Fans began creating web shrines to The Simpsons and other shows owned by Fox. Fox responded by sending letters to those fans asking them to "cease and desist" using images, pictures, sounds and video clips from The Simpsons. If the fans did not modify their web sites, they were shut down.
How? Fox would contact the company who provided the server space for the web site. The company would quickly shut down the web site, hoping to avoid any trouble.
Fans were outraged. How could Fox respond to such adoration in such a brutal way? Weren't the fans helping the show by promoting it for free? At the time, Fox didn't have an official site for the show. The fans felt they were filling a need.
Fox was stern. The images and other media from The Simpsons belonged to the studio. The fans were using copyrighted material. To Fox, the issue was black and white.
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Background
One of the first Simpsons fans to be targeted was Jeanette Foshee. As reported by Steve Silberman for Packet, Jeanette received her cease and desist letter after she began sharing Simpsons icons she had drawn herself. Thinking she had been helping the show, Jeanette was more than disappointed when she received the letter from David Oakes, staff counsel for the Fox Network. When asked if the order changed her feelings about The Simpsons, she said, "Ugh - yes. The creativity and the enthusiasm that I once had for the show are gone."
Other fans also felt angry and betrayed because Fox shut down Simpsons fan sites. Füxworld has been tracking the sites shut down by Fox. In 1999, webmaster Jeff Mishler notified me that his site, The Simpsonian, has also fallen victim to the network.
In response to the Fox Network's legal actions, a special interest site was established. FIST is fighting back by making themselves heard. They arranged a fan blackout.
FIST had four goals, including determining "an explicit set of rules that explains in detail what is acceptable and what is not." FIST also offered banners that webmasters could use on their sites.
Fox has explained that "it is not [our] intention to shut down bona fide web sites created by fans devoted to these programs." In "Ask Fox" at their official site, the network submits its statement on the controversy.
Some television began working with the fans to help them create their sites. AcmeCity offered fans free official photos to use from their favorite programs, such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Friends.
