#fandom policing | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

kiragecko · 1 month

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cherrystainedknuckles

I guess the only problem with being asked to take a “marie kondo approach” is that in order to find any fanfic that appears to be based in actual canon timeline and plot points and characterization (which does exist, and I’m not sure why fanon fans seem insistent that it doesn’t), I literally have to search for hours. I’m not joking, I consistently make fic rec lists, and I have to search for hours and hours for actual canonical basis. same thing with character tags on tumblr.

I’m not saying fanon fans have to stop enjoying fanon or making up their own content. I’m just saying that when the tags used for both fanon tim drake and canon tim drake are the same tag it just becomes incredibly annoying sometimes, and I understand why people who like to engage with canon (me, often) become frustrated

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I have definitely had periods where I got incredibly frustrated with fanon! Around 2019, I was wondering if I needed to leave the Batfandom, because it had been so long since I read a new fic where the characters felt 'right'.

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But, if you're willing to, I'd like you to consider what you mean when you divide 'fanon' from 'canon'. Because I struggle to find a hard line between the two, for several reasons:

1. Fandom is transformative. Every fanfic is going to have some interpretation of the source material. The line between what is too much interpretation and what is acceptable is different for every person. For me, I find it can even vary based on writing style or other odd things - lighthearted fic can have more noncanonical stuff in it than heavier fic, and still seem true to canon.

2. 'Canon' is subjective. I do not consider the movies or video games to be 'canon', and it annoys me when things from those creep into the fic I'm reading. (I'm okay with SOME Battinson.) Some aspects of the cartoons are okay. I consider precrisis Jason Todd to be an alternate reality version, but Donna's precrisis origins are more canonical than the dumb retcons. Wayne Family Adventures isn't my main version of the characters, but I'm not bothered if some elements show up in my stories. I'm ignoring most of the nu52, but I like Duke and I'm still watching this new Lian to see what happens. I doubt your divisions are identical to mine.

(Also, some things that I think of as 'fanon' have shown up in nu52 canon! I do not accept them as any more canon because of this.)

3. Most 'fanon' is based on canon. Canon Tim has weird sleep habits. 90s Dick is really lighthearted and joking around some characters in ways similar to fanon. Dick can canonically not be trusted to take care of himself if his mental health gets low enough. Jason likes classical literature. Etc.

These are exaggerated and/or twisted in a lot of fic, but where is the line where they stop being canon? I wouldn't bat an eye at a lot of this stuff, if it didn't show up SO OFTEN.

4. Most 'fanon fans' do know some canon. What line are you going to set where it will be 'enough'. And are they allowed to mention parts of the canon they haven't read yet? Is anyone allowed to talk about Dick's early Robin days, or only the tiny amount of people who have read the golden age stuff? A lot of the 'mistakes' I see are obviously made by people who have read ABOUT canon, but don't know quite how it fits together.

5. 'Canon' is FULL of contradictions. Yes, there are canon events. Yes, there is characterization that is consistent across 3/4s of comics. But. I'm still working on my sidekick timeline. I've devoted days to figuring out ages and passage of time. I've spent over a decade trying to figure out Jason Todd's motivations, and why Tim treats him the way he does. I've read all the 90s and early 2000s CANONICAL character assassination of Jason.

I spent years thinking that Donna's death was almost as foundational as Jason's, only to later discover that I had just happened to read the specific comics that focused on the fallout, and she only stayed dead for a short time. That happens to fans ALL THE TIME! We read a character summarizing an event we haven't directly read, and just accept it as what happened. But characters have biases, and not all writers care about accuracy.

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I've read some Tim Drakes that I consider to be almost entirely 'fanon'. And quite a few that were so scarily 'canon' that I got chills. (Not all of which were similar to each other.) But the vast, vast majority have fallen somewhere in the middle.

I definitely do not want the responsibility of deciding which ones count as 'canon'! And I think I would strongly dislike anyone who tried to decide for me.

Being frustrated is logical, and I empathize. But the original post was about the impossible expectations some fans feel. The expectation to read thousands of comics, synthesize all the contradictions, and come to conclusions that match the 'true fans'. That's a perfectly reasonable thing to be complaining about.

If that's what some fans are experiencing, of course they're not going to want to engage with canon! There's no way for them to succeed, so why should they even try?

