What Does Blanket Permission Mean?
Fandom CultureA standing statement by an author granting general permission for transformative works of their fics — podfic, translation, art, or remixes — without needing to ask each time. Usually posted on their profile.
Blanket Permission in Practice
Blanket permission statements grew out of podfic culture, where recording someone's fic requires their blessing and authors who never answered messages were a constant bottleneck. A profile note like 'blanket permission for podfic and translation with credit' removes the friction entirely, and community-maintained lists of blanket-permission authors help creators find willing source material. Statements vary in scope — some authors permit everything including remixes, others carve out exceptions or ask only for a link to the result. The practice embodies the transformative-works ethos applied to fanworks themselves: fic of fic, freely given.
Example usage
"Her profile gives blanket permission for podfic, so I can finally record that series I love."
Related Terms
Podfic
An audio recording of a fanfic read aloud — fandom's homegrown audiobook tradition. Podficcers record, edit, and post performances of fics, usually with the original author's blessing.
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Inspired By (AO3 Link)
AO3's formal mechanism for linking a work to the work that inspired it — translations, podfics, remixes, sequels-by-other-hands, and fic of fanart all use it. The citation displays on both works.
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Do Not Repost
A creator's instruction forbidding uploading their work elsewhere — re-uploading art to other sites, copying fics to other platforms, or feeding work into apps. Reposting without permission is one of fandom's firmest taboos.
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Fanwork
The umbrella term for any creative work made by fans from existing media — fic, art, vids, podfic, mixes, cosplay, meta, crafts. The category AO3 and the OTW exist to host and defend.
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More Fandom Culture Terms
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