That's about all one could say, which is hardly dispositive.

It is really all that I'm looking for, though. As long as it's accurately qualified, I find it informative.

And aggravatingly, as a reader, this is something that I am hugely interested by. What are the ratio of stories set in juvenile settings by writers actually existing in juvenile settings. And the somewhat reverse; the more mature fics (not porn, per se) that have some gravitas that are written by those still school-aged. And yet again, who is over forty and writing highschool angst. I WANT TO KNOW!

(and never will, I know).

It's . . . I know what stories I like, and what I suspect the writers are, but I'm still insanely curious. Especially since, if I can't even acurately guess the sex of the writers, which is fifty-fifty, how can I really gauge the age of the writer. They could be a really intelligent and talented 17 year old, or a really crappy 50 y/o "writer".

I'm deeply reassured that the mere existence of a 50-year-old fic writer isn't considered odd. One of the many things that has been kicking me in the brain since turning 50 was "Why am I still writing stories about TV shows!" I've had a hard time redefining what it means to be 50.

Connie, one of my favorite Mentalist fic writers (who also beta-read my monster fic) is 53. Her stories have well-balanced emotional depth that so many writers whom I know to be in their 20s cannot manage. Her skill with character voices makes her dialogue a joy to read. I believe that part of her brilliance is having the maturity to not impose her own wish-fulfillment urges on the characters as she writes. I also envy her ability to create original characters.

Wind, that's very comforting. And I've still got people emailing me about stories I wrote ten years ago, so at least I'm reaching people and, dare I say, touching them somehow. And my sub-brain immediately went "Bad touch!"

I wonder how many hundreds of dollars I would have had to spend on therapy if not for this board.

Fanfic serves a lot different purposes. It fills in blanks and gaps in the official narrative. It fills in the gaps left by end-of-season hiatuses (and the mini-hiatuses). It brings a show's characters under microscopes to examine motivations and other aspects of the inner life. It allows writers to interact with the characters (and the readers get to go along for the ride). It allows both writers and readers to explore what happens when the characters are put into different situations than what appears on screen. It does allow for wish-fulfillment. There are as many reasons for fic as there are writers. Some of them are pretty darn good reasons. Fanfic is part of what makes a fandom more than the sum of its parts. There is no reason why any of that should be less appropriate after a certain age. If you are not convinced, find some Doctor Who or Star Trek fans who watched from the beginning and ask them what they think.

There's a quote knocking around tumblr that fic is culture's response to our mythology being owned by corporations.

Yeah, that's from Henry Jenkins' original book.

Can't stop the signal.

fic is culture's response to our mythology being owned by corporations

So is it not the same sort of fic if it predates corporations? Because I've beens saying fic is a response to consuming a story, not to the ownership of the story, and therefore it goes back many a year.