In which fandom is a potluck.

[gabolange]

In your own space, talk about a fannish opinion you hold that has changed over time.

I don't know exactly if this is something that has changed over time, or something I have realized I feel strongly about. For context, as a writer, I'm a snob. I'm very good (yes hi but it's true) and also have really specific perspectives about the stories I want to write and what they should do for the characters. I am a tough beta reader who will only read for people who I trust are good writers seeking to make their stories the best possible versions of themselves.

And I was very fortunate to grow up in fandom communities that also valued writing and character, so this never felt particularly weird.

But fandom has grown and expanded, and who I know in fandom has grown and expanded, and honestly, what I read and write has evolved as well. I was recently in conversation with someone about an online community, and I recommended that we invite someone who is a prolific writer of deeply inconsistent work, much of which is cliche, some of which is out of character. And that person balked because they are also a snob, and they just didn't jive with the prospective invitee's writing and engagement.

And it made me so mad. Because not only do I love me some good silly happy endings, they are an integral part of the fannish ecosystem. People read my longform character studies, but many more of them read the happy ending shorts. The silly stuff keeps people engaged and happy, and creates space for the rest. Also? Judging a person's value in fandom based on their mediocre AU fic was...kind of offensive, actually. I recommended this person because they are a friend.

Fandom is community. We talk about more cakes, but it's not a cake party. It's a potluck. If someone is bringing something they made with love and took time with, you can decide it isn't for you, but you can't be mad it's there.

And I hadn't ever put that into words before.

I am still always going to try to be the best writer I can be, and treat the characters with thought and consideration. I am still mostly going to seek out stories that do the same, and hold the people I edit to high standards. I will absolutely go into DM and be snarky about bad takes or bad cake. All to the good.

But the broader community has to be about community. If someone comes to your potluck with open arms and a gift, you say thank you and invite them to your table.

And that is the thing that fell into place for me this past year that I think I never really got before.

Comments

[pellucid]

I had not made the connection in quite this way before now, but I think this is also part of what I have always found vaguely off-putting about the widespread move to Discord, even though a) I know a lot of Discord servers are very inclusive, and b) I understand why things moved to Discord. But the part where you have to know how to find out the secret handshake and then, at least in many cases, be approved by people who are very actively curating the space feels like it can easily feed this kind of attitude. And obviously there are spaces on Tumblr and AO3 and who knows what other platforms that are not exclusive, but it does feel a bit like this Discord shift has with it enabled more over-curation of the cool kids' potlucks than was mainstream years ago?

I mean, I'm very outside looking in, so I don't really have a sense of how widespread this is. But from that vantage I also find Discord fandom slightly daunting for lots of reasons. This adds another one!

[gabolange]

Oh, this is definitely a whole thing. And I do think that for the most part people (like me) who moderate Discord fandom spaces work hard to make them inclusive while also respecting the existing members' right not to be bombarded by a constant barrage of new people. But I also had to tell someone (who mods a different server) to fuck all the way off for being an elitist prick (I was...slightly nicer than that), because that isn't a fandom experience I care to participate in.

So it's a careful balancing act, since I also recognize that fandom is much, much more accessible and mainstream these days than it was (when we were young etc), and so some guardrails make sense. Just have to figure out how to do it right.