nanslice | on fandom, fandom culture, how it's changed and how I feel about it (ALSO FAN

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on fandom, fandom culture, how it's changed and how I feel about it (ALSO FAN_FLASHWORKS)

So last night I was crying on plurk about how much I seriously miss the way fandom and fandom culture use to be. How people made crappy websites on geocities and guestbooks and yahoo groups. And how journaling was the way to go, how livejournal was the hub of fannish activity. I miss it so much.

And then

imperion and I went out for dinner and we talked about how we used to be able to just write. How we had a claim in every theme community and we were able to post little ficlets at least once a week. Sometimes two! It may not have been the best work of our lives but we weren't out to change the world, we just wanted to write stuff.

And you know? There's no reason why that can't still be happening. Yeah, sure, fandom at large has moved to tumblr. But...there's still things happening on journal sites. They're not the behemoths that they once were but LJ and DW aren't dead. There are people here. There's content here. I can't control fandom at large but I can control what I'm doing and how I'm interacting in fandom and if I'm not having fun, if I'm uncomfortable or unsatisfied with how fandom at large is behaving or how it has shifted culturally, welp. I don't have to interact with it. I can have my nice, cozy journal and my friends here and be perfectly happy. I mean of course, I'll still use my fic/art blog on tumblr and I'll post things on AO3 but where I actually talk about stuff, where my actual internet home is, is here.

SO.

imperion and I have made a challenge for ourselves and I'm inviting everyone who reads this to join us.

fan_flashworks is a fandom comm that awards achievement badges each time you, well, reach an achievement (for example, filling siz prompts consecutively). A new prompt (midnight) has just been issued. The challenge is to gain as many of these achievement badges as we can raaaaahhhhh. Okay, to start with, we just want to post three consecutive pieces and get our tags for the comm, hahaha.

It's a start. I have bingo cards to work on and my own little challenges to work on. I'm just tired of being ADRIFT ON THE INTERNET and I have the ability to change that. ;3;

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I find Tumblr to be a source of distress for my fandom life. It is difficult for me to navigate (maybe I am just old) and I don't find the kinds of quality discussions that I used to have when I was on LJ.

I miss the huge LJ fandom presence that could be here at DW if people would just commit to content and interaction. We could certainly have it. I mean, how hard is it to post content here if it's just going to be posted everywhere else too.

So Tumblr for me is a black pit of emptiness with pretty art attached, because it sucks the life out of me. And it seems like everyone I talk to feels the same...so why do we do it when we have DW?

Tumblr just happens so fast. I end up having to go back a million pages on my dash (I turned off infinite scroll) and sure, I can like things but there's no way to organize likes. And discussion is stymied by the ridiculous interface; why is commenting so difficult? Why can't there be threads? It's ridiculous.

I like tumblr as a hub to host images (fanart, gifs) because it seems like that was it's original purpose; it really seems to be easier. But any kind of interaction is out the window. I have 350 followers but what does that even mean? In the past week I've had more interaction on DW than I have had on tumblr. Not to mention the fact that the tumblr crowd seems a) very young, and b) incredibly judgmental.

I don't know why more people aren't posting on DW. I've definitely posted more here lately and it's been pretty great. |D

YUSSSS.

Fandom used to be a big pile of good writing, roleplaying, and discussion for me. (On a text-based forum, no less.) This is right directly up my alley!

I was never one of those one-a-week or two-a-week fic-writers in the first place, but I'll definitely come and lurk. :3

YES. There was something for everyone; writing, roleplaying, discussions...now it feels like it's incredibly condensed down to graphics making, which I know isn't true because people still write fic, but it just doesn't really feel the same. Mostly, I guess, because there's such a lack of interaction.

*nod*

It's truly amazing how we have a medium so well-suited to communication at any depth and complexity. I'm all for efforts to up the awesome!

Yeah, I miss those times, too. And while I was never much of a writer, I've always been an avid reader and commenter. Only if I knew/liked the fandom/characters, of course, but well...

I'd love to write more, but I'm doing really bad with prompts or with challenges in general, and there's not much that actually gets me to write. But hey, I'd take mindless squee posts over no fandom interaction any day, and those are things I can produce myself, too. *g*

Anyway, DW is definitely my chosen platform for online interaction of any kind, and I don't plan on going anywhere else.

