(Untitled)

[astridv]

I wonder how people would feel if they constantly got comments like "I had to grit my teeth to get past the McShep but otherwise great story" or "Obviously I skipped past the McShep parts because that pairing is just wrong, but great fic!" or "Rodney is such a terrible character because [list of reasons why Rodney McKay is a terrible character] and

Comments

[astridv]

I've done that before. Well... kinda. I'll say that I'm totally not into a certain pairing or circumstance but that they made it work for me. Is that the same thing? o.O

Well, I'd say it largely depends on how it's phrased. "I don't normally read x/y but you made it work for me and I liked this story," I'd probably take as a compliment. OTOH "x/y is sooo gross and totally ruined the show for me but I liked this story in spite of it" is thinly veiled character/pairing bashing. And unfortunately in this case I've mostly seen the second variety, hence the crankiness.

[ratcreature]

Yeah, I agree that it feels like an attrition campaign, because it constantly marks McKay/Keller, even just on the level of somewhat background het that is canon, as something that squicks people, that needs to be warned against and so on.

And it signals that you may loose audience if you stick with canon, and makes the AU version more normative (kind of like the thing where in TPM fandom people ended up warning for sticking to Qui-Gon's canon death), so that then people who aren't that invested in the pairing one way or another are less likely to include it.

[hibernate]

I'm not around the SGA fandom enough to notice it, but I've certainly seen the same attitude in other fandoms over the years. Worst probably in Star Trek. I hate it - fandom is supposed to be all about the diversity, and character/ship bashing is something I just can't stand. It's so... STUPID. Why waste energy on something like that?

[sholio]

It's something that I honestly don't know how to deal with, as either a fan or a writer. I guess in the past, I've always worked with closed-canon fandoms or open fandoms that didn't have anything that people had such a strong negative reaction to. The one fandom that I've walked out of, half-way through canon, was SG-1, and it was because of a combination of disliking the changes in canon, and disliking the way that the fandom reacted to it. (And it was season five ... is it just a rule that Stargate fandom has to implode after five seasons?)

I certainly think people have every right to have their own opinions about the show, and act on them, and write stories that fit how they see the show. But ... well, I still have an awful lot of pent-up rage about how *fandom*, not canon, made something that used to be my happy place into a place of bitterness and resentment for me. I'm not sure why people feel the need to export their own show-hate to others; I do know that I've really been bending over backwards trying not to do it on my own

[astridv]

I'm feeling bitter, too. Though fortunately not to the point where it smothered my love for the show and the fic. I'm clinging to the hope that most people just don't realize that that's what they're doing.

I don't want to feel this resentful, but I do. Twice so because that crap drove you away.

I certainly think people have every right to have their own opinions about the show, and act on them, and write stories that fit how they see the show. Of course. And I don't think anyone would argue with that. If only they'd stop there instead of making sure that their hate for the character permeates every last corner of the fandom. People keep hijacking the comment sections of stories written by people who obviously like the characters enough to include them (I even saw some comments to "Night Ops" that annoyed the crap out of me.) Really, what can possibly be that point of that, other than to make those writers and their readers see the wrong of their ways. Or, what could be the point of using storyfinder comms or the noticeboard as

[sholio]

There is definitely a reason why I started locking down comments on my stories. I've opened them back up lately because, well, I don't really care anymore, but it was very puzzling to me. I really don't mind comments along the lines of "I don't normally read such & such a kind of fic, but you really sold me on it!" (actually, I think they're very flattering). But it always used to be that the really "WTF? and you're telling me this why?" comments were rare, rare enough that I specifically remember them (like the one I got on a McKay/Beckett friendship story that was basically something like "I can't stand Beckett so I didn't like most of the story, but I liked the parts with Sheppard"). Not so anymore

[tipper_green]

Can I just say...

Yes.

Same frikkin' brain.

But you already know that.

[newkidfan]

I'm all for diversity.

I personally don't like Rodney/Jennifer but I still read stories with them when the pairing is the background; most of the time I sitll enjoy the story and if I don't, I'm certainly not going to rub it in the face of the poster. That's just rude.