Censorship at FanFiction.Net

[rusty_armour]

I'm sure some of you know about this already, but I only learned last night thanks to a post from keiramarcos. Apparently, some cyber book burner named Lord Kelvin has created a program called RedBootton that is systematically culling through stories at FanFiction.Net, one fandom at a time, to mark any stories that the Literate Union feel are unsuitable. According to Lord Kelvin, RedBootton is only meant to flag stories that have been misrated or are breaking ff.net rules in terms of content. However, I've been reading some rather alarming facts about other search criteria that RedBootton uses and the writers that have suffered for it. As Civil initiative has pointed out, RedBootton actually violates the ff.net Terms of Service!

Personally, I have a problem with anyone who sets it upon himself to determine which stories make suitable or unsuitable reading material, especially if the person in question is backed by an organization such as the Literate Union. If RedBootton was simply flagging stories that were violating ff.net rules, I might understand, but this seems more like Lord Kelvin's personal crusade.

As I refuse to be a part of any website that condones censorship, I'll be removing the stories I've posted on ff.net, along with any links I have to the website. Check out the links below if you'd like to learn more about this issue:

Kelvinia: RedBootton

Civil Initiative: The RedBootton Issue and what it means for FFNet

Comments

[boobamiaow.livejournal.com]

Agree with you re censorship. It's good to have principles!!

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

I sometimes think that I don't have nearly enough principles, but censorship is one thing I truly can't abide. I really do try to avoid having any part of it if at all possible. In any case, I'm glad you feel the same way about censorship, boobamiaow. :-)

[radiogaga80.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't it be easier for Lord Kelvin to simply ignore FF.net's existance if he's so irritated by it? What makes him so special that he gets to decide what I get to read?

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

That was pretty much my response when I first heard about Lord Kelvin and RedBootton. My basic rule of thumb is that if you don't like something (such as a particular brand of fic) then you should just ignore it. Hell, if I don't like a particular story, I usually just stop reading it. I won't even offer any kind of criticism, unless a writer specifically asks for my opinion. Even then, I try to make it constructive criticism.

I don't know why people like Lord Kelvin feel they have the right to decide what should or shouldn't be read. Well, actually, in his case, he probably gets off on the power of his position and his attempts to exert control.

[lazigyrl.livejournal.com]

Ah, ff.net I was purged long ago during the big dump. My account, not stories since at that point I hadn't posted any.

It is a dangerous tool and the developer is blind (or stupid) not to see it. Conceited as well, since he thinks abusers will be easily caught.

I love AO3 -- so much better. I'd tell him that but he already has a pat answer and a very closed mind. *roll eyes*

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

Ah, ff.net I was purged long ago during the big dump. My account, not stories since at that point I hadn't posted any.

I'm sorry to hear that, though maybe it wasn't such a bad thing under the circumstances. I was never targeted for some reason. Of course, it probably helps that I only ever posted gen stories there, though obviously your account wasn't deleted due to any content violations considering that you hadn't posted any stories.

It is a dangerous tool and the developer is blind (or stupid) not to see it. Conceited as well, since he thinks abusers will be easily caught.

I liked the way keiramarcos phrased it in her LJ: that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. While the developer may have had good intentions, such a tool is dangerous. And, yes, I think Lord Kelvin is rather conceited for thinking that abusers will be easily caught.

I love AO3 -- so much better.

A03 is a wonderful place and I would happily recommend it to any writer. In fact, I have recommended it to a couple of writers. *g*

I'd tell him that but he already has a pat answer and a very closed mind. *roll eyes*

Yes, from what I've seen, he has a pat answer for everything and a mind that is very tightly closed. There's no point trying to reason with someone like that. It's just a waste of time.

[njc2007.livejournal.com]

As you know, I don't write fanfic and I read fanfic only from those people (like you) I follow on LJ so this doesn't impact me directly. That said, I concur one hundred percent with your decision to pull out of ff.net. Censorship is wrong. The decision to read or not should be left to the individual. I fully support the type of disclosures you put at the beginning of your posts as to what content is in your stories because it allows me to choose whether to read it.

I'm all for full disclosure not random censorship.

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

As you know, I don't write fanfic and I read fanfic only from those people (like you) I follow on LJ so this doesn't impact me directly. That said, I concur one hundred percent with your decision to pull out of ff.net. Censorship is wrong. The decision to read or not should be left to the individual.

I don't think I could have phrased it any better, njc2007. :-) I think the decision as to whether a story should or should not be read should be left to the reader in question. I absolutely hate it when other people or organizations feel they have the right to make that decision. It really makes me angry.

I fully support the type of disclosures you put at the beginning of your posts as to what content is in your stories because it allows me to choose whether to read it.

I'm glad to hear that. I actually think full disclosure is a good thing. People have a right to know what kind of content is contained in a particular story. In fact, I think it's even more important when it comes to concerned parents who are trying to monitor what their children are viewing on the internet. Well, whatever the situation, it makes sense to give people enough information to make an informed choice.

I'm all for full disclosure not random censorship.

Hear, hear! Once again, I couldn't have said it any better than that! :-)

[njc2007.livejournal.com]

Thank you for not censoring my comment. ;)

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

LOL! You're welcome. *g*

[anitamaid.livejournal.com]

Just a short comment to say that I totally support your actions! Don't like censorship!

