Fishy business

[pensnest]

My thoughts on The FanLib Thing (if you don't know what that is, see metafandom).

There's a market for mackerel. So the fishing folks are sticking bait onto their hooks - they think it's tasty bait, but whatever, mackerel are pretty undiscriminating, frankly they'll throw themselves onto bare hooks if they're brightly coloured - and lowering them to catch mackerel.

Then, they sell the mackerel.

We fan fiction writers should stop thinking of ourselves as FanLib's market. We are not their market. We are their mackerel.

Fortunately, there are other fish in the sea. I think I'll be a bass. Heh.

Comments

[nopseud]

And their ToS is frankly on the scary side. To stretch the metaphor, their fishing boat is leaky at best, and when it goes down I think they're going to be blaming it on all those damn mackerel for pulling them under.

[pensnest]

Yes, indeed. Stupid fish, eh? Bah.

[sori1773.livejournal.com]

oh, yes. perfect metaphor! ugh.

[pensnest]

FanLib - the monster that ate LiveJournal. Oh well, it'll soon blow over, I hope.

[rikes]

It's bound to blow over, because none of the smart people in fandom are going there. ;)

[turloughishere.livejournal.com]

That's a great simile! (Or is it metaphor? Or even allegory? I always get these mixed up!)