On Sunday morning, I woke up to a particularly nasty comment posted on the site, that I felt warranted discussion here.
The comment, once stripped of its author’s clear intent to insult the site, its users, and myself, raised a valid concern.
Should this site contain the works of authors who are no longer part of the community and cannot be asked for their permission?
This is something that I was against when I started the site, and apart from a single tale, Alpha Rivals by Aviendha33 , did not delve into. That story, was one of my absolute favorites, and I felt compelled to make sure others saw it. Especially since it inspired my Who is This? story. Even on that story though, you can see my worries on this subject in my pre-story note.
At the time, I saw the site as, in part, a showcase of great works, but mostly a place for authors to collect their stories in an organized way, and then show them off with a quick link.
As time went on though, I heard from a lot of readers and fans who wanted to be able to read their favorite author’s tales on the site, and to not worry about finding them on forums or in desperately guarded hard drives.
Their concerns you can see in post after post on FCF and Hostboard. Where is this tale? I lost it, and now I can’t find it! Help me! It had a blonde vs. a brunette — a wife vs. a mistress, etc….
Those worries spoke to me, as someone who for years before joining the community as a creator or commenter, printed out stories (many that are currently on the site), and kept them somewhere safe. That voice, was then coupled with my own thoughts as a writer. And as someone who for the past decade has worked with fiction writers.
They — WE want our work read and appreciated. Seen and enjoyed. They are ours, yes, and rightfully so. But they are almost without value if they are not shared with the audience we write them for.
And though yes, still being in the community, and almost overly present, I would prefer to be asked when my stories are to be posted or used and certainly given credit, were I to disappear, I would want my creations to be remembered. Shared. And enjoyed.
Now those are my feelings, and perhaps other authors might disagree in-half or strongly. That is their right (not speaking legally, but ethically), and I know both myself and all those who enjoy stories on F.S would respect that wish if known. As an example, Morton, a famous, legendary writer in the community, made it known to someone long ago, that he removed his stories from forums, because he did not want them publicly shared in perpetuity. For that reason, his stories are shared privately, and carefully, not by myself or on this site, but by other pillars in the community behind closed internet doors.
His stories do not appear on this site, and never will. Were someone to try to post them on the forum, I would remove them immediately.
But apart from situations like that, where intentions and preferences are known, I have made the decision to share classic fem fight tales with the site users, even if the author long ago left our community.
On multiple occasions, I have done this, and had the authors return and thank me for my effort in preserving their tales and memory when I went to them and asked for both backdated and foreword looking permission.
It is what I imagine most authors would feel, when they see how lovingly their work is presented, how careful I am to give them tribute and credit, and how very much the community loves their stories and characters being kept alive.
If, an author, who’s work I have posted comes back and asks me to remove their tales, I would. Every page. Every letter. Every mention, if that is what they wished.
But until that happens, I have chosen, right or wrong, to provide a library of stories for the community that represents the very best I can find. So that legends from decades ago can have their work stand shoulder to shoulder with today’s best authors.
I hope you all understand from the above that this decision was not made rashly, or without a lot of thought put into the why’s, how’s, and what if’s. It is a judgment call. One I have made well, I hope.
But if in your eyes I have made a mistake, I am sorry that I have let you, the fem fight genre, and our many authors down.
P.S. Just to be clear, this DOES NOT MEAN I am going to post the stories of authors who are still around without their permission. Any author who is active will be asked for their permission before their work appears on the site. This post is only talking about writers who have appeared to have gone silent and left us with two options: preserve their work, or assume they would want it to fade to black with them.