ADMIN POST: The Mission Report Challenge

[cesperanza.livejournal.com]

Okay, this comes from an idea by nudaydreamer and it's like, three--three!--cool challenges in one! As she puts it:

I'd love to see a Mission Report Challenge. We all know some crazy shit happens on those other worlds, and authors could choose to a) write a (pornalicious?) Report That Will Never Actually Be Filed Because Elizabeth Would Freak Out And Such, b) write a euphemistically suggestive report that leaves those of us with dirty minds quite clear on what happened, without being explicit, or possibly c) take another author's story and write a report of type a or b for it.

Everybody got that? See, it's kind of a Document Challenge and it's kind of a Remix and it's kind of Classified and Porny--or not; it's a festival, really. Now to clarify about option c)--if you choose to write a mission report of somebody else's story, we'll ask you to credit them, but we won't require you to ask their permission Edited to add: and get their permission, or check the links below. HOWEVER, if you want to opt OUT of option c)--i.e. tell people that they can't write a mission report of your story or stories, even with credit--please leave a comment in this post ASAP. Edited to add: link to new opt-out post below! We WILL ask challenge respondents to check before posting that the writer hasn't opted out of the challenge. Edited to add: Merryish reminds me to say that it is, of course, perfectly acceptable to write a mission report on one of your own stories!

It's August 21st; stories will be due on Monday, September 4th, Labor Day, at midnight.


Edited to add: Freezing comments here: click here for a policy clarification, opt-in, and opt-out posts are above.

Comments

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[kyrdwyn.livejournal.com]

Also, sorry, another thought I had - are you limiting the writers we can choose from to sga_flashfic members, or is anyone who has ever written SGA fic fair game? Because if they're not on the list, they won't know to opt out, and I know a lot of writers who might like to opt out for whatever reason.

It would be a bit of a shock for Writer A to find out September 5th that Writer B did a mission report to their fic, and they weren't asked and are offended/insulted/etc by the fic entirely....(because yes, I'm like McKay and constantly imagine the worst case scenario).

Just hate to see the community get a bad rep for "encouraging" something like that (because people will gripe...this is the internet)....

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[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

Right, because God forbid we write stories that make use of ideas someone else came up with. I personally write to Martin Gero before each and every story I post on the internet to clear it with him; I keep his postcards in a little file folder in my fireproof safe so that I can pull them out and show them to anyone who asks. Otherwise I might come across as encouraging taking another writer's material and putting a spin on it that writer might not care for, and at all costs I don't want to do that.

This is the internet, after all. *g*

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[harriet-spy.livejournal.com]

Especially if it's a Sheppard/Teyla spin! That's *extra* gross, you know! I feel violated just thinking about it.

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[liviapenn.livejournal.com]

Er, I assure you, she was definitely just (http://aliencorn.net/stories/intergalactic.html) being (http://aliencorn.net/stories/small.html) sarcastic (http://aliencorn.net/stories/uninvited.html).

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[kyrdwyn.livejournal.com]

Well, then, why bother to check with anyone at all in this challenge? Why bother to have an opt out procedure? Every writer for him/herself and to hell with the consequences!

Look, I'm just saying that those of us in the community have fair warning of this challenge, and the chance to opt out if we are being sensitive about our own fics. Outsiders don't. And I know there are writers who will go ballistic if someone takes their gen story and puts a McShep spin on it because they absolutely *hate* the idea of McShep. You really want someone to re-work Alpha Centauri into a character triad other than Sheppard/Dex/McKay?

We've all got our pairing squicks, and pairings we just prefer not to read, much less have someone put into one of our own fics.

(As for the SGA/SG-1 writers - they knew what they were getting into - how long has fanfiction been around? Hell, how many of them have admitted to knowing of it/reading it?)

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[lydiabell.livejournal.com]

You really want someone to re-work Alpha Centauri into a character triad other than Sheppard/Dex/McKay?

The mind wobbles. I'd like to see somebody try.

(Yeah, I know, none of my business...)

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[harriet-spy.livejournal.com]

We've all got our pairing squicks, and pairings we just prefer not to read, much less have someone put into one of our own fics.


They're not putting anything "into" your fic. Your fic is still your fic no matter what sequels, revisions, or reworkings anyone else writes. If you're deeply concerned about unauthorized interpretations of your work, I'd recommend not posting it at all--every reader is going to make her own meaning out of each story, and it may be something very different from what you would authorize.

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[rosewildeirish.livejournal.com]

You're missing the point. Anyone can read into a story what they'd like. Posting a sequel or a remix version of it is different. It's one thing if you've signed up for a remix challenge - and you're still taking chances, there - it's another to have no idea that your fic is being redone or reinvisioned.

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[harriet-spy.livejournal.com]

You're missing the point. Anyone can read into a story what they'd like. Posting a sequel or a remix version of it is different.

No, I don't think I'm missing the point. Someone could take my darkest, creepiest, saddest story and write a "mission report" that represents it as light, fluffy, silly, and featuring a pairing I find loathsome. That doesn't change my story one bit. It's still there. The words haven't changed one iota. No one's forcing a meaning on the story, and if they already took that meaning from the story, then whether they write it down and post it or not doesn't change a thing.

