and finally, a TW wank!

[rm]

So there's a bit of a wank going on in the Torchwood community because of an unofficial book that quotes extensively from reviews of episodes fans have posted on LJ. The Author did not seek permission or notify the LJ'ers in question that he would be quoting them.

In addition to the expected discussion on LJ of the legality of this, netiquette, what actually constitutes criticism and the quality of the book itself, the discussion has also ranged quite far off LJ and become colored with some sexism that I find astoundingly unappealing, includng a snarky assertion about how LJ has become a safe space for many women.

Yeah, because that's what TW fandom looks like to me. Buh what?

Seriously, HP had its wanks, but it also was a predominantly female fandom and its dramas had, other than the Lexicon case which was also decided today (and which I will not be addressing) its dramas largely had a very different tone.

Torchwood isn't a predominantly female fandom. Doctor Who _really_ isn't. And this is going to be very interesting -- not just this specific situation, but this first foray into what has been a rather inevitable meeting between different fannish cultures deeply invested in the same media property.

http://rivier.livejournal.com/619067.html

Comments

[afterthree.livejournal.com]

I suppose I understand where the LJers are coming from, but if the quotes are cited (leaving aside whether they were cited properly or not for the moment because I don't know) I honestly can't see anything really morally wrong with it, at the end of the day. I know there is a certain LJ etiquette that we all know and generally respect, but it's a difficult thing to rigidly enforce our (occasionally obscure and, let's face it, often controversial within the LJ community) rules on people who aren't a part of the community. In general, I am of the opinion that, if you have published something publicly (no filter or flock) then you have released some measure of control of it into the public. At that point, I don't see any difference between quoting someone's LJ and quoting an online article. It may have been courteous to check first, but I'm not sure he had any academic or moral obligation to do so provided the citations are present and accurate. But that's just my two cents.