[Meta] Permissions Statements Are Awesome

[thefourthvine]

Okay, so a recent casual mention of blanket permission statements on Twitter taught me that:

1. There are a lot of authors who would love to be podficced who don't have blanket permission statements. (If you're in this boat: a permissions statement doesn't guarantee anything, but the lack of one certainly lessens your chances considerably.)
   
2. Many of these authors don't necessarily know what a BP statement is, or how to write one. (Spoiler: I'm going to cover this in considerable detail starting in about three paragraphs.)
   
3. A lot of people don't know that podficcers keep track of who has a blanket permission statement and refer to the list regularly. (In other words, you basically only have to do it once, and then you're done unless something changes. Good deal! Also, good idea to check to be sure you're on it if you want to be.)
   
4. A lot of people don't know how important having a statement - any statement, even if it's "no" or "maybe" - is to other fans.

So I thought I would talk about permission statements, since they are the greatest thing ever and I want everyone to have one.

Many years ago, I used to have the following experience:

1. PM arrives from a person I don't know.
   
2. I cringe and recoil and try to pretend it hasn't arrived, because PMs freak me right out.
   
3. I avoid with varying levels of success for varying levels of time.
   
4. Eventually I open it (maybe).
   
5. It is a podfic request! That's awesome!
   
6. ...Now I have to PM the podficcer back. Oh no.
   
7. Sometimes I do. Sometimes I don't. Because communication is hard.
   
8. If I don't, guilt.
   
9. If I do, podfic!

It was an elaborate and moderately horrible process, obviously made that way entirely by my own idiosyncratic brain, and I loved that podfic happened but wished there was a way to tell podficcers to JUST DO IT PLEASE DON'T ASK JUST DO IT. For a while I tried putting JUST DO IT in my profile, but my profile was wordy and no one ever read all the way through it, so it didn't help (that I know of).

And then someone told me of the concept of blanket permission. And it was like the sun had risen. There was a way! A way to say yes, fine, go transform with my very best wishes, no need to ask! So I left a comment on some long-ago post saying so, and my relationship with podfic became a guilt- and stress-free one. Bliss.

Blanket permission is wonderful, is what I'm saying. Since I know podficcers now, I know that the stress was not entirely or even mostly on my side during my long, drawn-out struggles with my brain; the podficcer, who I used to sort of blithely assume had sent the PM and then forgotten about it, was actually probably checking her email reeeeeally regularly and hoping hoping hoping and oh god just GET BACK TO ME I just want to KNOW either WAY oh god are you even ALIVE? So blanket permission saves considerable wear and tear on both sides.

I am a big fan, basically. So, first, here's an example blanket permission statement. If you're already sold on permissions statements, go write one or modify this or just copy it and add it to your AO3 profile or wherever else you post your stories (if you comment here saying you've done so, I can make sure you're on the BP list, even!) and you're done.

"If you want to podfic any of my stories, go right ahead - no need to ask permission. Just please link back to the original story when you post your work, and let me know so I can go revel in whatever awesome thing you've done. Same goes for art or other creative or transformative works you might feel inspired to do. Just don't use my work for anything commercial, please!"

If you want to know more, or you aren't sure, or you have special circumstances, read on!

If you're thinking, yes, but I don't actually just want to say yes to everything, fear not! Blanket permission is a misnomer. (Or, okay, it isn't - it just means "this is the statement that covers everything you need to know." But it sort of sounds like you have to say yes to everything, no limits, no conditions when you give one. You don't!) You can say "sure, do what thou wilt" in one, but you can also be more specific. It's more like negotiated consent, actually - you say what you're comfortable with and what you want and need, and then a podficcer who is thinking about doing one of your stories can read it and decide if it matches what she wants and needs, making the process safer and easier for everyone.

So, for example, you can say, "Feel free to podfic anything except any story I've tagged juvenilia." Or you can say, "Feel free to podfic anything, but if it's posted archive-locked, I would like the podfic to also be archive-locked." Or whatever! State your conditions up front, basically.

