The Foresmutters
Project Manifesto
The Foresmutters Project is a disorganized effort to type in old printzine
stories for posting online. There have been some rumors floating around
about it, so this is our Manifesto.
We have been using our resources and influence to ensure:
· that no story will appear
online without the explicit permission of the author or hir heirs. If
the author cannot be identified and located, the story won't go up.
· that existing copyrights in
works of fan fiction remain valid and that older works do not, through
inadvertent omission of the proper copyright notice, pass into the public
domain. In fan fiction, the copyright is almost always the author's,
except in those rare instances in which the author has assigned hir
copyright to the editor.
· that no story will appear online
except under a name of the author's choosing. If the author wishes to
remain anonymous online, we will encourage people who recognize the
story not to "out" hir.
Most of the interest in the Foresmutters Project so far has been directed
toward material from the earliest days of slash -- stories in zines that
are physically deteriorating. Our interest is *not* in posting stories
from zines that are still in print and readily available. We are also
not planning to scan or archive works of fan art.
Present character-reading technology is not able to cope with the low
print quality of most zines. Because nothing is going up that someone
isn't willing to type in, you can expect individual stories, essays, or
LOCs to show up that someone cares about, but not the whole content of
run-of-the-mill zines. The Foresmutters Project is by no means (theoretically)
limited to K/S, but that's what people have been most interested in, so
far. Mary Ellen is very interested in finding out what story is the earliest
example of S/Mc (no K), but hasn't had any luck.
If there's an old zine story or poem that you love and want to save for
the world, and that you're willing be the Prime Mover for, contact Mary
Ellen Curtin or Judith Gran.
Our function is to help people contact authors and to prevent duplication
of effort; we're also willing to help find typists, proofreaders, etc..
At least for 1999, Gayle Feyrer does *not* wish her fanfiction or art
to appear online, and we will do everything possible to see that her wish
is respected.
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