When you join THAT conversation to discuss your frustration about fanon, it strengthens that perception. When you call them 'fanon fans' it emphasizes their belief that you don't think they belong. And rather than trying to change, it's more likely that they'll double down. Canon is full of gatekeepers, so they'll avoid it.

#gatekeeping #fandom policing #fanon #canon vs fanon #usually don't do stuff like this anymore #I'm old and tired #but sometimes the words want to come out

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neon-junkie · 2 years

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fandom police are actually so embarrassing. imagine being so entitled that you think its okay to tell others what characters/ships they can and cannot like. lol

#fandom #fandom police #fandom policing #villains

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mysticdragon3md3 · 4 months

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youtube

Fandom Policing, Purity Culture and the Death of Media Literacy by E

#watch later #video essays #media literacy #toxic fandoms #purity culture #soooooantishuh #food for thought #tw #fandomfrictionfracas #fandom policing #Youtube

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davekat-sucks · 4 months

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youtube

This is a great video.

#fandom #fandoms #fandom policing #purity culture #media literacy #Youtube

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duochanfan · 1 year

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Fandom Ickyness

I’ve been in so many fandoms over the last 20+ years, from Star Trek TOS, Gundam Wing, Harry Potter, Sherlock, Untamed and to more recently 9-1-1, I have a list of over 20 fandoms I’ve written in over the years, and not all posted because of Fandom Ickyness. I’ve seen fandoms rise and fall and oftentimes a fandom falls because of fandom policing, people trying to dictate what the writers in a fandom should be writing.

Most don’t think much when they go on a fic and go ‘I don’t like this because of so and so going on in it, it’s stupid’ or ‘You’re bashing on my fav character, I hate you and the air you breathe’ or even, ‘Those two shouldn’t be together, they are like brother/sisters/siblings, it’s wrong and you’re sick in the head’. It’s fine to not like what you are reading, but if you don’t like it, there is a back button for a reason. You don’t have to flounce your way out of a fic leaving a comment behind as you do. It’s rude!

When I first started in fandom, there was no tags, no nothing to warn you of what was going to be in the fic at all. I see something I didn’t like, I hit the back button and went to the next. I never, ever went into a fic knowing what was in it was something I didn’t like just because I wanted to shit on someone and what they took the time and energy to write.

I have been in fandom long enough to know what that kind of harassment and bullying can do to someone. I’ve seen the aftermath of someone ending up so low they had no way out in their mind. So when you get on your high horse and decide that you’re going to make a person regret even thinking about writing what they have, think again and remember that there is an actual live person on the other end who might be writing about what they are feeling at what they have seen in a film or show.

I know a lot of writers use writing and fanfics to get away from what they are going through, they use it as a tool to help them overcome mental health issues. I do the same, I’ve always used my writing to help with my mental health. It’s hard sometimes when I come across a comment, a review, telling me I should go and kill myself because they don’t like what I write.

Closing thought I want you all to think on. When reading something and coming across something you don’t like, think for a second before you leave a nasty comment about how you don’t like it because of such and such, and that they are a terrible person for even doing so. Think about what the writer is going through in their life, what trauma has been brought up by what they have seen on screen or even in their life that they are acting it out through the characters in a show/movie/anime. You never know what you might be doing to someone with the vile words that people speak, and it might be the thing that pushes someone already on the edge, over it.

#fandom policing #gatekeeping #bullying #aftermath of bullying #think twice before commenting

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thatfantasylovingdork · 10 months

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I am so sick of the harassment that’s been going on due to a certain magical wizard franchise. I’m sorry, but boycotting will not end that franchise, because it’s so big by now that it will be impossible to topple. Some people may know about the author; some may not.

But harassing and rule policing a fandom is not the way to go.

If you wanna block it, ignore it, or boycott it, that’s great! You can’t force someone else to do the same. I’m sorry, but you can’t control other people. If you see people, LGBTQ+ or not, enjoying it, pretend they don’t exist. I don’t care how bad you think this is; YOU. CAN’T. POLICE. OTHER. PEOPLE.

I struggle with rule policing myself, so I know how hard it is, especially if you want justice for minorities being treated badly. But there’s nothing you can do. Just move on, advocate for what you can change, and do your best to be kind. That’s all we can ask for.

