fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #3949 ]

[ SECRET POST #3949 ]

⌈ Secret Post #3949 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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09. https://i.imgur.com/CCSTAru.png
[OP wanted this warned for sexual content, image itself is SFW though]

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 10 secrets from Secret Submission Post #565.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

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03. https://i.imgur.com/q0PJEXW.png

I think there's a lot of truth to that, and I think it's to a large extent a consequence of traditionally fannish modes of engagement percolating into the wider culture and becoming standard parts of how people interact with media and culture

It necessarily is going to have some of its distinctive characteristics sanded away a little

Of course there still *is* a lot of fan fic put there thank the lord

Well, I think rec lists and such are going away because fanfic isn't really spread out over 10 different sites anymore. There are 2-3 large databases now that people can use.

Can't comment on the rest.

but oh if those little nuggets of fics stuck on LJ and ship specific archives weren't good. I fucking love master/rec lists. It was like stumbling on a lot of gold on the end of a rainbow i didn't even know was there!

Of course. Fandom is now primarily on Tumblr, which is a visual medium.

But that's a bit question begging, isn't it?

I mean, there was a course of events by which people came to prefer Tumblr and the mode of engagement it fosters. It didn't just happen one day overnight.

(no subject)

(Anonymous) - 2017-10-26 23:01 (UTC) - Expand

Rec lists still exist but they're mostly on tumblr, so good luck finding them. It's a terrible platform for sharing or finding rec lists, fic, and discussions.

And rec lists are really only necessary for the juggernaut fandoms/pairings since most fic is on AO3. Older fandoms already have lists and google knows where they are.

Because fandoms burn out too quickly now, so no one wants to put a lot of time and effort into a fic for a fandom that may be deemed problematic and/or cringey by the time they finish the fic. Combine that with the fact that you now get very few comments/kudos unless you're churning out a lot of short, low-effort fics for one fandom, and there's less and less incentive to write fic.

It doesn't help that the prevailing notion currently is that fic writers are all entitled fanbrats for daring to not properly appreciate "more plz" or "this would be better if it was my otp instead" comments, and fic writing starts to appear more trouble than it's worth.

I'm not going to get into the usual saltiness about comments, but I do want to make the point that it's not only fandom that moves faster and fades quicker now. It's a massive shift in our whole media and cultural ecosystem.

SA

Also, I've noticed it's become more and more comment for people who contribute nothing except wank to their fandom to complain about there not being enough of specific kinds of fanworks. The standard rebuke used to be "if you want a specific fic and it doesn't exist, write it yourself and maybe you'll inspire someone else to write more." Now, it's almost #problematic to say that, because you're just saying that to silence marginalized people! You're just like people who say those who want to be represented in film should make their own movies! Never mind that, unlike producing a blockbuster film, writing a fanfic costs nothing but time, and maybe if people stopped arguing with each other on Tumblr/Twitter for five seconds they would have time to write their dream fic.

There's a weird sort of contradiction I've noticed where artists and writers are pretty much considered machines who have an almost moral obligation to produce certain kinds of content. It's almost like they think a select few people per fandom have a magical machine that they put quarters into and out pops a fic, and the people with the magical machine must be guilt tripped into making the machine pop out the right fics. And at the same time, their efforts are belittled, because it's also thought that writing and drawing are so easy, anyone can do it! Never mind that even though the complainers COULD be learning to write/draw to make the content they want, they clearly aren't.

It all contributes to an environment where producing content can quickly change from a fun process to a miserable one. I know these are issues that have always existed but I definitely think they've gotten worse recently. For all that social media is supposed to foster connections between people, I think readers/viewers and writers/artists are further apart than ever. People don't seem to remember that a real person posted that fanart on Tumblr or that fic on AO3.

(no subject)

(Anonymous) - 2017-10-27 04:11 (UTC) - Expand

Lists were helpful when fic was hosted on people's individual GeoCities pages, or when someone wanted to catalog fics about a particular character or pairing because there was no way to search for that in fandom-specific fic archives. When you can search for things on AO3 and FF.net, that eliminates the need for master fic lists.

But it is still useful for people who'd rather read quality fic and avoid the stuff that isn't to their taste. Sure, you could sort by kudos or reviews on AO3, but rec threads are better.

(no subject)

(Anonymous) - 2017-10-26 23:47 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

(Anonymous) - 2017-10-27 01:07 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

(Anonymous) - 2017-10-27 03:28 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

(Anonymous) - 2017-10-27 18:07 (UTC) - Expand

I still see rec lists sometimes, but it's also pretty easy to find fic on Ao3 these days.

Also I was someone who never paid much attention to rec lists anyway because it was always the same 5 people listed over and over again in any given fandom.

I wonder if it's because so much of fandom has become about consuming or reblogging as opposed to creating. People get their share of feeling like they're participating without writing fic.

Yeah, this. I also see a lot of people focusing on gif'ing or screenshots, which are probably less taxing to do than writing fic.

consuming or reblogging as opposed to creating

Yep, this. With fandom mostly migrating to Tumblr, consuming and reblogging became the main event, vs the more text-based LJ and DW.

Maybe it's the mandela effect. Reality just isnt the same anymore

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvoyoP4UUw0

Or blame millennials for ruining fanfic :/

Well, I stopped writing in fandoms because I got kind of burned out a few years ago, and these days I write original stories and don't have "extra" for fandom. I don't have the motivation to write for fandom, or the inspiration. I'm fine with looking at pretty pictures on tumblr and saving the brain space necessary to write for my own writing.

Writing fanfic requires a lot of passion, motivation, and time. If you're obsessed with something and feel the urge to write, that's when it happens. To me the motivation is largely intrinsic (either it's there or it isn't), but as well, if it's not fed with people actually being interested in reading and interacting on some level with me about the fic, I lose motivation to continue (or at least motivation to post).

I found the second part of that out when I tried writing in a fandom that was dead.

Yeah. I might as well keep my stories and ideas to myself, really. It's a lot of effort for kudos and likes, which feel useless on the communication front. Like ringing the doorbell but not coming in.

Sigh, I miss those days.

Now that most fics are on ao3 with extensive filters... do we really need rec lists anymore? I mean, if you are really wanting to read fics then you should be able to tell which fics you would be into or not.

(no subject)

(Anonymous) - 2017-10-27 01:10 (UTC) - Expand

I know that for me part of what pushes me away from fandom is the lack of feeling of community. On tumblr I never really felt it, and people just sort of swooped in and swooped out, and everything was so fast-paced I couldn't keep up. My ficcing style is older - longer chapters, with maybe a month in between. I couldn't keep up with the necessity of "staying relevant" by constantly posting ficlets and "imagine ifs" or whatever, so I got burned out.
Ironically, it's mostly the people from my previous fandom - the LJ one - that I think miss me more, even though I've been out for years.

I think more fandom participation takes forms other than fic, like Youtube videos.

I feel as if fandom abandoned me. I don't know who those people in those pictures today are, I don't watch superhero stuff or anime or most of the other bigass fandoms. The stuff I do love doesn't seem to have anywhere near as much good fic as it used to, and I can't even find bad fic of some things I absolutely love (e.g. Boardwalk Empire, Rick and Morty, etc.)

I think it's because people don't read books as much.

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