Inaccurate information

[Zaddok]

I was thoroughly enjoying the information I was finding on www.jitterbug.com/ about the Star Wars story, when I found a very disturbing statement in an endnote (number 4) on www.jitterbug.com/origins/lotr.html. It reads as follows:

"If you mention this in your work, please do the upright thing and give credit to this website. At the risk of drifting off-topic, sometimes I'll add a single completely-fabricated lie to a nonfiction article, so when my research shows up uncredited in a magazine article, book or website I know beyond a doubt where the "author" stole it. Don't be that guy."

I was saddened to realize that suddenly the credibility of the entire website was ruined. As interesting as the articles were, I'll not be back to this site or this message forum. I'm taking it out of my bookmark list, and I'm blocking emails from all proboards.com email addresses. I don't like being lied to, and I'm sure you don't either.

[Kristen Brennan]

Zaddok and others:

I've gotten enough emails about the "intentional lie" idea that I feel it's worth addressing.

First of all, as I state clearly in the FAQ, the majority of this website is educated guesses, and chances are at least a few of my guesses are wrong. As for the idea that I'm "lying" to my readership, if I explicitly assert that one or more of the "probablies" in the sight is fabricated as a legal device, that's hardly deceitful. I promise that all the footnotes and facts are real, but make no promises on the guesses.

Consider: when I cite the life of Alexander the Great as a possible source for Dune, but point out that this idea is based solely on my intuition, should you really take that as a "fact"? If you treat *any* of my guesses as the Gospel Truth, I think you're probably misunderstanding the basic method and purpose of this document. My goal was to construct the best possible model of how Lucas created the original trilogy, in hopes of teaching myself how to construct a fantasy story I enjoy and respect just as much. It's inconceivable that all my oblique theories and intuitions are correct, but I intuitively believe that *most* of my guesses are correct, in which case the website is probably a fairly useful peek into Lucas' creative process. Caveat emptor: For all I know, every single guess might be wrong.

Why do I include fabrications at all? Mythology is my chosen vocation, and this website is the tip-of-the-iceberg of my upcoming book, which reverse-engineers about 150 wonder-stories to the same level of detail. I've spent well over 4,000 hours working on this project since 1999, and I'm giving a big chunk of it away FREE (how many 4,000-hour projects have you given away for free?); so I'm understandably protective of my intellectual property rights. Every time someone publishes the fruits of my research without my permission, they lessen the value of my upcoming book, effectively stealing from me.

According to US Copyright Law anything you publish on the web is automatically copyrighted in your name, but in practice it is extremely difficult to prove that the information originated with you, or that you published before someone else. In the early years of this project I was forced to take legal action against over a dozen publications, including several publications overseas. This process is expensive, time-consuming and unpleasant. Since conceiving of the "one or more fabrications" idea, I have discovered that editors and publishers are quick to recognize that I can *prove* their content was plagiarized from me (since I've filed a copy of this website with the copyright office), and so are less likely to do so. And if a reporter does cheat, the publication is nearly always willing to accomodate me without forcing me to hire expensive lawyers. Once my book is safely in bookstores I will sweep all the fibs from the website.

As for the slightly sanctimonious tone of your post, are you sure that's the best way to communicate your point? I think if you reconsider, you'll realize one catches more flies with honey than vinegar.

Not to say I don't profit from being challenged. Thank you for sharing your views.

Warm regards,
Kristen B.