Zine Pirating

While there are many conflicting definitions of what constitutes "pirating a zine," most fans understand it to be reprinting a print zine in full, or in part, to give, or sell, to another fan, without asking the editor/distributor.
Initially, bringing out a zine cost real money, often a lot of it.
Many fan editors adamantly pushed back against fans' unauthorized redistribution of their works, warning that by cutting out the original publisher, fans were stealing, as well as weakening the entire fannish chain of production and vessels of communication.
Zine editors continued to complain for years, occasionally doing things to make their zines harder to copy. Zine editors who kept their back issues in print tended to feel much more strongly about pirating than editors who printed a zine once and then let it stay out of print.
==Differing Definitions of Zine Piracy==
In zine fandom, there wasn't necessarily a consensus on what was acceptable use of fanzines and what was piracy. 
Some contrasting definitions:
* copying zines you didn't make that you sell at a profit—or for the cost of what it would be to photocopy the pages
* copying an out-of-print zine for yourself or others for personal use
* copying your own copy of in in-print zine to give to a friend
* copying your own copy of in out-of-print zine to give to a friend
* making a podcast from a story in an in-print zine
* making a tape recording or a podcast for a blind friend from a story in an out-of-print or in-print zine
* an agent who originally had permission to sell copies of a zine, but that permission was canceled, or misunderstood
An example of some conflicting opinions on small-time, casual copying for a friend:
1989: 
 
1991: 
1993: 
==The Big Bucks Print Zines Required==
Much of this cost was due to production; Xerox technology was years in the future; instead, you had plates made of each page of your zine and then offset printed. Zine editors routinely took pre-orders and a SASE and waited until they had enough money from pre-orders to print the zine. Some of those editors never got enough money, so the money had to be returned (that's why they asked for a SASE), which could be difficult, since a lot of zine buyers were in their college years and moved like crazy. In some cases, the zine never came out, and the money never got returned, which led cynical zine buyers to be even more reluctant to send money before the zine actually was finished. Some zine editors took out bank loans, or ran up credit cards to finance publications.
Other zine editors, to lower their exposure, brought out very simple zines—no art, simply stapled together instead of bound in some more expensive way (like screw post, comb binding, spiral binding or perfect binding). The Another K/S zine series is a good example of this style. Others were determined to bring out works of art—including color art covers, heavy paper, interior screened art, nice bindings and more.
== Accusations of Piracy==
===1977===
One of the first published conversations about piracy was in 1977, (soon after SeKWesterCon, Too) in the zine Probe #11:
===1982===
A zine ed in 1982 spoke out against the unauthorized reproduction of out-of-print zines, mainly citing a fan's right to amass a monetarily valuable zine collection:
===1983===
In 1983, a fan, a zine ed herself, summed up why she felt "pirating" would continue to be a problem:
Another fan, Judith Gran, brought up profit and copyright: She pointed out that an editor's copyright extended only to her or his material in zine, not the whole zine itself and brings up the snarl that is profit and supply and demand. An excerpt:
===1988===
This is from 1988 when Randall Landers wrote about fanzines and the rip-offs he was seeing:
====1988: The Blake's 7 Piracy Confrontation====
In 1988, there was a major confrontation in the Blake's 7 fandom pertaining to the bootlegging of five fanzines. It involved lawyers, as well as dragging Terry Nation (the show's creator) into the fray. See The 1988 Blake's 7 Bootlegged Zines Discussion.
Also see An Open Letter to Fandom by Deb Walsh (1988), Statement: regarding the issue of bootlegging and cloning zines by Leigh Arnold (November 1988), and An Open Letter to Fandom by Della Van Hise (February 1988) for accused piracy by other fans.
Also see This Fanzine contains a self destruct mechanism that will vaporize anyone who tries to copy it. by Steve Oulline, an essay that encourages fans to copy zines.
===1989===
The editor of Comlink to which the above 1989 LoC was written, responded:
In 1989, Ethics and Etiquette: A Proposal for the Buying and Selling of Fanzines was published in Southern Enclave #23. This article generated MANY comments from fans, of which this is one: 
===1990===
A unique disclaimer in the Blake's 7 zine, Children of the Federation: 
===1991===
In 1991, a zined commented on bootlegging, the shaky legal ground zines stood on, and the pro-cons:
Also in 1991, an Australian fan wrote of a situation that was making a zine ed reconsider selling zines to fans in the United States:
A 1991 meta plea from "Tommy Hanson," a character from 21 Jump Street: 
==== 1993 and RevelCon====
The 1993 convention, RevelCon, became a flashpoint for conflict regarding zine piracy. Due to fan behaviour and discussions at that con and in its aftermath, a number of Open Letters circulated in fandom regarding the photocopying of in-print zines.
