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Fandom far afield
When was the last time you participated in fandom on the internet not through a journaling site? I don't really mean posting fanfic to something like fanfiction.net, unless you also post and discuss in the forums there. I mean discussion, meta, the posting of fanfic, the making of graphics, etc, all being share through a medium other than LJ, DW, Insane Journal, JournalFen, etc. This would be a forum, website, mailing list . . . if you did something like a fanzine, not online, I'm interested in that too.
1) What fandom was it?
2) What was the medium? (e.g. was it a forum, a mailing list, etc)
3) When was this?
4) Are you still active in that fandom?
5) Why did you participate there, and not at a journaling site?
6) Are you more active in fandom on journaling sites or at other places?
7) How did the different mode of interaction affect your fandom participation?
8) Does there seem to you to be a difference in fen between the other medium and journaling sites? What are the differences? Why do you think those differences exist? Is it the nature of that fandom, or do you think it has anything to do with where that fandom is taking place?
9) What were the fen in the other medium's thoughts on yaoi? (No, seriously. What was the general sentiment towards slash?)
10) Was it easier or harder to get into a fandom through a medium other than a journaling site?
11) Which medium do you prefer?
If it sounds like I'm doing a study, I'm not. I'm just dabbling around in this other fandom, the fen of which seems mainly to congregate around a forum rather than playing on LJ/DW. I'm wondering how many people share my experiences there. Forums used to be my main method of fandom access. I was comfortable in them and found LJ inconvenient and not very suited to my style. I became used to it because I decided a lot of cool people were here...and now I'm beginning to think it's the only way!
1) What fandom was it?
2) What was the medium? (e.g. was it a forum, a mailing list, etc)
3) When was this?
4) Are you still active in that fandom?
5) Why did you participate there, and not at a journaling site?
6) Are you more active in fandom on journaling sites or at other places?
7) How did the different mode of interaction affect your fandom participation?
8) Does there seem to you to be a difference in fen between the other medium and journaling sites? What are the differences? Why do you think those differences exist? Is it the nature of that fandom, or do you think it has anything to do with where that fandom is taking place?
9) What were the fen in the other medium's thoughts on yaoi? (No, seriously. What was the general sentiment towards slash?)
10) Was it easier or harder to get into a fandom through a medium other than a journaling site?
11) Which medium do you prefer?
If it sounds like I'm doing a study, I'm not. I'm just dabbling around in this other fandom, the fen of which seems mainly to congregate around a forum rather than playing on LJ/DW. I'm wondering how many people share my experiences there. Forums used to be my main method of fandom access. I was comfortable in them and found LJ inconvenient and not very suited to my style. I became used to it because I decided a lot of cool people were here...and now I'm beginning to think it's the only way!
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2) A forum
3) today
4) yes
5) I participate both on boards and on journaling sites and I think both places have their advantages and flaws. On journaling sites you can go into more intricate complex discussions about controversial points in the show, also it's great for posting ans reading fanfiction. But it is easy to get caught in just your preferred corner of fandom, while on the boards you'll find a broader range of opinions, which is good but also leads to more controversy, which undermines some discussions, simply because people get too aggressive/defensive.
6) Journaling sites
7) Journaling sites stimulate creativity a lot more, you have more motivation to creat content yourself, fanboards allow for interaction with the authors on occasion and also they give you a look at what people you'd not friend on LJ are up to, for better or for worse. Sometimes on the boards the aggreiveness gives me the heevies.
8)Pretty much answered that one above. Yes, there is a difference. I think people who are more drawn towards interacting with the story, by creating fanart are mostly on the journaling sites. The fanboards are more to exchange opinions about current events in fandom, with a wider crowd than one would pick on LJ.
9) A lot less enthusiastic than on LJ, while here I get the impression that slash is pretty much something everyone does. In the boards everything revolved around the canon pairings and slasher are seen as a fringe group.
10) I don't know if i had gotten into fandom via the forums, because they don't do much in the way of celebrating wha I loved about the show. On there it's too often about defending your view to others.
While on the journaling sites, you can just enjoy the art, fic, meta until you're ready to create some yourself.
11) LJ
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On journaling sites you can go into more intricate complex discussions about controversial points in the show,
True! Which is interesting, because when I first got an lj I thought I would not be able to get into as many complex discussions. Everything on a journaling site has to do with time. If you don't make your sally at the correct moment, no one will ever see it--or, if someone sees it, other people won't know it's there to join in. I thought that this would make for some very narrow discussions, but there are enough people here that once in a while someone sees you and they are AWESOME and you are AWESOME and you just have this AWESOME discussion.
But it is easy to get caught in just your preferred corner of fandom
This is interesting. I found myself more caught up in a corner on forums. I can figure out whether this was due to the difference in fandoms or the difference in mediums. The thing is, while you're more likely to see a broader range on a forum, I tend not to pay attention to it. I just think, "those people over there are talking about something I have no interest in". But on lj, if I happen to have someone friended who is talking about something I'm not interested in, it's forced upon me. And I'm more likely to read it because it's someone I know (whereas if someone I know on a forum is saying something I'm not interested in, I might not even see it). As such I've become more interested in more diverse things on lj.