You can even say, "I'm very open to podfic, and I will mostly say yes, but I still would like you to ask." This seems like a useless statement, but it includes two very important points: you are open to podfic and you will probably say yes. Many podficcers spend time trying to figure out if an author is potentially podfic-friendly before they ask permission. I have seen people do a LOT trying to figure this out, including:

• Checking the blanket permission list
  
• Checking all the author's profiles and masterlists everywhere, hoping one got missed (it happens, which is why it's a good idea for you to check, too)
  
• Checking to see if there are other podfics of the author's work (which means she gave permission before and thus might again)
  
• Checking to see if the author has pro-podfic friends
  
• Asking the author's pro-podfic friends or betas if they know how the author feels about it
  
• Asking other podficcers to see if they've ever asked the author for permission
  
• And so on

Seriously. This process is a tense one for podficcers. Many of them work really hard to alleviate that tension somewhat before they take the leap of emailing a stranger for permission to do a fanwork. (Many of them have given up entirely and only podfic people with permissions statements, which is why not having one really reduces your chances of getting podficced.) So just saying somewhere public that you're into it is useful.

Your blanket permission statement can even look like this: "Please do not podfic any of my stories." (Or, in other words, a blanket no.) If you're going to say no to every request you get, why not just say that no in front and spare everyone, including you, the extra work? Plus, if you put yourself on the blanket no list, it will apply forever. Podficcers keep track. (Truth. When I started modifying my blanket permission statement, I was surprised to discover that the exact comment I'd left on that long-ago post had been carefully copy-pasted to Fanlore, which started years after that comment was made.) If you make a public statement of blanket no, you're done with podfic (unless you change your mind), and you've made everyone's lives easier. GO THERE, is my suggestion.

If you have other questions, I'm here to help. (Or more likely just ask people who know the answers, actually, but I stand willing to do that.) I want everyone to have a permissions statement, so we can have a world of blissfully consensual transformative works! (And don't forget to comment if you've added one, or if you've got one already but you're not on the list.)

YAY PERMISSIONS.

Thanks to ParakaPodfic for reading over this and giving me a podficcer perspective on it. Further viewpoints welcome, of course, from podficcers, authors, lurkers, fanknitters, all kinds of people - comment away. But please don't say "podfic is creepy" or similar. I want this to be a place of fanwork acceptance. Thank you!

Comments

[china_shop]

Great post! What finally convinced me to get around to posting a BP statement (after over a year of wibbling about what it should say, oh noes, I want to exclude my RPS is that okay!??!) was being told that one of the problems with not having one is that the podficcer has to make an implied commitment just by asking. I mean, it would be weird to PM and ask and go through all that, and then not deliver, right? But a lot of the time, life intervenes, or technical disaster strikes, or you just don't know if a fanwork is going to work out until you get started. So it's infinitely easier if you can create/record in private, without raising the original author's expectations. And if there's a risk it might not work and the author doesn't have a BP, and you're not feeling very confident, it might seem better not to even go there.

Since I'm a believer in minimising the sense of obligation/stress in fandom, and I'm hugely flattered whenever anyone wants to transform my works, that was a really convincing argument for me. :-)

[cofax7]

Yeah, Carpetbaggers would be about 12 hours finished: I can't even imagine how long it would be to record & edit. Too long. But still, I wish...

[mermaid]

I've had a statement in my AO3 profile for a while (http://archiveofourown.org/users/mermaid/profile), but I've just updated and expanded it:

If you wish to translate, create a podfic, or make artwork for any of my stories, please contact me first! I'll very likely say yes. However, I will almost certainly say no to anyone wanting to remix or produce a prequel / sequel / companion piece to anything I've written.

[naraht]

This makes a lot of sense. Though my own statement will almost certainly say "please ask," so I suppose that leaves the podficcer right back where they started.

[china_shop]

If it's a concern for you, you could always include in your statement something to the effect of, "Asking does not imply an obligation to finish or post the podfic (or other transformative work)." Like a no-obligation free quote. ;-)

[naraht]

I hope you do! Even if it's "hey, let's talk about this"!

Would you say that sort of statement is the less desirable option? Or am I just reading things into your use of "even"?

(You see, I told you I get tense about these things...)

It's a bit wider than permission, I think, because I do see the discussions about warnings/content notes as being related to this. Something about that nexus of obligation, consent, and the ability to harm.

