as a Fandom Old, here are my thoughts on fandom (that nobody asked for ). this is entirely my opinion only, ymmv ofc

we are all responsible for our own fandom experience. yes, fandom is going to definitely happen whether we're into a particular show/book/movie or not. fandom is still always going to HAPPEN, what we get out of it in the end is ultimately up to us as an individual

this is tldr way of saying curate your timeline!! I've said this before and I'll keep saying it!! if someone makes you uncomfortable/angry then block them! don't spend time seeing content that makes you miserable!

yes, in an ideal world we should be able to talk/communicate with others about things reasonably, but it's clear that twitter is not an ideal world
for real tho, as a platform, twitter discussions do not seem to allow for any nuance, at all (RIP livejournal )

tbh the only reason I came on twitter at all was because that's where fandom had moved and I wanted the content so I had to move too. lbr tumblr is even worse for having conversations than twitter is

if you have curated the hell out of your tl but you're still not having a good time, examine who you're surrounding yourself with. maybe you share the same views/stan the same person/pairing but they're negative af? if all they do is rant about something/someone, time to say bye

imo fandom should overwhelmingly be a positive experience. it's NEVER going to be perfect because it's based on people, and we sure as hell aren't perfect and there are always going to be - and should be - discussions that need to be had about racism/sexism/homo/transphobia etc

fandom should not be a place for moral superiority. in this fandom in particular, for example *waves at cql peeps* being a shipper doesn't make you better than a solo fan, being a solo fan doesn't make you better than a shipper. we're all just fans

and even tho I very much stand by my earlier words that people should curate their tl, I also find it sad in this fandom just how many people insta-ban others because they're a shipper/solo. BEING ONE DOESN'T MEAN YOU NEED TO HATE THE OTHER

of COURSE there are going to be some asshole shippers, of COURSE there are going to be some asshole solos - people are people and some of them are always going to be idiots.
but my rule has always been to give everyone a chance, to see how they interact with and treat others

THAT is what truly matters to me.
there are some people I'm not friends with anymore because either their views changed, my views changed, or we realised we didn't have as much in common as we thought. and that was sad and it upset me +

but ultimately it was the right call. I feel a lot more comfortable when I browse my tl now, like I'm not waiting for the other shoe to drop and I can just enjoy myself. during this Worst Timeline (now with Added Pandemic!!!) I can't understate just how important that is

anyway, here's my rule about interacting with anybody at all in fandom:
you never know what they're going through outside of fandom

for many, fandom is an escape and it's certainly that for me. it has literally got me through all the worst times in my life. whether that's healthy or not is one thing but it's undeniably the truth.
I've met all my best friends and travelled the globe because of it

my RL is pretty shitty so I HAD to make fandom a happy space so I have someplace good to go. if yours isn't a good place then you need to do something about it. that DOESN'T mean attacking others because they may think differently to you

people are allowed to have different opinions! someone disagreeing with you doesn't automatically mean they're attacking you!!
fandom, please slow your roll

like I said, if you're not enjoying yourself you need to do something about it. whether that means trimming your tl, reassessing yourself, starting over, taking a step back...that is down to you to work out, and I hope that happens for you and gives you what you need

and while we're here: I'm a shipper. I'm also a yibo stan. I also like xz a LOT.
if you insta-block me for any of that you're not someone I want to interact with anyway - life is too damn short