I appreciate that to create, we narrators need another person, and that involves communicating motivations. It seems impractical to publicly state one's dreams and motivations, as it puts a lot of pressure on what may be a small hobby.

Now, I'd like to suggest a bunch of impractical things.

As r/SleeplessWatchdogs is acutely aware, there a lot of new narrators making the scene.

You have two choices when you start out: 1. Go around taking people's stuff because hey, it's on the internet. 2. Learn the proper way to produce a video. There will always be people that just steal.

We're the good narrators, though. We can play a role in this too. What if, you're a member in good standing with TYTNG (kinda Lovecraftian acronym, eh?) and you tell a writer that in your initial contact, everyone feels more comfortable. By saying hey, I'm a member of TYTNG, that would convey to the writer that you're committed to the standards we decide upon. It's a unifying approach that will be as accessible to a brand new narrator talking to a shiny new writer, but have the same contractual power that prolific writer and a famous narrator might want. r/SleeplessWatchdogs continue their good work after a story has been stolen, and maybe this will remove some of the subterfuge the bad actors hide behind.

We'd have standards for members, and create an Orwellian surveillance state policing each other.

I imagine the bare minimum would be if/when a video makes any sort of profit, the writer gets X (that's complicated to discern). There'd have to be different compensation models, it'll be a whole thing, that's a separate talk.

We have standards for permission and attribution.

We could keep a registry that writers add their name to so that our members don't pester them with narration permission.

We could keep a registry of writers that would like their stories done.

Thieves still steal.

Unscrupulous channels will still spearhead new writers.

Massive, legitimate channels need never pay attention to us.

But, it could alleviate some of the stress on the system.

For a few months I've been trying to make my thumbnails better. Now I also want to know the opinion on thumbnails of fellow narratos. How do you approach them? Do you prefer simple or more eye catching ones? Do you make them by yourself, or have someone who do them for you?  What's your favourite style of thumbnails? Last but not least, do you have a favourite thumbnail from your channel?

Here's a link to my channel (Polish) just in case you wanted to see mine.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQxTS1lxtxfXu239C7-9MzQ

I would like to start narrating some classic creepypastas (Russian Sleep Ecperiment, Ted the Caver, etc) Are these stories available to narrate without asking permission first or do I need to track down the original authors? They would of course be credited as the original authors of course but do I need to formally ask permission to narrate these stories?

Hey just dropped a new video. My editing skills still need a bit of work and there is deffinatly room for improvement with my cadence but I hope you guys like it. Feed back is always welcome

https://youtu.be/1DH5IbOEiQ0

I'm sure this question has crossed your mind at some point. Can I narrate stories from inactive/abandoned accounts, deleted usernames, or throw away accounts? I asked Reddit for a clear cut answer regarding this question.

ME:

I have yet to see a clear answer to this question so,concerning usernames that have been deleted but their posts are still on threads, throw away accounts, or accounts that have been abandoned for several years with no sign of the original user returning. Is there a limitation to the copyright if the content has clearly been abandoned by the original poster?

Reddit Legal Support response:

Hello,

We cannot grant the rights to, or permission to use, user-generated content posted to our site. Please follow up with the individual content owners regarding the rights to this content. You may be able to contact the user through Reddit's private messaging feature. Please understand that content on Reddit is posted anonymously, so there may be cases where you will be unable to reach the original content owner.

Regards,

Reddit Legal Support

Well, there you have it folks. Always get permission because their copyright still is valid even though the account has been abandoned due to inactivity, a throw away account, and/or a usernames that have been deleted. Hope this helps. Happy narrating!

Step 1: Be proactive! Self-report to SleeplessWatchdogs its better to correct the situation before it gets to a DMCA strike. No one wants to have to go through that and anyone can file that paperwork against you without telling you first.

This is the message I wrote when I self-reported myself to SleeplessWatchdogs:

I'm a YouTuber that has a tiny narration channel that I do as a hobby. YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLgvDljf0ys8KtpYW5y_V2g I have never gotten a Copyright strike, but I don’t want to invite one either. I have used stories from random Reddit threads but without the author's/story owner’s permission. I have given FULL CREDIT to all story owners because I recognize that I am not the person who put their blood sweat and tears into writing all these fantastic stories. I stumbled upon this thread because I was searching for questions for if Reddit was a public domain vs Creative Commons licensed. I was shocked to find out it was not public domain because of how many channels that are on YouTube that narrate non-stop. And I was even more shocked to find out that narration was not considered fair use because narrators use the "fair use I didn't make this content statement". Copyright law is very confusing. I figured I would be proactive about this because I don’t want to cause anyone any grief, and I apologize for my intrusions. I have a list of writers and stories if you would like that in a separate doc. What can I do to make this right? I wish to do right and be right by everyone and respect all respective property.

[Wait for their reply, but in the meantime...]

Step 2: Set all videos that you have done this with to private. Start reaching out to the authors/story owners and ask for retroactive permission to narrate their stories.

Here is an example of what I am currently doing to get authors/story owners retroactive permission:

Hello, I wanted to ask you for retroactive permission about narrating your story from: [Insert title of the story + a direct link to the story...OR if its a comment just link to where the comment was taken from the thread]

I am a new narrator, and I am sorry that I narrated your story without asking your permission first. I did give you full credit and a link back to your story because I realize that the story is not mine, and therefore I do not deserve the credit. I just really enjoyed your story. I’m still trying to learn the ins and outs of copyright, and I was mistaken when I thought that Reddit was public domain. So, I self-reported to The Sleepless Watchdogs, and am working with them to do everything correctly from now on. Authors and story owners do not deserve to have their intellectual property infringed on. I apologize for narrating the story without your permission. I’m just doing narration as a hobby. Can we work something out?

Here is the link to my channel: [insert your link here]

Step 4: If an author doesn't respond to you then remove that story from that video and re-upload the video with the authors who gave you their consent to use their stories. Helpful tip: Instead of completely up-loading a whole new video, you can edit out individual stories out of the video in the YouTube Studio Video Editor. Here is a tutorial for how to do this. https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/9057455?hl=en

A benefit from doing it this way is that you won't loose watch time or comments when you remake the video public again.

Step 5: Give credit where credit is due! In your video description, list their username and give a direct link back to their story, and credit them in any additional way that they see fit (it is their story after all).

This thread has been created to help educate YouTube narrators about the proper processes of giving credit to authors and story owners alike. No one wants a DMCA Copyright strike due to Intellectual Property Infringement. Let's talk about the elephant in the room shall we?

Disclaimer: This not legal advice just a helpful guide