@ Ashley
I stole wog boggled from Peter Jackson of Lord of the Rings. Sorry off topic but fun!
I just have to say that I admire Melissa & Co. for their mature handling of this trying situation. It’s why I keep coming back! It’s a sad situation for all concerned.
I’m curious, does anyone know why SVA in the UK? I thought he was a librarian in Michigan. In “What’s New” he mentions finishing up Quidditch Through the Ages in the Portkey during the earthquake and that was Feb. 27.
The swings in the comments have been huge in the last week, they went from talking walnuts to court cases or from frivolity to very serious.
Ahhh, sorry mollywobbles23, I was looking at something else and thought it was you. :)
And I second the vote on “wog boggled” being a favourite phrase! :)
“Wog Boggled” I just said that aloud and my boyfriend looked at me like I was crazy. Love it! Thanks Richard!!
@ Loader Lady
In his declaration, Filing 52 Paragraph 26, SVA says he went to the UK to start his writing career. Here is the quote:
“In the spring of 2007, I began to make preparations to move to London. I was hoping to obtain a work visa, which meant that, under British law, I would have to find a company to sponsor me. Toward that end, I tried byphone and email to contact the Christopher Little Agency. I also wanted to ask about my ideas for using the material on the website for a book, possibly a reader’s guide of some kind. Before visiting London in July of 2007, I requested a fifteen-minute meeting with the Agency to discuss both the work visa and the possibility of using material from the Lexicon for a book and was toldthey didn’t have time. I made no further plans for a book until Roger Rapoport of RDR Books contacted me. “
BTW Mollywobbles23 rocks!!!
Thanks! lol How’d you know I played guitar? lol :-P : – )
Ok, I just read 29 pages of comments…
Concerning Leaky’s decision, I feel kind of like Sam said about the Elves in LotR: “it is above my likes or dislikes.” They work hard to maintain a website, and are free to make a decision, in particular when it is unanimous among their members. It does seem that this secret money making scheme off the Floo Network would be reason enough to sever ties. I don’t quite understand why people say they feel for Leaky right now, when it’s SVA who looks bad. Perhaps the sadness of disbanding the Floo Network, and, like someone said, the difficulty of standing up to one’s friends (the Neville courage). I have been going to all the websites independently of each other, and haven’t ever used the Floo homepage until now, to understand what was happening. Does this mean the Floo page will disappear?
Some people asked why now, and some asked why not earlier. I don’t really like the spirit of let’s throw the first stone, but I kind of see why now. The interview is a bit irksome, because Steve acts as if he’s completely, blissfully, “unaware,” and to me this separation feels like a bit of a slap, a call to wake up and admit reality. I don’t know if Rowling has said anything in interviews about her feelings about the case, but it seemed to me that she hasn’t tried to sway public opinion just yet (I may have missed something). She made a deposition for the court, but her expression of disappointment did not come from an interview. I wonder if SVA’s decision to talk about his book in this interview doesn’t add a certain amount of unfair tactics, of which TLC disapproved. It was annoying to read that he considers Jo a friend, because we know she considers him a traitor at this point. His answer to that question should have acknowledged in some way her feelings towards this “friendship.” But he acts bigger than Rowling, as if it is really up to him which way the friendship goes. He is trying to pull the wool over the readers’ eyes, when we all know how Rowling feels. There is no question of a friendship here, without a huge apology maybe, and more. And then of course there is his perhaps dishonest comment about fan activity. Anyway, seeing that interview, I could see “why now.”
I didn’t follow SVA before, but I don’t like the way he sounds on the OotP DVD extras, and if I were the judge, my decision might be swayed by RDR’s bad tactics in dealing with WB. I don’t know if that is how things happen in court, and if that is called justice. If I were to judge the case by how much I like SVA’s apparent character, or how professional and polite I find RDR, it would be a no brainer rule for JK Rowling.
People asked me, would I do it if I were Steve? No! I don’t like trouble, and I would not want to upset Jo. But that only tells me that not doing it would be a good decision for myself. They asked me, would I like it if I were the author and someone did it to my work? All I can say is, I wish I had that problem. But, if I were not planning an encyclopedia of my own, I don’t think I would mind. Rowling is planning her own book, though.
And until now, I kept thinking that SVA should be rewarded for his hard work on the Lexicon, all the lists he put together, that perhaps he had the “original idea” of making the lists. I won’t stop visiting the Lexicon site, or belittle his and his team’s work. But if SVA beat many fans to the idea of making lists, I don’t think he beat Rowling. She has an encyclopedic imagination, and her work lends itself to the kind of creation that the Lexicon is because there is already an encyclopedia at the heart of Harry Potter. I would not want the author herself to be “beat to the punch” in the making of an encyclopedia, or to have her original work look like a “me too” imitation. And it does seem as if SVA was seriously irked and offended that Rowling didn’t want him to participate in the writing of her encyclopedia. I think he felt he had earned the right, and that Jo showed her true colors in looking down on her fan and not valuing the contribution he could have brought. So his publishing the Lexicon almost seems like a revenge mission. Or perhaps he justified it to himself thus: if she won’t accept my help, it means she finds the Lexicon useless for what she plans to do; well, in that case it can’t hurt her that I will publish it, since it is so different from what her book will be. But I wonder what Rowling thought when Steve offered his services. Did she think, as a proverb says in my country of origin, something like “I said hello to you, and now I can’t get rid of you”? Or perhaps, justifiably, she became a tad annoyed with this fan who suddenly became interested in participating in her work so that he could take credit for it. I know how that works. You are happy someone likes what you are doing, but then they get a bit too close for comfort, and start trying to make you feel that you are taking ideas from them, when it is the other way around.