 
Open Letter to Fandom Regarding Zine Pirating by Alexis Fegan Black was an outraged rant co-signed by Wendy Rathbone and MKASHEF Press. This letter was directed to fandom in general.
Another slightly calmer argument was the Zine Piracy Letter to Candace Pulleine by Bill Hupe, directed to the head of the RevelCon concom, basically suggesting that she should make an effort to educate Pulleine's local Kinkos about zine copyrights and so on and threatening a dealer boycott of RevelCon if she didn't address this problem. Candace Pulleine responded with an open letter of her own, writing that RevelCon was being unfairly targeted and was the object of a smear campaign.
An example of strong language tensions running high were two editorials in the Australian Professionals zine, Down Under Express. The first editorial was written in March 1993, and a "sort of retraction" was written in January 1994: 
In the The LOC Connection, a K/S letterzine, the Hupe/Fegan Black letters were furiously debated with most subscribers siding with the zine publishers and attempting to link zine piracy the death of K/S fandom: 
In fact, some fans went one step further and worried that fandom was not just facing 'death,' but also dishonor:
Other zine editors responded that they didn't believe that fans copying a zine or two for their friends was responsible for the decline in zine sales. They pointed to changes in fandom, the recession at that time, etc.
In the "Letter from the Editor" of the next few Naked Times, Fegan Black said that "the editor reserves the right to confiscate any and all unrightfully copied copies of this publication being sold at conventions or elsewhere."
Another zine ed, Lynda Roper, also responded with a similar threat; in the "AUTHORITATIVE SOURCES" section, she advised against "purchasing fanzines from [name redacted], a known zine pirate. She adds that: 
In October 1993, zine publisher, Randall Landers, weighed in: 
For more, see History of Media Fanzines.
======The 1993 Letters======
 
* Zine Piracy Letter to Candace Pulleine by Bill Hupe (March 19, 1993)
* Zine Piracy Letter to Candace Pulleine by Leah Rosenthal (March 23, 1993)
* Follow-Up Zine Piracy Letter to Candace Pulleine by Bill Hupe (April 14, 1993)
* Open Letter to Fandom by Alexis Fegan Black Regarding Zine Pirating (May 1993)
* Candace Pulleine’s Open Letter To All Revelcon Members (May 12, 1993)
* Open Letter to Fanzine Readers, Contributors, and Publishers by Candace Pulleine (June 1993)
* Zine Piracy Letter by Ann Wortham in Response to Candace Pulleine (Autumn 1993)
* Is Fandom Slipping into McCarthyism?, by Connie-Sue Hamilton (October 1993)
* Ann Wortham's Response to Connie-Sue Hamilton, printed in Tarriel Cell (April 1994)
==Some Fan Arguments Regarding Pushback, Publisher's Comments, and Piracy==
=== Zines Start to Come Out in Series ===
Another way to deal with the up-front cost of printing was to print a series of zines, price them to turn a 'profit' of some sort, and then use that profit to print the next zine. By the mid-80s, just a few years into the K/S period, most K/S zines were part of a series: First Time #1, #2, #3; As I Do Thee #1, #2, #3—put out by a small group of publishers.
With offset printing, you had to choose at the beginning how many you were going to make, and few zines had a second printing. Once a zine went out of print, it was fair game for fans to make copies for their friends. Once in a while, a very popular zine would be re-printed again after a pause, but that was rare and usually well reported ahead of time.
So, at this point, making copies of zines that were still in print could be financially damaging to our friends and acquaintances. Zine pirating had two meanings—occasionally it was used to mean any copying of an in-print zine, but usually it meant making multiple copies and selling them (whether at cost, or for more). There was also a fairly strongly held view in fandom that people should not profit off of fandom. (Mind you, that statement meant different things to different people, and even people who believed it adamantly didn't seem to have any problem with fan artists selling art, even for far more than the cost of materials.)
