fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #5898 ]

Please don’t discuss on podcasts? Why not?

I assume they're thinking of podcasts that are like "look at what all these fucking weirdos in fandom are doing"

Or like maybe sporking type podcasts

The first three are fine, that fourth one is some BS. Just because I read your fic doesn't mean you control where or how I talk about it.

I agree the fourth one is absurd, but I also kind of understand because a friend of mine apparently started wandering around social media in her (huge, gigantic, bigger than any fandom I'm in myself other than Star Trek) fandom and found people picking apart her fic on reddit and making fun of it on a discord...

Honestly in a fandom that large, there will be people who don't like literally anything (I get the impression most everyone in that fandom now hates half the canon, lol), and she was getting lots of supportive comments actually at AO3 and such, but as someone who really only just started writing fic (or maybe hadn't for decades? Not sure if she had NEVER written fic before or just not for awhile), it kinda threw her off. I could see someone who was also new and maybe younger/more sensitive writing notes like this after an experience like that, or WITNESSING an experience like that where a bunch of people were mocking a fic, and thinking "they could do that to me..."

...They will anyway though, so I don't see that there's much point in it.

I mean, yeah. The more limits someone places on how you can interact with them - while still demanding that you do - the more flaming annoying it's gonna be.

That said, I can understand a flinch at the thought of something I wrote being dragged into the spotlight. The author OP screencapped might feel more comfortable in a small archive or reading group.

I can't imagine writing a fic so popular that it gets discussed on youtube or tiktok. I wonder if this author also doesn't want people including their fic on lists on tumblr.

“Don’t reupload” is more than reasonable, it's basic etiquette. “Don’t post to Goodreads” is a totally reasonable request, IMO, though you can’t actually stop people from doing it. “Don’t translate,” kind of bugs me, but, “Please let me know if you’re going to translate any of my fics, and be aware that I don't give permission for my fics to be uploaded to other platforms,” is a reasonable statement, IMO.

“Do not discuss on other platforms,” is the only one that gets a ‘hell no' from me. You don’t get to dictate where other people talk about your fic.

Also, this person in particular is definitely coming across as obnoxious, with their whole "PLEASE ACTUALLY READ IT," and their condescending little, "and remember kids".

“Do not discuss on other platforms,” is the only one that gets a ‘hell no' from me. You don’t get to dictate where other people talk about your fic.

I kind of love them asking people not to talk about it prompted someone to come here and talk about it

I love comments as much as the next author. But an A/N begging me to read the fic and then telling me to leave comments just puts me right off.

I've noticed a lot of A/N lately, sweetly and sometimes not so sweetly asking for comments. IDK, I always figured if someone likes my fic enough to leave a comment, they'll leave one whether I remind them about it or not. But maybe I'm an Old who's just out of touch.

I have a kneejerk negative reaction to it sometimes, but these days some people might feel like they have to seem openly friendly and receptive about comments because some people are so nervous about “doing it wrong” or not having anything smart enough to say. As comments are waning in a lot of fandoms there’s almost more of a spotlight on you when you do comment. But when it’s very preachy and demanding it definitely puts me off.

I'm also an Old but I don't mind if someone's like "If you enjoyed, please leave kudos or a comment" or "kudos/comments will be loved". Lots of people, especially young fans, haven't come from a community fandom culture and don't necessarily think it's ok to do that - I had one person leave a nice comment with some speculation about where the plot was going then apologising for "being in my space"!

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(Anonymous) - 2023-03-01 03:36 (UTC) - Expand

Yeah, got into writing fanfics a couple years ago and getting any comment in a lot of fandoms is like winning the lottery. Very few get it and when they do it seems like the only ones to get any comments at all are the same handful of writers/fics.

But I suppose some people feel scared to comment, either because they think the author will not see/reply or they're afraid they're going to be forced to reply or something? Like IDK, I thought I was socially awkward but with the ways people act now in fandoms IDK if my social awkwardness is way off that I don't realize how awkward I am or other people got way different social anxieties from me. Either way, continuing to work on not basing the values of my life/character on the reception my fics get (or don't get).

Not going to lie, "don't share on TikTok" is a sentiment I understand and also relate to. Fic sharing I great, I love rec lists, but TikTok fandom is a very different habitat LOL. I've seen a fair few fanfictions (usually AO3 links) get shared on there accompanied by some stupid caption that essentially says "omg everyone look at this weird and gross fanfic I just found", and then people flock to the fic's comments to say "OMG I'M TRAUMATIZED".

