#repost from fictionpress.com

[do-a-reference-properly]

AO3′s users alert! Unauthorised fanworks copying

26/09/2019. Important update on this mess: we found a way to delete fanworks via take down request to the hosting provider. Please check it here https://do-a-reference-properly.tumblr.com/post/187926459079/finally-some-good-news

Dear AO3 users,

We would like to bring your attention to an ugly situation with unauthorized copying of works posted on AO3.

A lot of works from AO3 have been copied to fanfics.me (we’ll call this site FFM for brevity’s sake) and are still being copied right now, either:

— automatically by a code specifically created by FFM’s owner for this purpose, or

— by unaware or unscrupulous FFM’s users via semi-automatic method (by inserting a link to a work from AO3 into a web-worm on FFM).

All works from AO3 — with a few exceptions (I’ll elaborate on this below) — can end up on FFM without authors even noticing. Even fanarts or podfics.

FFM doesn't comply with DMCA which means that such reposts endanger fanworks' creators in case the copyright holder demands to delete the fanwork.

Authors of the copied works do not have any control over them; if the work is edited it won’t be updated on FFM until someone manually updates it.

Additionally FFM’s owner makes money out of reposted free fanworks from numerous Google and Yandex ads on each and every FFM’s page by having people go to this site when searching for fics on Google etc. So we recommend using an Ads Blocker when visiting this site in order to prevent the owner from earning more. Ghostery or Adblock Plus work just fine, but you can use any other Ads Blocker that is convenient to you.

Oftentimes FFM even shows up before the original post with the work on Google search results.

The owner’s e-mail: refery@fanfics.ru.

The owner at AO3.

We are trying to bring AO3’s users attention to this situation and help authors with taking their works down from FFM.

 Briefly about the website and its owner

Let me start from the very beginning as it will bring into the light the nature of FFM and give a good example of its owner characteristic behavior.

At first, some person with nickname Refery created FFM as a web archive where authors — mostly from Harry Potter fandom — could publish their fanworks.

Time passed, the site grew and added some features (blogs, pre-moderation and etc.), and all was good and well up till the moment when Refery decided that it would be a great idea to copy to FFM fanworks published on other Russian fanfiction archives — among them from the biggest and most known site ficbook — without asking authors for permission. Even those works that had “Ask me before posting the story somewhere else” mentioned in its text or summary were copied.

For some time nobody noticed, but when finally and inevitably this came out the authors were outraged. It took a lot of time to finally persuade Refery to at least not to copy fanworks bearing a special tag “Уточнять у автора” (Ask the author first).

But after some time Refery — without giving any notice — violated his own promise and resumed copying to FFM fanworks that had the agreed upon tag. The authors complained again, so very reluctantly and after many painful discussions this feature was reinstalled.

So FFM has been notoriously known, mostly amongst Russian fandom, for claims on re-posting fanworks without the consent of the authors.

We're mentioning this situation just to give you a detailed portrait of a person we are dealing with here.

Not only fanworks are copied to this website, but original works, too. Even those which were already published. There were all 7 of Harry Potter novels (both original text and translation), The Hobbit: There and Back Again (translation) and Vorkosigan Saga (translation) available for everybody to read and download. They were taken down only recently due to the attention this whole situation had drawn, but nothing ever goes away once it’s posted online and you can access the proof via Internet Wayback machine. We know for a fact there are other books on FFM and some actions have been taken in this regard, but still it takes time to find published books on this site.

Recently Refery decided that Russian archives are not enough for him and started copying all fanworks into FFM without any permission from the authors from numerous sites, like AO3, fanfiction.net, fictionpress.com, fanfiktion.de and likely other web-archives.

Moreover, the authors of these works can not delete their works from FFM and/or manage them. The site is in Russian only and, hence, we strongly believe that non-Russian speaking authors even do not know that their works are reposted somewhere else.

As a Russian fan-community, we have tried to stop such activity of FFM many times; however, we have not been successful in achieving our goal completely. Our most recent achievement is that the FFM’s owner implemented the "Don't copy to another site" tag created specifically for AO3 (here is the link to FFM’s owner post on his personal blog regarding this tag. Please use Ads Blocker!). This tag should be added to each work presented on AO3 in case the author does not want their works to be copied to FFM.

We are of the opinion that no work should be taken without permission in the first place, but this tag is all we’ve got.

Please note that it seems that some time ago there was similar case of unauthorized copying with other site. Please check this link, they give useful advice.

