The Elf ½ (elfwreck) wrote in metametameta, @ 2008-10-22 23:04:00 |
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Entry tags: | meta |
Acafen vs Squeefen, round 235
The last few rounds of metafandom have focused on the aca-fen vs anti-aca perspectives on enjoying fic. And it's moving along in predictable patterns. (Not because they're inane or boring patterns--I find them fascinating every time--but because they've been done before, and there's only so many directions this can go.)
Phase 1: "I not acafan; I no like acafandom. Acafandom=mean."
Response: "Wy u no like acafandom? U dumm. Acafandom=fun."
Phase 2: "Stoopid ppl no like acafandom. They dumm."
Response: "Thx for dis post; ur rite, they dumm."
(Hopefully, by writing that in Kitteh, it's obvious that I'm exaggerating to make a point, and nobody actually called anyone else "stoopid" or "dumm.")
The anti-aca posts get a flurry of "yeah, I don't like acafandom either" replies--and a swarm of "what? why do you have a problem with acafandom? Lots of people love it! I LOVE IT! If you don't want to analyze fic & trends in fandom, don't play the acafandom game. Don't like? Don't read."
Okay, so far, so good.
Then aca-fen are inspired to write their own posts about Why They Love Acafandom. These pro-aca posts get a flurry of replies that say "YOU GO GIRL!!!" and some that say "I'm not really an acafan but I love the aca-activity." None (or not many) that say "no, I think acafandom is annoying and exclusionary and mean-spirited, at least what I've encountered of it." There are posts that say that--but not replies to the pro-aca posts. Because they know they're not welcome, and they'll get swarmed on.
Politely swarmed on, maybe. Gently offered counterpoints, from a dozen directions. With a polite but firm undertone of "if you don't like it, you can leave." Academic, literary analysis is praised; semi-academic friendly discussions are praised; non-aca discussions are dismissed as "just mindless squee" or worse.
And this is... a common reaction, to any attempt to discuss fandom from an other-than-academic perspective.