writes fan fic and has some time to kill will read.

I see posts on here regularly from people who don’t understand how this stuff works, don’t understand that they (and others) can not legally make a financial profit from fan fiction. And there are tons of people who will not take the time to dig into the details.

Don’t deal with these bastards. Fuck Webnovel.

New vet today asked me if my eyeless dog was blind and like ??? oh god I hope so????

Hi There 👋

As you might have noticed, we’re beta-testing something new: Tumblr Post+. What’s Post+? A big deal, for starters. Post+ is our new subscription feature that allows you to use our existing multi-media post form to create unique paid feeds or support other blogs by subscribing to theirs. Fear not, Tumblr will always be free to use, this is just a way to continue to empower unique voices and throw a little coin to your favorite artists, fanfic writers, or maybe even that one mashup Supernatural/Studyblr blog you’ve been following since 2016.

(3 a.m. infomercial voice) But wait, there’s more. We want to know every possible way we can make Post+ the best experience for you and your community. To do that, we’d love to hear from you. Specifically, we want your thoughts on how you’d use a feature that provides a feed of exclusive posts on Tumblr. What would you like to see? Don’t be shy 👉👈. Get in touch. Do it often, if you like. We’re excited to hear your thoughts. And keep your eyes on this space (go ahead now, click follow ☝️). Teamwork makes the dream work, etc.

i didn't have "i'm broken" teenage asexual angst i had "i'm literally being the only reasonable one about this concept and the rest of you are behaving like fucking freaks" perception issues

🎸BANDAID💉

Omg, I love you 😘 💕🥺

English: We the artists, we are hours making art with a lot of effort and love, and we are not here to see someone who just take it and steal all that from us.

I have gone through this stage horribly in which a drawing or writing of my property has been stolen and I do not wish it on anyone.

I dedicate to support the art of others and those people I spend time with have been through this hell.

———

Español: Nosotros los dibujantes y artistas nos esforzamos mucho sin importar la fama y no estamos como para que venga alguien a robarnos horas de cariño y esfuerzo

horriblemente he pasado por esta etapa en la que han robado un dibujo o escrito de mi pertenencia y no se lo deseo a nadie.

Me dedico también a ayudar artistas y a esas personas con las que paso el tiempo han pasado por este infierno.

Tillivan school au ideas

The Do’s & Don'ts of interacting w/ content creators, & other people you don’t know well mutually I slapped together for Twitter.

This ended up being more Don'ts than Dos but I feel like people need more help learning what NOT to say once they stray away from simple compliments and questions.