Yeah, often I really have to force myself to sit down and write. |D But that's basically what I have to do for everything, including things I enjoy. I'm such a procrastinator. |D

*g* It's not that at all for me. It's more like not deeming any of my plot bunnies worth of writing them down in the first place. They are nice fodder for my cinemind, but nothing I would actually write down for others to read.

I like the word 'cinemind,' that is an excellent way of putting it. :)

Yeah, I like it a lot, too. The first time I read it, I just thought "perfect, I'm going to use that from now on." *g*

Aw! I feel like that a lot of the time too. But I figure, if someone was writing the silly, shippy things in their mind (for ships I like, of course!), I would want to read it! So chances are, there's someone out there who wants to read what's going on in my mind and the only way for them to do so is if I actually write the thing. Which...I don't know how true that actually is but I like to think that way anyway, hahaha. |D

Edited (it didn't make sense the first time around! XD ) 2015-05-21 17:56 (UTC)

Yes, probably. But somehow, I need something to spark inside me when I think about writing down my ideas. And when that's not there, I'll either not write it down at all, or I do and it ends up abandoned as an eternal WIP. I don't know how better to explain it, but that spark, it doesn't happen very often. When it does, the story that results is usually well received. The others, not so much. *g*

That makes sense!

I can definitely relate to this post! I miss all of that which you list, and it's so hard to find any of it these days. Everything is scattered. Yes, tumblr is one big part of it, but it also seems that at least my fandom(s) are mostly passive there, just reblogging pics, and when they're not passive, it's causing drama and wank. :( I think that tumblr in its passivity and speed has made a lot of people who used to be active and journaling and commenting too used to just scrolling and clicking a heart symbol to show they liked something.

Sadly, my main fandom refused to move to DW from LJ, and just scattered. :( Still some bits of it are still around there, but on DW it's tumbleweed. The few comms that exist here for it are now dead and I gave up on trying to keep them alive when I felt like I was just talking to myself.

I don't understand why not more people tried out DW, and chose tumblr instead. Like you say, the interface is ridiculous and it's almost impossible to comment and have a discussion or conversation.

So, I fully support your new thing! :D I think we all have to realize that we can choose to swim against the current and keep posting things here and then not give a shit that the audience is small, as long as we're having fun! :)

I don't really understand fandom clinging to tumblr, except that it's a lot easier to have false fandom participation; all you really need to do is reblog stuff and people start following you. But what is even the point? They're just names. I've only managed to talk to a few people. :\

Woo! That's it exactly. Having fun is the main thing. \o/

Yay, fan_flashworks!

I'm getting all those badges and I'm sticking them on my profile! \o/

yessssssss! i have 4 so far, but it's been a WHILE. and there are so many new ones!

Oh man, already four! Go you! And there are so many badges, it's a little intimidating! But I'm treating them like pokemon and I'm going one at a time until I catch them all. \o/!

I am not even the slighest bit interested in Tumblr. I think I might just be too old for it (and too old-fashioned), because every time I've investigated it I have quickly thought 'nope, I'd hate this.' So it's LJ/DW or nothing, here. ;)

I miss it too--I do a lot more RL stuff on Facebook really, because I have more RL stuff going on in general than I used to. But I miss how fun and exhilerating fandom used to be.

On a sort-of-related--this is why I had so much fun writing Skyrim fic! And I went to Ao3 and there's tonnes of it, most of which is total crap, but the fact it existed made me happy because writing cheesy stories about your video game playthrough is PLAYING in fandom the way people don't seem to much anymore.

Anyway, that was a digression, but it was something I thought of. I'm not very good with prompts or challenges, and I'm finishing a PhD thesis so can't promise to write things, but I will totally chat and talk about stuff and read things people write. :)

Yeeeaah, it's not a particularly intuitive site and it can be really difficult to get into. And once you're in it, it's kind of a letdown! XD

Yeah, having adult responsibilities really can take away fandom, simple because of priorities. I was 3 when I first got into fandom and I'm 29 now; that's a pretty huge difference in terms of real life expectations, haha. But I was never happier than when I was in fandom on LJ, for better or for worse, and I would very much like to get at least some of those feelings back. XD

Oh yeah, Skyrim fic is basically self-inserts and that's wonderful. I was going to write about my Argonian lady's travels but I never managed. Maybe one day!

Your thesis is probably more than enough writing, haha! Chatting is so important and so underrated! \o/!

Well, it's also that it just isn't good for the things I want from fandom. I want real interaction and conversation, not just reposting stuff. I can see why someone would want it for graphics, but I'm more verbal than visual, really.

