Poll: Poll: "Tainted" by the fandom

[SoranMBane]

If the work in question is a multiplayer game where you have to actually interact with the fanbase in order to interact with the work, then it would make sense to avoid it if the fanbase is horrible. But in any other instance, letting the fanbase affect your perception of the work would be utterly irrational. Understandable in some cases due to the association, but still irrational.

If the work is something you'd enjoy otherwise and you don't have to interact with the fanbase to experience it, then you'd be doing yourself a disservice by not making an attempt to get past that mental association. If you're afraid of being associated with the bad stereotypes around that work in the eyes of other people, then you can either simply try to keep your enjoyment of the work quiet, or every time you mention it, make a point of specifying that you're aware of the unpleasant part of the fanbase and that you're not a part of it.

 

[eatenbyagrue]

I'm curious, why do you feel you can't express your interests if the subject matter has legitimate academic value?

For instance, the majority of comic books are c-grade pulp fiction trash, but that doesn't mean that works like Watchmen, Berserk, and Maus don't have literary value. I wouldn't share that with middle school students, of course, because they're not old enough for the material in question, but I've seen Alan Moore being taught in universities across the nation. You should be happy to mention games, comics, and other stories that have legitimate cultural value, because they're avant garde. They're pushing they're respective mediums forward as legitimate art (though comics seem pretty dead in the water these days).

If you can't discuss it with your colleagues for whatever reason, since middle school and high school are more opposed to free thinking then college, then try and form a sort of "literary group" of close friends. You can discuss the artistic value in games and other forms of alternative media. But don't be ashamed to enjoy what you enjoy.

OT: Yeah, I ignore fandoms. All of them. They tend to get really annoying really quick.

Well, depending on the topic, it's because of the fear of public perception.

One of the problems of being a teacher is that because you are supposed to be a "paragon of morality", you have to maintain a good reputation. Liking something that the general public sees as wrong can, at best get you branded as a weirdo, and at worst, lead to several very angry parents calling out for your head.

I gave an (admittedly hypothetical, but not far-fetched, given a lot of the quirks of working in this country) example several posts back, where a teacher would off-handedly mention anime, it gets back to the parents, whose only perception is "those dirty cartoons I once saw my son watching", which eventually explodes into "Teacher talks about porn in class."

And it's not discussing it with colleagues that's the major concern. It's the students you have to watch out for. With other teachers, it's more of a discretion thing: the ones who are roughly my age, I could probably talk openly about League of Legends or Warhammer 40k or XCOM. But with the senior teachers, I'd have to watch what I admit to liking, since they'd have some influence on whether I get re-hired next year or not.

EDIT: Also, high school (there's no middle school in this country. Not yet, at least) isn't opposed to free thinking. Not the modern ones, anyway. The problem is that political and social conservatism is de rigeur here in the Philippines, so teaching kids to be free thinkers (one of the 21st century skills we're supposed to focus on) is always going to be an uphill battle.

 

[Wasted]

I think I might have been more open to MLP if it wasn't for bronies flooding the internet with their love of the show. I used to frequent the Steam forums and nearly every game forum I used to follow had 3+ MLP threads going at once when the show got popular. The spam was excessive and the worst thread list looked something like this:

Team Fortress 2 Forum

Petition to add MLP hats to the game!
Who is your favorite pony?
Poll: What would be each pony's favorite class?
MLP official discussion thread
Fluttershy plays TF2!
Check out my MLP drawings!
Will 2Fort ever be fun?
Pinkey Pie is the best pony!

So on and so forth. It got so obnoxious that I admit it made me really dislike MLP. When threads were being deleted/condensed many bronies where comparing it to racism and bigotry! I remember threads threatening civil liberty lawsuits against moderators for banning MLP threads. Years later the rabid fanaticism died down but I can't forget the dark times.

 

[Something Amyss]

Can't speak for Dark Souls, but you're probably short-changing yourself not watching Firefly.

You mean the one of the three I actually tried? There's a reason I differentiated it.

 

[Ieyke]

Can't speak for Dark Souls, but you're probably short-changing yourself not watching Firefly.

You mean the one of the three I actually tried? There's a reason I differentiated it.

Aye. More of a commentary than a response to you specifically.
so, "short-changing oneself"*, I suppose.

 

[PainInTheAssInternet]

Well, depending on the topic, it's because of the fear of public perception.

I don't quite agree with that; I know I avoid a lot of fandoms that most people either are a part of or aren't aware of.

OT
Many have brought up the multiplayer communities and the alarming tendency for them to be populated by utterly repulsive individuals.

My friend whom I've known for over a decade thinks I'm emotionally crippled or dead since I (apparently) show little emotion. I strongly doubt her assertion because I am filled with a fiery rage whenever I go on internet forums, save for this one. Others here may have a different experience than me, but this is, by a staggeringly significant degree, the best forum on the internet. Yeah it can be repetitive and sterile, yeah the rules can be a little ridiculous, but at least it isn't Yahoo or the Battlefield Forums. I'm grateful for the rules and the mods who enforce them for this reason.

I made the mistake of going over to the Battlefield forums for help only to come across the ever-so-useful response "lol get better." That was the most civilized response the site has to offer and boy does it go downhill fast, hard and deep. Do I even need to explain what's wrong with Yahoo or MSN forums? YouTube?

I consider the above a legitimate response because that's often how I encounter fandoms. You can argue that forums act as a natural filter that permits only pure bile for some inexplicable reason, but is my experience any less valid?

Bear in mind that I edited a lot of angry ranting out of this before posting.

 

[Rose and Thorn]

Depends, when it comes to online games, yes. The reason is because you have to put up with them while you actually try to enjoy the entertainment.

Something like Twilight or My little pony I would assume is much easier to avoid fan input. Other than a few negative people on this site making me feel hesitant towards something, I don't usually have to worry about fandoms, I just don't really take part in things like that. In fact I can hardly think of any other fandoms because I stay so far away from it.

I mention twilight because I found its "fandom" to be more fans of hating the novels and films. I knew there was lots of hate towards them and the people that read them, but I still managed to read and enjoy the novels. So I guess fandoms don't effect me. In fact I might stay so far away from fandoms that I might not actually know what one is. Hating twilight is fandom right?

I just chalk it up to people, if enough people like something it becomes a fandom and I stay away from people, people only make things worse in my experience.

 

[The Lunatic]

Depends really.

I guess if people won't shut up about something and are generally obnoxious and annoying with their fandom of something, I tend to want to block everything to do with that out.

So, while, yes, I guess it doesn't affect my ability to enjoy something. It deeply affects my ability to want to view something in the first place.