I think many of my thoughts come from the culture of writing--both fan fiction and what I understand of the publication process. Fanfic, particularly when I was growing up, was rather hush-hush and you never made money off it for fear an author or show would sue you. Fan art? Sell online or commission or at conventions. Fanfic? Never--and there’s even cultural backlash to that affect sometimes (I recall that being an issue with Big Bang Press ages ago)

Keep it close to you, essentially. Share if you want nothing from it, it seems.

In general, its more difficult to re-sell a story that has already been placed online or sold (this has variations of degrees of difficulty depending on a given writer’s aims but, as a general rule, an author can’t slap it on a mug and sell it and then put it on a sweater--so, too, it can’t be being sold by two different publishers at the same time--generally excluding international etc. First rights, reprints, a whole mess of things).

Of course, one might say the same thing about the video’s crafted by the 48 hour film crews. They created their film, whose to say it can be submitted elsewhere or anything else can be done with it? Most are posted online--VEMO or Youtube or other video platforms.

But there seems to be a stronger reluctance to posting fiction verses film. Which is interesting when both film and fiction have the same ‘publishing’ rights

in-perpetuity, world-wide, royalty free, non-exclusive licence to promote, publish, sample and sub-licence the work.   We will never charge any money for the story or film, but we will offer it free to anyone who wants to show it.   The intellectual property in the work is yours and we do not make any claim on this, so we wont take the world or characters you develop without permission.

Tldr: as I understand even if its never utilized by the contest providers, the first rights are taken and they could post the story online. Heavy revision and expansion could make a new story out of the old story and the contest would not have that--but, as it is, that 2.5k or less isn’t any less licenced if its on a personal blog or webpage.