Labie... what would you think?
Oh, I don't have any say in it. My opinion is pretty much as in my previous post, but I'm not making any rulings on it and I'm only speaking from a personal perspective.
Generally speaking, I think it's much the same as illegal downloads or file sharing...we all know it's illegal, probably unethical, but....
And I do understand the frustration of knowing there's a hot story out there and not being able to contact the author any more to obtain it direct. I understand, too, the natural desire of FoLCs to help. It's hard to sit on a story that's on your old files and not share it when someone's so anxious to read it. Especially if it's a favourite of yours and you want to share the pleasure.
I think that as far as stories in fandom go, general legal rules of copyright don't much apply. In the past, there's tended to be a sympathy for respecting the author's copyright, whether you needed to or not, simply because they're a part of our small community. We know them. They're the people we hang out with. Or used to, if they've left the fandom. That makes it easier for us to empathise with their rights and harder to ignore their preferences.
As I say though, attitudes to this one seem to have changed some over the years. Probably because respecting copyright has become less the norm and violating it more common online in a whole host of mediums. This kind of sharing of material is almost part and parcel of the net culture. A daily occurrence. So it's not seen as the big deal it perhaps once was and certainly it's my impression that it's not frowned upon as it once was either.
So, really, I'd only reiterate that it's pretty much a private deal these days and up to the individual whether they do it or not.
LabRat