I think people who are more drawn towards interacting with the story, by creating fanart are mostly on the journaling sites. The fanboards are more to exchange opinions about current events in fandom, with a wider crowd than one would pick on LJ.
This is interesting! Especially because I feel like the journaling format is so bad for fan works. I feel like on a forum your work is more visible--even if it's buried under billions of threads or other stories, more people will see it, you know?
In the boards everything revolved around the canon pairings and slasher are seen as a fringe group.
That's my experience! I can't figure out why this is so.
Thanks for answering these!
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http://www.buffyforums.net/forums/
True! Which is interesting, because when I first got an lj I thought I would not be able to get into as many complex discussions. Everything on a journaling site has to do with time.
That's true, on the board you have quicker access to a larger audience, but I got the impression that a bigger portion of discussions tend to end in pointless screaming matches, in which each person tries to gather as many followers as possible and the topic becomes quickly less important than the winning.
This is interesting. I found myself more caught up in a corner on forums. I can figure out whether this was due to the difference in fandoms or the difference in mediums. The thing is, while you're more likely to see a broader range on a forum, I tend not to pay attention to it. I just think, "those people over there are talking about something I have no interest in". But on lj, if I happen to have someone friended who is talking about something I'm not interested in, it's forced upon me.
Yep, that's a different aspect. On the boards, it's easier to cluster together with people you like and mostly disregard the ones you don't think interesting.
On lj, by friending you already express some amount of interest when you friend someone. So you'll often read things that might not be your cup of tea. But in my experience these things tend to broaden my horizon on LJ and to dig in my heels on the boards.
I associate the boards more with fighting and Lj more with gentle persuasion I guess. There is more controversy on the boards but they rarely change my mind, while a lot of thoughtful meta on LJ has done so.
This is interesting! Especially because I feel like the journaling format is so bad for fan works. I feel like on a forum your work is more visible--even if it's buried under billions of threads or other stories, more people will see it, you know?
That might be just me. I rarely look at the fanart/fiction threads on the boards, because on Lj I already have my favorite authors and reccers that point me in the right direction. I'm also more likely to bookmark a journal and read through all the old posts on LJ than searching for them on a board.
And I think I'm less conscious about my writing on my own LJ. On the boards all the hostility that flares up occasionally would mess with my ability to make me vulnerable by posting something I wrote.
That's my experience! I can't figure out why this is so.
There are usually a lot more men on the boards than on LJ, this might explain the stronger leaning towards heteronormativity. I always get the impression that it's the journaling sites where woman prefer to act out their own fantasies without being selfconscious.
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Other people have had the same impression. I wonder why this is. Someone also mentioned they found the "cult of nice" oppressive on journaling sites. LJ certainly has it's share of wank, but I find it . . . more avoidable, if I want. Maybe it's just because LJ is more splintered--I can hide in my corner, if I like.
There is more controversy on the boards but they rarely change my mind,
Why, though? Do you think it's a different kind of fen? Or is the nature of the medium less conducive to reasonable discussion?
That might be just me.
Oh, but I don't think it's just you. I definitely came to LJ in a large part for the fanfic--i.e., this was where the fanfic (that I liked) was happening. But it made NO sense to me that this was where the fanfic was, because it's such a bad medium for archiving.
There are usually a lot more men on the boards than on LJ
Other people have said this too. I wonder why men are less likely to use journaling sites?
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It is a factor, if someone bugs me on LJ I'm a lot more likely to simply not look their way than I would be on a board and I mostly only comment when I have something positive to say.
LJ certainly has it's share of wank, but I find it . . . more avoidable, if I want. Maybe it's just because LJ is more splintered--I can hide in my corner, if I like.
Exactly, it took a while before I ever got into actual wank on LJ, but it is of course there. Have to say here it always takes me by surprise a bit.
Lately there has been a lot of controversy about the comic books and there has been some extra unpleasant stuff been stirred.
Why, though? Do you think it's a different kind of fen? Or is the nature of the medium less conducive to reasonable discussion?
I'm not sure, I think it might have to do with the boards always attracting some people for whom the fighting is the whole fun and pushes everyone else into some camp that leaves little room for real on topic discussions.
The pattern seems to be:
superfen12: I love character A, because of a gazillion maybe sophisticated reasons.
Asterix&Obelix4evah: You liking character A makes you an idiot/antifeminist/nazi. Good upstanding citizens can only love character B.
superfen12: Hey, no character B fans are all idiots/antifeminists/nazis!
And the conversation derails from there. On a journal such a comment would probably be just deleted and the people who enjoy riling others up wouldn't get anywhere.
But it made NO sense to me that this was where the fanfic was, because it's such a bad medium for archiving.
Hm, I think it's neat for interacting with the readers though. It seems to me (though that might be misleading, because LJ is my primary space for fic) that it's the place where people are most likely to leave feedback and discuss your work with you. The archiving sites offer the option to comment too, but it seems a bit less interactive to me. I'm glad if I get a review, but comments I'll answer and probably look at the commentors site.
Other people have said this too. I wonder why men are less likely to use journaling sites?
They are probably drawn more to visual porn than to the written kind?
I think it might be because there are fewer men in creative fandom and on LJ, if your Lj has no interesting content, most people will ignore you, it's not exactly the habitat for the typical forum stag.