===Exaggerations, International Challenges, and Just Because a Zine Doesn't Sell Well Doesn't Mean it Was Pirated ===
In 1995, a fan addressed other fans at Lysator: 
=== Controversy: Zines No Longer Went Out of Print ===
Gradually, printing costs came down as xerography became more common. At the same time, the fear of making a profit ebbed for many zine editors, and the cost of fanzines started to rise.
At some point, fanzine editors-turned-agents, such as Bill Hupe, Agent With Style, and Della van Hise, started keeping zines in print indefinitely, in contrast to the previously established fannish code of ethics. Each writer of a story in the zine got a trib copy of the zine, and then the zine editor got the profit from the remaining copies in the print run. Since the zine never went out of print, the zine editors continued to make money off of the writer's work, but the writer never received additional compensation.
==Copying Out-of-Print (and some in-print) Zines==
Throughout the era of zine fandom, most fans agreed that making individual copies of zines, once they were out of print, was perfectly acceptable fannish behavior. Others clearly disagreed.
In 2009, Sandy Herrold described the divide: 
Apart from the 'ethics' of copying zines, some fans worried that if zine publishers became upset over copying they'd sue other fans thereby putting all of fandom at risk with unwanted publicity: 
 This line of argument left some fans feeling that zine publishers were holding fandom hostage with idle threats. Others felt that this was a real threat and zine piracy had to be stopped to "save fandom."
* I am a thief, according to most of the posters so far. - post to a mailing list regarding copying out of print zines.
==Some Anecdotal Opinions==
* "I do not wish 'Rigel' 1, 2, or 3 to be xeroxed by anyone but myself. I believe it is unethical to copy and sell other people's zines without their written permission. I appreciate the fact that 'Rigel' 1 and 2 are out of print and that old zines are sometimes impossible to come by, but I reserve the right, alone, to xerox 'Rigel.' Anyone interested in copies of 'Rigel,' please contact me, and we'll discuss the matter." from Scuttlebutt #5
* "Some of the readers of 'Chris' (a newsletter for Chapel-Christine/Spock fans) will be tying to get out-of-print C-C/S stories to one another by way of the information in my newsletter. The information column I run each month will have names of those wishing to exchange materials. It will also run the strong suggestion that they track down and contact the authors/editors for permission before xeroxing anything and that no money change hands beyond the cost of copy, postage, etc. Most of the authors I know would not mind this, however, if you have written C-C/S materials that you do not wish to be copied at cost... please let me know. I will then list specific authors who do not wish their materials copied. Of course, I can not assure that my suggestion will be heeded. That, must remain up to the personal integrity of the fan." from Datazine #20 (1982)
* a commonly worded ad from Jundland Wastes #2: "If anyone has back issues of [titles of seven Star Wars zines]... and would be willing to copy them for me, I will forward the costs of copying & postage, plus a little for time & trouble."
* Regarding British Takeaway: "Some of you may have heard that the British Takeaway series of zines are now being sold via Agent With Style. If you like your zines brand-new, all well and good - the BT series certainly contained some excellent stories and gorgeous artwork, and though they're mostly gen, they're still well worth reading. But if you're on a tight budget, you might also like to know that at Zebracon, Kate N. (their publisher) gave carte blanche for anyone to copy her zines. So if you've been holding back from copying a friend's, er, copy, by concerns about not infringing on the publisher's rights, go ahead and do it. And a hearty thank-you to Kate for her generosity!" from DIAL #13
* From Southern Enclave #22, a zine editor says, "Personally, I have no objection to anyone copying either of those for friends, if the zines are not available on the new or used zine market. (Doing it in bulk for profit, would be a different matter since that would be making money off my labor.) But individual copying seems harmless to me and beneficial for people who don't have a chance to get the zines."
* A fan in 1984 posts an open letter in Universal Translator #23 to fellow fans requesting some thoughts and feedback on the subject of tape recording stories from fanzines. "I've recently become involved in a tape correspondence with an ST fan who is visually handicapped, and have been taping an occasional story from one of my fanzines to sent to her. In all honesty, I don't feel this is abusing anyone's rights or violating anyone's copyright, any more than the very common practice of lending out or trading zines. The basic question I'm posing here is: At what point does the practice stop being friendly sharing and become zine piracy? Suppose the tape is passed to a third party and beyond? Or suppose someone should decide to produce multiple copies of tapes for general distribution? Obviously, at some point, permission to sued the material is necessary. At what point? And who is authorized to give it -- the author, the zine editor, or both? There is also the question of reimbursement. If multiple copies are made, is a contributor's copy in order? If the tapes are sold at a profit, are royalties to be expected? And in either case, who is entitled to that reimbursement -- again, the author or editor?"
