а 20 лет как вода в песок, но в это верить не хочется
0001 - The other day I said to a friend that FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus -- it causes AIDS in cats) could not be passed on to humans. My source of knowledge for this is my family doc, who assured me there was zero risk after I was in contact with a kitty who later turned out to be FIV-positive. The friend who owns the kitty consulted several vets, who all said there was no risk of interspecies transmission (and even between cats, it has to be a really deep bite... and this cat is just the sweetest kitty you could imagine). But then someone on my friend's flist was like "actually it can pass to humans". Ostensibly, this person knows because of her veterinary school learnings. She fell mysteriously silent, however, after I asked for a primary source. Google and its nefarious comrades repeatedly insisted that FIV is absolutely not transmittable to humans and that countless studies have failed to produce a link. I know that today's common knowledge available to the public is sometimes tomorrow's "studies show that ur common knowledge iz dumb". So I ask you, internet -- do you know if any actual research exists? Or, despite apparent credentials, did this person just not know what they were talking about (or possibly trolling)? ETA: Answered because elizardbits is awesome like that. And so is incapricious. XD
0010 - Further on the subject of fandom raising money via soliciting donations in return for fanworks -- for my own reasons, I don't participate by offering my works or donating in exchange for someone else's; I just donate privately. I see people talking about the fics/art they received in exchange for donating, and I also see people lamenting their lack of time and feeling guilty for not yet having finished the stories or art they had agreed to do in exchange for donations. One thing I haven't seen was the scenario where someone wins a bid, donates, and the author/artist doesn't deliver. After my "IT'S NOT BUYING OR SELLING, FFS" post from the other day, someone contacted me privately and asked if I could do a poll about that kind of a situation. Which I will in a moment, but I have a few thinky thoughts first (if you don't want to read those, the next cut is the poll).
There's a somewhat popular notion in the HP fandom that if you complain about anything or generally rock the boat in any way, you're just starting wank, and so a lot of people (the majority, I'd estimate) tend to keep quiet or post to a trusted filter when they are upset. Unless LJ puts an extra "the" into the ToU, that is. I thought about it for a while, and I can see how complaining in public or even on general friendslock about a ficcer/artist flaking on an auction piece would be perceived as wanky -- especially by other authors/artists who participated in the auction. I imagine defenses along the lines of "well, it's still fan fiction and it's for free, so you're not actually entitled to anything!" "How do you know they flaked, anyway? Just because it's been a year since the deadline passed doesn't mean they'll never do it -- real life is more important than fandom!"
But the person who donated is in a situation very different from the fest participant who receives a regift, a crappy last-minute pinch hit, or nothing -- despite the fact that the money was not paid for the fanwork, the donator is still out that $20 or $50 or even $300, and to top it off they've got a bad taste in their mouth from the whole thing. This is another reason I avoid participating in the charity initiatives. The way I see it, a donation should be made without expecting anything in return, and the whole idea of charity drives sets it up so that donators can't help but expect a reward for their donation -- since they probably wouldn't have donated if Author X hadn't promised to write them Snupin BDSM.
And yes, we can say that they should make the donation because it's a good cause, not because there's an incentive -- the fannish incentive is just icing sugar on the offertory cake. I absolutely do not disagree with this position in principle/theory, but I see it as too idealistic -- this is a material world. That wasn't news even before Madonna was born. If you promise your teenager a car for getting straight As and then don't deliver, motivating it with "you should be pleased enough with your grades; now you can get into your top choice college!" -- do you really think the kid's going to thank you profusely for taking care of his intellectual well-being? Material/tangible rewards may be earthly and crass, but they've unfortunately been making the world go 'round for a really fucking long time. So I can understand the logic behind wanting to hold people who promise a reward in return for a donation accountable for delivering that reward. The reward isn't "money for fic"; the reward is "fic for donations" -- it's also why I take exception when people say "my fic sold for $X", because talk about interrogating the charity drive from the wrong perspective.
I see the situation similar to the following scenario. Let's say Maddy has recently lost her mother to breast cancer. A canvasser shows up at her door and asks her to donate towards breast cancer research, but Maddy has no money -- it's three weeks since payday and she's barely feeding her kids, let alone donating money to charity. But she really, really wants to donate, because it's an issue so close to her heart. So she hollers to her neighbour: "Annabelle, can I borrow five?" Since finances are always tight and she probably won't be able to pay it back, Maddy considers the contents of her pantry and adds, "In exchange, I'll bake you my apple pie next Sunday!". Annabelle is delighted at the prospect of Maddy's famous pie and brings the fiver right over. The canvasser goes away happy, Maddy and Annabelle gossip for a bit about Sophie Gluck's new boyfriend, and then they return to their respective homes. Next Sunday comes and goes, and Annabelle doesn't get her pie. Maybe Maddy forgot. Maybe she decided $5 wasn't worth the effort. Maybe she's too busy to bake that day but is fully planning on delivering the pie and her apologies the next Sunday. And hey, maybe even Annabelle forgot all about the pie. Or maybe she was really looking forward to it, and is now sitting at home fuming about Maddy being a flake (no pastry pun intended).
That is to say, to me, a fan creator offering her work is saying "I can't afford to donate, but I will write/draw something for you if you donate in my stead". Is it tacky to actually want the promised reward after the money's been donated? I don't think so, but I can see why someone with a different world-view might. So having said all that, the poll!
0011 - Poll Fandom charity drives and YOU
If you have additional thoughts, please feel free to share them -- I dislike screening comments, but you're welcome to PM me if you're uncomfortable commenting in public.
