My mom was very heavily involved in fandom from the late 70s on. She was on the board for multiple cons until 5-6 years ago, and actively involved in both her fandoms of choice and her husband and kids’ fandoms. She did advertising, design, panels, coordinated with actors, writers, and directors for appearances, selected venues, and much, much more.
I realize the irony of me posting this on my mostly anonymous Tumblr blog, but I think it’s important to note that about 60% of the time when I see posts on here that describe “the way fandom was Before the Internet” they do not at all line up with my mom’s description of the time. And when given the option of believing my mom, an individual that I know and know is trustworthy and whose resume regarding this stuff I have seen, versus some Anonymous Internet User who could, for all I know, be some 13-year-old who definitely wasn’t there and is trying to drum up nostalgia for a time that never was... well one of these sources is more credible.
(There are also more documented internet sources about like, ‘80s cons and stuff that are a better and more full image of fandom history than Random Tumblr Posts, and if you’re actually interested in fandom history I’d recommend clicking around FanLore for a general overview.)
I’m not saying people should believe my mom’s account of things over other people’s. Obviously now that I’ve put this on my blog it’s subject to the same credibility issues that I have with other people’s posts. But I think it’s an important reminder about information and the way it can be manipulated (intentionally or not) by various sources. Don’t believe everything you read, and think critically both about the source of the information and how trustworthy it is, and the information itself and whether or not it makes any sense.
