Pro-yaoi biases by sysop?

[MillieFan]

I have seen several threads where James has stated his views that yaoi is harmless fun. In one such thread, he even made an implied threat that any more anti-yaoi posts would meet with some form of punishment.

While I highly respect James's [i]right[/i] to his opinion that yaoi fanfics and fanart are harmless fun made from something in the public domain and that it's "just drawings," I also respectfully disagree with that opinion.

You see, I'm a writer who wants to write the characters and plot for a drama/comedy very similar to anime (although not exactly anime since I'm American LOL) as a hobby someday. If I ever made this dream a reality, then someone took the characters I'd worked on for years and made yaoi out of them, it would make me very angry.

Yaoi causes harm to authors' reputations and to their work's sales in that if someone sees the yaoi without seeing the original work, they assume the original work [i]is[/i] yaoi no matter how much the authors protest otherwise.

But I digress. IMHO, the official policy of OB should not be anti-yaoi. It also should not be pro-yaoi with the admins on the side of yaoi artists. Rather, the admins should stay above this matter, not take sides, and the board should be officially neutral in the discussion of yaoi/shounen-ai. That way, we can all participate here with no fear of retribution for our personal ethical codes.

Please do not ban me. I just want the baord to be fair to all who post here.

[James]

[color=#707875]Nobody is taking sides. But I'll lay it on the line for you anyway.

There are two issues here.

Firstly, you can't claim to represent the creators of these anime series. If someone wants to use those characters in their own fanfics for whatever reason, it's their business. You don't see me running around to each person's fan fic and saying "This isn't appropriate -- look at how you're misjudging the characters from this series!"

So, that's the first point; freedom of the artist.

I'd also make one other quick point about that. It's not my position to subjectively conclude how each member should deal with certain anime characters. These characters are fictional and fans have the right to create their own fan fiction, regardless of whether or not you find it acceptable. [i]However[/i], OtakuBoards rules apply here. If you post something pornographic or overly violent, there will be consequences. And this sort of thing won't be allowed.

The second point is a very simple one. And I've made it quite clearly before. If you do not like yaoi or any other type of fan fiction, you have the right to that opinion. However, I do not think it appropriate for you to spout this view off at every opportunity, for two reasons. Firstly, it's often irrelevant to the thread -- and that is a rule violation. Secondly, people who like that type of fan fiction are going to feel that [i]they[/i] are being offended by [i]you[/i].

Now, I'm pretty impartial here -- I am not a fan of yaoi and I personally don't read about it. However, it's my responsibility to be "above the situation". This means that I need to protect the interests of everyone on the board.

If you want to be anti-yaoi, go right ahead. But do so without alienating other members and causing a situation where arguments might start. There is a diplomatic way to go about it, as there is with any subject.

Believe me, I [i]am[/i] being fair. Your complaint is completely unwarranted. I'm not going to bend the rules or allow others to feel alienated because of your personal views. That wouldn't be right. I crack down in the same way on people who constantly bash dubbing, for example -- they fail to recognize that, despite their own view (which might very well be reasonable), their constant bashing of "dubbies" is a form of alienation against other members. It fosters a negative atmosphere and I'm not willing to permit it.

I hope that I've made my position clear on the issue. It's a position that will not change, and it's a position that will be applied evenly to everyone, regardless of the subject matter. [/color]

[TheShinje]

[size=1] I think a yaoi based on Rising Sun (my anime series)has the potential to be very funny.

Personally I wouldn't get so uptight about Yaoi, after all, it's just fan art. If they want to depict Rising Sun Characters as lovers.

I wouldn't exactly agree, but I wouldn't be making a suggestion here that all yaoi be banned either. Like James said, We wouldn't want to impede on the rights of other board members.

Eh, this thread seems to go in circles, you say you don't want the official OB poilcy to be specifically pro or anti yaoi, it's already like that.

[/size]

[MillieFan]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by James [/i]
[B][color=#707875]Nobody is taking sides. But I'll lay it on the line for you anyway.

There are two issues here.

Firstly, you can't claim to represent the creators of these anime series. If someone wants to use those characters in their own fanfics for whatever reason, it's their business. You don't see me running around to each person's fan fic and saying "This isn't appropriate -- look at how you're misjudging the characters from this series!"

So, that's the first point; freedom of the artist.

I'd also make one other quick point about that. It's not my position to subjectively conclude how each member should deal with certain anime characters. These characters are fictional and fans have the right to create their own fan fiction, regardless of whether or not you find it acceptable. [i]However[/i], OtakuBoards rules apply here. If you post something pornographic or overly violent, there will be consequences. And this sort of thing won't be allowed.

The second point is a very simple one. And I've made it quite clearly before. If you do not like yaoi or any other type of fan fiction, you have the right to that opinion. However, I do not think it appropriate for you to spout this view off at every opportunity, for two reasons. Firstly, it's often irrelevant to the thread -- and that is a rule violation. Secondly, people who like that type of fan fiction are going to feel that [i]they[/i] are being offended by [i]you[/i].

Now, I'm pretty impartial here -- I am not a fan of yaoi and I personally don't read about it. However, it's my responsibility to be "above the situation". This means that I need to protect the interests of everyone on the board.

If you want to be anti-yaoi, go right ahead. But do so without alienating other members and causing a situation where arguments might start. There is a diplomatic way to go about it, as there is with any subject.

Believe me, I [i]am[/i] being fair. Your complaint is completely unwarranted. I'm not going to bend the rules or allow others to feel alienated because of your personal views. That wouldn't be right. I crack down in the same way on people who constantly bash dubbing, for example -- they fail to recognize that, despite their own view (which might very well be reasonable), their constant bashing of "dubbies" is a form of alienation against other members. It fosters a negative atmosphere and I'm not willing to permit it.

I hope that I've made my position clear on the issue. It's a position that will not change, and it's a position that will be applied evenly to everyone, regardless of the subject matter. [/color] [/B][/QUOTE]

I think I understand more now about the board's policy. Thanks for clearing that up. -^.^-