Fandom! Liberate Yourself!

[xaara]

I've been half-following the whole FanLib thing over the last week or so. (Actually, I'm doing a whole lot of fandom catch-up [hi, fandom!] because school is done--I'm finally getting enough sleep to both read and understand things simultaneously.)

Anyway, it doesn't worry me. I feel like it probably could, and possibly will in the future. However, there are a few things about it that make it intensely non-worrisome:

1. It's godawful ugly. Seriously. This was the first thing I thought when I went to the site. Whoever designed it clearly did so in a Jolt-fueled rush of Ooh! Those fannish people would like this! And this! And this! Way too much going on.

2. It's condescending. And kind of stupid. Its marketing vibe seems to assume that fandom doesn't really exist on the internet; it needs some new place to hang out. Look what we're providing for you people! Don't you appreciate us so much?

Okay, guys? Fandom has been hanging out online since there was an "online." We've been through mailing lists and archives and FFN and messageboards and LJ. I'm sure there are other methods of fanwork distribution. Those are just the ones that I personally have participated in.

And the thing about those? Mailing lists tend to be the brainchildren of people who have an amazing amount of patience. They deal with those of us who can't figure out how not to reply all consistently; they deal with trolls; they deal with the 12-year-olds who somehow sneak into the 18+ groups. Archives (especially juried or otherwise selective ones) are still indispensable to me when I'm getting into a new fandom and want to attempt the birdshot reading technique. FFN. Oh, FFN. Messageboards were where I got my start, and in a lot of ways, LJ's similar flexibility in terms of ease of commenting is one of the things that drew me here. Obviously, LJ's taken off. To pull a random number, 2124 people have posting access to, say, supernaturalfic. As of ten minutes ago, there have been 10,360 posts to that community. And that's just a community I know about in a fandom I'm familiar with. I'm sure there are other, bigger ones.

3. I know where to find quality fic. I have a core group of authors whose work I will always read, regardless of the fandom they're writing in. This group changes from time to time as one decides to spend her time writing epic HP serial romances and I discover a new person who's doing something intriguing with linearity. I read extensively outside it.

That said, I don't go to non selective archives (read: FFN) anymore unless someone links me to a rec there or I have an urge to see whether anyone's written Bullitt fic. (Which they haven't. Come on, Bullitt fandom, you have to be out there somewhere.)

4. I'm not going to be looking for quality fic at a poorly-designed, ad-ridden archive run by invisible people who aren't known fandom names. I'm pretty sure other people aren't, either.

So. *shrug* I see where the concern's coming from, and I understand why people are worried. I don't, however, think this presents any real threat to fandom as we know it. After all, fandom is run on a fairly true egalitarian basis, with everyone receiving the same baseline benefits--free LJ, membership to communities, the abilities to post to archives--and those with writing/vidding/public relations skills rising to recognition. Which is just that--recognition. We're not, as far as I know, trying to become more mainstream. I, at least, am quite happy on the fringes.

Comments

[shadowserenity.livejournal.com]

I'm not going to be looking for quality fic at a poorly-designed, ad-ridden archive run by invisible people who aren't known fandom names. I'm pretty sure other people aren't, either. Word. Couldn't have said that better myself, Carmen.

I love lj because it has both that messageboard feel (the communities) and a personal touch (your own lj, which you're free to do whatever the hell you like with). It's a fantastic combination.

[xaara.livejournal.com]

It really is a fantastic combination, isn't it? *hugs LJ*

[nihilistic2.livejournal.com]

Hey Xaara!

Person from the old boards.tfn. I understand how you feel about such things. Though at points you just want to scream and give up, one must remember that there is quality fic out there. I guess I just get frustrated with the way no one takes notice of fic that isn't the mush fixation of the moment. :( (Okay, so in SW, J/J has been more than a fixation of the moment. Still. You know what I mean.)

Anyway, just wanted to assure you that *your* fics were always among the highlights of what I read on the boards. :)

P.S. do you have your wraiths talk like a pirate day fic around anywhere?

[xaara.livejournal.com]

Wow, it's neat to hear from someone from the TF.N days.

There definitely is quality fic. And it's definitely easier to find in some fandoms than in others.

Thanks so much. :) I'm glad you enjoyed them. I actually never wrote a TLAPD Wraiths fic, though; I wrote a few stories with the Wraiths in them but none that I can recall specifically for that occasion. I do remember a fic I read along those lines--you might want to ask yubsie if it was hers or if she remembers whose it was.