The responsibilities thing is it exactly! I got into fandom as an undergrad, at which point I had a lot more time and brainpower for things. Now there's all this stuff I'd love to write, but by the time I've spent nine or ten hours thesising, I don't have the brainpower anymore. But I have also been really nostalgic lately for how fandom used to feel, so am totally up for revisiting the old haunts. :)

I would also totally read about your lady Argonian. I've written two about my Breton so far, and I keep poking at it when I need something fluffy to do. Because yes, I LOVE that it's all self-inserts and people just writing whatever fun thing is in their head!

I am too, reall.

It's so true! I'm working and also going to school (not right now, since it's summer, but you know) so it really can be overwhelming. But I do have downtime, I'm just terrible at, you know. Managing it, haha.

Yes! Fighting and enjoying naturing and hunting! So many fluff things can be written in the Skyrim universe. ;3;

I very much enjoyed the several "screw Tumblr, just talk to people on DW" initiatives I've seen recently :) And it works, I did find new people to talk to. I still use Tumblr because the pics are so pretty, but I never really figured out how to use it as a social platform.
What I mostly notice about DW in contrast to LJ is that there are very few active comms. LJ had so many that were very active, but not that I've found on DW. Except anonmemes, for some reason they work well.

Yes! There's been a few going around. I'm really hoping everyone can stick with it, haha. I use tumblr because it can be a handy art archive and the graphics that get posted there are really great, but I'm with you, using it as a social platform is a bust. :\ And yeah, comms here are pretty slow. There's some activity going around but not very much. :( kink memes seem to go okay too.

I really feel you on this sentiment. Which is why the GW re-watch/discussion is something to look forward to! I'd also like to get back into posting little bits of fic. Not sure if the achievements style of flashworks would work for me, but it's nice to see writing activity on DW. :)

YES! I'm looking forward to the GW rewatch. It's going to be pretty awesome, I hope. ;3; Definitely looking forward to your little ficbits. :3

I'm excited for this shit nan let's do the thing.

Wooo! \m/

(Hi I found your journal browsing through recent updates, hope you don't mind me adding you!)

Echoing everything you said here, there's been such a dearth of fandom cohesion since the move from LJ, and I just can't get into fandom on Tumblr. Like you said, it's great if I want to hunt for art or gifs or the like, but there's no discussion. At best, there's some back and forth that you catch snippets of. I don't want to reblog something every time I want to add a thought, but that's what's required there, and it's ridiculous.

I added

fan_flashworks to my reading list, hopefully it inspires something!

Hello! I don't mind at all; the more the merrier. SERIOUSLY.

Yes! And the back and forth that you catch snippets of is terribly incomplete because of the reblog function; a "thread" can fork out and you have to go to so many different blogs to actually see what people are saying. It's so frustrating. :\

I hope it proves to be inspiring! Join me in getting all those badges! :3

Thank you! I've been really looking for new people to add who are a) into fandom (of any variety) and who b) update semi-regularly! Good habits encourage good habits, after all.

Yes! I often find myself missing the older days as well. Fansites might be completely irrelevant in today's internet culture, but they were a fun little creative outlet that just bled personality. I suppose now there are still BNFs that people respect-crush on, but I miss the days of the awesome webmasters and webmistresses.

And yes, livejournal and other journaling sites. The good days around LJ were really a magical time where all aspects of fannish stuff came together in one place. It was like having newsgroups, ficarchives, image galleries, music rotations and forums all mixed into one. The megaupload age made it an even better place to share media for a few years as well. I remember from probs 2007 to 2009/2010ish, I often felt like I could satisfy ALL my fannish needs without ever leaving the site at all.

I tended to stay on the outskirts of fandom groups (until about 2008 or so with kpop and a very certain corner of jpop, and that turned into my one true LJ fandom experience. Also my last before people started leaving the site in droves. T_T Wish I had started earlier, as it was so much fun!), but I liked talking to people with similar interests and chatting in the comments of each other's journals. That's what I miss more than anything else. I made a tumblr when that's where all my friends fled to,but I felt like the conversation stopped there. We like each other's posts, that's it. I still know these people, but feel like I haven't actually had a conversation with them in years. Memories of older times keeps us connected, but are we really friends anymore? I dunno. Tumblr is great for aesthetics, but like many people have said here I just don't understand how the socializing works there.

I appreciate my friends here, but I do miss activity these sites used to have. I have never written fanfic, and admittedly other than an epic love of GW fanfiction when I was a teen, I only had limited exposure other fic. I support your comm in spirit though! And who knows, maybe the upcoming GW rewatch will ~awaken~ something in me.

