Conventional Wisdom: Sometimes Fandom scares me
I have been in various forms of fandom for more years than I care count. Ok I could count them but I don’t want to.
One thing that always seems to come into play is drama of one form or another. This happened before the Internet allowed it to be more a part of fandom all the time.
As a young fan I learned various phrases like FIWOL (Fandom is a way of life) and SMOF (Secret Master of Fandom) and BNF (Big Named Fan). I also ran into some bigger than life personalities that left nothing but flotsam and jetsam in their wakes.
I made mistakes and backed the wrong individuals who later proved to be anywhere from untrustworthy to dangerous. I admitted to those mistakes and move on. My BS radar got to be pretty good and after the Dr. Who incident, I am cautious about what I read and hear within a fandom.
Having crossed the line from fan to pro, my activity in fandom changed. But I still observe from the outside. I don’t comment much at all but like the Watcher, I watch what is going on.
Occasionally I will do something behind the scenes but I don’t say anything about it.
I sometimes get frustrated. I can see where fandom is about to tear itself apart but I can’t say anything or do anything because of who I have become. I also see individuals who are bad news hopping from fandom to fandom leaving a trail of figurative bodies behind them.
Fandom can be inclusive and very much exclusive. I am cautious about groups that have an “us vs. them” attitude. But I also have trepidation about groups that bend over backwards to keep people in the fold that are hazardous to the group as a whole.
There is a balance and many groups have struck that balance which is good. The fandoms that haven’t done this and tend to eat their young are the ones that I try to avoid which can be harder when I have done something professionally that puts me on their radar. I am polite but keep my distance.
There are times that I wish I could just open up and give some individuals both barrels and maybe save some people from the agony of dealing with the aftermath. But I also know that the Internet has a long collective memory as does fandom so I sit on the side and watch.
I am grateful for fandoms that work.
One thing that always seems to come into play is drama of one form or another. This happened before the Internet allowed it to be more a part of fandom all the time.
As a young fan I learned various phrases like FIWOL (Fandom is a way of life) and SMOF (Secret Master of Fandom) and BNF (Big Named Fan). I also ran into some bigger than life personalities that left nothing but flotsam and jetsam in their wakes.
I made mistakes and backed the wrong individuals who later proved to be anywhere from untrustworthy to dangerous. I admitted to those mistakes and move on. My BS radar got to be pretty good and after the Dr. Who incident, I am cautious about what I read and hear within a fandom.
Having crossed the line from fan to pro, my activity in fandom changed. But I still observe from the outside. I don’t comment much at all but like the Watcher, I watch what is going on.
Occasionally I will do something behind the scenes but I don’t say anything about it.
I sometimes get frustrated. I can see where fandom is about to tear itself apart but I can’t say anything or do anything because of who I have become. I also see individuals who are bad news hopping from fandom to fandom leaving a trail of figurative bodies behind them.
Fandom can be inclusive and very much exclusive. I am cautious about groups that have an “us vs. them” attitude. But I also have trepidation about groups that bend over backwards to keep people in the fold that are hazardous to the group as a whole.
There is a balance and many groups have struck that balance which is good. The fandoms that haven’t done this and tend to eat their young are the ones that I try to avoid which can be harder when I have done something professionally that puts me on their radar. I am polite but keep my distance.
There are times that I wish I could just open up and give some individuals both barrels and maybe save some people from the agony of dealing with the aftermath. But I also know that the Internet has a long collective memory as does fandom so I sit on the side and watch.
I am grateful for fandoms that work.