It’s been 2 years. Time to remind everyone how Web 2.0 is absolutely responsible for some of the worst ways that fandom has broken down & become toxic in totally new ways https://freedom-of-fanfic.tumblr.com/post/169362000369/how-web-20-and-especially-tumblr-is-ruining
(English-speaking fandom has always been unpleasant for some ppl (racism I’m looking at you in particular) & always had its share of creeps/tire fires, but the breakdown of barriers for profit, removing all content from context, etc has upped the already-present toxicity to 11)
But PS: the rebellion against viral sharing social media in Web 2.0 content style is picking up stream. (And sidenote: now that microtransactions are more of a thing, they are userbase-sustainable in ways that weren’t possible years ago!) https://twitter.com/prettyarbitrary/status/1200438537432240128?s=21 https://twitter.com/prettyarbitrary/status/1200438537432240128
This also has interesting potential https://twitter.com/thoughtfulfand1/status/1155314155399733248?s=21 https://twitter.com/thoughtfulfand1/status/1155314155399733248
To reiterate the 2nd tweet in this thread: fandom has *never* been a ‘good’/‘safe’ space. It’s a funhouse mirror of society: same problems, (racism, queerphobia, sexism, etc) different shape.
I just think that viral sharing social media exacerbated more problems than it fixed.
I just think that viral sharing social media exacerbated more problems than it fixed.
Here’s an amazing thread breaking down some of the pros & cons of the shift to unmoderated community spaces.
I especially agree that the increased freedom to critique fandom - though severely exploited by cyberbullies & abusers - was a GOOD thing overall. https://twitter.com/saathi1013/status/1200640698707533824?s=21 https://twitter.com/saathi1013/status/1200640698707533824
I especially agree that the increased freedom to critique fandom - though severely exploited by cyberbullies & abusers - was a GOOD thing overall. https://twitter.com/saathi1013/status/1200640698707533824?s=21 https://twitter.com/saathi1013/status/1200640698707533824