How to prevent copying from AO3

If you check AO3 you may notice that "Don't copy to another site" tag has hugely emerged in the recent weeks, but mostly amongst Russian users and there is a good reason for this: the owner of FFM announced this tag only in Russian and only on his private blog, so naturally there is no way for non-Russian speaking AO3 users to know about this — albeit non-satisfactory — solution.

There are no guaranties that the FFM’s owner won’t change the rules again as has already happened numerous times before (few examples we described above) and that works with this tag won’t be reposted in the future, but for now it’s the only quick and working solution besides making your works visible only to registered users, which is not ideal. 

This situation is highly unpleasant, but we ask you not to delete your works from AO3, because if the work is deleted from AO3 it will be nearly impossible to delete it from FFM: we won't be able to refresh it manually and remove the text.

Please note that adding this tag won’t work for texts that have already been copied. Only users who have accounts at FFM will be able to delete them. Each work needs to be deleted manually.

However, the Russian fandom — except for the owner of FFM — strongly condemns reposts without the consent of the author, so feel free to contact our volunteers (through DM or Ask on our tumblr page) providing the links to the works stolen from AO3, so we could delete them for you.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to cover all authors and works manually. So, we contacted AO3’ Technical Team with the aim to bring their attention to this situation and inform about it all AO3 users, and hope that AO3 team will find a general solution to resolve this problem, possibly, in collaboration with the AO3 lawyers.

We are trying to warn as many authors as possible and recently started spreading this information via comments on AO3; but considering the number of works copied to FFM informing all authors will take considerable time, and we can easily miss someone, especially since the copying is still in progress and new works from AO3 are appearing on FFM every day.

Please help us spread the word!

 We tried to make a comprehensive FAQ about this. Feel free to ask if anything is unclear!

FAQ

Q: Can I check if my work was copied to FFM?

A: Yes, you can.

FFM makes money on Google and Yandex ads, so we recommend turning on the Ads Blocker of your choice before visiting this site.

Please follow this link, insert the title of your work or your AO3/other web-archive nickname into the field containing the words "insert-title-nickname" and hit "Искать" (Search).

For works rated Mature or Explicit you will be able to see only the caption "Текст произведения доступен только зарегистрированным пользователям старше 18 лет" ("The text of the work is available only to registered users over 18 years old"), but FFM users are able to read and download the story.

Q: My work from AO3 was copied. How can I take it down?

A: First of all add the tag "Don't copy to another site" (without “ “) to the stories you want to be taken down.

Actually we would recommend adding this tag to all the works you don't want to be copied.

Contact one of our volunteers (through DM or Ask on our tumblr page) providing links to your works or send an e-mail with your deletion request directly to the FFM owner at refery@fanfics.ru or at AO3. 

There is a third option: to register on FFM and delete the work yourself by hitting the refresh button, but considering that the site is in Russian we do not think it will be very convenient to those who do not speak Russian language.

Q: I got the message that my work has been deleted. How can I check if it is true?

A: You can go to FFM, search for you work, click on its title and scroll down.

After the summary there is a field that should look like this for those fics that have been deleted.

Basically it says that the author of this particular work has forbidden its copying and that only the information on its title, author’s nickname, rating, pairings, summary and the link to original post on AO3 are available. 

For works that are still available on FFM this field looks like this (if the work is open for non-registered users).

Q: My work copied from AO3 was deleted, but FFM still shows some information on it. Can it be deleted?

A: Even though the text of the fic is not going to be on FFM anymore after it has been deleted, the fic's title, author's name, rating, pairings, summary and link to original post on AO3 will remain there.

The deletion of this leftover information can be done only by the site owner himself.

Some Russian authors tried to make him to delete it, but in most cases the FFM’s owner refused them mentioning that publication of such information is in line with fair use concept and doesn’t violate authors’ rights.

We are yet unsure how to delete this leftover information. In case you need it as well, try contacting the FFM owner at refery@fanfics.ru or at AO3. Maybe e-mails of a large number of authors will work, but unfortunately we can’t guarantee anything. In case you need it, we can provide Russian text for you to send by e-mail (please contact our volunteers through DM or Ask on our tumblr page).

Q: My work from fanfiction.net/fictionpress.com/fanfiktion.de/other web-archives was copied to FFM. How can I take it down?

