General Fandom Meta

oxoniensis - What if? - Some characters/actors really are integral to a show. So what if they did leave for some reason (jail, death, creative differences that were sufficient to break a contract, any other random reason). Would you want the show to go on without them? Should they be replaced by another actor bearing a superficial resemblance so that we have to pretend it's the same person? Or would you rather the show were cancelled? Would you have watched BtVS without Buffy, or AtS without Angel? How about VM without Veronica? Smallville couldn't continue without Clark Kent, so how would you feel if Tom Welling were replaced?

rotpunkt - Do you think there are anti-female tendencies in slash? - On one side, slash is seen as a contribution to the sexual emancipation of women, a space for women to explore their own needs and fantasies, an opportunity to use men as they please, to enjoy attractive men getting it on - slash is pro-female liberation of female sexuality. // On the other side, it is said that the pre-occupation with m/m-sex keeps slash-loving women from discovering their own female sexuality, that the preference of m/m-sex is an expression of contempt for our own gender and that slash-loving women possibly have difficulties with acccepting their female bodies and sexuality - slash is anti-female suppression of female sexuality. // Which one of the statements is true or has more truth in it?

melannen - I heard a lot of stories and I reckon they are true - In the comment I saw today, docbrite compares fanfic written about her work to somebody sneaking up and goosing her husband. "Sure, it means they care, but ick." // Ms. Brite, you've got the wrong metaphor. We're not molesting your husband. We're dating your daughters.

theclexfactor - Fan Fiction and its Impact on Fandom - This is sort of the case of "the chicken or the egg". Obviously the fandom has to come first, and any particular fandom will encourage our mutual fangirlish ways and inspire our need to watch/read fan fiction. However, I believe it is also the case that fan fiction boosts our fandamonium.

nardasarmy - Did someone get the plate off that truck? - What I'm seeing out there is a bunch of really fantastic GEN fanfics, with porn shoe-horned in so awkwardly, it's like watching a guy put on a condom for the very first time. Sexy because sex is in the moment, but you sorta snicker because they get that wtf look on their faces. Ya know? Or what looks like light switch writing -- a normal action and then DING! Porn! // So, I'm wondering if it's some sort of perceived pressure in the fandom to add the sex? Are people thinking up and writing stories in this universe, and then suddenly thinking that the only thing missing would be sex? Because I gotta tell you, sometimes hurt and comfort just ends with a band aid. Odd and off the wall notion, I know, but true.

accioslash - Whatcha Readin'...? - I find that the methods people use for choosing the fics they read very interesting.

khohen1 - people's rating systems... (this post? rated r, lol) - It's astounding to me, how people's fic rating systems differ so much sometimes. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not a prude in any way, there's no rating I *won't* read, so it's not like I'm offended to be reading NC17 quality material with a *PG13* rating, but I'm easily annoyed. I'm going, the whole time, "what planet do you live on that *this* is considered PG13?"

elfflame - Fannish thoughts - So, today on the bus, I was struck by the differences between Harry Potter and Star Trek fandoms. Maybe it's just that I wasn't heavily into the fic side of ST, or any RP, but it seems to me that for ST, so many of the "ships" out there are fan-made, which means an original ship, not the Enterprise (or any of the other well-known ones), and all original characters. While in HP, everything seems to relate back to Harry or Hogwarts, and if you don't use mostly canon characters, no one wants to read it.

beccaelizabeth - [untitled] - If the people who hold the rights to a 'verse are all slash=bad // My first impulse is to start a ficathon // Even though possible consequences would include legal letters. // Sure, it can be said that slashers could go play in a different sandbox. Write about a different 'verse. But why *should* they? The only reason that comes out is that someone, somewhere, is making the value judgement that queer is wrong. And bugger that.

rahirah - [untitled] - Ok, enough about politics, art, and science! Forget Iraq and Nepal and American Idol! We all know what the really important question of the day is. I speak, of course, of the dire question of Angel’s weenie. Anyone who’s anyone has already seen the recent pictures of DB’s naughty bits. And yet no one has considered their potential effect on the world of fan fiction.

thelastgoodname - On Civil War Chaplains who happen to have Four Wayward Daughters - I haven't read Geraldine Brooks' March yet, and I have a question about it: why is this fanfiction? (Not why should this be considered in the same vein as other fanfiction, because that's a non-starter; it's clearly a derivative work.) But why was this written about Mr. March? Why wasn't it written about some other man with four daughters who's gone away to fight in the Civil War? // What's the benefit of placing this story within an existing universe? Why did Brooks do it?

ladysorka - [untitled] - You, Harry Potter Fandom, are not dead. You're not even dying. I know, your favourite author has migrated to another fandom, and your clique may have moved on to discussing a new pairing or even a new show. This is not fandom death - this is fandom migration.

joosetta - [untitled] - Please- just admit that those of you "still in" HP feel rejected and are uncomfortable of the pressure of others "leaving". And those of you who "left" admit that you are resentful because you are feeling an obligation to HP that you don't want. // The pressure is not there. Ok?

penknife - The future of HP fandom (or, Not Dead Yet) - That said, fandoms have life cycles. At some point there will be a high tide of Harry Potter fandom. That point might be now, or it might be when book 7 comes out, or it might have been a year ago and no one noticed. No fandom keeps growing in size forever, eating everything in its path. It is a fandom, not The Blob.

