Passing For Normal

Stargate SG-1 fandom recently and unexpectedly lost a beloved member of the community and fanworks creator. I didn't know Sid, but I know a number of people who did know her and who treasured her friendship, and I liked her writing very much.

I would like to podfic one or more of her stories as a tribute to her, honoring her memory. The problem is that she never posted a transformative works policy anywhere, so there was nothing to indicate whether or not this would be okay with her.

I've been in touch with some people close to her, and the consensus is that she was generally pro-fanworks and had enjoyed podfic of other people's work, so she'd almost certainly have been pleased about this. (Maybe, somewhere, she is.)

All this has brought a couple of things to the forefront of my mind, and I'd like to encourage all of you to think about them, too.

1) Please post a transformative works policy somewhere easy to find. Say how you feel about people making things inspired by your own work. Podfics, remixes, spin-offs, art, fanmixes, craft work, and anything else your creations might inspire others to make. You could grant blanket permission, or it could be blanket refusal, or you could allow some things and disallow others. It's all up to you. But make a decision about it. Post it. Make it easy to find. Put it on your LJ/DW Profile pages. Put it on your AO3 Profile. If you have a Sticky post for your fanworks index, put it there or link to it. Please.

1a) akamine_chan recently posted a thoughtful and helpful meta essay on what to do if you want to encourage and enable podficcers to record your stories.

[meta] So you wanna be podficced? (1010 words) by akamine_chan
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Meta - Fandom
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Additional Tags: Podfic Meta, Meta, Podfic
Summary:

So you wanna be podficced? Here's a handy-dandy guide that may help you get your wish. I make no promises, though.

2) Read about Fannish Estate Planning and think about naming a Fannish Next-of-Kin, just in case someday you might get hit by a bus or step through a portal into an alternate universe or get beamed onto the Enterprise and whisked into the future or otherwise leave this life and your fanworks behind. What will be the fate of your fanworks when you're gone? Is there someone into whose hands you can put them? Someone who can make decisions about them, or make sure your wishes are carried out? It can help make sure that your creations live on and that your choices about them are honored.

Disclosure: I've only done the first of these things myself, so far. #2 is a big one, but at least I've started my inner wheels turning.