I think I understand!

There's a concert called Boxed Set with a bunch of different bands. Quirky British pop, folksy artsy stuff, and old school rock with a taste for pain.

So the last band has gotten a pretty decent following, they're a little more interactive and they are massively adored by their fans.

Fans of the other bands love it when fans of the OSRWATFP band seem to be enjoying it so much, and keep meaning to buy the new album, but just have too much other stuff going on.

However, at this latest concert, the cheers went on for a while because everyone was having such a good time listening to OSRWATFP, that some of the other bands on smaller stages were drowned out a bit.

So the organizers of the concert decided, "Hey OSRWATFP has gotten kinda huge! You could barely hear any of the other bands. Too bad we had to cut them off before the 4th encore. Maybe we should organize something where they headline! 'A Night with OSRWATFP' we'll call it!" "Brilliant!"

"Wait a minute!" says the fans of OSRWATFP. "We loved that concert gathering. We loved wandering from stage before our guys were up and listening to other bands. We are always on the lookout for another band to fill our hearts like OSRWATFP, or if we're really lucky, like that band we all used to listen to with the little tough blonde lead singer and the backup guys with the skin problems. Those were our peeps, and now you're kicking us out of the party?"

And fans of the other bands are all, "Well it was kinda hard to hear the music we like. We're happy your guys have been successful, and we love seeing y'all all excited, but we kinda want to hear our guys too."

At least that's how it's playing in my head.

One question, which isn't at all facetious: Nutty, why haven't you written a book about mediafandom? For real. Your explanations of mediafannishness were full of chewy academic goodness.

I still don't understand mediafandom, exactly, but I still think you should write a book about it.

I have to admit I don't get media-fannishness, and everytime anyone goes into paragraphs of explication all I can think is "I'm just here for the sci fi and fantasy...am I the only one?"

So NOT the only one, ita. (Or I could say, ITA, ita.)

I also don't understand when/how mediafannishness became a defining characteristic of Boxed Set.

everytime anyone goes into paragraphs of explication all I can think is "I'm just here for the sci fi and fantasy...am I the only one?"

You're not! I kind of get the whole media-fannish argument, but...I really don't care because it's not why I'm in that thread. I just want to talk about some TV.

I still really feel like the SPN fans are regarded as an overgrown Lab puppy that needs to be whapped on the nose and sent to its new crate.

It really is just a volume thing, I swear. Obviously SPN belongs in Boxed Set thematically, and nobody wants the SPN fans to stop talking about the show, but it's kind of a logistical nightmare to navigate the thread as a non-fan these days.

I don't think the SPN fans have anything to apologize for. That's what this place is about: enjoying our fannishness without having to hold back for fear of offending someone.

I think I completely grok that metaphor, except for the acronym: OSRWATFP

I was like trying to anagram it or read it backwards and I was like, Fop Straw? Pfastrow? I don't get it. And then, on the veeeery last re-read, I realized it meant "Old-School Rock With a Taste For Pain."

This is why I am not a rock journalist.

Mediafannishness was a decided characteristic of the Due South and Smallville threads. Boxed Set was created out of (perceived) necessity, and always had some rough edges, I think.

It really is just a volume thing, I swear. Obviously SPN belongs in Boxed Set thematically, and nobody wants the SPN fans to stop talking about the show, but it's kind of a logistical nightmare to navigate the thread as a non-fan these days.

This is me. And I second what Zen said about not having anything to apologize for - nobody's done anything wrong here. But the thread itself is showing some wear at the seams. I'd rather fix it than wait for it all to explode. (Which granted, some people may feel is what's happening right now.)

This is why I am not a rock journalist.

Or possibly why I'm not.

I'm not voting. I haven't been in Boxed Set in a while (not for any reason) so I'm leaving it to the people who have a vested interest. I just like the the concert metaphor better than whacking puppies.

I love puppies, and I love y'all.

Nutty, why haven't you written a book about mediafandom? For real.

Because several have already been written? Because I am waiting for paperdol to take the brunt of the intarweb crazies before I publish my fandom opus.

(Kidding, paperdol! Except in the sense that I am totally not!)

Nutty, why haven't you written a book about mediafandom? For real.

Because several have already been written

Yes, but I don't know those authors, and I'm sure I don't like them as much as I like you.

the thread itself is showing some wear at the seams

I don't see those seams as stretching unduly. I see the thread as doing what it was made for--containing discussion about a bunch of different shows, sometimes quite excitedly.

I don't feel any more stretched ignoring the SPN flail (I like the show--I just have no need to flail) than ignoring any of the other things I don't care to talk about--in fact, since it's usually clustered, it's easier to skip the flail, than, say, baseball talk that's interwoven with things of which I like.