[ SECRET POST #2482 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2482 ⌋

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

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Notes:

Friending Meme is below!

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 065 secrets from Secret Submission Post #355.
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.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Tumblr and social-networking shifts in fandom have simply opened the floodgates so that people who enjoy depth and complexity are stuck in the same fandom spaces as everyone else, those who prefer the shallow interaction of social networking. And guess which group has a lot more people and ends up drowning out the other side?

Exactly. What's frustrating is that it used to be the exact opposite, so much so that that's why so many of us got into fandom in the first place.

[nyxelestia]

Ironically enough, when I was debating the merits of Tumblr with another fandom friend, this is exactly what she said but in a good way - Tumblr is great because it "gives everyone a voice" and enables everyone to participate. I couldn't think of a way to explain why that's not necessarily a good thing without sounding like a dick (and while normally I don't mind sounding like a dick, we were going out clubbing, so not the best time to get in a fight).

But yes, this is exactly my frustration. My life is largely shallow interactions with people, and that's fine, but it's hard to find more challenging or in-depth conversation sometimes, and fandom was GREAT for that - and not just about fandom stuff! Because fandom attracted people who liked to overthink things and talk long and hard about stuff they cared about, ANYTHING was up for discussion and grabs and it was enjoyable.

Now, fandom is basically like real life, so I feel like I'm back to square one. >.

[(Anonymous)]

But yes, this is exactly my frustration. My life is largely shallow interactions with people, and that's fine, but it's hard to find more challenging or in-depth conversation sometimes, and fandom was GREAT for that - and not just about fandom stuff! Because fandom attracted people who liked to overthink things and talk long and hard about stuff they cared about, ANYTHING was up for discussion and grabs and it was enjoyable.

Now, fandom is basically like real life, so I feel like I'm back to square one. >.


I've tried to explain this so many times on LJ and ended up just sounding whiny. You summed up exactly what I've been trying to say for ages now. It's not just that I miss my old fandom - it's that I miss people translating fan tl;drness to everything else. Now it's just a bunch of people going "walked the dog. Got new lipstick. Have a date tonight." That's what I have Facebook for, and I can't really stand it there either. :/

Restating and summing up things into mental legibility is what I'm good that.

[nyxelestia]

For me, the Facebook comparison takes on another edge due to the fact I mostly post political and activist news on there, and things running with that vein. I get all sorts of messages and compliments from people about how I'm "real" and how I'm "not afraid to say what I mean" and stuff.

The compliments about how intelligent and articulate I am make me want to cry because of how much I generally dumb myself down for posting on Facebook.

As much as I am a fan of things, the reason why I loved fandom as a kid was because it was a place for me to let loose intellectually, where I didn't have to dumb down to talk to people (or just simmer quietly when the adults wouldn't ever listen to me). And it was a place to learn and make mistakes, because back then, the type of people who were into fandom were the more rational types, the kind to stop and think. I genuinely consider myself to be half educated in school and half by things I learned in fandom. I sure as hell learned more about literature and critical analysis from fandom than years of English classes, I learned how to debate rationally as well as how to write.

Nowadays, that entire environment is gone. Long meta and discussions aren't read at all, if they are ever posted at all. The environment of learning is gone, because not only are the attitudes surrounding critical analysis and higher thought withering away, the environment of making mistakes and learning from them has been completely wiped out - if you make a single social mistake, you'll get hounded right out of your social circle, and no matter how often you try and tell people you love concrit and want to learn how to make your writing better, the fandom has become so anti-concrit, anti-anything-but-fervent-praise, that there is no more learning from your readers. At most, you can get a beta, but even finding a good beta is hard because how many of them have been burned (including me - I don't beta anymore after how many times I would edit and offer concrit only to be shot down for bothering to edit the story if I clearly hate it so much -_-).

Maybe I am a bitch because I liked fandom when it was more exclusive and generally more of an intellectual place, but fuck I miss those days, and more importantly, I want to know where the action is at now. Because if it were just a matter of the intellectual sides of fandom moving elsewhere so the more superficial aspects could take over, I would be fine, but the reason why I'm so disdainful of Tumblr and its fandom ilk is because it didn't seem to have just moved old-style intellectual fandom, but erased it entirely. :(