This. For me, the line (and my rare use of the term) tends to be associated with the passivity of the words "for them"--FOR them. By which I mean, and I'm not that coherent today but bear with me, that to me entitlement in fandom is when someone is saying "do the work for me" rather than "give me the tools to" or "leave me alone to" or "I should be allowed to do or have X as well as you." In other words, demanding rights (which YAY) is not entitlement. So that for me goes to a whole array of things like the difference between "Write the story my way" vs. "Allow me to critique your piece of shit story" (the first is entitled; the second isn't; critique is a right, not an entitlement.) I've had people write to me and ask if I could rewrite such and such a story I wrote for their BSOs in a different fandom--er, that's entitled, imo. But you have the right to remix or critique my work or whatever. I think fandom is a place where we have rights (fair use, remix, critique, review, etc.) and where we use those rights to make/build/construct things. But we're also DIYers: we have to do it, build it, create it, make it ourselves (and that includes within fandom: if you don't like the way a fic exchange is being run, you have the right to critique it, and the right to run your own exchange next year, but not necessarily the right to demand that the mods change it to fit your particular needs, IMO--unless your needs involve rights, which sometimes they actually do.)
That being said, I think you're seeing such a huge array of usages because many fans do not agree on what is a right vs what's an "entitlement." I think remix, critique, review, etc. are all rights, but I know that there are some people who think that fanfic, art, vids, critical review/analysis are NOT rights, and there, you know, we have to argue, debate, and educate!
Yes, I agree. I think we're very much still negotiating where the boundary lines of reasonable engagement fall in the wake of new technologies. Like you, I lean more towards a liberal interpretation of the rights of cultural engagement.
That being said, I think you're seeing such a huge array of usages because many fans do not agree on what is a right vs what's an "entitlement." I think remix, critique, review, etc. are all rights, but I know that there are some people who think that fanfic, art, vids, critical review/analysis are NOT rights, and there, you know, we have to argue, debate, and educate!
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