[ SECRET POST #2503 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2503 ⌋

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

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 05 pages, 105 secrets from Secret Submission Post #358.
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)]

It's not necessarily you. Some fandoms/fannish spaces are apparently just as clique-y as high school, full of mean kids who like slamming the clubhouse door on new people.

(I also personally wonder if fandom has changed. In my experience, ten or fifteen years ago, when BBS and forums were the primary spaces, almost every fandom seemed a lot friendlier and welcoming of newbies.)

[(Anonymous)]

I think fandom is less welcoming these days, too. But like you, I was around in the BBS days and my age is one of the things that makes it difficult for me to connect with people in my fandoms because I usually only meet young people who are still in school. I don't care about their homework and I don't expect them to care about my mortgage.

It was easier for me when my fandoms were on LJ and we could be in communities together but now it's all on tumblr and it's almost impossible to avoid personal posts. I can tumblr savior stuff if they consistently tag but most of the people in my fandoms don't do that with personal posts.

[lyndis]

I'm caught in the middle. Older than most, with adult responsibilities, but I decided to go back to school after a work injury. I occasionally whine about homework (because I miss doing "real work") but for the most part younger people annoy me.

I have zero trouble making fandom friends, but keeping them? Eh, it's like real life for me. I'm pretty dull and I'm the type of person to have one or two really great friends and a shitton of acquaintances. I'm okay with that, though. But the younger gen comment reminded me of what it's like at college. It sucks. A lot of the young people are so ignorant about life in general and I can't stand hearing them talk. I think sometimes the same happens in fandom and my patience isn't what it used to be! D:

[egret]

Delurking to say this describes my experience exactly. Glad it's not just me.

[(Anonymous)]

The last few times I poked my nose into a new fandom space, I was pounced on by someone desperate to prove their fandom cred by trying to demonstrate that I knew less about the source media than they did or had a poorer understanding of its background/characters/etc. Basically, SJW crap but with fandom instead of social justice and bit less frothing rage. It has made me kind of gun shy about trying new fandom spaces.

When I used to post on BBS, it seemed like everyone was always happy and excited when new people joined. I never had a problem integrating myself or finding people to talk to.

Yeah, it's changed.

[nyxelestia]

It's...not as drastic as some people make it out to be, but definitely fandom is less friendly than when I first started out, and I've only been in fandom for about a decade. There was a bit of meanness back then, but it tended to be isolated incidents of cruelty that were painful but ultimately easy to ignore and pass off as singular assholes, rather than the kind of low-level but constant hostility you see today.

I have a lot of theories on on how and why it turned out this way, but most of them boils down to the sudden growth of fandom over the last several years, combined with the increasing parallel powers of anonymity and/or making a name for yourself online.

Re: Yeah, it's changed.

[hlagol]

If you ever get the writing bug and expound on this theory in multi-paragraph form, I would totally read it an comment. A+ for fandom change-over-time theories.

Re: Yeah, it's changed.

[hiyami]

I wonder if it has to be with the fact that before, it was mostly people who were a bit awkward / had unusual interests who spent time online. So they knew what it was like to be bullied or ignored and they were super happy to get to talk people with the same interests.
While now everyone and their dog is online, and that includes all the IRL bullies that used to not find any interest in being on a computer.

Also, it's become vitally important now to seek online popularity... the stories of cyber-bullying and those teenagers who committed suicide after being harassed on websites like Ask.com make it obvious.

[(Anonymous)]

Fandom has totally changed in the last few years. And you're right about it being super clique-y now. It used to be a lot friendlier and more welcoming in the past. Now... not so much.