I think there's confusion out there because of people who've been profiting from selling zines at cons(?) - if I've understood the arguments correctly.
I'm 99.999% certain that people who produce zines don't make much, if any, money from what they do. I'm 100% certain the writers don't gain anything monetarily from zines.
I'll be honest, I came into fandom in the internet age and have never really seen the point of zines. I do understand that some people like to have a nicely printed, illustrated version of fic, but in the age of the net, when there's so much fic available for free at the click of a button... It's just not for me, but I know there's still a huge market for zines, my only worry is, if people are making a profit, no matter how small, it becomes legally grey and has implications for fandom as a whole.
There's a strong code of honour in fandom as a whole, it seems to me - though a few idiots occassioanally queer the pitch. It's specifically because of that - the 'amateur' aspect of fanfic - that makes me worry about attempts to commercialise it. I do think it's a dangerously slippy slope.
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I'm 99.999% certain that people who produce zines don't make much, if any, money from what they do. I'm 100% certain the writers don't gain anything monetarily from zines.
I'll be honest, I came into fandom in the internet age and have never really seen the point of zines. I do understand that some people like to have a nicely printed, illustrated version of fic, but in the age of the net, when there's so much fic available for free at the click of a button... It's just not for me, but I know there's still a huge market for zines, my only worry is, if people are making a profit, no matter how small, it becomes legally grey and has implications for fandom as a whole.
There's a strong code of honour in fandom as a whole, it seems to me - though a few idiots occassioanally queer the pitch. It's specifically because of that - the 'amateur' aspect of fanfic - that makes me worry about attempts to commercialise it. I do think it's a dangerously slippy slope.