lettered: (Default)
It's Lion Turtles all the way down ([personal profile] lettered) wrote2010-04-15 10:32 am

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!
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ext_7189: (Default)

[identity profile] tkp.livejournal.com 2010-04-22 04:43 am (UTC)(link)
When I first got on LJ, I didn't understand how it could work for fandom. Like you, I still don't understand why it seems to be the HQ for a lot of fandoms, and yet having used it for fandom for about 5 years, I feel more comfortable here now than other places.

Mostly it's the people here, and what's going on. You said that the fandoms you were into on non-journaling sites have less meta and fic going on--I wonder why that is? Because I feel like it's easier to keep track of fanfic on something like a forum. And it's easier to have focussed discussions on forums--they just get lost on LJ; in three days everything is ancient history. Also, there's the slash thing--I dunno why there seem to be more fen on LJ interested in slash, or why there are more fandoms here that welcome slash. There doesn't seem to be anything inherent in LJ itself that lends itself to slashers, and yet--here they are.

In the second fandom, there seems to be as much or more male fans than female.

This is interesting, too. Do you think men are less likely to use journaling sites as an outlet for fandom? I feel like most the fandoms I've heard of where the fen is more men is definitely not here.

Thanks for your answers!