Anyway, rambly comment is getting too long and I don't really know what I'm talking about anymore, so I'm gonna stop right here. XD

Edited 2015-05-22 01:06 (UTC)

I still know these people, but feel like I haven't actually had a conversation with them in years. Memories of older times keeps us connected, but are we really friends anymore?

Yes, this exactly! What does it even mean to be following someone on tumblr? I've talked to maybe five of the 350 people who follow me. It's just....shrug. There's nothing there. I like their posts (that aren't even theirs, they just reblogged it from someone else) but that's about it. And I make text posts but there's no kind of feedback at all; it's like screaming in a crowded room, you know?

I'm hoping that if I'm more active on my journal, it'll help others be more active as well. And comments! I'm going to try to comment more on other peoples' posts as well.

I absolutely approve and appreciate long, rambly comments. They might, in fact, be my faves. :3

Good luck with your challenge! Sounds fun. /o/ Three consecutive pieces to start with sounds like a good goal.

As for me, my sentiment is pretty much the same. I like it over here on DW, so it's where I put my fannish energy. ...For a while, I was kind of reluctant to tl;dr about fandom stuff, because I'm always feeling like "Nobody cares, Yuu". But I care, and DW is such a great environment for pushing myself to allow myself to do that, because it has such an efficient format. Let's not even get into things like fandom culture - tumblr as a format is just not good for what I like to do.

Thanks! I'm hoping I can stay steady and focused (and not care so much about what other people thing about my writing - I want to write because I'm having fun doing so). \o/

tl;dr about fandom! Do this thing! For a while I tried to stick to tumblr and enjoy it but it became much more of a drain than anything else.

I just had a thought...maybe we could do some kind of posting pact? I did that with a few others on DW a few years back, where we would specify a certain amount of time (one month) and then make at least one post per week. Just to get into a more frequent posting rhythm and to start generating more content.

Would you be interested in something like that?

:o That might be fun! I would be interested in something like that if it were suitably informal.

Yeah, the last time someone made an entry saying they were going to try posting once a week, a few people commented with "I'm going to try, too", and then picked the next full month for the experiment, and tagged their entries with "posting pact" when they made a post. That was all.

Welp, I'm probably going to be making a post about this today. :3

And with June just around the corner, it would be a good time to start. *g*

Sorry I'm late, but yes exactly! And all the comments here are 100% too. I got into fandom late-ish in LJ's heyday, 2006-2007, but I have scrolled through so many old discussion posts/threads on various comms and various people's journals and it's just boggling how amazingly clean and clear and visible and easy the discussions were, so out in the open so that anyone could see the entire progress of the discussion and jump in at any time, and so well-organized so that potentially dozens of people could join a single discussion, and you could see exactly what each person was saying to whom, where, and when, nothing hidden or obfuscated at all. There's only a few comms that still have that, and they are all so very broad and multifandom it's hard to get the same group-sense as more specific posts and journal entries.

YES. It was so much easier to follow conversations, to have the full story of what was going on, with threaded comments. On tumblr it seems like comments are discouraged; people use their tags for everything, which is absolutely not what tags are for. I do it too though, because I've seen people get dogpiled for adding comments to posts. It's ridiculous. :\

You know, if I don't have time to participate in your community right now, I still respect and enjoy what you are doing and I'd like to thank you for all of the nostalgia you have given me just posting about it.

Maybe someday I'll stop in and post weird WK porn.

Until then- shine on you amazing diamond you.

I definitely understand the time thing! I'm only this gungho because it's summer and I only have work to deal with. Come fall and classes start, I'll probably be singing a different tune, haha. But I miss so much the community and activity of journal fandom and I want to get a little piece of that back. ;3;

You are very welcome! It seems like a lot of people feel the same way; I got way more responses than I was expecting.

Is WK Weiss Kreuz? If so, dude. I'm requesting Ken-centric porn. Just sayin'.

Hahaha, I will shine so bright.

Yes, WK is Weiss Kreuz.

And yes, I wrote for Ken in a massively long WK fic for, oh, about five years.

:D

!!!!!!

WHAT A WONDERFUL THING TO HEAR.

...you know, it's been a long time since I've watched WK. Maybe after GW, it might be time to rewatch that.

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on fandom, fandom culture, how it's changed and how I feel about it (ALSO FAN_FLASHWORKS)

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