Not to be morbid...

[sherrold]

But I've been thinking about dying a little, recently -- mostly because I've been doing Fanlore articles on fans that have moved on. And I realize that I talked to wickedwords years ago about taking care of my stuff when I died (I have 20 linear feet of zines, still), but she doesn't have my passwords.

Poll #3999 Fannish Executor

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 108

View Respondents

Have you heard of the idea of a Fannish Executor?

View Answers

Yes
85 (78.7%)

No
23 (21.3%)

What do think your Fannish Executor would do?

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Have your LJ/DW/AOO password
98 (91.6%)

Have your fannish website(s) info
81 (75.7%)

Go through your zines and fannish toys
62 (57.9%)

Be mentioned in your actual will as taking care of your fannish stuff
60 (56.1%)

More that I'll put in comments
13 (12.1%)

Do you have a Fannish Executor?

View Answers

Yes
24 (22.6%)

No
49 (46.2%)

Dammit, Sandy, I'm thinking about it; don't be so pushy
33 (31.1%)

Comments

[saraht]

HIDE THE PORN.

[morgandawn]

you know....xlorp and I were talking this week and he asked me the exact same thing - what should I do with your zines, is there someone in fandom you'd like to handle fannish stuff.

I told him to donate everything to the Fanzine Archives at the University of Iowa. I still need someone to take over my websites etc. I also make certain I am never the lone admin for any community or LJ.

Exactly!

[sherrold]

though, I suppose there are plenty of modern fans whose entire fannish existence is on their laptop...

[sherrold]

I also make certain I am never the lone admin for any community or LJ.

Ooh, good point.

Also, does Steven know your LJ/DW password, to be able to post a memorial?

[boggit]

Wow, this is not something I've ever thought of, but it makes so much sense--I think I'd have someone, and this probably doesn't reflect well on how I split my life, but I would need someone to take care of the fannish stuff so that it didn't come out to my family. Like, someone to let my online friends know what had happened, and be a contact for them, but in large part to erase the evidence of my fic reading and such. My mom really doesn't need to belatedly discover my passion for NC-17 RPS after my untimely passing, you know? I don't have much of intellectual property value, as I've only written drabbles for friends in "Writing Wednesdays" shenanigans, what I mostly have are my relationships and connections, and I would want those respected (i.e. not just disappearing forever)... But I also want to cover my tracks, you know?

*thinks about writing down passwords*

and remember, there's two parts

[sherrold]

someone across the country can post to your LJ, etc. but you need someone local to stop by your house and ...

Re: and remember, there's two parts

[boggit]

set fire to my laptop?


...and my external?




*imagines future...purchases blowtorch*

[morgandawn]

Of course I do - oops....

[gwyn]

Tina is actually the official executor for me, and she knows about the porn and stuff. But I realize in this I should also give her my passwords and crap like that. When I was in the hospital emergency that one time, Emily was able to post in my LJ because I don't have the computer passworded, but if I was logged out or anything, that would have been a different story. Something to think about!

[minim_calibre]

I need to set one up. Not that I have any zines, but surely someone out there needs the various fannish books that I own for no good reason. Like those Dark Angel novels...

I mean, I should have someone with my passwords/site info. I may even have the former (Jilli should still have them from when I had Lillian), but I never remember the latter even when I need it.

[yonmeidw]

I sort of have one, though not formally named in my will as such, and I've sort of thought about how to ensure she gets all my passwords and other info in a way that will get updated / be safe.

(I have also BEEN the fannish executor for a couple of local fans where my role was "Get over here and throw out all the porn before my mother finds it!")

[birggitt]

I don't believe it's a fannish executor (I actually ain't very sure about what exactly a fannish executor is), but my son and I have made ourselves the promises if something happens to any of us, the other one will post about it to all blogs and places to let our online friends to know.

[tazlet]

I know it's a pain in the ass but try to have an inventory of the 'fannish' stuff - prevents 'misunderstandings.'

[ratcreature]

The main reason I don't have any kind of fannish executor is that I haven't actually bothered with a will at all. But aside from that, I'm not involved with fandom on a local level, so I'm not sure I'd know anyone fannish who could take care of physical things, or how other fans would even know if I got suddenly killed by a falling toilet seat or the like.

As for my online presence, I don't know whether my siblings would care enough to find/circumvent my passwords and make a post or keep up my website, but probably not, so I guess my site would just expire eventually, and it would be the same as if I just gafiated. I guess I ought to leave instructions for them, but somehow that feels an awkward thing to ask, because while I'm not in the fannish closet, I don't really talk with them about online fandom either.