* From a zine ed in 1990, a notice in Media Monitor #10: "[I'm] quitting fandom. After 16 years of editing, writing, and producing fanzines, Pon Farr Press has decided it's time to quit. .... For the record, this is not an open invitation for zine pirates to have a field day with my titles..."
* In Guilty Pleasures, in 1998, the editor's blurb says, "Please don't make copies...while this zine is in print. This zine will remain in print for one year (until Feb. '98). All story rights revert to authors after that."
* From Southern Enclave #22, "I know many people won't agree with me, but it's still my contention that even being unable to contact the publisher of a defunct or out-of-print zine for the permission to make a xerox does not give you the right to make yourself a copy anyway. In my opinion, if you can't reach a publisher, you can't make a xerox. You can always still try to buy an issue from someone (okay, okay—I'll admit that often is a dead end); or borrow an issue to. But once you xerox it, I feel you've stepped over line and stolen the zine."
* Look Through My Eyes, the slash Bodie/Cowley novel by Jane Carnall and Nicole Craig has this in the introduction: "This story is copylefted; share as it pleases you."
* In It's Love, Cap'n, published in 1991, the editor, MRK wrote, "The print run of this zine was 100. when they're gone, they're gone—there will be no reprints. If you're reading a borrowed copy, and you want your own, you have my blessing to take it to your friendly neighborhood copy center and make your own. And enjoy!"
* From a zine publisher in Datazine #21 (1982), the editor of Pulsar Press writes that she has learned some fans are "selling xerox copies of various zines which are out of print or otherwise no longer available... I would like to make my position clear about the sale of these reproductions. AT NO TIME -- PAST, PRESENT OR IN THE FUTURE -- HAVE I OR WILL AUTHORIZE OR SANCTION ANY FORM OF REPRODUCTION AND SALE OF PULSAR PRESS ZINES... When others, uninvolved in the creation of those zines, pirate that zine and sell it for their on profit, they are stealing from those members of the fandom family who have spent their time and energies to produce the zines that keep fandom alive.... When zines sell out and become out of print, they also gain an intrinsic value to those who have obtained original issues. A single copy of a popular zine can sell for as much as $200 when auctioned. Would you like to be the person who has paid this incredible amount, only to find out that 'reprints' or xerox copies are being sold in quantity or $20 or so?"
* From a zine publisher in Datazine #21 (1982) warns fans against buying unauthorized copies of zines of any sort for any reason. "[This] does not apply, of course, to anyone who is selling his/her personal collection of original zines for whatever reason. The sale of an original copy by the owner of that copy (or her authorized agent), although it may be sad, is neither illegal or unscrupulous."
* A fan in Datazine #21 says she has put an enormous amount of time and effort into tracking down the publisher of Spock Enslaved! so she could buy a copy or to ask her permission to photocopy this zine. All her letters, sent to three addresses, were returned. She finally put in ad in Interstat asking to buy a photocopy of Spock Enslaved!, and obtained one that way. Shortly afterwards, she got letters from 58 fans who wanted a copy of her copy or who asked to "rent" hers." She asked for help in locating Diane Steiner to ask for official permission to make these copies. From Boldly Writing: "Many fans, in the time period from 1975 to 1982, claimed they were going to find all the editors of the out-of-print fanzines mentioned in Star Trek Lives!, to get permission to reprint them and provide copies to all fans who wanted them, None, including the fan who wrote this issue of Datazine, ever succeeded."
* From the editor of Galactic Discourse in the editorial of issue #4 in 1983: "I will continue, periodically, to reprint back issues of the zines I publish, so as long as there's a demand for them. In the meantime, I have copies for lending... I will not knowingly sell zines to persons intending to resell them to the zine-starved at a substantial profit after the zine in question is out-of-print. My reprints are original quality and a lot cheaper than the resells I've seen floating around. If you just can't wait, I will make you an at-cost Xerox."
