I don't think I'm part of fandom. I wouldn't have considered myself that at all except that I post here. I tried fandom for a while but it dind't hold my interest. Buffistas, OTOH, have held my interest for over a year without any particular allegiance to any current shows.

(eta: see, that only took 3 minutes.)

Like ita says, I think it's subjectional as to where the lines fall in defining fandom. And it's also not a terribly interesting subject.

I can write a book about ass cancer. It doesn't mean I have the ass cancer.

I think there's an ocean of difference between fandom and general interest. I threw a LOST party but I'm not a fan of LOST.

Buffistas tend to be generalists. Hec may be a bigger fan of good sandwiches than Buffy. Krav is probably more important to ita than Firefly ever was. My next book has nothing at all to do with fandom.

But it's your definition we're discussing, Kevin. Is Tim a part of fandom because he posts here?

I think it's subjectional as to where the lines fall in defining fandom. And it's also not a terribly interesting subject.

Um.

You know, I keep trying to give you the benefit of the doubt, but it's kind of hard. Why would you say something like that, when several of us just had a conversation in here about defining fandom, making it clear that we do find it an interesting subject?

Dana, are you saying it's subjectional how interesting meta-fandom is?

Now my head hurts.

I'm also getting a bit bent out of shape about your insistance that being a Buffista and posting in the Firefly thread makes me a member of the Firefly fandom. Don't I get to control what I am?

I'm a fan, in general. I'm a member of online fandom, in the largest sense: the interlocking communities that discuss television and movies and books online. I'm an active member of only one or two individual fandoms right now, neither of which is Firefly. And I don't find that participating in this thread negates that statement, since 75% of my content has been meta or OT rather than about Firefly itself.

Here's the thing, Kevin -- it's like the screen names. You have to let people define themselves. Let them name themselves, and accept what they tell you about themselves. Don't make assumptions or generalizations about what they're interested in or who or what they are. I have found that making generalizations about other people's motives or intent is the one certain way of pissing people off on the internet. Because you will always be wrong about someone.

(Besides, arguing with ita about the history of the Buffistas? Kind of a waste of effort. She built the board; she knows precisely what kind of community is and what we are about, if anyone does. Also, she can kill you with her pinkie. *g*)

For Nilly, when she pops back in here:

Yesterday your post about Serenity had 4060 hits. 1185 people came over from Whedonesque. People think you are shiny. I have plenty of bandwidth left.

Okay, let me clarify. How *I* define fandom isn't a terribly interesting subject. Or, in other words, I'm trying to say 'Look, it probably seems like I'm trolling here as this is going on and on'.

Allyson - fandom and ass cancer aren't exactly comparable on any levels. So shouldn't be compared.

People can label themselves as they choose. They have every right to, and I'm all for that. It doesn't mean I agree with their labeling of themselves, however.

The fact that mocking of the fandom is so rife on Buffistas (along with many other sites) is because people box those fans into a fandom group. Browncoats. Craxy fans. It's all out there.

In many cases those labels apply in terms of the context people mean them in - but not always. I don't think being labeled as part of the fandom is in any way an insult. I think Allyson is part of the fandom because she is extremely close to it. I don't think she has ass cancer. I think Tim is also part of the fandom, by definition, because he creates fandoms.

I think Tim is also part of the fandom, by definition, because he creates fandoms.

I'd disagree with this. Show folk are beyond the fandom, in my opinion. They may find fandom takes shape around them, but that doesn't equal membership in it. Just as my following this thread doesn't equal membership in the Firefly fandom -- I define the level of my involvement in something, and based on the fact that I could barely make it through two episodes of the show, I think I fall short of being part of the fandom. But I do dig thoughtful discussions, which is why I lurk here.

That, and the opportunity to see ass cancer worked into said thoughtful discussions.

As for the "rife" "mocking," we must be looking at different threads. All I saw was a discussion of one comment, and an analysis of why some, like me, found the person's post somewhat overdramatic, while others found it fandomly, to borrow a phrase. I thought the discussion was rather interesting.