Mercedes Lackey and her views...

Open Letter
Title:
From:	Phil N. D'Blanc
Addressed To:	Mercedes Lackey
Date(s):	Jan 3, 1999
Medium:	online
Fandom:	Mercedes Lackey, Valdemar
Topic:
External Links:	Mercedes Lackey and her views...
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Mercedes Lackey and her views... is a 1999 open letter by Phil N. D'Blanc.

It was posted to the Usenet group, alt.books.m-lackey, after reading the statements made by Lackey's lawyer in 1994 addressing fans and fanworks and activities based on Lackey's creations.

The author of this open letter got no support in the comments. This is not surprising, as this Usenet group was moderated by Lackey's volunteer moderators and they, as well as other fans, would likely report this open letter's content to Lackey herself. Fans on this newsgroup were also VERY invested in "behaving" as good fans should and not rocking the boat.

The Open Letter

To Ms Mercedes Lackey:

Until I read the following passages, I thought I was a lifelong fan, be it known that on Monday (January 4th, 1999) I am donating my (extensive) hardcover collection of your work to the Salvation Army, and that I am never again buying or reading any of your literature.

You may value your intellectual property, which is your right, but others value theirs as well, and that includes people who write Fantasy Role Playing Games, much of which is as entertaining as anything you have ever written, and likely more imaginative.

Everyone plagerizes, many of your concepts are devices that come from D&D. There have been familiars and healing spells for many years. I was involved with D&D for decades before I ever heard of you and your literature.

There were sentient swords with ego long before Need, there have been female warriors, and many many Indian (ethnic North American) legends to do with saving the world from various evils or restoring nature.

While perhaps this means nothing to you, you may count on my not being among those who will purchase any more of your work. Nor will I read it for free at the library, as a matter of fact, I may make a point of protesting the expendature [sic] of precious library resources, in this pursuit.

I am (also) removing alt.books.m-lackey from my newsgroups, and writing a letter to my provider to request it be removed from the groups are carried there. Successful or not, and I doubt my efforts will be successful, it is all I can do to express my revulsion at your narrow and greedy attitudes.

This from her FAQ: (will probably get sued for copyright infringement for reprinting it)

5. Why won't she let us have a MUSH or write FanFic? Russell Galen is Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixson's agent. He has made the following statements in a general post to alt.books.m-lackey, dated in October 1994.

"Any use of works by Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixson in fan fiction or a role playing game is strictly prohibited. The reasons are as follows:

A. It is copyright infringement. Any unauthorized use of intellectual property, whether or not for profit, is copyright infringement.

B. The authors are against it. Knowing that strangers are making use of one's world, one's characters, one's creations, is usually a very unpleasant feeling, one of violation and intrusion.

C. There's been a great deal of discussion here as to whether a MUSH or MUD would help or hurt the salability of commercial game rights. The fact is, we don't know. It might have no effect, or a ruinous effect. There is ample evidence for both from other media, and I don't know the answer. Given that uncertainty, we have to err on the side of caution and protection.

D. All of us on this side have discussed this and are resolved to take no chances with these valuable copyrights, and will vigorously pursue all legal means at our disposal. Also, any action we might take would not be limited to individuals but to the universities and other organizations that permit their equipment and lines to be used for this illegal purpose.

E. Yes, we're greedy and narrow-minded in defense of our clients' ability to make a living. This is Mercedes Lackey's job. Anything that threatens her ability to make a living is no less an evil than any other situation in which an innocent party is forced, by the actions of strangers, to fight for her livelihood."

So, please, folks *Just Say No* to Lackey-MUDS. If you want to write Fanfic, please send mail to the Queen's Own or HighFlight addresses above, and request a release form. Don't go doing something that you're going to wind up regretting, later.

Fan Comments

[crap, Imho]

What a load of offensive rubbish. It's clear he's never tried to earn a living from doing anything creative. -- Alan

In a nutshell, this guy is ticked off at Misty because her agent won't let people infringe her copyrights. What an idiot. It's not Misty's decision in the first place. Then he goes on to insult Misty's creativity and imagination. And why on earth would you ask newsgroup providers to drop alt.books.m-lackey? Yea right, as if that'll happen. Servers don't listen to petty complaints. And then he completes his proof of stupidity by thinking that this message will reach Misty in the first place. -snort- -Caroline

I really don't see what this guy is getting at.