A: Unfortunately, there is no possible way for us to delete from FFM the fanworks that are copied from web-archives other then AO3. Only FFM’s owner can delete these works, please try contacting him at refery@fanfics.ru or at AO3. In case you need it, we can provide Russian text for you to send by e-mail (please contact our volunteers through DM or Ask on our tumblr page).

Please do not delete your works from the web-archive it was stolen from, because if the work is deleted it will be nearly impossible to delete it from FFM.

Also it seems that some time ago there was similar case of unauthorized copying with other site. Please check this link, they give useful advice.

[beneficialaddiction]

Check your Works Y’all!!

Hey All - just got a message that my works are being reposted on Fanfic.me - a Russian site that steals and reposts fic from AO3, ff.net, and other sites. They recommend adding a “Don’t copy to another site” tag to your work if  you don’t want it stolen. I’ve contacted their admin and owner so we’ll see if they take it down.

teedo at AO3 was kind enough to offer the following information.

“Recently the owner of FFM suggested (https://fanfics.me/message399014) using "Don't copy to another site" tag on AO3 in case you don’t want your work to be copied to FFM. If you check AO3 you may notice that this tag has hugely emerged in the recent weeks (https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Don't%20copy%20to%20another%20site) but mostly amongst Russian users and there is a good reason for this: the owner of FFM is Russian and announced this tag only in Russian and only at his own blog, so naturally there is no way for non-Russian speaking AO3 users to know about this – albeit non-satisfactory - solution. There are no guaranties that the FFM’s owner won’t change the rules again as has already happened numerous times and that works with this tag won’t be reposted in the future, but for now it’s the only quick and working solution.

Please note that adding this tag won’t work for works that have already been stolen, as only those who have accounts at FFM will be able to delete the work. However, the Russian fandom – except for the owner of FFM – strongly condemns reposts without the consent of the author, so feel free to contact me again providing the links to the stolen works, so we could delete it for you.Please note that FFM also copies your works posted on fanfiction.net, fictionpress.com, fanfiktion.de and likely other web-archives, but for these sites there is no way to forbid such copying in the first place, no tag, nothing at all. We will gladly assist you in deleting fanworks copied to FFM from any other web-archive, the same as we'll gladly do for works copied from AO3.

Additionally FFM’s owner makes money out of reposted free fanworks from numerous Google and Yandex ads on each and every FFM’s page by having people go to this site when searching for fics on Google etc. So we recommend using an Ads Blocker when visiting this site in order to prevent the owner from earning more. Ghostery or Adblock Plus work just fine, but you can use any other Ads Blocker that is convenient to you.

If you or your fellow authors want to check whether any other fanworks were reposted either from AO3 or other web-archive, please follow this link https://fanfics.me/fictofile/find?str=insert-title-nickname, insert the title of your work or your AO3/other web-archive nickname into the field containing the words "insert-title-nickname" and hit "Искать". For works rated mature or explicit you may only see the caption "Текст произведения доступен только зарегистрированным пользователям старше 18 лет" ("The text of the work is available only to registered users over 18 years old"), but FFM users are able to read and download the story.”

STAY SAFE FRIENDS!!

[mercurialsmile]

*~Commission Info~*

Slots Available:

1. [OPEN] 2. [OPEN] 3. [OPEN] 4. [OPEN] 5. [OPEN]

PAYMENT THROUGH PAYPAL ONLY!

DM ME or SEND AN ASK OFF ANON!

NO REFUNDS

I offer two different types of commissions; writing and editing.

I charge .01 cents per word for both writing and editing.

Every 1000 words after 5000 will have an additional fee of $5 per 1000 words.

500 words–$5 1,000 words–$10 2,000 words–$20 3,000 words–$30 4,000 words–$40 5,000 words–$50 6,000 words–$65 7,000 words–$80 8,000 words–$95 9,000 words–$105 10,000 words–$120

I will only go up to 10,000 words. Anything over that I will not do.

The longer you want your commission, the more detail and conflict you will have to give me!

Note: If I go under the word count you paid you’ll only have to pay me for the actual word count. If I go over that word count (wrote, you won’t have to pay extra.

So, if for example you paid me to write a 1000 word oneshot and it only managed to be around 963 words long, then you’ll only have to pay me $9.63 (unless you wanna pay me the full $10). If it managed to go over 1000 words, and was for example, around 1145 words, then you’ll only have to pay the $10 and not that extra $1.45 (again, unless you wanna pay for that!)

