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[meta] Fandom Entitlement
★ FIRST. A pimp for my lovely (former!) roommates, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kasugai_gummie and butterflycages, both of whom are incredibly talented artists with things to sell.
So if you're into Hetalia, Reborn, Gintama, or Okami (or just generally into pretty art and posters and other assorted things), take a look at their SALES POST. ♥ Shiny stuff, we can has it.
★ SECOND. Because my supervisor took the week off without telling me, and I have done as much research as I can without further consulting her and narrowing down the topic, I am left mostly to my own devices today. When I am left with too much time on my hands, I write. I tend to either fic or meta, and today it will be the latter because I have done a lot of fic-writing these past two weeks and am struggling somewhat with starting Donghae's sidestory in the fratboy verse.
So I took some time to read about blogs, blogging, and blogging etiquette (here's a good Ten Commandments of Blogs/Wikis). Fascinating stuff because I wish I could blog in a way that was less fangirly and random, and more intelligent. It would be fun to talk in depth about a subject I was interested in - I was tellingsapphira_angel about this and I think a fandom meta blog would be my ideal. I talk too much as it is about fandom, anyway. I would like to do less fangirling sometimes and more...well, meta. About fandom trends or fandom's hive mentality, or the way people judge others by their grammar or fic headers without giving their actual content a chance. The way people will take things too seriously or condemn others for taking things too seriously, or pick up each other's typing quirks in a sometimes-subconscious effort to better connect or fit in.
Today, though, I really want to blog about Fandom Entitlement. But in a slightly different sense than its usual context (of either me demanding things or complaining about other people demanding things).
Obligatory disclaimer: personal opinions. But, I think, generally applicable. Feel free to disagree though. Kpop-specific because if I try to include animanga or TV shows or other written works, it gets too bulky. Plus there are some things more specific to kpop I wanted to address.
As a kpop fan, what are you entitled to?
You are entitled to love the group or idol for whatever reason you choose: for their music, for their interactions, for their hilarious shows, or solely for the fic you compose in your head.
You are entitled to like some or all of the above, but you are also entitled just the same to dislike any or all of the above. You can dislike their music but still be a fan for their band dynamics. You can hate ficcing them but still adore their songs and musical talent.
You are entitled to think your idols are attractive or adorable or hilarious. You are entitled to think they are rude, selfish, childish, talentless so far as you have seen. As you do not know them personally, you are not entitled to judge their character except as you have seen.
You are entitled to wishing such-and-such idol would hurry up and release a new album. You are entitled to feel sad if such-and-such other idol reveals he has a girlfriend. You are entitled to be happy or disappointed or angry by the things the idols do or say, but you are not entitled to demand things from them. You are not entitled to demand that they share your values, for example, or that they have a North America tour, or that they make an official announcement about whether they are or are not still in your favorite band. You are a fan and they appreciate your support, but you do not control their lives. Wishing is okay; demanding is not.
You are entitled to write your idols letters, to leave them messages where appropriate, or to contact them or meet them in approved venues and circumstances. You are not entitled to stalk them or call their number incessantly to disrupt their personal lives. You are not entitled to ask about their personal lives; you are entitled to what they tell you and what they allow the public to know, but you are not entitled to prying.
You are entitled to writing and reading fic, to creating imaginary lives and stories for these people, as long as you realize there is a distinction between reality and fiction. You are entitled to create fictional people based on your idol's RL characteristics and call them by the same name, but you are not entitled to force your beliefs that so-and-so is so truly in love with so-and-other-so on the rest of the world. (In other words, you are entitled to be delusional if you want, but you are not entitled to inflicting said delusions on everyone else.)
You are entitled to do things for fandom such as writing fic, scanning magazines, translating lyrics, subbing shows, making icons, uploading videos, and the like. You are entitled to want to be appreciated for your work, but you are not entitled to demand it. If you are doing it for gratitude and not to better help other fans appreciate your idols or bands, then you may want to reconsider your motives. (I can't tell you that you are Doing It Wrong, because I'm not entitled to, but I can still judge you for it.) Sadly, you are not entitled to thanks or reviews, however much you may deserve it (or feel like you deserve it). Fandom should be a give-and-take community, but in reality it is not. So you should appreciate your thanks, but holding hostage fics or videos from the world at large just because silent readers or leechers exist seems counterproductive.