TikTok really airs things out in the open, and many users are way too quick to share their own rude and pointless thoughts/opinions. Some of us would rather have our stuff contained within the people who actively search it out -- with the "explore/for you page" function (and lack of/poor filtering) of a lot of modern social media, crap can get out of hand really quickly (especially with bigger, newer fandoms where 70% of the fans are puritanical 16 year olds (I'm thinking of a certain video game..)).

I totally see how this would be a shitty thing to experience, and honestly, may the little cretins who engage in this kind of behavior have a huge booger in their nose for hours that nobody tells them about.

But ultimately, this is one of those things where you (the figurative you) just don't have any control over whether other people choose to be immature dipshits, and trying to assert control when you don't have any just makes you look bad.

What I've seen re: YouTube/TikTok on ducs is people doing these (bizarre to me) edits that are reminiscent of oldfanvids except more abstract and about 30 seconds or less...but it's usually someone who enjoyed the fic promoting it/pairing it with Fanart or clips from the media with quotes from the fic itself along with whatever TikTok artist is trending (with the "slowed" edit, at least that was the trend a few months ago).

But I am still not a fan of someone just sharing like that. On the one hand, if I was a teenager with time and excitement about a fic, I might do that too. Back in the day I had someone kindly make a banner for a fic I wrote! Unprompted (my highest fandom honor lol)! But these days, also like a fandom olde, I'm just partial to rec lists. I guess this is the new rec list for the social media/ new fandom?

But yeah...ultimately can't control the way other people will interact with your work

I had one of my fics posted (as a link) to a crack news site and was so mortified I took it down. Looking back on it it’s funny and now I can’t care less but at the time…

These long request lists of 'do and do nots' puts a target on oneself for trolls to turn around and do exactly what was asked not to do (like post the fic in question elsewhere). Guilt tripping for comments is always unfortunate too.

Eesh. I get having a big list of things you HOPE that your readers will or won't do, but honestly, I side eye authors who actually "say it out loud" like this. If you post your fic to the internet, you can't control how or where your work will be discussed. You just can't. It doesn't matter how unpleasant or awkward you find it, that's just how the internet works. If it bothers you, don't post the fic.

I also wince a bit when authors ALL

Eesh. I get having a big list of things you HOPE that your readers will or won't do, but honestly, I side eye authors who actually "say it out loud" like this. If you post your fic to the internet, you can't control how or where your work will be discussed. You just can't. It doesn't matter how unpleasant or awkward you find it, that's just how the internet works. If it bothers you, don't post the fic.

I also wince a bit when authors ALL CAPS BEG PEOPLE TO READ THE FIC PUUHHHLLLLLLLLEASE. Have some dignity, ffs.

I don't think any of these sentiments are really unreasonable.

The first three requests are definitely fine. And asking for kudos/comments is just absolutely normal.

So what we're really objecting to is them saying "don't talk about this on podcasts, Youtube or Tiktok". And I don't see what's so bad about that. If your fic ends up getting talked about on podcasts / youtube / tiktok, that seems like a pretty good way for it to escape containment and end up getting a lot of attention from people who just want to point and laugh.

I really don't see the problem.

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I feel like this person is kinda...reaching. Do they *really* think anyone is going to discuss their fic on YouTube? Does *anyone* do that?
And they update on Twitter but nobody can 'discuss on social media'??

I'd discuss on sm just to piss them off. I feel ya, OP! Yeesh.

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(Anonymous) - 2023-03-01 05:58 (UTC) - Expand

TBH A writer has a right to want to keep their creations exclusively on AO3, but I think it's naive to think anyone would respect it.

"Don't translate"?? How odd. I mean, 15 years ago you had a few obnoxious Terminally Monolingual Anglophones who spammed their google-butchered crap to other languages sections but. That was Ago. Machine translations has evolved quite a bit and people translating other people's fics are doing it themselves anyway because they speak the language and want to share. Right?

I mean i actually do think it's really shitty and destroys fandom to have a part of fandom which is non-monetized, and have that part be exploited on platforms clearly with the aim of getting followers and therefore making money and usually subsequently allowing people to brigand the original post.

This isn't just because people want to control their content. you'll see an equal amount of people being like "come talk to my fic on tumblr!" it's imo primarily because there's a lot of decontextualized de-fandomed sporking (which already had extremely toxic elements) for clout and clout alone going on on social media and it's causing a lot of more barely fandom lookyloos to harass people.

people aren't just doing it with fics either.

I don't mind people trying to be make some type of fandom/internet etiquette surrounding it, even if what they want is simply never going to happen.