Mastodawn

Andrew (Television Executive)11h ago

I said it at the end of that post, but I was not clear at the top.

This offer also extends to all #gamedevs, toymakers and and any other kind of independent media producers.

I'm looking for a 30 - 90 second video spot about what you do that we can upload (like what we've done so far for Joker Joker TV and Working Class Music) and, if you're interested, a longer interview about your creative process in the style of What's Stopping You: https://vod.newellijay.tv/w/pgudbseVPhheAjpbC8fDYb )

What's Stopping You - S01E01: Introductions

PeerTube

This all ties back in to the thing I was talking about with @MannycartoonStudio this past weekend (see: https://retro.social/@ajroach42/116236626685474151 )

We want to live in a world where independent creative people can make their own things and be successful, without having to borrow mindshare from Disney or the (fascist monsters in the) Ellison family.

And that means that we have to showcase independent creators at every turn, and highlight and celebrate and *pay for* their works.

Andrew (Television Executive) (@[email protected])

Spent the day with a friend from the indie toy world and one of the things we ended up discussing at length was the idea that, as artists, it's very difficult to make a living without engaging some kind of pandering. In the art toy community this takes the form of something called "platform toys" which are largely generic barely characters that serve as a platform for multiple color schemes. Mostly, this means making a boring toy, and then letting a bunch of different artists get together and paint it in the color schemes of well known characters from big corporations like Skeletor or Darth Vader. I had thoughts, I'm going to try and summarize them here.

Retro Social

There's another aspect to that idea, though.

The fan art/fan fiction/mash-up/bootleg phenomenon happens partly because that's how people process the world.

Pop Culture is Folklore. Star Trek fan films are Dante's Inferno.

But a fascist sympathizer owns star trek now, and when we tell Star Trek stories we're allowing a little more of our collective folklore and collective culture, our mindshare, to go to a thing owned by fascists.

(and, certainly, vice versa. Every queer star trek story is an act of defiance, but it's an act of defiance that still requires being versed in a media property owned by shitbags.)

This is not to say "don't make fan fiction", and I fear that's how it reads.

I love fanfiction. I think it's wonderful. I like to see more of it.

I do a lot of what is essentially fan fiction!

But I work with characters from the public domain. Stuff that no one owns, or I guess that everyone owns.

I'm not against the idea of remixing. I love a remix.

I'm against the fact that most modern remixes accidentally serve to keep things owned by Disney and David Ellison in people's brains.

When two independent toy makers make their own versions of Dracula or Frankenstein, or repaint one another's toys in their toy's color scheme, I get hype. No one owns those things they're creating but them, and no one benefits from it but them, and that's sick.

When independent toymakers make another skeletor variation, I also get hype, but I also get a little sad because Universal could step in at any moment and say "I don't like this, you can't do it" and they would have very little recourse.

Fuck a corporate copyright, remix whatever you want, don't feel bad about it, figure out how to make your bread.

That's why, when I make something (like a Sky Pirate dime novel series, or a Space Exploration/Away Mission video game (and podcast series) or a show about hunting bigfoot) I use a cc-by-sa license.

I want people to remix. I want them to do it without fear or real constraint (beyond simply telling the world that it came from something I produced and making it a little easier for folks to find my thing.)

Actively and desperately, I want to see more independent artists and creators embrace more things that don't enrich a distant (often fascist) billionaire, and if they can shine a little more light on one another in the process, all the better.

Andrew (Television Executive)

I wrote a lot about this idea.

I wrote a "manifesto" about it.

https://ajroach42.com/the-small-things-manifesto/

The core idea is that we have to stop giving power to major corporations.

Stop asking for permission, certainly, but also stop working in ways that allow them to gatekeep us, or encourage us to be silent, or push us to the margins.

And, whenever possible, work together by default.

The small things Manifesto

This is a work in progress, a living document.

I advocate for using a cc-by-sa license whenever possible, because it gives explicit permission for other people to adapt, remix, re-share, and re-use your work, while maintaining your clear ownership of that work, and actively requiring remixes, re-shares, and other adaptations to link back to your original.

I use a cc-by-sa license for all my blog posts, most of my video work, and nearly everything I write.

It's the default license for #JupitersGhost and #ExpeditionSasquatch and #TheMysteriousAirPirates (and the rest of our #SkyPirates work)

It's the default license for our original toys.

In the era of AI scrapers, this might seem like a bad idea (and maybe it is!) but the AI scrapers seem to be scraping everything, regardless of how it is licensed, and if they are ever held legally accountable for that, their use of my works will be as much of an illegal license violation (no attribution!) as the rest of their reuse is illegal copyright infringement (probably, I am not a lawyer, and I'm definitely not your lawyer.)

What I am, though is very much in the "rising tides raise all ships" camp of creativity.

If someone remixes something I've created and they do really well with it, that's great. Legally, it'll have a very clear statement that it includes part of X created by Me and linking to the place where I publish X.

That just serves to further highlight my creative work.

And the more substantially their work is based on my work, the more likely it becomes that my work will be seen.

