Site News 11-6-10

[ApolloImperium]

Updates from Apollo

TOS Review: Disclaimers

Welcome to this week's TOS Review: Disclaimer Issue.

Why are disclaimers important? Disclaimers are our biggest legal protection. As everyone knows, where fan fiction often gets in trouble is the fact that as authors, we are basing our stories off of copyrighted material. The most common legal argument that fan fictions writers and sites use to justify what they do is the Fair Use part of the copyright code. In this it states that copyrighted material can be used for transformative purposes, which is our loophole.

However with that loophole we still need to make sure that we are covered as much as possible. The site has reached out to friends in the legal field to determine what steps are best taken and the response was disclaim, disclaim, disclaim! That being said, they provided with basic aspects that should be in any disclaimer which we have based our disclaimer policy off of.

This doesn't just protect the site, this also protects you as a user. How you may ask? Because if an author gets up in arms about fan fiction, this protects you from being sued for profits as you state that you make no money from it.

That being said, disclaimers vary depending on the section you write for so here is a basic breakdown of what we look for:

Fan Fiction

Name the world/title/fandom and say you don't own it.

Clearly state no money is made.

There are examples of what is needed, exactly, in the FAQ as well as in other areas.

Real Person Fiction

Name the person or persons and say you don't KNOW them. Not that you don't OWN them.

State that it's a work of fiction.

Clearly state no money is made.

Original Fiction

There are a number of requirements for original fiction/non fiction/poetry.

This link has it all exactly.

Public Domain

These are things that copyright no longer applies to: Fairy tales, folk songs, religious works such as the Bible etc.

For these, use the information needed in an original disclaimer and note the work that inspired such as 'Cinderella' or 'Snow White' etc.

Basic things to keep in mind:

- We need the fandom to be named, not the characters.

- With original fiction we need to have a clear fiction and resemblance clause. That makes it so that somewhere down the road, John Smith can't come to us and say "Hey, that's based on me" and in turn we have to pull the work because without proof that it's NOT, we have no choice in such a for instance. That's where the resemblance clause is a protection to the author.

- For original non-fiction, it's critical that the author clearly add the permissions clause. This is detailed in the link we posted earlier in the Original Fiction setting. Without having permission from the people you're writing about, it can cause the site issues in the future if the person you are writing about stumbles upon it and gets upset.

While not directly related to disclaimers, since we are discussing Original Non-Fiction, I would like to take the time to point out that authors should not write about real minors unless the person they are writing about is currently of age and consent information can be provided. Along the same lines, in real person fiction again, if the real person is a minor they cannot be written about.

So please, when one of our moderating staff asks you to correct a disclaimer, know that it is so the site can stay protected. The staff volunteer hours each week reviewing the archive to ensure compliance to our policies, so they honestly do deserve a round of applause for their dedication and not a hard time when they ask you to correct something.

AFF 2011 Calendar Contest

Wow, I can't believe it! There is just 24 hours left for submissions for the AFF 2011 calendar! Remember, submissions are due by midnight 11-7-10, so put on the finishing touches on your pieces and start sending them in! If you haven't checked it out yet, see this topic for more information.

Dribs, Drabs and Doggy Tales!

Thank you to everyone who responded to our very fourth prompt, "Harvest" We have 6 responses so far this week! Don't forget that the topic doesn't close until 11:59pm tonight, so there is still time to get in an entry. For everyone that has participated, we will be sending you the badge for this week that you can display where you so choose! Okay, so I promised to do better this week with badges, but the artist doing the badges is our very own DemonGoddess and she was very busy with the forum and archive this week. I'm sending the badges out tonight, I promise! If you've read the entries, please don't forget to review the story and let the Author know you liked it! As a reminder, the next topic is now posted, please visit this forum and starting Sunday 8am you can post your new entries!

Funding Status

Information to exact status is always found on the donations page. Currently, the site has $148.93 stored in PayPal. November's hosting costs have been paid and we are well covered for December! We do always appreciate donations though! Please see the donation page for further information on how.

Tech Updates from DemonGoddess

Software Updates

The advertising software was updated today to the newest version.

[ApolloImperium]

Edit: Calendar contest now end 11-14-10, please see either the site announcement or the email sent to members for more information!

[DemonGoddess]

Late add-

The forum's arcade is now live. Until December 1, I've left it open to anyone who wants to give it a try. After that, you'll have to register to use it, if you like it.