The internet is closed for repairs, please find an alternative route

 The internet sucks.  Or more accurately, MY internet sucks.  I have the dodgiest connection ever courtesy of AOL and all of diligent efforts to reset, reinstall,  blah blah are in vain.

So.  Suck internet clashing with RL = away for a wee bit.  So uncharacteristic.  /snark/

Crawling out of my own skin with irritation, in fact.  Urgh.

There’s been quite a few things I’ve wanted to post about in the past few weeks actually and having to refresh a webpage 8 or 9 times with varying beats and rhythms pretty much ruled out that option.  So I’ll try to remember…

 

• New job.  New good job.  Haven’t started yet as waiting for clearance to check I’m not a murderer.

• Really good quote couple of weeks ago in the Scotsman by Vicky Featherstone, artistic director of NTS on how she sees Scottish national identity and how NTS can further explore that.  Can’t find it ATM, which is slightly annoying. 

• Continued Buffy watching in lieu of internet.  Just finished season 6.  Which I don’t hate, which I suppose is against the grain.  There are things I disagree with – sure – but I don’t enjoy it any less.

• My team’s doing well though now stumbling towards the finish line of the season.  Fingers are crossed. 

• IOY16 is still in the works.  Two rubbishy pesky but kinda vital scenes that I want to slap around until they write themselves.  I’ve just not been in the headspace.

• “Internet Porn ‘encourages teenagers to have sex early’” from Sunday Herald.  Giggle.  Because any sensible person girl (because let’s face it, teenage boys don’t need porn to want to have sex) with a proper sex education (from family, school, friends or own morality) would be swayed by looking at the vast recesses of utter crap online.  The study is conclusive but I just don’t know if I can believe it when you factor in variables such as individual upbringing and personality.  Which as far as the article goes, it doesn’t seem to.
   

Finally: The whole Lexicon v Rowling thing…  I’m afraid I’m on the side of the Lexicon here although when it first happened I was on JK’s as a knee-jerk reaction and was looking at the HP Lexicon like a faithful, beloved puppy that just mauled my child.  However, I quickly changed my mind as I delved further in.

The published Lexicon would not impact, change or decrease her sales of the original series in ANY way.  None at all.  No one’s going to buy the Lexicon to read the scant passages throughout and put together the story themselves.  No one.  And as for her encyclopaedia: I believe that the hardcore percentage of fans who buy the varied volumes of unauthorised non-fiction books out there dedicated to analysis of themes, characters etc, will be some of the first in line for her encyclopaedia.  They buy all they can get their hands on.  JK’s being the ‘definitive’ version with added shiny new information makes it a must buy for the fans of varying degrees of hardcore-ness.  I don’t think anyone in the world, years after JK’s encyclopaedia is published will pick up her book and the Lexicon and having only enough pennies for one, would buy Steve Vander Ark’s.  No chance.  This book would be a stop-gap until the official encyclopaedia shows up, not jumping the gun and stealing her potential sales (And I know she’s stated that the proceeds of her collected work will go to charity so it’s not money that’s her issue but SVA is certainly not taking bread out of orphans’ mouths here.) 

I was quite appalled by her testimony, tbh.  The whole ‘can’t sleep, impacted my creative work’.  And I’m saying that as a writer who detests plagiarism and can’t help but fanfic.

One of the things that swayed me to SVA’s side was considering how much work he’d undertaken to publish, update and maintain the Lexicon site.  I use it frequently for checking facts or finding a random background character’s name from Ravenclaw house or whatever, so anyone I do mention in fic should have been mentioned in the books at least once.  It’s nice I have that option.  There’s a ridiculous amount of information on that site across character, spells, places, houses – whatever.  You name it, he’s catalogued it.  And it’s been immensely helpful.

In my opinion, no one would start out to do such work (And I’m guessing that he didn’t start the Lexicon many years ago to publish it) unless they loved the books.  Now if you still don’t think he deserves to make money from all this effort, then consider this:  Both JK herself (it has been quoted) and the official movie producers and directors use/used the Lexicon.  I remember JK saying something about it’s helpful to check when she’s out writing so she’s doesn’t have to buy her own book to check a fact.  So from that I deduce she used it sparingly – but still.  As for the movies, their use was far more extensive.  (I wish I could remember the freaking quote and my internet is far too suck to delve in and get it.) But I do remember them saying they had all or most pages printed out and referred to it every day on set.  I believe they even flew SVA out to the set.

So his work hugely aided/contributed to the production of the HP movies (and I’m speculating whether Kloves etc used it as well), which make oodles or money which in returns makes JK oodles of money to add to her oodles of money.  (I’ve also idly wondered whether she would refer to the Lexicon when writing her own encyclopaedia rather than trolling through her books for some minor things that could be found at the click of a mouse on his site)

When the case was first brought to my attention, I admit I was a little worried about the ramifications of such a trial.  Because legal issues and rulings *always* have ramifications and long past cases used as legal precedent etc etc (So not a lawyer).  And I was worried about this might affect fandom, fansites, fanfic… Basically the very elements that ensure or largely contribute a writers/actors/films/TV shows/books success.  I remember when the WB went after Buffy fansites using official promo shots or screencaps from the series, issuing C&D like they were in heat and pissing off a very valuable core group of people that elevates a product from watchable to cult.  The very element that laps up the various merchandising spinoffs.  The damn element that makes the money.  *facepalm*  Do.  Not.  Understand.

Anyway.  Off point slightly, I suppose.

So that’s why I’m on the Lexicon’s side.  I don’t know *everything* about the case because AOL and I aren’t friends anymore but from what I have read and understood, that is my position.  I’m a little annoyed by 13year olds fangirling around JK (e.g. JK rulez, SVA sux!!!111eleventy) when they don’t really know what’s going on.  But I’m also aware that there are a huge number of intelligent people out there whose opinions differ from mine because either they know more than me (very possible) and/or they look at the issue of fan-based reference work differently.

Hm.  Whatever.  Bored now *grin*