That Fanfiction Survey
The one that's been doing the rounds - I can probably dig up a link for anyone who doesn't know the one I mean.
So, an entry appeared on my f-list about it, and I, having taken it, thought "OK, I'll have a look."
Feeling rather stupid for it now, but I hadn't thought about it before I took it, not like I should... I googled the main researcher, but hey, there was a time in my life where I thought "The Weakest Link" was the best thing since sliced bread. That's changed, btw. ^_^ I wasn't going to hold his gameshow participation. So, I took the survey and had done with it, thinking that what came out of it might be a detailed, interesting look at something I know has played a big and important part in my life since I was fourteen.
A couple of the questions they asked made me uncomfortable - "Do you masturbate whilst reading fanfiction?" to name one - and their "I prefer not to answer this question" option felt - pointed in the extreme, more of an admission than any of the others could be. I just skipped them without answering at all, which was almost worse.
I regretted it straight after I finished it, and nothing I've heard about it since has made me feel any better about it. For anyone who's wondering, this post here is what really sparked this off. Go read - it's an education. They make a lot of points I wish I'd thought about before I took the damned thing.
The thing is, anonymity isn't necessarily what I want when I'm talking about fanfiction and fandom. I'd be the first to admit that I'm pretty close-mouthed when it comes to relating RL and fandom - my parents know, most of my friends have a vague idea, but that's it. And no, I would not tell a complete stranger that I like writing/reading about pretty young men having an awful lot of sex in varied and unusual positions. I most certainly wouldn't tell a stranger that I write that about real people as well as fictional. But all the same, my relationship with fanfiction and my usage of the internet isn't something I can talk about using pre-packaged answers. I think what I'm trying to say is - I don't want everyone know that I write "that sort of thing", but if you take my name away from the answers, I still want them to mean something once I've given them.
God, I'm not even sure that makes sense. *facepalm*
I suppose the temptation is just to assume that because lots of people read/write fanfiction and take part in fandom, everyone must be doing it for the same reason. You're involved because you love this thing, and that's personal. Reducing fandom and fanfiction down to ticked boxes doesn't do it anything like the justice it deserves. One big point raised is that these aren't fans themselves; they haven't got involved in fandom, they haven't made the effort to understand it first before they started breaking it down into digestible chunks to come under "Fig. 1" in a book.
There are many other issues with this survey - seriously, read that post I mentioned earlier, it highlights so many of them - but this is what I felt afterwards, and I wish I'd thought it through properly first. Um, I guess this is me warning my much-better-informed f-list. It's starting to feel like a "don't give him everything without thinking it through!" speech from sex-ed classes, so I'mna shut up now. Just. Does anyone know how to wipe cookies on your browser? I'm that ignorant, and apparently this survey leaves them. As well as logging your IP address.
Remember that anonymity I said I didn't want? Looks like we both lied. They promised me I'd get it, and I said I didn't want it. *sigh*
Hope this doesn't read like it felt as I wrote it - like I tossed words at the page and hoped they came out grammatically correct. Anyway, my darling f-list. Go forth and, er, survey. Or not.
So, an entry appeared on my f-list about it, and I, having taken it, thought "OK, I'll have a look."
Feeling rather stupid for it now, but I hadn't thought about it before I took it, not like I should... I googled the main researcher, but hey, there was a time in my life where I thought "The Weakest Link" was the best thing since sliced bread. That's changed, btw. ^_^ I wasn't going to hold his gameshow participation. So, I took the survey and had done with it, thinking that what came out of it might be a detailed, interesting look at something I know has played a big and important part in my life since I was fourteen.
A couple of the questions they asked made me uncomfortable - "Do you masturbate whilst reading fanfiction?" to name one - and their "I prefer not to answer this question" option felt - pointed in the extreme, more of an admission than any of the others could be. I just skipped them without answering at all, which was almost worse.
I regretted it straight after I finished it, and nothing I've heard about it since has made me feel any better about it. For anyone who's wondering, this post here is what really sparked this off. Go read - it's an education. They make a lot of points I wish I'd thought about before I took the damned thing.
The thing is, anonymity isn't necessarily what I want when I'm talking about fanfiction and fandom. I'd be the first to admit that I'm pretty close-mouthed when it comes to relating RL and fandom - my parents know, most of my friends have a vague idea, but that's it. And no, I would not tell a complete stranger that I like writing/reading about pretty young men having an awful lot of sex in varied and unusual positions. I most certainly wouldn't tell a stranger that I write that about real people as well as fictional. But all the same, my relationship with fanfiction and my usage of the internet isn't something I can talk about using pre-packaged answers. I think what I'm trying to say is - I don't want everyone know that I write "that sort of thing", but if you take my name away from the answers, I still want them to mean something once I've given them.
God, I'm not even sure that makes sense. *facepalm*
I suppose the temptation is just to assume that because lots of people read/write fanfiction and take part in fandom, everyone must be doing it for the same reason. You're involved because you love this thing, and that's personal. Reducing fandom and fanfiction down to ticked boxes doesn't do it anything like the justice it deserves. One big point raised is that these aren't fans themselves; they haven't got involved in fandom, they haven't made the effort to understand it first before they started breaking it down into digestible chunks to come under "Fig. 1" in a book.
There are many other issues with this survey - seriously, read that post I mentioned earlier, it highlights so many of them - but this is what I felt afterwards, and I wish I'd thought it through properly first. Um, I guess this is me warning my much-better-informed f-list. It's starting to feel like a "don't give him everything without thinking it through!" speech from sex-ed classes, so I'mna shut up now. Just. Does anyone know how to wipe cookies on your browser? I'm that ignorant, and apparently this survey leaves them. As well as logging your IP address.
Remember that anonymity I said I didn't want? Looks like we both lied. They promised me I'd get it, and I said I didn't want it. *sigh*
Hope this doesn't read like it felt as I wrote it - like I tossed words at the page and hoped they came out grammatically correct. Anyway, my darling f-list. Go forth and, er, survey. Or not.