svilleficrecs - OMG it's 'bout time for my quarterly spoiler bitch - If it's a question of denying a group of fans something that may enhance their enjoyment of a show or its off-season versus protecting another group of fans from something that will diminish their enjoyment of a show, there's no question in my mind at all. // It's not two sides of the same coin, and not having spoilers you might like is not the opposite of getting spoilers you don't want.

yma2 - More Meta Musings: The exultation of the nemisis - At the end of the day, evil characters are FUN! They are interesting and complex and great fun to delve into. But what is important to remember, I think, is that they are evil.

imadra_blue - [meta] But what are your thoughts on dilution and creativity? - I've been a bit down about being a fanfiction writer lately, given some events that have transpired. And then I saw: Teresa Nielsen-Hayden speaking up about fanfiction. It did my heart good. I am in complete agreement with her. Her post also spawned a fascinating discussion, and one of the posters brought up some interesting points, most of which I'm afraid I disagree with.

violetsmiles - fandom, and this is how I roll, baby - And dude, that makes me wonder what will come after the LJ. Things are going strong now, but given the fact that fandom interaction and where it takes place has changed more than once, it's going to change again. And man, I can't think of anything (fandom based) that weirds me out more.

ninjatrauma - OT3s vs OTPs and why fandom sort of annoys me sometimes - It started with this comment (which isn't so much specifically that comment as it is the one that I stumbled over tonight after having seen it a hundred times before--skim the rest of the comments for more examples), which is basically summed up with: Also, OT3 is TOTALLY the answer to shipping war! And if that doesn't help: Orgy. // Uh, no.

worldserpent - R U h8ful enough? - You know, I have never seriously seen someone on LJ using the word "hater" non-facetiously to refer to anyone. Nor have I seen much of the phenomenon where non-personal negative opinions [...] expressed politely and respectfully in a situation where they're solicited, get someone flamed. [I mean, outside of posts that get featured on fandom_wank.] I think if hating has such a bad rep, it's because a lot of the times, negative opinions on a show/character/pairing are used as proxy for hating on fans.

yourlibrarian in fanthropology - Returning to zines - I found myself a bit boggled at the notion that we shouldn't worry if stupid fan behavior drives fanfic off the Internet because// At worst, it'll go underground again and you'll have to mail them to each other like you did back in the '70s when fan fiction was the only thing keeping Star Trek alive. // It made me curious -- aside from whether or not fanfic ever would disappear from the Internet, what do we feel we'd lose if we could no longer post fic online?

gsd82 - HP Fandom: dying or a new age? - Yes, people are juggling or (god forbid) migrating over to other fandoms (either the most popular or vocal being PoT, Veronica Mars, Battle Star Galactica, SGA or other anime/manga). Yes this includes BNF. Yes it can get harder to find the HP love through all the posts coming in now. // [...] Yet. // I can't help viewing this movement- or phase- as anything but a good thing. It means new ideas, new thoughtstreams which leads to more stuff for the HP fandom. It might take a while but I'm kind of excited to see crossover/AU or just generally different HP fanfics that are influenced by ideals and imaginings from other fandoms. That would be all kinds of awesome for me.

On Writing/Vidding/Creating

furiosity - too many enemies on my list to sift through - Plagiarism happens when you see something someone else has written and like it so much that you decide to essentially borrow their thought process, or reuse their words -- but how do you argue against someone who says "well, s/he said it better, and I saw no point in trying to reinvent the wheel"? My bog-standard response would be that if you seriously think someone else has already done something better than you (so much better that you don't feel you can do better), you shouldn't attempt to do it yourself and just be content that it exists.

talitha78 - Thoughts for a Thursday - Is that lame of me, to think of vidding in terms of painting? It's not that I think that I'm some great artist or anything, but that's just one metaphor I use when I'm vidding. The clips are all the different colors on my palette and I dab them on the timeline, using transitions to smudge the edges when needed.

sdwolfpup - Yes I'm posting on a Saturday night - Right - people were talking about headers for fanfic and what they wanted to see in headers. And then I was skimming vidding and realized that there are certain things I really want to see in vid headers, and that's when I decided to tell you all.

lunacy - [a use for mental shorthand?] - I wonder... I wonder if other people have my problem, writing on lj or elsewhere: saying things that require lots of personal context to really get.

musesfool - your daddy said I took it just a little too far - A lot of the wacky premises I start out with in AIM I end up writing, simply because I can, and because they amuse me. And I know that's totally self-indulgent, and I can't bring myself to care.[...] Am I supposed to have shame over this? Or over my love of crossovers, even the cracktastic ones? I'm not sure I understand. I mean, what's the point if you're not amusing yourself first? Or writing the stories you want to read? As long as you can make them work, I mean.

lord_dingsi - Missed opportunities. Also: On writing. - I mean, there's not really something like your match-made-in-heaven OTCPOV (One True Character Point Of View), and once you have found him/her/it there's no place left for anything else... right // Right?? [...] So, why for fuck's sake don't I spread out into the fandoms and pop out ficlets like a good hyperactive fanbunny?

Miscellany

redscharlach - Meta late than never... - It has come to my attention that not everyone is as sensible as me. Distressing, isn't it? So much so, in fact, that I have been inspired to spout the following bout of meta-silliness under the auspices of the Bleeding Awful Poets Society. Any similarities to anything that ever happens in any fandom whatsoever are of course entirely coincidental...