#tw harry potter #tw jk rowling #LGBTQ+#fandom policing #fandom problems #don’t attack me #I’m just saying what I think #and if you do attack me #I don’t care

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bebx · 6 months

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“this ship is not canon” babe, they’re fictional characters. they’re not real. they’re literally dolls we play with. we don’t care about whether or not these fictional characters’ love story is canon in this piece of media that is also entirely based on fiction. I mean, sure, canon would be lovely, but it’s a bonus. it’s not necessary. what we care about is the fun of talking about these 2 idiots being in love.

we don’t give a fuck if they didn’t kiss in “canon”. they had raw sex in thousands of fics about them though. and I’d say that’s more than enough to make people who ship them happily ship them even harder. happy shipping!

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curiositysavesthecat · 16 days

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additional comment from the anon: this mostly applies to things like smut or nsfw art. I see a lot of blogs that are 18+ and I’ve always wondered if people actually listen to "minors dni (do not interact)" or if they just ignore them.

*this poll was submitted to us and we simply posted it so people could vote and discuss their opinions on the matter. if you’d like for us to ask the internet a question for you, feel free to drop the poll of your choice in our inbox and we’ll post them anonymously (for more info, please check our pinned post)

Edit: tap here for a poll in regards to this one, but with more thorough details (in which 'view' and 'interact' are two separate things).

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locusfandomtime · 8 months

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The maths fandom is wild. “Real” and “imaginary” numbers? I think you mean canon and non-canon. You guys seriously go “this is my number oc his name is i and he is the square root of -1” when in numbers canon lore it’s actually impossible to square root a negative but sure whatever. “Complex numbers”? I think you mean a character x oc ship. “f(x) = 3x - 5”? That is self-insert fanfiction.

#(spoiler for the maths finale) 7 eats 9 #mathblr #math memes #shitpost #locus other time #this is a joke don’t get too worried about it. I just wanted an excuse to say imaginary numbers are OCs #i would go more in depth but alas. as I’m making this I’m 16 so I haven’t learned all the fun maths lore yet #math #to reiterate: I am aware this is an oversimplification and not how maths works and nothing in maths is canon!#I am not trying to say square rooting negative numbers is stupid or impossible or saying imaginary numbers are a lie or anything like that #I just wanted to have a bit of fun with using fandom terms for numbers (and play off the stereotype of people who police “canon”)#no hate to mathematicians or the field of maths. You guys are cool. Sorry if it came off that way

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allthingswhumpyandangsty · 1 month

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a writer who writes about taboo subjects doesn’t owe you any explanation as to why they write what they write

an artist who draws dark, macabre art doesn’t owe you any explanation as to why they draw what they draw

a writer who writes about taboo subjects doesn’t owe you any explanation as to why they write what they write

an artist who draws dark, macabre art doesn’t owe you any explanation as to why they draw what they draw

a writer who writes about taboo subjects doesn’t owe you any explanation as to why they write what they write

an artist who draws dark, macabre art doesn’t owe you any explanation as to why they draw what they draw

hope this helps 🥰

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wowbright · 10 months

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Periodic reminder that Archive of Our Own was created to be a repository for all written fanworks without regard to inherent worth, morality, ethicality, artistic merit, or intelligibility. As long as the posting of the work does not violate US law, falls within fair use standards, and does not directly harass individuals, it can be posted on Archive of Our Own.

Efforts to further limit the scope of what can be posted and stored on Archive of Our Own will fail, because Archive of Our Own is a repository much like the internet or the Library of Congress pre-21st century (back when it kept a copy of every publication printed in the United States). As long as you are able to find objectionable material on the internet or in a library, you will be able to find objectionable material in Archive of Our Own.

People get upset with the lack of moderation on Archive of Our Own because they view it as "the place to go to read fanfic." But when it was created, there was no goal for Archive of Our Own to be a destination fanfic reading website. Most people who first used it would publish on other sites (LiveJournal, fanfic.net, message boards, and various fandom-specific sites) to be read and commented on, and add a backup copy to Archive of Our Own so that it would be preserved in case it was ever removed from the original website/the original website went down. In other words, it was used as an archive, just like in the name.

AO3 can still be used this way! You can do your primary fanfic reading and writing on other sites, then back up your own works to AO3 for safekeeping.