* In Datazine #15 in 1981, a fan puts out the call for some Star Trek zines: "I'm looking for copies of Showcase. If anyone has has some, give me the price plus postage. I don't want to have to purchase xeroxes unless I have to."
* In Best Little Valentine Zine in Texas (1984), "NOTE: This publication, such as it is, is NOT FOR SALE—not now, nor at any time in the future. Anyone who feels compelled to own it is free—nay, encouraged!—to xerox it for her own collection."
* From the editorial of Double or Nothing #2: "This zine has been formatted for American Letter-size paper so that printing and con-based distribution can more easily be handled by Jackie Beeman. Nut Hatch zines are usually on the Australian A4 size, but the different format of this issue does not indicate that the zine in your hands is bootleg! As usual, Nut Hatch is doing some graceful groveling/begging that this zine is not copied between friends - for the usual reasons."
* From the August 1980 issue of S and H, the author says, “Reader reaction to Autumn? In a word, phenomenal. We’re all sold out, and those who bought it, liked it. Any S/H could do much worse than an initial print run of 200-250. Inquires are still coming in... In conclusion, Forever Autumn is totally sold out. FOREVERANDEVER, and I can’t say that I’m sorry. Anyone who wishes to make a photostat copy, please feel free to do so. I have no copies to lend out, and there will be at no time any reprints.”
* From Fanzine Review 'Zine (1976), the editor, Lori Chapek says she has been given permission to xerox Interphase, and offers to copy other titles for fans as well. "Due to Connie Faddis mentioning in the flyer for INTERPHASE 3 that I had volunteered to xerox copies of INTERPHASES 1 and 2... I am able to make xerox copies of INTERPHASES 1 and 2 available at a lower-than-normal cost.... I am also currently compiling a price list of the fanzines I have. I am willing to xerox out-of-print 'zines only. These 'zines will be priced according to the normal xerox cost of $.10/page, plus postage. Postage is to be reimbursed to me upon receipt of the 'zine(s) ordered."
* From Between Friends #5 (1984): "All our zines except for 3-11 are sold out and there will be no reprints, so if you can get someone else to do the xeroxing, you have our permission to copy any or all of Ten-Thirteen #1 and #2, One More Mountain and One More River. I don't have the xerox facilities as cheaply as some folk in the U.S., or I'd offer to do it myself."
* From Boldly Writing: "... There was a fairly intense discussion [in Universal Translator] relating to the fact that demand [in 1983] for fanzines often outstripped supply. In January, Dorothy Laoang got things going by saying, 'I discovered fanzines long after Thrust, Nightvisions, Companion, etc. went out of print. I have tried in vain to obtain copies of these and other zines to read, if only to borrow and return. Like a great many others, I cannot afford to pay auction prices upwards of $50 per zine. [We] are not asking for a handout, nor are we likely to run out and pirate your zine if you are rash enough to lend us a copy.' In the next issue, Lynda K. Roper countered that fanzine editors were not obligated to loan out copies to anyone who asked for one."
* From [R B], a long-time fan and zined (circa 1980, see image): "Anduril ("Flame of the West") #1 summer 1962 was a one-shot Tolkien fanzine put out by Marion Zimmer Bradley featuring her 'A Meeting in Hyades.' It is a lovely story, but twill-tone mimeograph paper xeroxes very badly, and I'm ruining my copy by xeroxing copies for friends who are interested in Darkover... A note about copyright status: Anduril was not copyright, but I'm not sure if it would count as an actual 'publication' in legal terms—if not, it is protected by the old common law copyright. This isn't a publication either—I'm not offering it for sale—so as to interfere with whatever its copyright status is."
* from a fan in 2015 who was selling a zine on EBay: "Ok, this is obviously a photocopy of Metamorphosis #1, and that always makes me a little nervous, am I causing an issue by re-selling a copy of a zine? This copy was made many many years ago, I would NEVER reproduce a fanzine and sell it on here. Those who have bought from me in the past I hope would know I am an honest person. However, this zine is an oldie, so by reselling the (old) copy, am I helping to preserve it in hand-held form? Well, I'm not sure, but I'm going to go ahead and list it, if people think it is wrong out there in the fandom, please do give me feedback."
