ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the state of video genres both before and after the advent of the Internet to provide a historical and contemporary context for the groups' video distribution practices. It concerns one of the three genres – activist video, film and television fan videos, and public access television – beginning with a brief introduction of the relevant producer group, followed by a sketch of the pre-Internet era technologies and practices related to their genre, and finishing with a discussion of the state of the genre in the Internet-era. The chapter focuses on community formation and practices and the power relations that exist between users and the different platforms they use. Finally, it describes that the priorities of an Internet platform's users do not always align with those of the platform's owners and operators, and this can lead to problems for users trying to distribute their videos on them.
