Re: Fun with Fandom
Feb. 28th, 2022 12:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rynlingI appreciate the optismism of “build it and they will come” but i think the true frustration behind “fandoms are dying” is a multi layered problem
https://awabubbles.tumblr.com/post/676654678332915712/disdaidal-fandoms-are-dying-yeah-well-heres-a
“Make more content for your fandom” is a nice sentiment except there’s nowhere to post, no one to like it, and everybody is so goddamned scared of death threats and being cancelled they either don’t make the content to begin with or people don’t reblog/share because “what if the creator is secretly a bad person and i didnt know it and now other people think im a bad person.”
Also relevant. Especially because, as someone who appreciates older and more complicated characters, I happen to be "secretly a bad person." This is doubly relevant for zines, in which association with one "secretly a bad person" can completely derail the project through negative community feedback.
And I'm not saying that you shouldn't be careful about who you associate with online, and that some people aren't genuinely creepy and weird. In fact, there have been a handful of fandom projects I've avoided for exactly this reason. It's just that what should be a reasonable precaution for interacting with people online has turned into something truly toxic and unsustainable, and nobody is benefiting from this level of social surveillance.
In any case, I've been taking a social media break since the beginning of the year. I plan to ease myself back into the social media routine starting tomorrow, and I'm thinking about what small acts of kindness I can do to support the people I've worked with on zine projects.
https://awabubbles.tumblr.com/post/676654678332915712/disdaidal-fandoms-are-dying-yeah-well-heres-a
“Make more content for your fandom” is a nice sentiment except there’s nowhere to post, no one to like it, and everybody is so goddamned scared of death threats and being cancelled they either don’t make the content to begin with or people don’t reblog/share because “what if the creator is secretly a bad person and i didnt know it and now other people think im a bad person.”
Also relevant. Especially because, as someone who appreciates older and more complicated characters, I happen to be "secretly a bad person." This is doubly relevant for zines, in which association with one "secretly a bad person" can completely derail the project through negative community feedback.
And I'm not saying that you shouldn't be careful about who you associate with online, and that some people aren't genuinely creepy and weird. In fact, there have been a handful of fandom projects I've avoided for exactly this reason. It's just that what should be a reasonable precaution for interacting with people online has turned into something truly toxic and unsustainable, and nobody is benefiting from this level of social surveillance.
In any case, I've been taking a social media break since the beginning of the year. I plan to ease myself back into the social media routine starting tomorrow, and I'm thinking about what small acts of kindness I can do to support the people I've worked with on zine projects.
no subject
Date: 2022-03-02 03:40 pm (UTC)I saw OP's post floating around on Tumblr, which had me squinting and all hmmmmm, like something was missing I couldn't pinpoint. Then you shared this lovely addition and everything clicks now. There is so much going on that a simple "just make stuff lol" isn't enough. You can't trim dead leaves from a flower if there's actually a problem with the roots.
And now that I'm bobbing around on a pool noodle throughout Twitter alone with applying for more zine projects, wow. Yeah. Random, yet related tangent, but A Thing happened in a project I'm in now where Someone in said project was defending their friend on Twitter (albeit colorfully, but whatever) and two days later the mods more or less told that Someone to leave because of that.
So yeah. Definitely resonate with this.
no subject
Date: 2022-03-04 07:10 pm (UTC)That's not great! Honestly though, I don't understand how anyone mods a zine these days. I feel like there has to be a good balance between giving the contributors time to create good work and publishing the project as quickly as possible before Something Happens.
I'm glad you're involved in more zines now btw. Even if I'm not familiar with the fandom, it's always a pleasure to read your writing.
no subject
Date: 2022-03-11 03:17 pm (UTC)You're too kind, friend ;~; many thanks for your support and also getting more zines on my radar! Honestly, since I've been active on Twitter, I've been like "oh THIS is where all the zine content was hiding!!" It's really nifty to join other creative fans to make a cool thing and share it with the world.