== Fans Respond To Zine Piracy==
Fans at the time were even more adamant that the accusations were baseless. There were comments like "What the hell did Bill Hupe EXPECT for a plump, expensive, multimedia zine from an editor whose standards have slipped?" and "I don't have the kind of $$$ to buy a $20-25 mixed media zine for the 1/3 in which I might be interested, so I copy that 1/3rd from my friend's copy, and no, I don't feel guilty."
Other fans pointed out that newer zines are xeroxed, and a copy of a zine doesn't necessarily look worse than the original zine (unlike when zines were offset printed and the originals clearer looked better—meaning that fans no longer had as much incentive to buy an original copy).
At least one fan encouraged printing more zines for their friends, saying that all the bad feelings about ownership and control made fandom less fun, and besides, all he wanted was to have more readers: 
From a fan in 1988: 
A fan in 1994 wrote: 
Another 1994 comment: 
===Other Fan Comments===
Other fans asked for more transparency in zine costs: 
==When The Call To Arms Backfires==
On occasion, fans would extort one another to confront suspected zine pirates. Some conventions had policies in place to deal with fans suspected of copying or selling zines. MediaWest for example would sent flyers to local copy shops near the hotel, warning them of the possibility of unauthorized copying and educating them of what a fanzine looked like so they could be on the lookout. One of the complaints raised in the 1993 Revelcon letters was that the convention organizes had included a map of local businesses - and one of those businesses was a Kinko's copy shop. At other conventions if a fan made a claim a dealer as selling copied zines, the seller would be asked to leave the dealer's room. And from time to time, LOCs would appear urging fans to publicly root out pirates.
This confrontational approach made a series of assumptions - that *authorized* copying did not exist, that fanzine dealer's would never have someone else agent their zines without communicating this to the entire fannish world in triplicate and that every suspected zine pirate was guilty. This led, on occasion, to embarrassing situations as reported by this one fan:
Two years later, in 1995, Bill Hupe sent this statement regarding MediaWest*Con the policing of zine sales: 
==The Circuit: An Alternative To Zine Piracy==
In the majority of fandoms during the print fan fiction era, fanfiction was distributed through fanzines. This meant that writers had to go through a submission and editing process (sometimes intensive, sometime very minimal), readers had to pay for their fanfiction and publishers had to bear the upfront costs (of both time and money) of publishing and selling the zine. In a few fandoms, however, informal circuits appeared, where fans would write and print their own stories (usually unbound and on loose paper) and then send copies to friends - who then would circulate more copies. The largest circuit was the Professionals circuit which is still in operation today. Smaller, intermittent and informal circuits would appear in other fandoms, often before the fandom had traction in fanzines. Most circuits did not survive the introduction of zine publication.
Still, when zine piracy issues would crop up, some fans would point to circuits as an alternative for both zine publishers who were losing money and for writers and readers who could communicate with one directly at a very low cost.
In 1993, one K/S fan encouraged others to fight "piracy" by moving their fanfiction platform and activities from zines to a circuit:
Not all fans (and certain not many zine publishers) embraced the idea of shifting to circuits:
In fact, some fans *blamed* the circuits for ruining zine fandom: 
==Tactics Zine Publishers Used to Battle Piracy==
As one fan pointed out, piracy counter-measures can be circumvented: "The difficulty in fighting bootlegging/piracy is that the poor fan-in-the-dealer's-room has no way of telling if the zine they just bought is a pirate copy, because they've never seen a genuine copy. Number the zines? Anyone can write numbers. Warnings in the editorial? Leave out the editorial in the pirate copy. Special seals or embossing? These are usually mentioned in the editorial, so they just do as above - leave out the editorial. Not all zines have editorials, so how is one to know whether there was an editorial in this zine or not? If the pirate zine is only a partial copy of the original, they can leave out the table of contents. Not all zines have a table of contents, so one won't know that it's missing. Maybe one might become suspicious if the first story starts at page 7, but who really looks at the page numbers? And they could just renumber them anyway." Piracy by Kat, accessed January 22, 2011; reference link
===Different Colored Paper===
Some zine publishers experimented with using paper in dark colors. Some issues of zines from MKASHEF Press were printed on dark purple paper—impossible to copy from, but also very hard to read. Other zines came out with red Do Not Copy bars underneath the text. Not only did this make it hard to read, but zine buyers were also insulted to be treated as guilty until proven innocent.
