ABSTRACT
The fan fiction gold rush has met with mixed reactions—embraced by some, decried by others. This demonstrates tensions between older, more communitarian models of fandom and contemporary, individualistic, market-based ones, raising the possibility that generational shifts may result in the crowding out of previous traditions. Fans have often explicitly distanced their use value from exchange value, rejecting mainstream principles through popular cultural capital. FanLib generated huge backlash from fans because it fundamentally misunderstood the existing culture and motivations of fan writing, and consequently it was short-lived. The commercialization of fan fiction has been technologically enabled by "the ability of the internet not just to unite far-flung viewers but to make the fruits of their labor readily accessible to the mainstream—and to producers themselves". The fan fiction gold rush, both in its Kindle Worlds variant and in its "filing off the serial numbers" variant, re-gifts fan work, taking it out of the communal gift economy for individual and especially corporate gain.
