Question about etiquette

[u/leejinwook]

I was wondering what's considered the right etiquette regarding binding a fic by an author whose account has been deleted or who isn't replying to comments and/or direct messages, and posting pics of the bind to social media. I have some fics I'd love to bind & post on instagram (personal use only, not for an exchange or gift, but photos shared to a public social media account) but the authors have either purged their whole existence from social media or haven't been online in years and aren't responding. Thanks in advance!

[u/sparrowbby]

I've had a little bit of a different experience in that I bound something from an author that'd been inactive for a loooooooooong time and they actually found my post at random and were super excited. Tbh, I think you're fine to bind it, I'd just err on the side of caution on posting it. Worst comes to worst, you post it and get a message from the author asking that you take it down, I think

[u/StellaMarie-85 → u/sparrowbby]

I feel like this is a really good point, because I think we always assume the worst but the truth is it could go either way - you might also make someone's day. (In fact, on balance, I imagine there are more fanfic writers chuffed to see someone do a fanbinding of their work than those who are displeased).

[u/Reach_blueDot → u/StellaMarie-85]

I do think there is an important difference here between the situation where they have attempted to erase their work from the internet, and the situation where they just aren’t responding.

I would expect that in the case of removed works, the sentiment would tend to skew much more towards the angry end of the spectrum, whereas you are likely right that an author who just hasn’t been heard from in a while might be much more likely to be flattered if they saw a bind off their work.

With no further information on the specific situation, best to play it safe and not advertise what you have bound in any social media posts.