It's not a plot, seriously.
So I have been watching the latest, as they call it, pseudicide. I mostly have stayed on the outside (with one particular spectacular engagement because this person hit several illogical fallacies that really annoyed me) because it's not really my fandom and while I did actively read in it, I was never really participatory. I'm MORE in it now as a peripheral actually as I have joined the legions of "OMG SMALLVILLE YOU HURT ME" posts on Thursday nights.
But yes, I follow along because there are spectacular slow days in fandom where I'm looking for something to hold my attention and the weeks RIGHT before the holiday fests come up are surprisingly bare. And let's face it, some of these wanks give us a lot of material to read and I do like to make my own decisions.
Here's what was bothering me (not just in this, but in many situations like this) is that with the recent advent of what people call "hard evidence" there are several people who were on the side of the accused now saying "Now with actual evidence I see..." (eta: really bad example, more along the lines of 'How dare you question without hard evidence' )and things of that nature.
Here's the thing, you rarely if ever start out with hard evidence. Just years of experience in online fandom and a strong feeling that something isn't right. You sit and you read what you can and you ask a few people privately if your spidey sense is tingling or if you're just high.
Then someone braves public and usually politely asks for some clarification of point or two that is bothering them. Following the question either:
1. the 'accused' goes ballistic and completely doesn't help their case, becomes incredibly slippery with the clarification and the story just becomes less plausible or simply not clarified at all.
OR
2. Other people go "Oh thank god it wasn't just me."
Both of the above happen either simultaneously or one right after another.
Invariably at this point someone accuses of this huge conspiracy to besmirch the accused. As if there was some massive plot to come down on whoever is possibly perpetrating the scam (or whoever was conned into going along).
Except that's not it at all. What it really is, is several independent people all pinging on the same things they feel are wrong.
Now here's the thing, hard proof doesn't start appearing until AFTER someone asks the question publicly (and the question can simply be a politely worded clarification for more information) because this is the internet and information is fleeting and tough to pin down as it is and this sort of thing requires multiple people with multiple encounters to really start building a story to give you an idea of where to look.
What bothers me is that it's never "their friend" which I can understand, I can. But from there people always take the "GIVE US REAL PROOF!!" (which thinking about it, I can understand, but I'm too tired to really figure out exactly what I'm trying to say here, possibly it has to do with the reactionary responses as if when the question is asked, the person should already have the hard evidence) tact which simply isn't how most investigations work, you start with a fishy situation and move on from there. If several independent people all look at a given situation and go "Huh, yeah, that doesn't feel right, can you tell us the hospital/state/government agency" it's not because it's some massive group mob mentality but that there is something genuinely fishy going on with either the given information or the ongoing 'conversation' that is happening.
It's not about people being mean and gleeful in anticipation (though let's face it the flailing and machinations of a dieing pseud can often be gosh darned special and popcorn worthy) and it's not about flinging accusations, it's about wanting to protect fandom and other people. It's about exposing fraud (more important really if there's money involved, yes people that is ILLEGAL). This sort of crap can hurt a fandom and create all sorts of fun mines that people can trip in the future.
I, personally, don't want someone in GENUINE need of help not to get the help they need and deserve some fandom support and I want them to get all the resources available and incidents like psuedicide prevent that on a number of levels (and I'm going into that here because that's just too indepth for today) which is why people DO go after the fakers.
But here's the thing, hard evidence takes time and people to gather and flailing around about making accusations such as "Where's the evidence??" doesn't really do much for any side of the argument and makes the assumption that anyone who is neigh saying is simply doing it out of a 'mob mentality' to borrow someone else's phrase. I'm sure there are a few people who fall into this category, but to be quite honest I'd bet that a majority of initial 'inquests' start with polite questions that are entirely appropriate and that the fannish intuition should not be ignored. I've been in one fandom or another for 12 years. I've seen a lot (though depending on your path some things are new despite being old) and I've got a developed intuition about things and when I go "Huh something fishy" it's not to just point fingers meanly.