While it was more a tactic to protect the editors who'd printed very early slash, the Starsky and Hutch zine, Pushin' the Odds, had some stories printed in blue ink on red-patterned paper to render them "copy-proof." It also made them almost unreadable without the sheet of red plastic that was included to put over the page. The editor also required a signed "statement of compliance," numbered the copies, and used coded hole-punches on the pages, supposedly to identify the purchaser of any copy that "fell into unauthorized hands."
===Edition Statements and Color Stamps===
Many zine publishers used an edition statement, hand-writing the edition number of the zine on the title page, as well as signing each issue personally.
Other publishers used a color stamp, one that would only show correctly on an original, authorized issue.
At least one zine editor asked for unauthorized copies to be sent to her. From Slime Trails, a Real Ghostbusters anthology: "This publication cannot be sold en masse without the handwritten consent of the editor, excluding only single copy sales sold as used. If you don't see a purple stamp of a cat on this page, you're reading an illegal copy of this zine. Please send the illegal copy to me along with the name and (hopefully) address of the person(s) you bought it from, and I'll send you a free zine and give you my undying gratitude."
===Threats===
Some editors included various creative threats in their disclaimers. From In a Different Reality: "Any unspeakable slob who copies any part of this 'zine without permission will be used as a heat-reflecting tile on the next available shuttle mission."
In 1988, an editor wrote in the preface of Unfinished Melody: "This novel is from THE NUT HATCH CREATIVE WORKSHOPPE. Not for general sale: Get it from a friend. Get it for a friend. But no part of this novel may be reproduced in any way or form without permission from the publisher. Please do not photocopy it as a favour for your friend; the result is that she won't know it is/was a zine and not a circuit story, and will copy it for her friends, who copy it for theirs—ad infinitum. Got it?? This is a zine! And unless The Nut Hatch can sell its copies, we'll go broke and won't be able to do any further zines! Many thanks for your attention and your co-operation. This novel is copyright. -- Kathy Keegan, Publisher."
In 1992, an editor wrote regarding Flood Tide, and used a statement she used on a number of Nut Hatch zines: "THAT OLD PLEA TO READERS: for the umpteenth time we beg you not to duplicate this zine for the circuit. Also, if you discover someone doing this, gently suggest to them that they stop, because The Nut Hatch will get stuck with $1000's worth of unsold copies, and go broke all over again! If you would like to bulk-order for your group, circuit or con, please write to us, we would be delighted to give details in full!"
Another fan writer wrote in Charisma #19 (1995): "Those who want to copy this page -- just this one page! -- have the author's permission. Of course, you also need the editor's permission, and if I were you, I'd look over my shoulder a few times while in Kinko's just to make sure one of us crazed vigilantes isn't standing there with a Klingon disruptor waiting for a zine pirate to make her day."
Or, as the publisher of Riders on the Storm (1993) explained: "[If] you copy all or part of this sucker without permission and you'll be hunted down like the motherless dog you are! Not only that, but you'll be treated in the same disrespectful, thoughtless manner in which you are treating this humble editor and these hard-working authors; you will be photo-copied, folded, spindled, perfect-bound and/or stapled down your middle, mutilated, sealed in a 10x13 envelope, taped shut, stamped and mailed...at which point you will be at the not-so-tender mercies of the infamous US Postal Service."
===Authorized Letters===
From a zine publisher in 1988:
== Internet as Technology Disruptor ==
All of this strong opinion slowed zine editors from realizing the power of the Internet and web, to circulate stories. Most of the early fannish archives and story collections were created by new fans with some internet experience; old fans were a) too invested in their old ways of doing things and b) too worried about no longer being in charge of things: about being ripped off, about stories showing up in new places they couldn't control. And stories from zines printed before 1996 (the year the web really took off) are still rare on the web.
Initial conversations about e-zines included a lot of discussion about preventing unauthorized copying and pirating, and talked about how readers would take a disk and recreate a zine on their end, printing it out, collating it, stapling it, etc. There was no idea at first that anything would change about the zine reading experience, except for the initial delivery method of getting words to the consumer. By the time zine publishers finally paid attention, a large portion of fandom had bypassed them for the direct writer-reader relationship of the Internet.
==External Sources==
* Ethics and Etiquette: A Proposal for the Buying and Selling of Fanzines by Mary Urhausen
* by Susan Garrett
==References==
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