This is what I get up to when I'm bored at work.

[t_eyla]

Under the cut, you will find a long ramble about fandom, fandom etiquette, the differences between real life and fandom, and the mechanics behind some types of wankery. If you read it and end up thinking it worth being linked, feel free to link away, because I like discussion.

Comments

[nemesishamartia]

I think part of the reason people are so batshit insane on the net is that people are constantly encouraged to better their position in RL, esp at the expense of others. So in RL, it's considered sorta humdrum to better yourself by putting someone else down -- even if it IS very nasty. And I guess some people just have a harder time of grasping the "This isn't an okay thing on the net" than others (the really competitive ones).

Also, I guess it's hard for people who are really successful in RL to understand that net and fandom don't work like that. We're a pretty egalitarian group, and we welcome people in heartily, until they prove themselves to be batshit insane (I LOVE that expression). I know there are some writers that I get excited about seeing. I mean, there are names that come up on my flist and I KNOW the fic will be great because all of their fics so far have been GREAT (and usually, I'm not disappointed :D) and there are some writers whose work I don't like stylistically or plot-wise or something, but it's a private opinion. Other than that, new people I always give a few chances to before deciding that y'know, I don't like their writing style (if that is, in fact, the case, which usually it isn't). And I'd wager the more seasoned of us in the fandom react the same way. At least, my reception into this fandom has been EXCELLENT so far.

Re: wanking. I think it's the whole competitive thing coming to the fore again. There are times when a wank is thoroughly deserved, but usually, the whole nastiness comes from the fact that people have a very nasty streak in them. I guess they're counting on the anonymity of the net to shield them from actual recriminations. In a way, it works, because nothing happens to them (as opposed to RL, where they kick your butt), but it doesn't create a nice environment.

I've also found that the bigger the fandom, the more competitive and wanky it gets. I guess it's that the fic writers are vying for attention, since it's hard to get it in a HUGE fandom. The HP fandom, esp the bigger, more popular pairings, can be VERY wanky and just VERY hard to get people to pay attention to you, since there are hundreds of thousands of GOOD fics. The House fandom, by comparison, isn't NEARLY as large, so it's less wanky. And then, the other fandoms I read, like Jeeves/Wooster and Blackadder, aren't wanky at all, since there aren't really a lot of fics to begin with. People, I guess, just DEVOUR the next one that comes along, since we're all starved for goodfic.

I've found, too, that people have a real problem with the idea of being nice, both on the net and in RL. It's a complaint that you'll hear often from me if you really get to know me, which is odd, since I'm usually a sarcastic bastard. I've found, though, that people will excuse your words, esp if they're said in humor (mine almost always ARE), if your ACTIONS show that you're being humorous. So, for example, if you're sarcastic and aren't at all nice or helpful in your actions, people will consider you an absolute jerk and just ignore you. But if you're sarcastic and helpful, then people just consider it a quirk or your sense of humor.

In any case, people seem to have real trouble understanding the concept of kindness and decency. The 'Me first' attitude just prevails, and there is so little day-to-day kindness. ... I'm having difficulty expressing myself. People will do the expected normal things, like opening a door, or big huge grand gestures that people will remember for years to come, but they don't do other nice things. I could go on about this forever, but I'll stop, because that's not the point you're making.

(In two parts b/c I'm verbose and LJ hates me)

[t_eyla]

people are constantly encouraged to better their position in RL, esp at the expense of others
Ugh, yes. I think the internet is one of those places where a lot of the people gather at whose expense other people have bettered themselves in the past. Which is why I think people who try to use their RL bullying methods on the internet put their foot in their mouth twice over: once for just being jerks, and once for doing something no-one here will have any tolerance for whatsoever.

We're a pretty egalitarian group, and we welcome people in heartily, until they prove themselves to be batshit insane
Actually, I've made the experience that even if someone has acted very batshit insane in the past, if they stop, stuff is easily forgiven. I know a few people who used to be known as wankers, and who are established members of fandom now. It's really very much a question of how you are acting right now.

I have to admit, I'm usually wary about fic by authors I don't know. But then, I'm generally wary about fic. I don't read all that much. But when I do, it's because the mood strikes, and when it does, I usually have no choice but to read fic by authors I don't know, because the authors I do know don't exactly write to a schedule that caters to my whims ;). And I'm positively surprised more often than I'd usually think I would be.

Wank can be about competition, yes - who knows this fandom/this character better, who gets more comments, are those comments deserved, who writes the better fic. (Now that I think about it, it's no surprise this whole writing thing was brought into the most recent wank. I was a little confused as to where it came from, but yeah. Competition. If it's not there, it needs to be created.)

the bigger the fandom, the more competitive and wanky it gets
I mostly agree, although there are exceptions. SPN, anyone? Lol. Or Twilight. Those are both relatively small fandoms, but for some reason, the batshit is strong in those. Doctor Who, on the other hand, is quite large, but (aside from that one week between the two episodes of the s4 finale, when Who was featured on f_w 4 times in 5 days xD) it's usually eerily unwanky. I still blame the fact that it's a British fandom, lol.

but they don't do other nice things
I know exactly what you mean. It's the sort of behavior that teaches you over the course of your life to never rely on people. Because, yeah, they will do the small stuff, and if you give them a lot of attention and get down on your knees to beg, they will do huge stuff, too, because it makes them feel like a savior to mankind, but if you just need them, there's a good chance they won't be there for you. It doesn't matter if people are nice and polite or sarcastic and snarky - you can usually tell by their opinions and actions whether or not they will be there for you. And sadly I can tell that most people I know in RL probably wouldn't.

people react more strongly to pomposity and arrogance than even in RL
Trufax. It's as you said, in RL, you kinda know how much is arrogance, and how much is reality. But on the internet anyone can tell anybody anything about themselves. Which is why I think RL info is so sneered upon if it's used to back up an argument. Because apparently, if there's need to rely on telling people about how SMRT they are, the person bringing the info into the discussion doesn't seem to have any actual arguments.

a lot of people on the net, when they find out someone is trans, stop communicating entirely
Seriously? Jesus fuck, I guess fandom is really a happy place on the internet. I mean, I expect that sort of behavior in RL (although one really shouldn't have to), but online? People who do that haven't udnerstood the internets. They should gtfo and be an asshole in RL.

*munches cookies*