You can see this in action with the new Antimemetics short film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v8AsTHfAG0

It's based on a serial published on the SCP wiki ( https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/antimemetics-division-hub ) which the author later adapted as an SCP novel https://dn710000.ca.archive.org/0/items/there-is-no-antimemetics-division/There-Is-No-Antimemetics-Division.pdf

and then, ultimately, as an original novel with references to the SCP project removed: https://dn710000.ca.archive.org/0/items/there-is-no-antimemetics-division/There-Is-No-Antimemetics-Division.pdf

There is at least one other series of short films that I'm aware of (which we've redistributed on NETV: https://vod.newellijay.tv/w/p/2z7ZxKWko9MgdeyuaVcehf )

Sci-Fi Short Film "There Is No Antimemetics Division" | DUST | Starring Jasika Nicole

YouTube

So a group of authors got together and inspired another author to produce a serial that got adapted into a novel that got adapted into multiple short films, all CC-BY-SA.

The author of the serial/novel ultimately also got published by a mainstream publisher, and in doing so removed all references to the CC-BY-SA work that originally inspired him.

This is fine, good even. It happens in the fan-fiction world all the time in ways that are much more legally dubious.

And the original Antimemetics material as part of SCP is still available for anyone to remix and adapt however they see fit.

I know some folks have issue with the idea that the antimemetics book got published with the SCP serial numbers filed off, but that's how this works. It's how it has always worked. If you want to work with a major corporation, they need things to be neat and tidy. They need the serial numbers removed.

I don't mind it, because I like it when authors get paid, and the book is very good, and if I want to make my own antimemetics division works, I am absolutely legally protected in doing so, so long as I credit SCP or qntm, and allow my work to be remixed.

qntm doesn't have to abide by those rules as long as qntm isn't referencing scp, because qntm created the antimemetics division.

By the same token, I could release an episode of Expedition Sasquatch that is all rights reserved, or an ES novel that is all rights reserved without violating the license on the CC-BY-SA episodes, because I am the original author.

But I probably won't, because that's not my goal.

My goal is to provide a platform upon which other creatives can produce new material without enriching a distant billionaire.

I would love for someone to make a lot of money on the back of one of my creative projects, even if I personally don't.

Because, if someone else makes money from something I couldn't, while actively allowing full remixing and free re-distribution of their creative work *and* linking back to the thing I produced that they remixed, that means they've brought something to the table that I couldn't bring, and they've earned that money.

That's great. The fact that I got to play a role in that is great. And the fact that, so long as they continue to be successful, more people will continue to find the thing I produced that inspired them, is great.

So yeah!

Community Media Spotlight.

We're making noise about independent artists and video producers and game makers and writers and toy makers and whoever else catches my attention.

If you want to be included, reach out and I'll get you in touch with the crew who is uploading the videos.

If you want to follow along, the best spot to do that is probably the free tier on our patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/CommunityBroadcastingNetwork

or our blog: https://communitybroadcasting.network

or following that blog on the fediverse @communitybroadcasting.network

or following our video channel on the fediverse: @communitymediavideos

or following us on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CommunityBroadcastingNetwork

Joshua A.C. Newman 8h ago

@ajroach42
I use NC (noncommercial) in my CC license because anyone engaging in a potentially commercial project has to contact me first. My stipulation has always been “Go for it, and if you make more than $1000, I get 5%.”

Most “commercial” projects don’t even come close, and I don’t want to be the reason their project couldn’t get on its feet. And also, if someone is gonna make money on my hard-won creative output, that should include me.

Andrew (Television Executive)7h ago

@JoshuaACNewman I fundamentally disagree, and believe that the additional restriction of "talk to me first" creates enough friction that it serves to discourage further creation.

Whenever possible, I encourage commercial re-use. Artists deserve to eat. If they want to compensate me for re-using something I made, that's great, but mostly their going to lose money and mostly I'm going to widen my net.

But that's me, and you're you. I suppose we have different goals, or perhaps different values. I'm glad you found something you're happy with and that aligns with your goals and values.

Joshua A.C. Newman 7h ago

@ajroach42
I hit on this for something that has sufficient commercial potential that the people most likely to benefit were going to be people with more resources than artists could bring to bear.

There is already a lot that uses my CC IP, and it’s fantastic. I typically get courtesy emails anyway, so that friction is evidently low — plus, the community around the project is enthusiastic to explain and encourage.

Andrew (Television Executive)7h ago

@JoshuaACNewman that's great and I'm glad for you. It's still fundamentally at odds with my personal goals (as discussed elsewhere in this thread) but I'm glad it works for you.

Joshua A.C. Newman 7h ago

@ajroach42
Yeah, it’s an experience, not a recommendation. My reasoning OSS very much like yours for projects that won’t immediately raise the interest of low-effort piracy by larger entities.

Andrew (Television Executive)7h ago

@JoshuaACNewman if a large entity wants to rip me off, they'll do it either way.

Joshua A.C. Newman 7h ago

@ajroach42
The NC nature of my license has enabled me to have conversations with big guys that would have otherwise been impossible, had the thought that any other big guy could just copy their work free until it was owned by Sorner Bros.

Again, not a recommendation, just experience.

