Outside Context Problem

Edit to add link to petitions (there are two separate ones):

https://c.org/NBZKpTJSTz

"Are you drunk?"

Archives are "curated" according to what's called a "collection policy". That means a policy that dictates what you collect; usually along a theme. For example at the university I used to work at the collection policy was to collect archival material pertaining to the local area and its history/important figures. At the historic home I currently work at, the collection policy covers materials pertaining to the person who lived at the house.

As a fandom studies scholar with an PhD in English (fandom studies, Manga / anime, and SF specialties), I send (or third, technically?) all these points, and will also add that part of why AO3 is so important is because its overarching group, the OTW, has a PHYSICAL ARCHIVE collaboration preserving fan materials at some universities.

For example, my University, The University of Iowa, is the home to multiple collections, one of which is an official partnership with the OTW. You don't have to be a student to come visit and request to see materials, or to have them scanned. This resource is UNHEARD OF when it comes to fan studies and media studies. I just went to Special Collections yesterday and got to check out some vintage Trigun Doujinshi! Star Wars Han/Luke zines from the 1970s, saved by a fan, Ming Wattne, from being thrown out by George Lucas himself! (She also turned her house into a zine library, for anyone curious.) Buffy gen Giles-centric h/c zines! One of Frank Miller's first comics!! All of these things are "fan materials," which is why they are in the collection, as over-affen-geil mentioned.

And it wouldn't exist without the efforts of archivists and people with degrees devoting their life's work to keeping the memories of fans of the past alive. People need to understand that the OTW and its founders, along with the archivists, scholars and librarians who are working with them, are doing INCREDIBLY important work for the conservation of media fandom, both online and in person.

But also! Seconding pitviperofdoom's reply as well — you don't need a university to make your own personal archive. You can make your own archive if you want!! No one is stopping you! Follow your heart!

these dismal trolls - who have no other interests or hobbies aside from 'Complaining On The Internet", do not deserve our time or attention. All these responses! So much effort!

This is the most I've learned about ao3 history ever and a small window into the world of librarians and archivists that I've thoroughly enjoyed.

Sure, trolls are stupid, why give them attention. Welp. Maybe they're ignorant. Maybe this is a time for patience and a good debate- maybe it is a teaching moment. So this person who is so flippant with their comment, or perhaps the people who come by after and see said comment, can have the opportunity to learn why that was such a silly comment to make all along.

I majored in kleptomancy, minoring in Wizard arts (good luck getting a job with that! All the good vizier positions are taken by evil wizards) which used to be under the Wizard umbrella, but ever since the big shakeup it's been reclassified into Esoteric Mysticism. Whatever that fucking means; it's in the same category as crystal healing and evil Tarot (very different to normal Tarot.) SMH. Anywayyyy

In particular, three people who have been condemned to hell are trapped eternally in a room together. And at first they think they got off easy without any pitchforks or fiery lakes or anything. But over the course of the play they discover that they have been chosen very specifically to have neuroses and character flaws that interact with and torment each other.

Each one needs the approval of a second in an unstable RPS cycle so that any time one of them might be satisfied by a second, the third swoops in and ruins it.

And when they figure this out, one of the characters expresses his understanding, that hell isn’t physical torture. “Hell is just—other people.”

So the point isn’t that other people, generically, are hellish; it’s rather that you can build a hell out of other people.

But when I hear people quote it, it’s usually sort of an introvert-pride thing. “Other people are hell; you should spend time alone.” And that’s not the point at all. It’s a statement about how bad unhealthy relationships can be, not a statement about how all relationships are unhealthy!

See also Sartre’s own comment here: