Section 1: Overview of Defense Against the Dark
Arts
Paragraph A: Our Purpose
We have become aware of the legal actions of AOL-Time Warner against the
owners and webmasters/mistresses of several Harry Potter fan sites. They
have threatened, intimidated, and frightened innocent children and teenagers
into believing that if they do not respond to the demands of the company,
they will be taken to court. A great majority of these children and teenagers
are misled into believing that "taken to court" means "losing everything
their family owns." We believe this to be wrong. AOL-Time Warner is taking
advantage of inexperienced children to gain a monopoly. Defense Against the
Dark Arts (DADA) has been created to enlighten the fans to the reality of
the situation, and hopefully reach a peaceful and civil agreement with AOL-Time
Warner to stop the threats and intimidation before a very serious calamity
occurs.
Paragraph B: What we Hope to Accomplish
By forming this alliance between webmasters/mistresses of Harry Potter fan
sites, and the fans themselves, we hope to alert the general public to the
truth of the situation, to help them realize how despicable AOL-Time Warner's
actions are. In doing so, we hope to send a message to WB, telling them that
we will not be trampled on any longer. We, the fans, intend to keep our homes
on the web open with their original domain names, regardless of AOL-Time
Warner's actions. In the end, we hope to reach a truce with Time Warner.
They allow us to keep our rightful place on the Internet, and we continue
to keep adequate disclaimers on our web sites, stating very plainly that
we do not claim any rights to the characters, indicia, etc, as we have been
from the beginning. |
Section 2: A Plan for Success
Paragraph A: The History of a Phenomenon
Back in 1998, a little-known book was published: Harry Potter and the
Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone. It was not overly publicized, it was not
expected to be popular, however, it sold amazingly well. Corporate analysts
were baffled at first, until they happened to search for "Harry Potter" on
the Internet. A wave of fan sites were found, spreading the news that they
had found something good, really good. Word spread like wild-fire over the
internet, then spread to classrooms, and so on. It was even praised by certain
television talk-show hosts who were not even paid to do so. To put it bluntly,
the Harry Potter series owes its success to word-of-mouth, in particular,
word-of-mouth over the Internet. A few people read it, then told their friends,
who continued to tell their friends, etc etc. It was an underground operation
that really brought home the bacon for the author and publishers, and now
Time Warner is expecting the same results.
Paragraph B: A Basic Lesson in Supply and
Demand
Successful businesses run on the equation of supply vs. demand. For example,
the Harry Potter fans; they're the "demand" in the situation. They're addicted
to anything and everything Harry Potter. They're addicted to the books, and
they have been anxiously awaiting the Harry Potter movie, figurines, toys,
calendars, etc. AOL-Time Warner is counting on that demand because they're
the suppliers. They've banked upwards of $5 million dollars into a contract
for the rights to the Harry Potter books and everything contained therein
so they can manufacture products, or rather, sell rights to other subsidiaries
to manufacture the products for them. That's how it works. The fans beg for
Harry Potter stuff, Time Warner provides it, fans shell out their allowance,
everyone goes home happy.
Paragraph C: When the Suppliers turn Against the
Demand
As we have said, Time Warner is turning against the fans, taking away their
domain names, forcing some to close, thus making hundreds, even thousands
of Harry Potter fans incredibly annoyed. They seems to have forgotten that
these webmasters, webmistresses, and HP Internet goers, are the exact same
fans that used to provide the demand for their supply.
Paragraph D: Demand Fights Back
DADA, along with PotterWar.org.uk, is prepared to announce and encourage
a full-on boycott against every single Harry Potter related product created
or subsidized by AOL-Time Warner. This includes all Harry Potter toys, calendars,
ornaments, paraphernalia, and the Harry Potter movie set for release late
2001. (Does not apply to the actual Harry Potter books themselves.) A large
chunk of the demand will be wiped out entirely. Leaving millions of Harry
Potter toys left in the stores, and thousands of theatre seats empty. The
manufacturers would be left to deal with the fact that their multi-million
dollar investment in Harry Potter and in its fans, slipped through their
fingers because of a few domain names that they couldn't keep their hands
off of. This boycott will be publicized by every method at the DADA's disposal.
Nothing will deter us from defending our homes on the internet. |
Section 3: Conclusion
Defense Against the Dark Arts is a community of Harry Potter fans, it is
a safe haven for those who have been ostracized by Time Warner, and it is
a call to arms. This is no longer just something for a quick glance and a
sympathetic heart for the few who have fallen victim. This is no longer a
trivial matter. This is a tragedy. This is a battle for our freedom of speech,
and this is a battle for something we love. We must not forget that we loved
the books first, not the merchandising. There are dark forces afoot, darker
even than He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, because these dark forces are daring
to take away something so basic, so human, that it's close to murder. They
are taking away our freedom of speech, our freedom to express our thoughts,
feelings, and ideas, and they are taking away the fun of a magical book.
Remember, the American Bookseller's Foundation's Muggles for Harry Potter
campaign did this when Harry Potter was threatened with being banned from
libraries in the United States and many other organizations saved the books
in other countries as well. If they can do that, we can save our web sites.
It will take hard work, determination, and guts, but we've shown our true
colors before. We can do it again, if we stick together. |