I don't have more than a couple of zines, but do sometimes wonder what would happen to my comic collection. It is quite large (four floor to ceiling book shelves and maybe twenty boxes or so), and in parts actually worth something even at resale value (at least a couple of thousand euro, probably more if you put some effort into selling). Though my siblings like comics too, so I guess they might want some, and they appreciate comics well enough to at least not throw the them into garbage. And they rather than my father would be the ones to clean out my place.

Otherwise there is not much fandom related stuff, unless you count a the originals of the couple of fanart pieces I did. I hope they'd keep those as memento or something rather than paper recycling, but who knows.

As for the porn, my family knows my fannish pseud anyway, so it's not like they'd find much about my porn preferences that they couldn't know already if they looked at my journal. And in any case, the porn on my laptop is mostly written and won't be any more embarrassing than me seeing my parents sex toys and porn photos as a kid (seriously I have no idea why they put the porn polaroids they took of each other in the drawer in which also regular use stuff like headache pills were stored, and the sex toys like vibrators and anal beads in a box in the towel closet). I assume either my sister or my brother would go through my stuff if I dropped dead suddenly, and I don't think they'd find anything surprising. So I don't worry about that part.

[bientot]

I know I should be more proactive about this, but haven't yet. I also have a significant origami library and kaleidoscope collection (and a not inconsiderable Wagner library as well) which should be dealt with. I have clear ideas on all these but have not written it down. Thanks for the reminder! A will, at the very least...but of course I keep putting it off.

[meri_oddities]

I've had this discussion with Mr. L, but we never resolved it. I think he'd call one of my local friends to deal with it. I have so much stuff... And I've never given him my passwords, which now that you mention it, sounds like a really good idea.

[emyrys]

I only just got an official will (signed & witnessed & everything) last week -- and I am 49. (I wouldn't even have done it then, but my brother's marriage was imploding and I needed to appoint a guardian for laTeen should something happen to me.

I hadn't thought about a fannish executor in a long time. I am glad that you brought this up.

I had an informal agreement with a local friend, but she just moved across the country 3 days ago. oops. Now I have to think about it all again. (although the attorney who is acting as my RL executor is cool, and I bet she would take care of anything/everything for me.)

[lightgetsin]

The conversations axiom_of_stripe and I had about it after the last time I had surgery were largely about handling all the physical stuff so that a family member wouldn't find it, in addition to preserving and memorializing online.

[lapillus]

jackiekjono and I were talking about that this weekend and I've verbally named her as fannish executor. I'm sure that since I don't currently have a will (lack of spouse, dependents or property has made it an admittedly low priority) my folks would end up asking her about stuff but I really do need to get it all down in writing. It's one of the many things on my "get organized list" which I've been poking at with some success all year.

As to what else to do, I'd want to make sure that the fannish executor notified fandom about my death and the cause of it. One of my old friends died a couple of years ago and I have no clue how (I hadn't spoken to Kevin in years and his folks didn't know me) and I still wonder what actually happened. None of the obituaries online mention how and that is... frustrating.

[celli]

I think Slod is probably my de facto fannish executor--she's posted for me when I was in the hospital and stuff. I keep meaning to create a protected GDocs file or something that only she and the good twin have access to, so I can update my passwords whenever I need to and not have to rememebr to notify them.

I think she would just inherit my laptop, so that's taken care of. And she and the good twin would probably take care of my books and DVDs, as well. There's nothing in there that would shock my family, probably, but there's no need to test that. :)

*makes note to call cousin about setting up a will*

*hugs*

[anoel]

I've told my RL best friend to post in vidding when that happens and I would leave her my computer and access to all my fannish stuff in my (needs to be written) will so I guess she could just post to my LJ as well. I just don't like giving people my passwords so that wouldn't work for me.

[cereta]

I have sort of casual understandings with a few friends. I'm lucky in that I have a partner who can be trusted to (a) notify fannish folk and (b) not freak out over the contents of my harddrive. I don't really have any zines, and spouse likes vids enough to hang onto my DVDs. But it's definitely something I've thought about.

[princessofgeeks]

i sort of have fannish executor(s) for my online accounts, people who know my passwords, but i have no idea what would happen to the stuff i have physically at home -- the zines, the printouts, the memorabilia etc. i don't have any fannish friends who live really nearby. it's something to think about.

[sherrold]

> I've sort of thought about

Yeah, it's a hard one to nail down, isn't it.

[sherrold]

And you have each other's passwords so that you can do this? (btw, I think that's sweet!)