0100 - On the subject of Target 230, not cutting as none of this is a spoiler: RYOHEI IS EXTREMELY AWESOME, AND YAMAMOTO/GOKUDERA ARE EXTREMELY GAY FOR EACH OTHER. THAT'S ALL ANYONE NEEDS TO KNOW. GOD, I LOVE THIS SERIES. I WOULD TOTALLY LIVE IN IT IF SOMEONE LET ME. ;_;
0101 - My currently playing song has been making me randomly burst into tears all day, and yet I can't stop looping it. I love/hate nostalgia so much. :|
0010 - Further on the subject of fandom raising money via soliciting donations in return for fanworks -- for my own reasons, I don't participate by offering my works or donating in exchange for someone else's; I just donate privately. I see people talking about the fics/art they received in exchange for donating, and I also see people lamenting their lack of time and feeling guilty for not yet having finished the stories or art they had agreed to do in exchange for donations. One thing I haven't seen was the scenario where someone wins a bid, donates, and the author/artist doesn't deliver. After my "IT'S NOT BUYING OR SELLING, FFS" post from the other day, someone contacted me privately and asked if I could do a poll about that kind of a situation. Which I will in a moment, but I have a few thinky thoughts first (if you don't want to read those, the next cut is the poll).
There's a somewhat popular notion in the HP fandom that if you complain about anything or generally rock the boat in any way, you're just starting wank, and so a lot of people (the majority, I'd estimate) tend to keep quiet or post to a trusted filter when they are upset. Unless LJ puts an extra "the" into the ToU, that is. I thought about it for a while, and I can see how complaining in public or even on general friendslock about a ficcer/artist flaking on an auction piece would be perceived as wanky -- especially by other authors/artists who participated in the auction. I imagine defenses along the lines of "well, it's still fan fiction and it's for free, so you're not actually entitled to anything!" "How do you know they flaked, anyway? Just because it's been a year since the deadline passed doesn't mean they'll never do it -- real life is more important than fandom!"
But the person who donated is in a situation very different from the fest participant who receives a regift, a crappy last-minute pinch hit, or nothing -- despite the fact that the money was not paid for the fanwork, the donator is still out that $20 or $50 or even $300, and to top it off they've got a bad taste in their mouth from the whole thing. This is another reason I avoid participating in the charity initiatives. The way I see it, a donation should be made without expecting anything in return, and the whole idea of charity drives sets it up so that donators can't help but expect a reward for their donation -- since they probably wouldn't have donated if Author X hadn't promised to write them Snupin BDSM.
And yes, we can say that they should make the donation because it's a good cause, not because there's an incentive -- the fannish incentive is just icing sugar on the offertory cake. I absolutely do not disagree with this position in principle/theory, but I see it as too idealistic -- this is a material world. That wasn't news even before Madonna was born. If you promise your teenager a car for getting straight As and then don't deliver, motivating it with "you should be pleased enough with your grades; now you can get into your top choice college!" -- do you really think the kid's going to thank you profusely for taking care of his intellectual well-being? Material/tangible rewards may be earthly and crass, but they've unfortunately been making the world go 'round for a really fucking long time. So I can understand the logic behind wanting to hold people who promise a reward in return for a donation accountable for delivering that reward. The reward isn't "money for fic"; the reward is "fic for donations" -- it's also why I take exception when people say "my fic sold for $X", because talk about interrogating the charity drive from the wrong perspective.
I see the situation similar to the following scenario. Let's say Maddy has recently lost her mother to breast cancer. A canvasser shows up at her door and asks her to donate towards breast cancer research, but Maddy has no money -- it's three weeks since payday and she's barely feeding her kids, let alone donating money to charity. But she really, really wants to donate, because it's an issue so close to her heart. So she hollers to her neighbour: "Annabelle, can I borrow five?" Since finances are always tight and she probably won't be able to pay it back, Maddy considers the contents of her pantry and adds, "In exchange, I'll bake you my apple pie next Sunday!". Annabelle is delighted at the prospect of Maddy's famous pie and brings the fiver right over. The canvasser goes away happy, Maddy and Annabelle gossip for a bit about Sophie Gluck's new boyfriend, and then they return to their respective homes. Next Sunday comes and goes, and Annabelle doesn't get her pie. Maybe Maddy forgot. Maybe she decided $5 wasn't worth the effort. Maybe she's too busy to bake that day but is fully planning on delivering the pie and her apologies the next Sunday. And hey, maybe even Annabelle forgot all about the pie. Or maybe she was really looking forward to it, and is now sitting at home fuming about Maddy being a flake (no pastry pun intended).
That is to say, to me, a fan creator offering her work is saying "I can't afford to donate, but I will write/draw something for you if you donate in my stead". Is it tacky to actually want the promised reward after the money's been donated? I don't think so, but I can see why someone with a different world-view might. So having said all that, the poll!
0011 - Poll Fandom charity drives and YOU
If you have additional thoughts, please feel free to share them -- I dislike screening comments, but you're welcome to PM me if you're uncomfortable commenting in public.
0100 - On the subject of Target 230, not cutting as none of this is a spoiler: RYOHEI IS EXTREMELY AWESOME, AND YAMAMOTO/GOKUDERA ARE EXTREMELY GAY FOR EACH OTHER. THAT'S ALL ANYONE NEEDS TO KNOW. GOD, I LOVE THIS SERIES. I WOULD TOTALLY LIVE IN IT IF SOMEONE LET ME. ;_;
0101 - My currently playing song has been making me randomly burst into tears all day, and yet I can't stop looping it. I love/hate nostalgia so much. :|