Flamers and near so, response to a post on a list....
"The meanest fandom." What an accusation. Makes you feel sorta naughty, like we are all wearing biker jackets while critiquing the latest fic, or responding to weird assertions by the newbie who accuses anyone who disagrees with her of being stupid or mean. "The meanest fandom." Hmm... Was it someone in our fandom who faked cease and desist orders from Fox to the various ISPs and owners of sites that hosted fic of people who disagreed with their posts. No. Wait - maybe we were the fandom where the list owner said she would quit running the list, then changed her mind, then canceled the list, then called and made dire threats to the people who restarted the list. No. Hmmm...
We are a fandom that has fractured into many lists- like most - of which some of us have belonged to almost all of since the lists started. Maybe we're the fandom where some of us have been in online fandom since college or 1994 or the like. Maybe some of us have reached the point of détente. Why argue over whether flicking the end of Methos' nose was a slashy moment? Been there done that, lists split - het fans this way, slash fans that. Why argue over what the writers' intentions were? They speak on these points on the DVDs now, for those of us who haven't made it to conventions.
On the various lists, you'll find lots of the same people. People who still love the fic, and wish there was more. Some believe in the old rumor that Highlander fanfic was some of the best- some said this was due to peer pressure to have stories betaed, some said we were older fans, some said this fandom is often a second or third for most as they hunt for a way to keep their characters alive forever. There are rumors too of readers that might be harsh in their critique, or too set on just a certain pairing or scenario. Balanced by factual, onlist praise of some stories that make it seem like any great work of fiction was surpassed by something shot off before it was even spellchecked.
Still, it's hard not to be seduced by the idea that somehow, despite the careful eyes of listmoms, that we are the meanest. No felonies committed by members against each other, no death threats, no vandalism - but the idea is still seductive. I think it is because we want there to be more. More stories, more excitement, more discussion, more incomplete sentences. I am in a unique position, I suppose, I tend to be more of lurker than a poster - but I'm an archivist. So I tend to blame myself, think of what I did in the early days, despair that my responsibilities now mean I don't have much time online, etc.
I also have gotten complaints and pleas to be the kind, understanding voice when some authors felt the response they received was minimal, cruel, or otherwise lacking. This happens in all fandoms - I know. I was enraged when a story of my own in another fandom got flames - for not being continued, a year or two after writing the darn thing. I didn't receive a 'liked your story, please write more', just flames from one girl and her friends. So without reading the lacking e-mails the authors received, I believed them, and felt protective because I had experienced it myself. But I hoped in Highlander fandom everyone would feel a part of the 'family'.
Now after writing the guidelines for feedback that I've posted onsite a year or two ago, and receiving multiple requests from other sites in other fandoms to use/use and alter them - I find myself thinking. No, that is never good. ;-) I need to revise the feedback guidelines, among the zillion other tasks I should have completed already for this fandom and this site. Because for a while I was seduced by the notion we are the meanest.
I don't know how. After all, on the R/M list, for example, people who have only been reading/writing LOTR since the first movie still say "Happy Birthday" to each other or chat. People have been there for each other on some of these lists for years. Maybe only in passing, maybe e-mailing privately frequently, maybe meeting and getting to know each other face to face - without the computer screen and mere text to constrain or confuse the conversation.
Many of the Highlander fans on lists aren't new anymore. But we still greet new fans, and read new stories. We don't have new episodes to debate, discuss, and spoil for our European listmembers by mistake. But for many of us, we have old friends to enjoy the release of the DVDs with, and discuss new stories with. Maybe some of the views are a bit entrenched - but the one that is the most entrenched is that no one has the right to knock the intelligence or viewpoints of one of our friends with only 'because I think I'm smarter than you' as a reason. We love discussion, but dislike argument solely for argument's sake, because like in music fan lists shouldn't be judged by volume but by quality.
Just my thoughts late this night.
:)
AnnF
We are a fandom that has fractured into many lists- like most - of which some of us have belonged to almost all of since the lists started. Maybe we're the fandom where some of us have been in online fandom since college or 1994 or the like. Maybe some of us have reached the point of détente. Why argue over whether flicking the end of Methos' nose was a slashy moment? Been there done that, lists split - het fans this way, slash fans that. Why argue over what the writers' intentions were? They speak on these points on the DVDs now, for those of us who haven't made it to conventions.
On the various lists, you'll find lots of the same people. People who still love the fic, and wish there was more. Some believe in the old rumor that Highlander fanfic was some of the best- some said this was due to peer pressure to have stories betaed, some said we were older fans, some said this fandom is often a second or third for most as they hunt for a way to keep their characters alive forever. There are rumors too of readers that might be harsh in their critique, or too set on just a certain pairing or scenario. Balanced by factual, onlist praise of some stories that make it seem like any great work of fiction was surpassed by something shot off before it was even spellchecked.
Still, it's hard not to be seduced by the idea that somehow, despite the careful eyes of listmoms, that we are the meanest. No felonies committed by members against each other, no death threats, no vandalism - but the idea is still seductive. I think it is because we want there to be more. More stories, more excitement, more discussion, more incomplete sentences. I am in a unique position, I suppose, I tend to be more of lurker than a poster - but I'm an archivist. So I tend to blame myself, think of what I did in the early days, despair that my responsibilities now mean I don't have much time online, etc.
I also have gotten complaints and pleas to be the kind, understanding voice when some authors felt the response they received was minimal, cruel, or otherwise lacking. This happens in all fandoms - I know. I was enraged when a story of my own in another fandom got flames - for not being continued, a year or two after writing the darn thing. I didn't receive a 'liked your story, please write more', just flames from one girl and her friends. So without reading the lacking e-mails the authors received, I believed them, and felt protective because I had experienced it myself. But I hoped in Highlander fandom everyone would feel a part of the 'family'.
Now after writing the guidelines for feedback that I've posted onsite a year or two ago, and receiving multiple requests from other sites in other fandoms to use/use and alter them - I find myself thinking. No, that is never good. ;-) I need to revise the feedback guidelines, among the zillion other tasks I should have completed already for this fandom and this site. Because for a while I was seduced by the notion we are the meanest.
I don't know how. After all, on the R/M list, for example, people who have only been reading/writing LOTR since the first movie still say "Happy Birthday" to each other or chat. People have been there for each other on some of these lists for years. Maybe only in passing, maybe e-mailing privately frequently, maybe meeting and getting to know each other face to face - without the computer screen and mere text to constrain or confuse the conversation.
Many of the Highlander fans on lists aren't new anymore. But we still greet new fans, and read new stories. We don't have new episodes to debate, discuss, and spoil for our European listmembers by mistake. But for many of us, we have old friends to enjoy the release of the DVDs with, and discuss new stories with. Maybe some of the views are a bit entrenched - but the one that is the most entrenched is that no one has the right to knock the intelligence or viewpoints of one of our friends with only 'because I think I'm smarter than you' as a reason. We love discussion, but dislike argument solely for argument's sake, because like in music fan lists shouldn't be judged by volume but by quality.
Just my thoughts late this night.
:)
AnnF