Let's talk about Harry Potter

[u/AMVilla86]

… and other problematic IP

Hi folks,

We need your input. The mods have been discussing for a bit now about crafts with complicated Intellectual Property creators. Occasionally a craft will receive reports due to the theme of the craft and not about crafting itself. While we try to be as open-minded as possible, and we follow sitewide rules (such as no hate speech targeting identity or vulnerability, etc), there is still some nuance with moderating these types of posts. These posts have raised many questions, but we realized we needed to ask the community what they thought. If the community is uncomfortable with something, we want to know and be sure to moderate appropriately.

Some of the ideas we had so far, and why they would be tough to implement:

- Ban specific IP→ Where do we draw the line of what is and isn’t allowed?

- Create specific flair for ‘problematic’ → again, where is the line drawn?

- When a post receives enough reports about the theme and not the craft, leave a high-level moderator comment explaining how to block a user and/or hide a post → might be ignoring a problem rather than solving the issue for the sub.

With that being said, there’s only so much we can police. We want crafters to feel welcome, but with all the moderating we do, it would be hard to add on a layer of “educate a crafter on why the creator of this IP is bad” on top of our normal roles. We also don’t want our subreddit to become a lightning rod for debate. Ultimately, we are a crafts subreddit. While a few comments about inspiration of a craft is allowed, and questioning of said inspiration is also welcome, once we're many comments deep in multiple comment threads with no mention of crafting, it is no longer an appropriate conversation for r/crafts. There are many other subreddits for discussion and debate where you can converse.

So, what do you all think we should do with these types of posts? If we receive a large variety of ideas, we'll put it together in a survey or poll to further gauge how the subreddit feels. Also, feel free to message the mods if you're uncomfortable commenting on the post.

[u/DreyHI]

So Rowling sucks. A lot. And in many different ways. The problem is so does Poe, and Hemingway, and Neil Gaiman now, and Harvey Weinstein and every movie he's ever touched. In fact, the more that you dig, the more that you will find that many famous artists from the producers, etc are not great people.

I am in favor of letting people draw their own inspiration from these works as long as it doesn't directly give financial gain to these people. So a Harry Potter themed craft magic wand would be cool. A bag made out of Harry Potter print fabric that gives money back to the world's number one transphobe, not cool. Someone recreates a prop from pulp fiction? Totally cool. Someone purchased a DVD of pulp fiction and bedazzled the cover, not cool.

And then for the inspired stuff, pin a mod comment that forces everyone to have their controversial fight about the source material underneath the mod comment so that op doesn't get all the notifications if they don't want to read about it. Any commentary that is not about the craft that is not under the mod comment then gets removed.

[u/RatherBeAtDisney → u/DreyHI]

There’s nuance though- what if that fabric has been sitting in my closet since before we knew Rowling sucks. Maybe it was given as a gift by a well intentioned grandma who just isn’t aware of the current issues or purchased second hand? Just trashing it is wasteful so I might use it.

I think a sticky mod comment on any craft with complicated IP is one good way to handle it.

[u/DreyHI → u/RatherBeAtDisney]

I found some of that fabric in a scraps bag that I bought. I found that it makes an excellent paint or garage rag.

[u/a-beeb → u/DreyHI]

Or stuffing for inside a plush project, if you're so inclined! I know many people use "undesirable" fabrics for that very purpose. That is, if you legitimately do not want to use it for other things.

It's also great for sewing prototypes before you have a pattern down perfectly and you're still working out the kinks. I had a MASSIVE roll of (non-hp)* patterned fabric from my grandmother I used for this purpose. I wish I knew where it went...

Edit: *added specification

Edit 2: just so everyone is aware, conservative transphobes are going through and downvoting every single comment they can giving any advice about how to deal with this issue or give alternate ideas for how to use their materials. They do it in every post of this kind, in every subreddit I'm in. Please pay it no mind and keep discussing regardless!