For editing, I use a professional online editor to help me catch all mistakes in grammar, style, and wording. Unlike with writing, I can edit any fiction work, including fanfiction, from any fandom, however if it’s for a fandom for a piece of media I have not experienced, I may not be able to edit it as well as if I were editing something I am familiar with. I will let you know if that is indeed the situation. I will also italicize/highlight all my edits in your work so you can see what I changed. I recommend not giving me the original document of your work but a copy so you can see what I changed. If you want me to edit your work, you will HAVE to email me your work OR have it posted online somewhere for me to access!

Notice: I work full time. Because of this, I will only be taking 5 commissions at a time. Furthermore, it may take me a bit to get your commission drafted mattering on how long it is and the subject. All I can ask is patience while I work on it.

I will write/edit:

NSFW

Certain Kinks*

Heavy violence/Gore/Torture

Original Characters and Fanon Characters

Fanfiction**

Original Works***

I will NOT write/edit:

Rape

Bestiality (Human/Animal. Furries and other anthros are okay)

Poetry/Song lyrics

Certain Kinks*

Nonfiction

2nd Person/Reader inserts

Essays/Blog posts

Real Person Fiction

Pedophilia

*The particular kink will have to be discussed with me. There are just so many kinks out there that I can’t possibly list all the ones I can and cannot do. Just let me know what kink it is and I can usually pretty quickly determine if I can write it or not.

**With fanfiction, I can only do certain fandoms of media that I have actually seen/read/watched. This list includes, but is not limited to: Gravity Falls, Steven Universe, Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, Harry Potter, Over the Garden Wall, Dragon Age Origins and Inquisition, Pokemon (games only), Danny Phantom, Villainous, Doctor Who (up to the 11th doctor), Blue Exorcist, BNHA (anime only), and Full Metal Alchemist. If something you want isn’t on this list, feel free to ask me about it! I may be able to do it, may not! I can’t possibly list everything I’ve seen, so it’s highly likely something you like I may be able to do!

***With original works, you will have to give me as much detail as possible about the characters and the setting/world. I will be only writing based off the info you give me! So make sure you give me adequate details!

If there’s something you want me to write that is not on either of the above lists, just ask me in your request and I’ll let you know if I can do it or not!

I HAVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE ANY REQUEST UPON ANY GROUNDS I SEE FIT!

After we have discussed what sort of commission you want, I will inform you when I will be able to start working on it and do so. For editing, you will need to email me your work.

For editing, the price will match however many words long your piece is. I will require at the very least, half of that amount upfront. After I have your piece edited, I will require the rest of the payment if you didn’t pay me fully upfront after I send you the edited document.

For writing, I will write the first draft for you and give you the price estimate based upon that. I will also provide about a third to a half of the draft to read to make sure I am writing it close to how you want it. After you pay me, I will go back and finalize the draft and send you the full and edited version.

If there are mistakes in the full and edited version, and they are minor mistakes (misspellings, grammar mistakes, and minor content mistakes) I will go back and fix it for you, free of charge!

However, is there are major mistakes (rewriting anything a paragraph or longer, for instance), I will require a small fee based upon how much needs to be fixed. (if 500 words need to be rewritten or reworked, that will be $5 for instance).

I will not post anything online unless it is asked of me to. If you don’t want me to email you the document of your commission, I can instead post it to one of the following sites: Tumblr, AO3, fanfiction.net OR fictionpress.com, Deviant Art, or Wattpad. You can choose the site(s) you would like it to be posted on.

Note: Though I may not own anything I am writing, I do retain the rights to the actual writing itself. You may not use my writing and try and pass it off as your own work. Upon commissioning me, you agree that you will not repost my work on any site.

If you have any questions about anything, let me know while we are discussing your commission!

Also, examples of my writing can be found on my AO3. The newest fics are the ones that have the best example of my work. 

[mercurialsmile]

~*Writing Commissions*~

So! I am officially opening up writing commissions!

PAYMENT THROUGH PAYPAL ONLY!

DM ME FOR INFO or SEND AN ASK OFF ANON!

NO REFUNDS!

I offer two different types of commissions; writing and editing.

I charge .01 cents per word for both writing and editing.

Every 1000 words after 5000 will have an additional fee of $5 per 1000 words.

500 words--$5 1,000 words--$10 2,000 words--$20 3,000 words--$30 4,000 words--$40 5,000 words--$50 6,000 words–$65 7,000 words–$80 8,000 words–$95 9,000 words–$105 10,000 words–$120

I will only go up to 10,000 words. Anything over that I will not do.