You are entitled to lock your fics or videos or icons, as long as you realize it comes with a cost. While some people will friend you or join your comm, others will judge you or find it too bothersome. You will lose people: it's a fact.
On the other hand, as a fan you are entitled to partake in what others willingly share. You are entitled to request things, politely, but never to demand. You are entitled to show your appreciation, but you are also entitled to say nothing at all - however rude that may come off. You must also realize this can cause people to not share, or lock posts, so it becomes a cost-benefit analysis of how long it takes to say "thank you" or "I love this!" versus the additional complications of joining comms or finding alternate options.
You are entitled to whatever opinion you want to hold, and you are entitled to express them as you will in private, and politely in public. You are entitled to respectful, polite discussions about your opinions that do not include personal attacks; similarly, you are entitled to disagree with people, but you are not entitled to make personal attacks on those who hold opinions you disagree with.
You are not entitled to being right, or not having people disagree (sometimes angrily, sometimes vehemently) with you. You are not entitled to immunity from repercussions of stupidity; if you say something dumb or offensive, or even if you say something with merit in a dumb or offensive way, you will get pounced on.
You are entitled to have fun, but not to deprive others of having their own fun, however their definition may differ from yours. In the same way, you are entitled to judge others, but not to tell them that they're doing it wrong. If they're having harmless fun, it's none of your business.
You are entitled, essentially, to being a fan. You are not entitled to be excused from general courtesy and respect for others as human beings, whether it is your idol or a fellow fan.
--
I feel like I am forgetting some other huge aspect(s) of being a fan and not being a douche, but I can't think of it. Discussion would be welcome! I have a very strong opinion against people linking to friends-locked posts from communities; I think lurkers and leechers are a fact of fandom life and bitching about them is solves nothing, so you might as well accept them; and I loathe to pieces people who judge you for what music or groups you like, people who hold their opinions are the only and the right ones.
Ummm but yeah. Generally I love fandom. I keep myself to the nicer, saner parts that bring me happiness and not wank. :)
kasugai_gummie and butterflycages, both of whom are incredibly talented artists with things to sell.So if you're into Hetalia, Reborn, Gintama, or Okami (or just generally into pretty art and posters and other assorted things), take a look at their SALES POST. ♥ Shiny stuff, we can has it.
★ SECOND. Because my supervisor took the week off without telling me, and I have done as much research as I can without further consulting her and narrowing down the topic, I am left mostly to my own devices today. When I am left with too much time on my hands, I write. I tend to either fic or meta, and today it will be the latter because I have done a lot of fic-writing these past two weeks and am struggling somewhat with starting Donghae's sidestory in the fratboy verse.
So I took some time to read about blogs, blogging, and blogging etiquette (here's a good Ten Commandments of Blogs/Wikis). Fascinating stuff because I wish I could blog in a way that was less fangirly and random, and more intelligent. It would be fun to talk in depth about a subject I was interested in - I was telling
sapphira_angel about this and I think a fandom meta blog would be my ideal. I talk too much as it is about fandom, anyway. I would like to do less fangirling sometimes and more...well, meta. About fandom trends or fandom's hive mentality, or the way people judge others by their grammar or fic headers without giving their actual content a chance. The way people will take things too seriously or condemn others for taking things too seriously, or pick up each other's typing quirks in a sometimes-subconscious effort to better connect or fit in.Today, though, I really want to blog about Fandom Entitlement. But in a slightly different sense than its usual context (of either me demanding things or complaining about other people demanding things).
Obligatory disclaimer: personal opinions. But, I think, generally applicable. Feel free to disagree though. Kpop-specific because if I try to include animanga or TV shows or other written works, it gets too bulky. Plus there are some things more specific to kpop I wanted to address.
As a kpop fan, what are you entitled to?
You are entitled to love the group or idol for whatever reason you choose: for their music, for their interactions, for their hilarious shows, or solely for the fic you compose in your head.
You are entitled to like some or all of the above, but you are also entitled just the same to dislike any or all of the above. You can dislike their music but still be a fan for their band dynamics. You can hate ficcing them but still adore their songs and musical talent.
You are entitled to think your idols are attractive or adorable or hilarious. You are entitled to think they are rude, selfish, childish, talentless so far as you have seen. As you do not know them personally, you are not entitled to judge their character except as you have seen.
