5 Point Manifesto For Positive Fandom
If you’ve read this blog for more than a couple of weeks it should be pretty clear that I feel there is too much negativity in science fiction fandom (or at least online fandom). Well I’m a firm believer that if you see a problem you should attempt to solve it. A while back I posted about 7 Things that SciFi Fans Should Stop Doing, now I’m going to provide a 5 Point Manifesto For Positive Fandom.
Contribute
You can’t be a positive member of fandom if you don’t actually contribute anything. I know from experience that the majority of people passively read and don’t participate. Estimates are that as high as 90% of people read blogs without commenting for example.
But blogs and forums are the lifeblood of online fandom and they thrive on reader participation. So next time you read an interesting post… respond!
Emphasize the Positive
The are so many amazing things going in the science fiction and fantasy fields, not to mention what fans have been able to accomplish themselves. Talk about them!
Rather than complaining about the SciFi Channel’s latest boneheaded scheduling move, focus on just how cool you think Charlie Jade is and tell people. It’s easy to fall into the habit of criticizing one thing in order to make another thing seem better but in reality you’re just tainting the good with the bad.
Image via Wikipedia
Critique, Don’t Nitpick
At one point or another we’ve all sat in front of the TV and picked holes in the movie we’re watching with friends. It’s fun. But when it’s put down in writing it’s rarely nearly as funny as it is in person. It becomes even less entertaining when there are a hundred people all making the same comment. You can nitpick anything. 2001, Blade Runner, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica. Its easy to tear them all apart by focusing on the minutiae.
Don’t let the niggles overwhelm the big picture. When you discuss a show/movie/book acknowledge what works or that your dislikes may be in part personal bias. If nothing else it will lead to a far more interesting and instructive discussion.
Think In Hexadecimal
Just as it’s boring if all the characters in a book are either pure good or pure evil, it’s equally tedious if people lump everything into “good” and “bad” without any grades. Similarly there are very few discussions or situations where there’s only two possible answers. I’m pretty sure that in any situation there are at least 16 possible options. So start thinking in hexadecimal not binary.
Let It Go and Move On
Don’t like the ending of Signs? You’re not alone. But it was 6 years ago, let it go! By hanging onto this stuff not only are you boring the pants off of everyone else in the forum, but you’re limiting the chances of new an interesting discussion emerging. Instead everyone just ends up rehashing the same old argument.
Just let it go and move on to something you like instead. If the subject comes up and you don’t have anything new to say, move on to another thread.
Create
I don’t think that fandom has ever been as creative as it is right now. If you’re not impressed by what the professionals are doing… have a go yourself. All the tools are available for you to create anything you want. You can blog or podcast about your favorite shows and films. You can write fan fiction set in your favorite fantasy worlds. You can even create downloadable videos of your own original science fiction if you want.
Not only will you probably develop greater sympathy for the professionals, but you’ll be actively contributing to fandom as a whole. Can’t get much more positive than that right?
11 Comments, Comment or Ping
Manxom Vroom
Right on, brother! I heartily agree. What’s more, I believe that we are right now in the midst of a “golden age of geekdom.” I should elaborate my thoughts on that in a future column…
Manxom Vrooms last blog post.."The Dark Knight" mini review.
Jul 21st, 2008
Patrick
It’s true, I’m generally a lurker.
You’re right, I should post more, but sometimes it’s a little too overwhelming when there are already a ton of posts. What impact can my one little post have?
Also, sometimes when I really want to post about a particular topic, I find that the thread is a straight up flame war. I could start my own thread, but really, the flaming would continue in that one too.
Jul 21st, 2008
Eoghann
Patrick you make good points. I think a lot of people are scared off more active contributions by the hostile nature of some forums.
And I’ve certainly looked at 100+ threads and thought that I really didn’t have anything useful to add.
But that’s rarely a problem round here so feel free to chime in!
Jul 21st, 2008
Stefan
What a great post, Eoghann! I believe we, at some point in the distant past, were in a discussion group together. Nice to see that Solar Flare is still going strong!
Jul 22nd, 2008
Eoghann
Hi Stefan, you’re right we were in the same discussion group for a while. Good to hear from you again.
Jul 22nd, 2008
Sandi K
Alright, I’m doing my part and responding. I’m proud to say that I’m currently following all of your suggestions except the last one. I belong to a couple of online SF reading groups and I actually discuss the books I read. I also try to keep up with writing reviews of the books I read over on GoodReads. I believe I am fairly balanced and objective.
I do think you left out one thing. If you really like a book or story, let the author know. Many authors have blogs or websites and their e-mail addresses are public. I’ve e-mailed 4 or 5 authors about their books and I’ve always received grateful replies very quickly. Authors love to hear from their audience!
Jul 23rd, 2008
Eoghann
Excellent point about contacting authors. I know that as a blogger it’s frustrating to write 1000 word posts and get no feedback. How much worse must it be if you spent 6-12 months crafting 100,000 words?
Reading groups are a great way to interact and discuss new and old novels. I’m a member of GoodReads myself and there are a few other similar discussion groups I’m aware of. I should probably do a post about that. Does anyone know of any movie discussion groups?
Jul 23rd, 2008
Sandi Kallas
I think it would be awful to spend months writing a book and not get any feedback. Sure, there’s book sales figures, but that doesn’t tell you if people really like the book or what they like about it. And, just how many copies does the average SF title sell?
I thought your name looked familiar. I think I’ve seen you over on GoodReads.
Jul 23rd, 2008
Patrick
Eoghann, I think you’ve hit the nail on the head with why the internet is so successful and why it is the way it is. I personally love to write about my life and the things going on in it. Then comments were introduced to my blog. People started leaving replies. I started posting more often because I eagerly wanted the replies. Then people gradually started responding less and less to where my posts now hardly ever get replies. And hence, I post less and less frequently.
People crave recognition of their work! And ATTENTION!
Patricks last blog post..Early Morning and a 6-day work week
Jul 23rd, 2008
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