rubyrubez

NO NO NO

the number one rule of rpf is only where the real people will not see it. the ethicality of rpf relies on it being distanced from the people being written about in the stories.

you are not to talk about rpf in spaces that are not explicitly for fandom interactions. twitter, threads, bluesky, instagram, tiktok, youtube are all social media platforms used by celebrities to handle their public image and interact with fans. a space where a celebrity interacts with fans is not a fandom space. a fandom space is where fans interact with other fans isolated from the celebrities and media they are talking about. tumblr is a fandom space. archive of our own is a space designated for written works of fandom. we, as fans, can create and interact with rpf in these spaces because celebrities are not expected to exist in these spaces so there is a expectation of distance from the real people who are being written about in rpf.

I know that I am partially talking to people who understand this. however, fandom constantly draws in new participants who do not inherently understand how these spaces work and not explaining it leads to new participants not learning fandom etiquette. people can’t operate with an etiquette they were never taught. (if you want to learn more about rpf etiquette in a calmer, kinder manner, please reach out to me and I will gladly hold a friendly conversation without the tension of a targeted post)

rpf is silly and fun but it requires a higher level of responsibility than other forms of fandom because we cannot let it exist in the same space as the real people in the stories. it is not silly and fun to force real people to be aware of or interact with instances of them or people they know personally being written about (commonly in a sexual manner) without their consent.