You are entitled to wishing such-and-such idol would hurry up and release a new album. You are entitled to feel sad if such-and-such other idol reveals he has a girlfriend. You are entitled to be happy or disappointed or angry by the things the idols do or say, but you are not entitled to demand things from them. You are not entitled to demand that they share your values, for example, or that they have a North America tour, or that they make an official announcement about whether they are or are not still in your favorite band. You are a fan and they appreciate your support, but you do not control their lives. Wishing is okay; demanding is not.
You are entitled to write your idols letters, to leave them messages where appropriate, or to contact them or meet them in approved venues and circumstances. You are not entitled to stalk them or call their number incessantly to disrupt their personal lives. You are not entitled to ask about their personal lives; you are entitled to what they tell you and what they allow the public to know, but you are not entitled to prying.
You are entitled to writing and reading fic, to creating imaginary lives and stories for these people, as long as you realize there is a distinction between reality and fiction. You are entitled to create fictional people based on your idol's RL characteristics and call them by the same name, but you are not entitled to force your beliefs that so-and-so is so truly in love with so-and-other-so on the rest of the world. (In other words, you are entitled to be delusional if you want, but you are not entitled to inflicting said delusions on everyone else.)
You are entitled to do things for fandom such as writing fic, scanning magazines, translating lyrics, subbing shows, making icons, uploading videos, and the like. You are entitled to want to be appreciated for your work, but you are not entitled to demand it. If you are doing it for gratitude and not to better help other fans appreciate your idols or bands, then you may want to reconsider your motives. (I can't tell you that you are Doing It Wrong, because I'm not entitled to, but I can still judge you for it.) Sadly, you are not entitled to thanks or reviews, however much you may deserve it (or feel like you deserve it). Fandom should be a give-and-take community, but in reality it is not. So you should appreciate your thanks, but holding hostage fics or videos from the world at large just because silent readers or leechers exist seems counterproductive.
You are entitled to lock your fics or videos or icons, as long as you realize it comes with a cost. While some people will friend you or join your comm, others will judge you or find it too bothersome. You will lose people: it's a fact.
On the other hand, as a fan you are entitled to partake in what others willingly share. You are entitled to request things, politely, but never to demand. You are entitled to show your appreciation, but you are also entitled to say nothing at all - however rude that may come off. You must also realize this can cause people to not share, or lock posts, so it becomes a cost-benefit analysis of how long it takes to say "thank you" or "I love this!" versus the additional complications of joining comms or finding alternate options.
You are entitled to whatever opinion you want to hold, and you are entitled to express them as you will in private, and politely in public. You are entitled to respectful, polite discussions about your opinions that do not include personal attacks; similarly, you are entitled to disagree with people, but you are not entitled to make personal attacks on those who hold opinions you disagree with.
You are not entitled to being right, or not having people disagree (sometimes angrily, sometimes vehemently) with you. You are not entitled to immunity from repercussions of stupidity; if you say something dumb or offensive, or even if you say something with merit in a dumb or offensive way, you will get pounced on.
You are entitled to have fun, but not to deprive others of having their own fun, however their definition may differ from yours. In the same way, you are entitled to judge others, but not to tell them that they're doing it wrong. If they're having harmless fun, it's none of your business.
You are entitled, essentially, to being a fan. You are not entitled to be excused from general courtesy and respect for others as human beings, whether it is your idol or a fellow fan.
--
I feel like I am forgetting some other huge aspect(s) of being a fan and not being a douche, but I can't think of it. Discussion would be welcome! I have a very strong opinion against people linking to friends-locked posts from communities; I think lurkers and leechers are a fact of fandom life and bitching about them is solves nothing, so you might as well accept them; and I loathe to pieces people who judge you for what music or groups you like, people who hold their opinions are the only and the right ones.
Ummm but yeah. Generally I love fandom. I keep myself to the nicer, saner parts that bring me happiness and not wank. :)
no subject
Especially when it comes to reviews. "I spent so long working on this the least you could do is spend a few moments of your time reviewing." And then they complain later about it. And to be honest with how mature the authors often are they wouldn't like it if I left them an honest review because "What the hell would I know about writing or what they're trying to say."
I have a very strong opinion against people linking to friends-locked posts from communities
Uhh ... is a little guilty because I did a friends only some time ago (before my writing journal came into existence) and any old links prier to that lead to a locked entry. But it wasn't at the time.
There are so many douche aspects of fandom though. That's why I'm so thankful for my flist because you're what make it worth while, even if we don't fandom the same things anymore.
no subject
Review entitlement wank is so common and ugh. Still as annoying every time.
♥