Thoughtful about geekism and community standards...

[tzikeh]

I'm finding this very interesting, and certainly something worth discussing within our Venn diagram of fannish communities:

The Five Geek Social Fallacies.

The writer does a decent job of distilling some of the longstanding social problems in any communal geek pursuit. It reminds me of a quote from a friend (you know who you are, and I'll put your lj name up if you give permission) about one of the biggest problems in organized fandom - "We shun *badly*."

Whoever is moderating the "Loyalties are Ruining Fandom" panel at Escapade should print this out and use it...

Comments

[wickedwords.livejournal.com]

Oh, interesting stuff to support what elyn and I will bring up at our escapade panel on loyalty.

[falzalot.livejournal.com]

This stuff is fascinating in a "there but for the grace of somebody-or-other" kind of way. :-> And I am *SO* going to your panel now.

[graculus.livejournal.com]

Has he been checking out my fandoms? ;)

[gloss]

Thanks so much for the link - it's stunningly appropriate to, at least, *my* experience of fandom.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Isn't it? And a great starting point for conversation on our social conventions.

[musesfool.livejournal.com]

God, I know many, many people who fall into some of these categories. *cough* Not me, of course. But the "friends accept me as I am" one - man, I know at least one huge list-imploding flamewar that could have been avoided if people understood that criticizing a story does not equal I hate your guts and want you to die.

Thanks for that link.

[brooklinegirl.livejournal.com]

great link! Thank you, that's totally fascinating, and so freaking TRUE. It applies not just to my fannish communities, but also the gay boys I hang out with. Thank you for sharing it!

[klia.livejournal.com]

Many geeks have had horrible, humiliating, and formative experiences with ostracism, and the notion of being on the other side of the transaction is repugnant to them.

That's very logical, and yet? I've seen many, many people in fandom create their own social hierarchies so they could be at the top of the pecking order, for once. And did they ostracize others? You bet.

[wemblee.livejournal.com]

Yep -- that was my one critique of the article; I identified with and recognized a lot of the fallacies, but while some fans might want everybody to be friends and hold hands and sing Kumbaya to the point of insanity, there are the fans intent on rewriting junior high.

[klia.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah. I keep saying at times fandom feels a lot like 7th grade. And not in a good way. :P

[sherrold.livejournal.com]

If "we shun badly" is mine, then by all means, use my name.

And I like to reread that site every few months; nothing explains most of the fannish kerfluffles better.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Indeed it is you :)