The longer you want your commission, the more detail and conflict you will have to give me!

Note: If I go under the word count you paid you'll only have to pay me for the actual word count. If I go over that word count (wrote, you won't have to pay extra.

So, if for example you paid me to write a 1000 word oneshot and it only managed to be around 963 words long, then you'll only have to pay me $9.63 (unless you wanna pay me the full $10). If it managed to go over 1000 words, and was for example, around 1145 words, then you'll only have to pay the $10 and not that extra $1.45 (again, unless you wanna pay for that!)

For editing, I use a professional online editor to help me catch all mistakes in grammar, style, and wording. Unlike with writing, I can edit any fiction work, including fanfiction, from any fandom, however if it’s for a fandom for a piece of media I have not experienced, I may not be able to edit it as well as if I were editing something I am familiar with. I will let you know if that is indeed the situation. I will also italicize/highlight all my edits in your work so you can see what I changed. I recommend not giving me the original document of your work but a copy so you can see what I changed. If you want me to edit your work, you will HAVE to email me your work OR have it posted online somewhere for me to access!

Notice: I work anywhere between 25-35 hours a week and am a full time student. Because of this, I will only be taking 3 commissions at a time. Furthermore, it may take me a couple of weeks to get your commission drafted mattering on how long it is and the subject. All I can ask is patience while I work on it.

I will write/edit:

NSFW

Certain Kinks*

Heavy violence/Gore/Torture

Original Characters and Fanon Characters

Fanfiction**

Original Works***

I will NOT write/edit:

Rape

Bestiality

Poetry/Song lyrics

Certain Kinks*

Nonfiction

2nd Person/Reader inserts

Essays/Blog posts

Real Person Fiction

Pedophilia

*The particular kink will have to be discussed with me. There are just so many kinks out there that I can’t possibly list all the ones I can and cannot do. Just let me know what kink it is and I can usually pretty quickly determine if I can write it or not.

**With fanfiction, I can only do certain fandoms of media that I have actually seen/read/watched. This list includes, but is not limited to: Gravity Falls, Steven Universe, Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, Harry Potter, Over the Garden Wall, Dragon Age Origins and Inquisition, Pokemon (games only), Danny Phantom, Villainous, Doctor Who (up to the 11th doctor), Blue Exorcist, BNHA (anime only), and Full Metal Alchemist. If something you want isn’t on this list, feel free to ask me about it! I may be able to do it, may not! I can’t possibly list everything I’ve seen, so it’s highly likely something you like I may be able to do!

***With original works, you will have to give me as much detail as possible about the characters and the setting/world. I will be only writing based off the details you give me! So make sure you give me adequate details!

If there’s something you want me to write that is not on either of the above lists, just ask me in your request and I’ll let you know if I can do it or not!

I HAVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE ANY REQUEST UPON ANY GROUNDS I SEE FIT!

After we have discussed what sort of commission you want, I will inform you when I will be able to start working on it and do so. For editing, you will need to email me your work.

For editing, the price will match however many words long your piece is. I will require at the very least, half of that amount upfront. After I have your piece edited, I will require the rest of the payment if you didn’t pay me fully upfront after I send you the edited document.

For writing, I will write the first draft for you and give you the price estimate based upon that. I will also provide about a third to a half of the draft to read to make sure I am writing it close to how you want it. After you pay me, I will go back and finalize the draft and send you the full and edited version.

If there are mistakes in the full and edited version, and they are minor mistakes (misspellings, grammar mistakes, and minor content mistakes) I will go back and fix it for you, free of charge!

However, is there are major mistakes (rewriting anything a paragraph or longer, for instance), I will require a small fee based upon how much needs to be fixed. (if 500 words need to be rewritten or reworked, that will be $5 for instance).

I will not post anything online unless it is asked of me to. If you don’t want me to email you the document of your commission, I can instead post it to one of the following sites: Tumblr, AO3, fanfiction.net OR fictionpress.com, Deviant Art, or Wattpad. You can choose the site(s) you would like it to be posted on.

Note: Though I may not own anything I am writing, I do retain the rights to the actual writing itself. You may not use my writing and try and pass it off as your own work. Upon commissioning me, you agree that you will not repost my work on any site.

If you have any questions about anything, let me know while we are discussing your commission!