Andrew (Television Executive)6h ago

@JoshuaACNewman

I'm not sure how you want this conversation to go.

You seem very invested in defending or justifying your use of a non-commerical clause in your re-use license.

I think it's fine that you use an NC clause, but find the concept largely at odds with my personal goals and values.

You say you're not providing a recommendation, so I'm trying to figure out what your goal is so I can figure out my role here.

If we're discussing licensing strategies, I've pretty much said my piece. If we're talking about strategies for avoiding getting screwed by corporations, I can do that. I have thoughts that I haven't fully collected.

If we're just talking about your personal experience with non-commercial licensing, that's cool. As I've said, I'm glad you found something that works for you but I also have something that works for me, based in deeply interrogated goals and values. Hearing about your successes can't really impact that, because our goals diverge.

I hope this doesn't sound hostile, I'm just not sure how you want me to respond.

Joshua A.C. Newman 6h ago

@ajroach42
I think I was just coming to the conversation having read and admired your thread.

I, too, am glad that you’re able to wield the license to suit your creative goals. That’s really my position.

Andrew (Television Executive)6h ago

@JoshuaACNewman okay cool, sorry I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something in tone, context, or intent. These things are hard online.

When it comes to licensing, I view it as an invitation more than as legal protection.

Ultimately, I know that the American copyright system will only protect registered copyrights, and I know that the American court system has been bought and sold. I don't expect any legal protection within the US if a major corporation decides to rip me off. (I find my designs on unlicensed t-shirts regularly. All they gotta do is gimmie a link, and they don't. I have a form letter I send out. It works about one time in five. The websites disappear and reappear faster than I can count the infringements and license violations.)

I want folks to feel good about how their work is getting used and distributed, and if you do that's awesome.

I want folks to be able to get paid, regardless of if I'm getting paid. All I ask for is my link. (well, no. I frequently *ask* for more. I'll say things like "I'd love for you to send me a copy" or "that's really good, do you have a tip jar?" or "hey, if this works, consider throwing a couple of bucks in my tip jar" but those are just requests, not obligations.)

I have no faith in the legal system that underpins it all, though. If I did, I might approach the whole thing with more nuance.

Joshua A.C. Newman 6h ago

@ajroach42
Yeah, fan designs of my shit get ripped off and sold on Amazon. I can’t keep up, even though I wanted to lean in, make them official, and send the proceeds to the creators. It’s just too exhausting.

Andrew (Television Executive)5h ago

@JoshuaACNewman Licensing discussion aside, I'd love to know about your work!

Joshua A.C. Newman 5h ago

@ajroach42
My own publishing interests are dormant right now, but about to pick back up again.

But, there’s Mobile Frame Zero, which is my best known thing: https://www.reddit.com/r/MFZ/s/FPF6tcGciZ

I have a good number of roleplaying games in my portfolio, usually of a literary speculative fiction bent. This is the best: https://joshuaacnewman.itch.io/the-bloody-handed-name-of-bronze
…but literally released on day 1 of the pandemic and it pretty much shut the doors on my publishing house.

Andrew (Television Executive)5h ago

@JoshuaACNewman MFZ looks neat, I'll have to dig in.

Joshua A.C. Newman 5h ago

@ajroach42 Please do! The scene is super friendly and diverse. One of my first assertions on a fan forum was “I don’t care if someone says ‘fuck’, but no one here is going to say anything that diminishes anyone’s personhood.”

That standard has been held really well.

Joshua A.C. Newman 5h ago

@ajroach42
These days, I’m building electronic instruments and publishing weird music. https://www.patreon.com/c/Joshua

#witch #dinosaur #skateboarding #enamelpins #pizza #coffee

@ajroach42 i agree. Most of the pins I created for my shop are lil self contained ideas not based on anything owned in the larger sense. I miss judged how much storytelling id need to do to sell my notions to people. I tried a few IP swipes and mash ups thinking that's what was holding me back 🙃

Now I use my own original sculpts overtly to showcase other people's creatives. Lol I might be UNWELL! LOL.

@MannycartoonStudio Time to storytell.

@MannycartoonStudio Maybe it's time for a Volt + Junk + Astro side scroller for the gameboy color.

@ajroach42 lol the volt game would be a bunch of imagination mini games and putting Junk togther. 🤣 could be fun.

Astro would be about him flying around with Junk fixing broken robots with ever growing sizes and meditating on asteroid.

@MannycartoonStudio You're against doing comics yourself, right?

@ajroach4way too much work.

@MannycartoonStudio You would know better than me.

#sloth #astronaut #animation

@ajroach42 ive got it in me somewhere. I just need focus. I kinda know how I want to tell the stories...focus is the main issue.

@MannycartoonStudio

I don't think it's focus, or at least I don't think it's *just* focus.

It's also having the right help, and having the right time. Day job's are exhausting, and doing nothing is a whole lot easier than doing something after you spend all day working for other people.

I'm not very focused (as you can see from the number of things we usually have in the works) but I get a lot done (as you can see from the number of things I've done.)

Getting organized and building the discipline to work, regardless of what you're working on goes a long way.

Giving yourself a billion projects to pick between helps with the lack of focus.