It's because in my long experience something genuinely doesn't feel right and I'm curious if anyone has the same feeling and/or am looking for evidence.
But yes, I follow along because there are spectacular slow days in fandom where I'm looking for something to hold my attention and the weeks RIGHT before the holiday fests come up are surprisingly bare. And let's face it, some of these wanks give us a lot of material to read and I do like to make my own decisions.
Here's what was bothering me (not just in this, but in many situations like this) is that with the recent advent of what people call "hard evidence" there are several people who were on the side of the accused now saying "Now with actual evidence I see..." (eta: really bad example, more along the lines of 'How dare you question without hard evidence' )and things of that nature.
Here's the thing, you rarely if ever start out with hard evidence. Just years of experience in online fandom and a strong feeling that something isn't right. You sit and you read what you can and you ask a few people privately if your spidey sense is tingling or if you're just high.
Then someone braves public and usually politely asks for some clarification of point or two that is bothering them. Following the question either:
1. the 'accused' goes ballistic and completely doesn't help their case, becomes incredibly slippery with the clarification and the story just becomes less plausible or simply not clarified at all.
OR
2. Other people go "Oh thank god it wasn't just me."
Both of the above happen either simultaneously or one right after another.
Invariably at this point someone accuses of this huge conspiracy to besmirch the accused. As if there was some massive plot to come down on whoever is possibly perpetrating the scam (or whoever was conned into going along).
Except that's not it at all. What it really is, is several independent people all pinging on the same things they feel are wrong.
Now here's the thing, hard proof doesn't start appearing until AFTER someone asks the question publicly (and the question can simply be a politely worded clarification for more information) because this is the internet and information is fleeting and tough to pin down as it is and this sort of thing requires multiple people with multiple encounters to really start building a story to give you an idea of where to look.
What bothers me is that it's never "their friend" which I can understand, I can. But from there people always take the "GIVE US REAL PROOF!!" (which thinking about it, I can understand, but I'm too tired to really figure out exactly what I'm trying to say here, possibly it has to do with the reactionary responses as if when the question is asked, the person should already have the hard evidence) tact which simply isn't how most investigations work, you start with a fishy situation and move on from there. If several independent people all look at a given situation and go "Huh, yeah, that doesn't feel right, can you tell us the hospital/state/government agency" it's not because it's some massive group mob mentality but that there is something genuinely fishy going on with either the given information or the ongoing 'conversation' that is happening.
It's not about people being mean and gleeful in anticipation (though let's face it the flailing and machinations of a dieing pseud can often be gosh darned special and popcorn worthy) and it's not about flinging accusations, it's about wanting to protect fandom and other people. It's about exposing fraud (more important really if there's money involved, yes people that is ILLEGAL). This sort of crap can hurt a fandom and create all sorts of fun mines that people can trip in the future.
I, personally, don't want someone in GENUINE need of help not to get the help they need and deserve some fandom support and I want them to get all the resources available and incidents like psuedicide prevent that on a number of levels (and I'm going into that here because that's just too indepth for today) which is why people DO go after the fakers.
But here's the thing, hard evidence takes time and people to gather and flailing around about making accusations such as "Where's the evidence??" doesn't really do much for any side of the argument and makes the assumption that anyone who is neigh saying is simply doing it out of a 'mob mentality' to borrow someone else's phrase. I'm sure there are a few people who fall into this category, but to be quite honest I'd bet that a majority of initial 'inquests' start with polite questions that are entirely appropriate and that the fannish intuition should not be ignored. I've been in one fandom or another for 12 years. I've seen a lot (though depending on your path some things are new despite being old) and I've got a developed intuition about things and when I go "Huh something fishy" it's not to just point fingers meanly.
It's because in my long experience something genuinely doesn't feel right and I'm curious if anyone has the same feeling and/or am looking for evidence.