General Fandom Meta

carlanime - There's a Cult of Nice? Oh good: sign me up. - And I’m sorry that people view “niceness” as a form of tyranny, but damn it: be nice. These are people you "talk" to every day, so yes: it is rude to discuss their work in the exact same way you'd discuss a stranger's work, because they're standing at your elbow, so to speak, and there is no way they won't hear you.

kattahj - on the shadowlands of story and author - Concrit vs. analysis is once again up for debate, and I choose to let most of it slide, except for a statement that I see over and over again in discussions and that is to me completely wrongheaded: the idea that criticism of the story isn't criticism of the author. // The hell it isn't.

cereta - See Icon - But will someone explain to me in terms that make sense why you would only give feedback to bad stories and not good ones? // I just...when did telling someone that something they did gave you joy become something to disdain?

thelastgoodname - On Active and Passive fandom (football and Buffy, together again) - There is a certain similarity in fantasy play and, perhaps, people who watch canon for certain interactions. The Harry/Hermione kerfuffle over Book Six seems akin to what Don Banks is complaining about in his rant. There are, perhaps, the people who want to be actively involved in their source, and there are the people who just want to analyze the source. // This may be a distinction between the passive fan and the active fan.

Fandom-Specific Meta
( Cut for possible spoilers in any or all of the following: SG1, SGA, Batman, Teen Titans, HP )

On Reading/Writing/Creating

janissa11 - A curious confluence of mostly crap. (Meta.) - Let's not go ascribing mythic healing powers to criticism. It is true, in many cases (although not all), that constructive criticism may in fact lead to improvement in one's fiction. Sure. // But more and more often these days, I'm seeing people saying a variation on this trope: Crit is the One True Road to Good Writing. And that simply is not the case. Further, it may lead to some highly mistaken assumptions.

wickedwords - VVC panel: The Geneology of Vidding - So, for several years now I've been using this metaphor to describe viding in the late eighties and nineties, that of the 'greater' and 'lesser' houses of viding, and toward the end of the timeperiod, the houses being 'beseiged' by either 'barbarians at the gate' or 'feral vidders'. Obviously, I have read far too much political-based Fantasy and SF in my life, but the metaphor felt like it fit to me.

ithiliana - Would a rose by any other name...more musings about fandom, language, and reader response(s) - I realized that comparing the *reader* commentary on fanfiction with any of the mainstream activities out there (literary criticism, book reviewers, book clubs) *including how we all talk about the text(s) which are the foundations of fandom* is completely inaccurate in one major way. [...] In a fandom, any fandom, the writers are all writing fanfiction from the same source text(s). While in theory we're one big happy community, in fact, in a way, the writers are in a competition for attention, readers, feedback.

violet_quill - Drugs in Fic - How do you feel about drug use in fic? I mean, it's something that's usually warned for, like non-con or chan or kinky things. Do you avoid fic that contains drug use? If so, why? // It seems like one of those things - like chan, for example, or even just really promiscuous sex - that you might not want to condone in real life but would be okay in Imaginary Fic Land. Is there something about drug use that makes it better or worse from a wanting-to-read standpoint than sexual kinks?

theladyfeylene - Realistic Sex - But I think it'd be really great if there were more less-than-perfect smut stories. Because, well, people have bad sex. People make mistakes in sex. And bad sex can be funny. And bad sex doesn't ruin a relationship, and it isn't the end of the world, and it can be a great theme to work with.