1. This 'service that is being provided' is a SCAM. It's charging tech-unsavvy people lots of money they don't need to spend.
2. The software is indeed terrible, see above. The lack of clarity in the rules, and the general impression that your stories are not yours if you post there and the admins will not defend your privacy do not help.
4. Making money through other people's creative works (which they themselves are not profiting from) is arguably hinky. The specific WAYS they're looking to make a profit, crucially, are various combinations of disingeunous and gross - including a hosting scam and selling your details.
Fanfiction.net has ads. But ff.net has FAR more expensive hosting bills to pay and doesn't scam their users out of money, take their users' fics and put them elsewhere to make more money, or sell their users' personal details to companies. It's not the same at all.
Re: Fan Fiction In General
2. The software is indeed terrible, see above. The lack of clarity in the rules, and the general impression that your stories are not yours if you post there and the admins will not defend your privacy do not help.
4. Making money through other people's creative works (which they themselves are not profiting from) is arguably hinky. The specific WAYS they're looking to make a profit, crucially, are various combinations of disingeunous and gross - including a hosting scam and selling your details.
Fanfiction.net has ads. But ff.net has FAR more expensive hosting bills to pay and doesn't scam their users out of money, take their users' fics and put them elsewhere to make more money, or sell their users' personal details to companies. It's not the same at all.
Thanks for this post, fanficforensics :)