I find this position particularly baffling in that 95% of fanfic is nothing but reenvisioning someone else's work. And, no, they didn't give you permission, especially not to turn their space adventurer show into a Big Gay Romantic Comedy. I can't possibly claim more rights in my vision of John than I grant to the people who actually came up with him.

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[(Anonymous)]

i hope someone remixes one of your fics so rodney kills teyla.

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[harriet-spy.livejournal.com]

I'd find that amusing as well, though I suspect not for the same reasons as you would.

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[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

Well, then, why bother to check with anyone at all in this challenge?

Because Ces says so.

You really want someone to re-work Alpha Centauri into a character triad other than Sheppard/Dex/McKay?

I really don't give a damn. Either it'd be a good story, in which case I'd enjoy reading it, or it would suck, in which case I'd laugh at it in the privacy of my own home.

As for the SGA/SG-1 writers - they knew what they were getting into - how long has fanfiction been around?

And if it were up to me, that's what I'd say to fandom as well. This is what we do: we play with texts. Sometimes you may think the way we play with yours is cool, sometimes it may squick you or bore your or strike you as dumb beyond belief. Que sera sera. This is what we do.

By tradition, fandom treats fanfiction as the inviolable expression of one's innermost soul and pro fiction as meat for the grinder. It's not logical, but it's tradition. And in the case of this challenge in particular, the rules aren't mine to set, nor did I suggest they should be changed, so relax. You've got your exemption.

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[phiremangston.livejournal.com]

Because Ces says so.

Sorry, but that's honestly the worst argument I've heard all day.

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[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

Really? The owner of a community sets the rules, I would think. It seems like a perfectly sensible argument to me.

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[seperis.livejournal.com]

Because Ces says so.

I'm still debating how I feel about an opt-out instead of an opt-in here--but seriously, that's not a great precedent to set. No one can give permission to remix another person's story; only the author can do that.

We can come down to a simple, does the fandom author have control of their work in fandom OR the writer does not and the work is fair game at any time. Either way, Ces doesn't have the authority to open season on anyone's fic. Honestly, depending on which of the above is correct or accepted, it's either the author only or no permission required.

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[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

Either way, Ces doesn't have the authority to open season on anyone's fic.

No, but she has the absolute authority to decide what may and may not be posted on sga_flashfic Whether or not people have a moral and ethical right to tinker with someone else's story, the simple truth is there isn't actually a fandom police and we can't stop them. What we can do, if we wish, is bar them from publishing it in certain venues to show our disapproval. That's at the discretion of community/list/archive moderators.

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[callmeri]

No one can give permission to remix another person's story; only the author can do that.

But how does this differ from we (meaning, fanfiction writers) remixing canon without permission from the show's writers?

I'm not trying to be contrary here, truly, I'm just genuinely curious about this distinction.

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[misspamela.livejournal.com]

I just want to point out that the challenge is not to actually remix a story, but to write a mission report for that story. So, for example, I'd write John trying (and failing) to explain how Rodney got turned into a dinosaur without saying, "Rodney got turned into a dinosaur" no an official military report. I wouldn't, however, write a whole different story about how Rodney got turned into a bunny, because that's not the challenge.

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[miera-c.livejournal.com]

Maybe it is illogical to object to this. Maybe there is no rational defense for it, but not requiring permissions feels incredibly wrong to me. I'm willing to acknowledge that I have very strong feelings on privacy and permissions, so I'm utterly biased, but I do not believe this is the kind of behavior we should encourage between fans. Shouldn't we be trying to show more respect for one another? I don't mean that in a "Kumbayah can't we all just get along" way, either. There's no requirement that we like each other, but rewriting someone else's fic without their permission, even in a straightforward manner that doesn't change any fundamental plot points... that feels like a violation. I relinquish control of interpretation when I share a story, but I trust the rest of the fandom that no matter how people feel about the story, or about me, that no one is going to take one of my stories and reword/rewrite/remix it to their own specifications without at the least talking to me first.

I just can't agree to this. I can't see encouraging people not to respect each other as fellow fans.

(frozen comment) ADMIN

[cesperanza.livejournal.com]

We're neither suggesting or limiting writers, and while permission is always polite, we don't believe it's mandatory. Crediting is mandatory--saying "This was inspired by" X is mandatory, because otherwise it's plagiarism (i.e. passing someone else's work off as your own). But other than that, if people rec your work or review it or whatever, you might not know that it's out there either, you know?

And people will gripe....period. Because this is the internet.

(frozen comment) Re: ADMIN

[rosewildeirish.livejournal.com]

And people will gripe....period. Because this is the internet.

Yeah, any doubt about that, just check out hth_the_first's reply.

(frozen comment) Re: ADMIN

[liviapenn.livejournal.com]

Uh... Hth isn't griping about the challenge. Other people are.

(frozen comment) Re: ADMIN

[rosewildeirish.livejournal.com]

But Hth is most assuredly griping.