Anyway, if all this, JK’s intention to write a book, RDR’s tactics, and SVA’s character (in this situation), were not to be taken into consideration, if this were a different case, I am not sure that I would be 100% against a book such as the Lexicon being published. Such a reference work might by the nature of the genre include more than 10% of the source material. What I wonder though is why didn’t SVR just put a bunch of advertising on the Lexicon website like Mugglenet? He would have made more money, and would have upset no one, it seems to me. I would have been fine with seeing more advertising on it; I would have understood. And the book Lexicon seems such a poor ripoff compared to the website.
I know I am going to be unpopular for saying this but I love Steve. I believe that he was not trying to publish a book that would make us all not buy the real book. Jo herself admitted to using the Lexicon so she did not have to look up information in her own notes. This whole thing is ruining Harry Potter for me. When I gave my son his first Harry Potter book for Christmas this year I wrote in the book that this is a story about magic and evil but most important love. I am not feeling the love right now. I am feeling sad that two people I have respect for are at war. I understand both sides but would any of really buy Steve’s book and not buy Jo’s?
Jessica,
Folks aren’t upset with Steve because he’s treading on Jo’s territory. We’re upset because he’s breaking the law and has some pretty crazy things about Jo and the fandom concerning the case. I for one simply disagree with him. Also, he seems to have tried to absolve himself of all culpability through his public statements when, without him, there’d be no case.
FWIW, I believe Jo only remarked that she’d used the Lexicon when she was on a book tour and didn’t have her notes or copies of all the books at hand. We’ve all seen the documentaries/interviews where she references her lists and notes and, although she’s made it clear through the years that she appreciated the Lexicon, it seems a little silly for some people to imagine that she depended on it to write her books. Or, that once she made it clear she didn’t want it to be published that she should be, in some way, flattered.
The relationship between an artist and his/her fans is so interesting to me.
I had a little experience of this myself when I was a working musician with quite a strong cult and critical following. There was one instance where a fan had made a series of drawings & stories based on a couple of my songs. I was flattered, but that turned to dismay when I learned he’d contracted to publish it as a book. Unfortunately, I didn’t think his work was very good! What a mess.
So, that’s one reason why I can relate to Jo’s situation here.
I really admire Leaky for always maintaining high standards. They are always careful about what they report, and are always careful to stick to the facts. I appreciate how early on in the trial, they were careful to just present facts and at that point, not take any sides. I notice this also when they podcast, keeping politics and other controversies out, so that Potter fans can unite and just enjoy the fandom. I also however, admire them for, in this case, doing what they felt was right in this situation. Leaky always shows such professionalism, and such respect for JKR herself, and I am pleased to see that, because of their strong difference of opinion, they are severing ties with the Lexicon. Thanks again Leaky for all your hard work, your professionalism, and all you do to keep Leaky a place where fans can get accurate information, yet also have a lot of fun too. Keep up the great work!! I appreciate you!!
Daniela: “But I wonder what Rowling thought when Steve offered his services.”
I’ve wondered the same. Just think if she had said yes—the fandom would have applauded in unison. That would have been a happily-ever-after solution right out of a fairytale.
But give the lady a break. Here she is, after seven books and, what, 17 year of writing, finished with an effort the strain of which we can barely begin guessing, looking forward to some well-earned slack and time with her family. And now someone wants her to put her nose to the grindstone again. Because that’s what entering a partnership is: demanding in itself.
No matter how great your contribution potential is, it is not something that you can force upon somebody. Definitely no somebody whose work is as personal as an author’s.
Anyway, in the unlikely case that they had for any moment seriously considered hiring the Lexicon librarian for the job, subsequent events must have them thanking their lucky stars for having said no.
PS—just to clarify about my own experience. My manager told the fan he had to remove all direct references to me, my band and the songs (the stories were named with my song and album titles; characters were named after me and other band members, etc) and explain that I was flattered, but he’d have more success the further he could move beyond my work and into his own.
That’s what people need to understand who make work inspired by someone else’s art: Love and the desire to share with others who love… Respect for the original creator… And then, the courage to jump off the creation cliff all on one’s own.
Steve seems to have lost this love, respect & courage. With his experience as a librarian and developer of the Lexicon, I’ll bet he could write an interesting, instructive and useful book for researchers/librarians/fans who want to set up the same kind of site on their own favorite subjects. It would be interesting to read about how the site developed.
But, no—he can’t let the Lexicon Book go and move on. And now he’s in a mess.
Who knows? Perhaps he wants to write an original and definitive reference book for Harry Potter, but doesn’t have the chops.
@ desertwind:
“That’s what people need to understand who make work inspired by someone else’s art: Love and the desire to share with others who love… Respect for the original creator… And then, the courage to jump off the creation cliff all on one’s own.”
Just posting to say how much I like that sentiment. I can tell you’re a lyricist. (Can I put that on a coffee mug?) lol
I think the Leaky staff have, as always, handled this situation extremely well. Thank you yet again for the great job you do.