I'd be thrilled to see "fluffy fun, no plot!" instead of "I'm so sorry, I don't even, why do I think I can write, please don't hate this."

And when you dare suggest to such a writer that conforming to conventions of punctuation and formating help one's work to put its best foot forward and assist one's readers in enjoying it all the more, you get "well i wuz just writing for FUN you don't have to be all english teecher on my a$$"

That or you get asked to beta by someone more eager for attention than actually learning from her (or his, I suppose, I just have not experienced such a male person) mistakes and your suggestions.

I'm not sure which is worse.

I've run into stories with brilliant plot and characters that are just unreadable because of their shaking off the chains of punctuation tyranny.

Then there are the people who consistently misspell the main character's name.

Yup, crabby fic reader. Git off my lawn.

Yep. Seen it.

It seems like it's getting worse. Back in the mid 2000s at least most writers seemed to know how to spell and construct sentences, even if I didn't care for how they handled plot or characters. Is there a boom of young writers with no discernible talent or grammar skills because of wide mainstream franchises like Harry Potter and Twilight, or was I just lucky in my initial choice of fandoms?

I wonder if there is any corollary between the age of the characters and the wherewithal of the fans.

I wonder if there is any corollary between the age of the characters and the wherewithal of the fans.

The number of incredibly devout fans I come across that only relatively recently got a bedtime late enough to watch what they're stanning keeps surprising me, but it shouldn't. We're all late adopters of Doctor Who, right?

I suppose so, though I it feels weird to think of myself as a Johnny-come-lately fan for that when I was watching from behind my parents' couch in the 80s.

If there hadn't been such a clear NuWho division, yeah, I'd feel recent--and now most people aren't catching up earlier than 9, and those who make the leap don't seem to make it earlier than 4 without real completist urges--it's not like you have to watch the whole thing--it's not like you can.

But, for god's sake, please be able to arrange them in sequential order, at least.

I wonder if there is any corollary between the age of the characters and the wherewithal of the fans.

Not that I've noticed, no.

If there hadn't been such a clear NuWho division, yeah, I'd feel recent--and now most people aren't catching up earlier than 9, and those who make the leap don't seem to make it earlier than 4 without real completist urges--it's not like you have to watch the whole thing--it's not like you can.

Heh. To be fair, though, it's a serious pain to catch up with Old School Who pre-Tom Baker (or even post), as that which exists often exists not on streaming. I'll occasionally manage a "verify my nostalgia before purchase" event on YouTube before the Beeb takes it down, but given the hit-or-miss nature of some of the serials, I don't want to invest in something I can't watch multiple times.

Also, I tend to avoid anything with Jamie, because he annoys me and fails to die in a fire.

Hell, I'd rather watch Adric than Jamie.