Nothing - -nothing- - he quoted is saying anything against fantasy role-playing games per se. Nobody can stop "People who write Fantasy Role Playing Games" writing "entertaining... and imaginative storylines" as long as the ideas and universes they use are their own. All they are being stopped doing is writing their storylines around Misty's work in any of Misty's universes. I doubt they are "more imaginative" however if they can't come up with something original!

And to say it's Misty's right to value her intellectual property but then imply that doing this is denying others the right to -theirs- doesn't make sense.

He gives the impression of the small boy who decided to take his football home because he wasn't given his own way... -- Sheila

Well, some authors do visit and regularly post to "their" newsgroups (Terry Pratchett and Tom Clancy come to mind), so I suppose I can understand that he may have thought she'd see it. But otherwise, I agree with both you and Alan. While certain themes she has used may not be "original" (and whose are totally so??), her works certainly are and more so than others I have read. The strength of his assertions makes me wonder what is behind them. I would not be surprised if he just realized that he had been infringing on copyright, unintentionally or otherwise.

Otherwise, i don't care what he chooses to do. He can get on his high horse all he wants. There are plenty of people who will continue to enjoy her works AND respect her decisions regarding the use of them. -- Kris

It does sound a little like getting angry to cover the prickles of a guilty conscience and the awareness that he can't rip off her works for his RPGs. IMHO, if he was *that* original, he'd be writing his own and not using her worlds anyway, right?

[...]

Among my major obsessions are Pterry - who keeps a strict control on his games etc so they *stay* 'his', and Elfquest team, who have on occasions indicated their extreme disappointment with the way some of the games and fanfic based around their worlds has worked out, in at least one case going totally counter to the entire ethos of the culture they'd built. Misty is the other, of course. They're her worlds, regardless of the sources she drew on to create them, and she's entitled to say what other people get to do with them. -- Nightshade

I feel have to say something here. Familiars, healing spells, sentient swords... These are not peculiar to D&D. They are common fantasy devices. Well, maybe sentient swords aren't quite as common, but familiars and healing spells are all over the place. I would say that use of them in writing new fantasy is not plagiarism so much as making use of something everyone uses. And the saving-the-world business happens everywhere--in the movies, in many more genres of writing then fantasy/sf, in legends... It's not unique to anyone or any thing.

On the other hand, using Misty's characters or world for your own personal role-playing game is a definite no-no. And please don't start about "everyone" plagiarizing. The fact is, it's illegal. As an amateur writer myself, this is something I feel very strongly about -- when I create something, I do NOT want anyone at all to be able to twist it into whatever they want to make out of it just so that they can have a little bit of fun. If you want a "cool" RPG or character, make it up yourself. I don't think many people here are going to feel sorry for you.

> While perhaps this means nothing to you, you may count on my not being among those who will purchase any more of your work. Nor will I read it for free at the library, as a matter of fact, I may make a point of protesting the expendature of precious library resources, in this pursuit.

I don't know about Misty herself, but if I were her I wouldn't be too worried about it. I might even be glad that someone who wants to plagiarize my work isn't reading it any more.

This writing is Ms. Lackey's way of making a living--and, surprise, surprise, she wants to defend that. Try writing for a living sometime. Try *thinking* *seriously* about writing for a living sometime. I'm not going to scream "You just don't understand!" at you; I just don't think you've really thought about this beyond the fact that your won't be able to use *someone* *else's* intellectual property for *your* fun.-- Star Creature

I think this guy has a serious problem. I mean, what is wrong with an artist trying to preserve their rights to their creations? Authors do so simply by copyrighting their books. To be honest, Misty doesn't even really need to have a statement like that put out by her agent, the copyright laws strictly forbid making use of her creations in any public forum without her express permission.

So, to Phil N. DeBlanc, wake up and smell the coffee, dude. This is part of being an author. -- Tristaan