Respect those who make your fandom happen
Because I'm a total late bloomer in many ways and tend to be oblivious about things at times, I was also late to the whole online fandom party. (I also blame that on being in college with slow internet for 5 years, traveling internet-less around the country for 3, and living with an abusive person who denied me internet access for 2.) The only fandoms I have ever previously touched upon were NKOTB (shaddup) and Star Trek:TNG, and that consisted of buying books, dolls, magazines, and going to a few conventions. I shared my loves with a few people and a good time was had by all.
However, I now have entered LJ-land and have since discovered that fandom is much much bigger than I have ever imagined, and as a result this girl who tends to be one of the last, if at all, to hear any gossip, drama or wank has somehow managed to come across quite a lot of just that. It's not news to anybody who has been in fandom for a (long) while, but these encounters have been very eye-opening for me. Over the summer I was busy and didn't want to deal with anything (solution: turn off the computer and go suntanning) but now I'm online a lot more again and am coming across some great posts about what it means to be a good fan.
Being a fan includes, for me at least, the right to a healthy dose of imagination. Someone's squee may be somebody else's squick, but the great thing about fandom is that it's set up with a warning and filtering system. Usually you know what you're gonna get, so it's your choice whether to click or not. I'm not going to elaborate now, but I want to thank this post and this post for giving me lots and lots of food for thought. There are obviously many issues in fandom that are constantly being discussed, although as in life, politics and religion a consensus will probably never be reached.
Being a good fan involves basic decency, common sense, etiquette, and respect towards the actors, creators, and TPTB in fandom and that is the message
dodger_winslow is trying to spread via her icon. *points* I understand that this stands separate from any issues arising with fanfiction, although admittedly the line is very fine (e.g. with RPF and picspams). Apparently, things have gotten a bit out of control in fandom; there's an increasing sense of entitlement that is taking things too far. As usual, dodger says it best:
"This is not an exercise in exclusion. This is an effort to rally support for what many fen feel is an import aspect of the fandom they have and want to continue to have, and to show support for doing it in a way that encourages Supernatural fandom to stop the current wankfest and get back to the business of having fun with fannish activities centered around Jensen, Jared and the show. Because for many, this level of disrespect to the actors involved and just general wank to other SPN fen creates an environment that is ruining the fandom as it has already exists."
The entire post can be found here at dodger's journal.
However, I now have entered LJ-land and have since discovered that fandom is much much bigger than I have ever imagined, and as a result this girl who tends to be one of the last, if at all, to hear any gossip, drama or wank has somehow managed to come across quite a lot of just that. It's not news to anybody who has been in fandom for a (long) while, but these encounters have been very eye-opening for me. Over the summer I was busy and didn't want to deal with anything (solution: turn off the computer and go suntanning) but now I'm online a lot more again and am coming across some great posts about what it means to be a good fan.
Being a fan includes, for me at least, the right to a healthy dose of imagination. Someone's squee may be somebody else's squick, but the great thing about fandom is that it's set up with a warning and filtering system. Usually you know what you're gonna get, so it's your choice whether to click or not. I'm not going to elaborate now, but I want to thank this post and this post for giving me lots and lots of food for thought. There are obviously many issues in fandom that are constantly being discussed, although as in life, politics and religion a consensus will probably never be reached.
Being a good fan involves basic decency, common sense, etiquette, and respect towards the actors, creators, and TPTB in fandom and that is the message
dodger_winslow is trying to spread via her icon. *points* I understand that this stands separate from any issues arising with fanfiction, although admittedly the line is very fine (e.g. with RPF and picspams). Apparently, things have gotten a bit out of control in fandom; there's an increasing sense of entitlement that is taking things too far. As usual, dodger says it best:
"This is not an exercise in exclusion. This is an effort to rally support for what many fen feel is an import aspect of the fandom they have and want to continue to have, and to show support for doing it in a way that encourages Supernatural fandom to stop the current wankfest and get back to the business of having fun with fannish activities centered around Jensen, Jared and the show. Because for many, this level of disrespect to the actors involved and just general wank to other SPN fen creates an environment that is ruining the fandom as it has already exists."
The entire post can be found here at dodger's journal.