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

Thanks, anitamaid! I'm glad you agree! :-)

[alysscarlet.livejournal.com]

This sounds awful! I fully support your stance!

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

Hey, alysscarlet! Yes, as far as I'm concerned, it is awful. I'm glad you agree with my stance and hold similar views about censorship. :-)

[jackycomelately.livejournal.com]

The issue is new to me as well. I've always posted in LJ and now of course AOOO! I know, I know, AO3, but I can't resist it: A-OOO A-OOO! Besides, shouldn't it be A2O3? I guess it should be AA-OOO as well then, which sounds like a sneeze.

It's a real shame that ff.net is allowing it. I know ff.net contains a lot of history for a lot of people. It all reminds me a bit of the struggle Dreamwidth had with Paypal. Paypal yanked their account because they refused to say that they would remove the porn. Hopefully, the good PR they generated made up for it. There are always going to be threats. The archive's response to them is so important.

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

The issue is new to me as well. I've always posted in LJ and now of course AOOO! I know, I know, AO3, but I can't resist it: A-OOO A-OOO! Besides, shouldn't it be A2O3? I guess it should be AA-OOO as well then, which sounds like a sneeze.

LOL! I'm torn between which one I like better: "A-OOO" or "AA-OOO," which does sound like a sneeze! *g* I have to admit that I don't really understand the reasoning behind "AO3" either. I've just been too lazy to come up with alternative acronyms the way you have! ;-)

It's a real shame that ff.net is allowing it. I know ff.net contains a lot of history for a lot of people.

I think that history is one reason why I've been taking this rather personally. When I was first posting fic online, I think just about everyone was archiving their stories on ff.net. I mean, there just weren't all that many options available. I think this was either before LiveJournal or when LiveJournal was just in its infancy. And it was obviously long before AA-OOO.

It all reminds me a bit of the struggle Dreamwidth had with Paypal. Paypal yanked their account because they refused to say that they would remove the porn. Hopefully, the good PR they generated made up for it.

Yikes! I never heard about that. I actually used PayPal twice recently, though I'm not sure what else I would have used given that I was carrying out financial transactions with two friends who live overseas. Still, it pisses me off that PayPal would try to dictate to Dreamwidth what kind of content it should allow. I'm glad Dreamwidth refused to give in and I hope it did generate some good PR. Stupid close-minded PayPal. GRRRRR...

There are always going to be threats. The archive's response to them is so important.

You're absolutely right. Considering that these threats will always exist, the archivist's response is crucial. I can sympathize with the kind of pressure archivists are up against, but censorship is censorship no matter how much anyone tries to sugar-coat it.

[sublunarfields.livejournal.com]

That's terrible. It feels awful having to delete my fics on ff.net, but after this, I don't think I could continue there. At least there's the other one - the great alternative. :)

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

I felt bad about it too, especially as some people were kind enough to mark a few of my stories as favourites, etc. Well, as you've pointed out, at least there is a great alternative. In fact, the revised versions of all my stories are on AO3 while I never bothered to update the stories I had posted on ff.net.

[sublunarfields.livejournal.com]

I've had people favorite my stories too and reviews as well, but - well, Archive of Our Own feels a lot more modern and easy to use. So I guess all in all, we're making a change for the better.

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

Oh, I agree. I definitely prefer Archive of Our Own. It does feel more modern and user friendly. And I love some of the features it has. As you say, we're making a change for the better. :-)

[ifabndiyarosia.livejournal.com]

The redbootton is gone from the site or supposedly it is. Only reviews have captcha on it. But Kelvin dug my friends' personal info, mistaking it for mine, awhile ago.

http://s1143.photobucket.com/albums/n624/lookathiss/?action=view¤t=Privateinfo.png

http://forum.fanfiction.net/topic/61196/27290426/33/#48075354
(http://s1143.photobucket.com/albums/n624/lookathiss/?action=view¤t=Guilt.png)

He doesn't need the redbootton to do this, but I wonder now...

[ifabndiyarosia.livejournal.com]

Leaving stories on FFN is funding a shady admin who allows the LU to do anything. There should be a boycott and someone should make a JournalFen entry of Kelvin's snooping.

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

Well, I removed all of my stories from FFN, though I never did figure out how to delete my profile. In any case, I personally have problems with the current politics at FFN, so I'm steering clear of it. Thankfully, we've got Archive of Our Own (http://archiveofourown.org), which is a much better site.

[ifabndiyarosia.livejournal.com]

So did I. I'm not sure if you can. So do I. The problem is bullies and trolls are free to wreck havoc on that site. I believe the site is truly moderated by bullies and trolls too. There are terrible people willing to do almost anything to hurt you. I bet!

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

Hey, ifabndiyarosia! Thanks for the update on the redbootton situation. Even if it's gone now, it looks as if there are definitely issues with captcha.

[ifabndiyarosia.livejournal.com]

Anytime. Although it's very likely Kelvin didn't need to use the redbootton to trace ISPs or do something equivalent of sending trackking cookies. They make up stories when you confront them like how I submitted the personal information they found to a supposed "public source". Yet they can't begin to give me any evidence of the "public source".