Even better, if you object to the content that you find on AO3 and don't want to use it to find fanfic, or don't want to post there because you feel that posting there would be tantamount to endorsing AO3's mission, Archive of Our Own will hand you the tools you need to create your own site with more restrictive guidelines!

How? The software Archive of Our Own runs on is open source and the entire code is posted on github, along with advice for implementation.

Not everyone is comfortable searching for fanfic on Archive of Our Own for fear of encountering triggering or objectionable content. By creating more fanfic sites and repositories with their own focuses and guidelines, we can create the safe spaces in fandom that people are looking for without endangering the archival mission of Archive of Our Own.

#ao3 #fandom #fandom politics #fandom police

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bookshopbentley · 8 months

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something i noticed is that whenever crowley and aziraphale do have physical touch it’s always ( ? ) aziraphale initiating it . it’s aziraphale who occasionally puts his hand on crowley’s chest , arm , back , whatever to guide him . it’s aziraphale resting his hand on crowley’s arm to tell him something . it’s aziraphale took crowley’s hand to dance , something crowley would have never done otherwise . but the kiss . that is the first time crowley has been the one to initiate physical contact . the first time . and as far as he knows , the last .

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messiahzzz · 2 months

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friendly reminder that creators within fandom (whether it be gifs, edits, meta, fanfiction or fanart) choose to take time out of their day to provide you with new content for free.

it’s easy to take it for granted since it only requires a few seconds/minutes to scroll through your dash, but it’s important to remember that behind that there are often hours, if not even days, of work and dedication.

#bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #i have noticed this general sense of entitlement. feeling completely justified in reducing private blogs to mere content machines #policing them on the type of content they want to post #OR expecting them to account for a lack of content of certain characters within fandom #no matter what reach a blog may have. behind it there is always a person who is just as passionate about sharing their work as you are #we’re all just here to have fun after all #🙏 there needs to be more appreciation all around 🙏#it speaks

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maxvoidcanz · 5 months

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More tdi coming soon, but for now, have these two.

Because they're silly, and in love.

#sam and max #sam and max fanart #sam and max freelance police #sam and max fandom #sam and max freelance husbands #digital art #ibispaint art #they're so in love

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frownyalfred · 1 year

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“I saw you in the kudos of that fic” what were you doing there babe? huh? just giving that questionable fic a full run-through before you came to shame me?

#let people read what they want #and don’t police kudos it’s creepy #what I leave kudos on is between me the author and god #ao3 #archive of our own #fic #fanfic #fanfiction #fandom

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secretmellowblog · 2 months

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I really do love how Javert is the ultimate physical embodiment of the word “bootlicker.”

His entire personality is composed of “respect for authority and hatred of rebellion;” he grovels before anyone of a higher legal/social status, and thinks they can do no wrong. He puts all of his faith into the institution of policing. He worships his superiors in the police force and the legal system. He would sell out anyone who committed any infraction to the police, and would do it with smug glee.

I honestly cannot think of any fictional character who embodies the word “bootlicker” better.

I’ve mentioned before that one of my favorite small Javert moments is when he’s attempting to get Madeleine to fire him, and….he gives Madeleine a salute even when Madeleine’s back is turned, and he can’t see the salute. To me it shows how much Javert’s bootlicking is genuine. It is earnest. He earnestly believes in his own inferiority and the necessity of constant groveling respect to authorities. They don’t need to police him— he polices himself. He grovels even when their backs are turned.

He doesn’t just lick boots for show; he licks boots because he genuinely believes it is the morally correct thing to do, that an “inferior” is legally bound to grovel before their “superior.” And he enjoys this groveling; he experiences a savage glee at his usefulness to authority; he loves the taste of boot leather.

He’s a bootlicker all the way to the bottom of his soul.

#I’m also glad to see the fandom has mostly keyed into this #inspector javert #Julie rose translates ‘mouchard’ as ‘snitch’#les mis #which is…not a perfect translation #because I think ‘mouchard’ has some connotations similar to ‘bootlicker’ as well #it’s someone who sells you out to the police #to the authorities #but!#I also don’t think that’s a perfect translation either #I know Hapgood goes with ‘police spy’ for mouchard #which is a bit clinical and misses the derogatory connotations #but yeee!!

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