Tumblr and Fannish Conversational Disconnects
For those not on Tumblr, or just not looking at the right place at exactly the right time, linzeestyle posted a follow-up to the previously linked post. It doesn't have substantially different content, but does sum things up.
I was saying in a comment on my last post that I think native Tumblr users are often baffled or even angered that anyone would suggest the platform is difficult to navigate or even not ideal for fannish interaction. The most memorable conversation I had on the topic was where someone told me AO3's threading style was based on Tumblr, which everyone understood, and that they had never even heard of Dreamwidth. It was an actual, good natured, off Tumblr conversation (related to the OTW, which honestly made it even more surreal) and I was floored, but it was an eye opener. I want to note there was bafflement on both sides here - I knew there were factual problems with those assertions and they were confused that these things weren't obvious. I was completely unprepared for that situation mentally and hopefully my reply sounded sane rather than slightly hysterical.
I think between the impermanence of Tumblr - which has obscured a lot of fannish history from the newer set - and the way the younger users assume everyone is in their age group because of the lack of personal, in-depth content that would clue them in otherwise (this is not a 'them vs us' situation! we are you! you just haven't noticed), for them Tumblr = Fandom. Period. Suggesting to the native users, who have all the flush and desperate loyalty of the newly fannish, that the platform itself might not be perfect is sometimes tantamount to a personal attack by outsiders. I feel like so many of them don't understand that fandom is older than they realize, that the "elders" didn't necessarily move on - they're still here and may already be on their dashes (aka friends page, reading circle), that you don't magically stop being fannish on a particular birthday, and that fandom will endure in many forms over the course of their lifetime. I can sympathize, but you can see where the discussion isn't going to get off to a great start and Tumblr's Really Damn Annoying, cobbled together "conversation" style only exacerbates the problem.
I don't really have a solution to that, but I feel like identifying that disconnect in the conversation at least helps me to understand that POV better. Tumblr is not fandom, which is terribly obvious considering where this is posted, and I hope more and more of the strictly Tumblr users realize that fandom is bigger, older, more complicated, and stronger than any one platform will ever be so that we don't risk losing them when some inevitable sea change occurs.
Crossposted to Dreamwidth. Comment here or there. ♥ Blue :)
I was saying in a comment on my last post that I think native Tumblr users are often baffled or even angered that anyone would suggest the platform is difficult to navigate or even not ideal for fannish interaction. The most memorable conversation I had on the topic was where someone told me AO3's threading style was based on Tumblr, which everyone understood, and that they had never even heard of Dreamwidth. It was an actual, good natured, off Tumblr conversation (related to the OTW, which honestly made it even more surreal) and I was floored, but it was an eye opener. I want to note there was bafflement on both sides here - I knew there were factual problems with those assertions and they were confused that these things weren't obvious. I was completely unprepared for that situation mentally and hopefully my reply sounded sane rather than slightly hysterical.
I think between the impermanence of Tumblr - which has obscured a lot of fannish history from the newer set - and the way the younger users assume everyone is in their age group because of the lack of personal, in-depth content that would clue them in otherwise (this is not a 'them vs us' situation! we are you! you just haven't noticed), for them Tumblr = Fandom. Period. Suggesting to the native users, who have all the flush and desperate loyalty of the newly fannish, that the platform itself might not be perfect is sometimes tantamount to a personal attack by outsiders. I feel like so many of them don't understand that fandom is older than they realize, that the "elders" didn't necessarily move on - they're still here and may already be on their dashes (aka friends page, reading circle), that you don't magically stop being fannish on a particular birthday, and that fandom will endure in many forms over the course of their lifetime. I can sympathize, but you can see where the discussion isn't going to get off to a great start and Tumblr's Really Damn Annoying, cobbled together "conversation" style only exacerbates the problem.
I don't really have a solution to that, but I feel like identifying that disconnect in the conversation at least helps me to understand that POV better. Tumblr is not fandom, which is terribly obvious considering where this is posted, and I hope more and more of the strictly Tumblr users realize that fandom is bigger, older, more complicated, and stronger than any one platform will ever be so that we don't risk losing them when some inevitable sea change occurs.
Crossposted to Dreamwidth. Comment here or there. ♥ Blue :)