[fleurrochard]

That is - actually very tempting. (Food porn! You always catch me with the food porn!) Just, how to get the voder sound right... *ponders*

[elucidate_this]

Thank you for this post.

Blanket statements added at DW, LJ, and AO3. Statement reads:

If you want to podfic any of my stories, go right ahead - no need to ask permission. Just please link back to the original story when you post your work, and let me know so I can go see. Same goes for art or other creative or transformative works you might feel inspired to do. Just don't use my work for anything commercial, please! Be aware that my levels of fannish energy vary and I may not have the space in brain for your work. Please do not be offended if I don't comment.

[teaotter]

*beams* I keep hoping someone will take me up on it!

Though I can't take credit for the wording -- I'm pretty sure I stole it from akamine_chan after poking around on podficmeta back in January.

[malkingrey]

Thanks for posting this; I've just now added a blanket permission (for my scant handful of fics) to my AO3 profile.

[thefourthvine]

I'm making a list of people to add, and now you are on it. And blanket statements are just SO AWESOME, yes!

[ladysorka]

I have a statement in my AO3 profile so that if anybody's looking, they find it, but I've never added myself to any of the lists because it just feels so presumptive. Like I'm saying that of course someone out there would want to do that with my fic, when I primarily write in older fandoms and am not a Super Amazing Popular Writer.

[thefourthvine]

Heh. Yeah, I feel super weird giving permission, actually - it doesn't feel like something my fellow fans should have to get from me. So I get the discomfort with the word. And go you for explaining that in your statement!

[thefourthvine]

That makes such sense. And, yeah, I always fall on the side of reducing obligation/stress/distress/etc. in fandom, which is why I'm glad I have a statement. (And, as so often is the case, reducing someone else's stress also reduces my own.) Persuasive argument!

[kindkit]

It seems I'm on The List, but it never occurred to me to put a permissions statement on AO3 as well as on my journals, so now I've added one there (including duckgirlie's helpful caveat that I don't listen to podfic of my own stories, so I can't leave feedback).

[popfly.livejournal.com]

http://archiveofourown.org/users/popfly/profile

Re: I sense podficcers will check these comments

[commodorified]

Oh right, I'm Marna Nightingale on A03.

Re: I sense podficcers will check these comments

[commodorified]

Huh. I hadn't thought about editing to podfic. I would prefer not; almost all my fandoms are historical and I work really hard on language and style. Remixing, however, is just fine.

[garden_hoe21]

I'm already on the list, but they don't have my ao3 link or my current/new statement.

(Edit to add obligatory "my stories aren't that good/my fandom is too small/nobody wants to read about naked Skrillex" etc)

[metanewsmods]

Hi! Would you mind if we linked this on metanews?

[thefourthvine]

Of course! And for the future: anything I post unlocked is fair game for linking. No need to ask permission. (Hee.)

[thefourthvine]

Or, as I now see, you have a blanket permission post. Added my name over there. Thanks!

[thefourthvine]

I'll put in your new statement! AFAIK, they don't track locations on that post - I guess they figure if you're looking on that list for someone's name, you already know where their stories are. *g*

[spuffyduds]

I've had blanket permission for any kind of transformative work up for a while, and I think one of the really nifty things about it, as opposed to people asking permission & then creating the work, is that when the first you hear about it is the creator dropping you a line to say "hey I made this thing," then it is a SUPER COOL SURPRISE OUTTA NOWHERE. :)

There is also a "blanket permission" and synonyms tag on AO3. http://archiveofourown.org/tags/Blanket%20Permission Would podficcers in general prefer the more podfic-specific one, though? Hmmm.

[lilyleia78]

I get a lot of requests for translating and am absolutely pod-fic friendly so this seems like it would serve multiple purposes for me. Stealing your text with a minor modification! Put me on the list, please. And thanks for the tip! :)

If you want to podfic or translate any of my stories, go right ahead - no need to ask permission. Just please link back to the original story when you post your work, and let me know so I can go revel in whatever awesome thing you've done. Same goes for art or other creative or transformative works you might feel inspired to do. Just don't use my work for anything commercial, please!