#frandom rules

I'm talking the fictional pedophilia Lolita novels. The bestiality depictions. The diaper fetishist. The furries. The homosexuals or CisHet Romances. Ships where one person is 20 years older than the other. Ships where there's a severe dynamic like master/slave or alpha/omega.

This rule speaks to how someone's healthy response to seeing creative works that they don't like: NEEDS TO BE Tolerance and turn around. In order to keep fandoms tolerable to interact with.

In paper or physical formats when coming across content that you don't like/hate, SaLS says to: close the book, Stop the movie, walk out of the theater, and -depending on where you got it- either return it to the library or whoever it was borrowed from. Returned to a business for a refund or trade out. Or donated it and get it out of your residence.

In digital format like social media spaces or archives: SaLS in practice is pressing the back arrow on your browser, or swiping back on your phone to the previous page. If need be for your personal sake: block for the story or artist itself. For fan artists/fanwriters that looks like blocking the inappropriate commenter, and if need be reporting them for harassment or other TOS violations.

SaLS DOES NOT MEAN: leaving a detailed comment about how the author/Artist is a horrible person promoting horrible things. Doxxing the artist/writers IRL address of their home/work and trying to get them fired from their job, or finding other ways to fuck their life over. Petitioning the city, province, state, or government to ban it from whatever medium or platform it exists on. Or demanding someone ELSE take THEIR work down for YOUR COMFORT.

SaLS is not a judge's call, its not a search for the take down to make you feel better or morally righteous, its not a call for action against a hobbiest.

SaLS in practice ultimately means: focusing on what YOU PERSONALLY enjoy, while ALSO allowing the thing YOU DON'T LIKE to EXIST as it''s own thing. Without your input, commentary, or attention if you don't like it.

SaLS says its okay to focus on only what MAKES YOU HAPPY to read, draw, write, or who you engage with in fandom's. SaLS says focusing on what YOU HATE is not helpful, happy, or healthy for your fandom experience.

I guarantee you every argument about "how X normalized Y behavior" or "X Triggered me and needs to be Banned!" has been happening since Oedipus Rex was first performed in Greece. Or all the tales of godly fathers raping girls or boys were told. Or all the murdering in the Bible and eugenics efforts by the old testament God against humanity. Or the very simple oral story tales of thieves getting away in their crimes pre-agricultural boom.

Those arguments have never stopped the bad things from happening. Those bans have NEVER EVER helped stop something from being a thing that happens. For well over 10k years of Humans telling stories to one another: we have collective tales of bad things happening. And actual bad people doing bad things.

And every time the law and majority public opinion: the understanding of fault has been -and always is- on the bad actor who has DONE the bad thing, using fiction as an excuse for their harmful behavior.

Not the creative for creating problematic stories/images.

Because we are not judged on our internal thoughts on this mortal plane of existence. Regardless of your religious faith: We are judged only on our ACTIONS by the communities we are a part of. And if someone thinks of murder, It's so much better for that person to murder someone in a story, than in Real Life.

B) Don't Like: Don't Read. (DLDR)

In the same vein as SaLS. Don't like; Don't Read is the rule that says: if you know something upsets you. Don't go seeking for it. Let it exist beyond your field of view.

Now this IRL is not always possible, as there will be training manuals or legal documents or school books, that we may not want to burn time reading; but must for some reason or another. Politics especially are an egregiously tedious and necessary evil we have to remain aware of. as all these things will inevitably fuck us over if we don't pay attention to it.

But fandom spaces are free from that constraint! You don't have to have read a story that you do not like! Why burn your free time forcing yourself to read a fictional story or look at fanart of a ship or subject that brings you no joy?!

Don't like the subject of Murder? Don't need to read about murder? Then do not read it! Press the back button, put that book back on the shelf, blacklist the common tag about it. That's all the time you need to spend on something you do not like at all!

Don't Like Don't Read is a call to examine how you want to spend your fandom time. And a light warning for people who may not want to engage with something. Giving an easy out to avoid the conversation all together.

It is your responsibility to block what you do not like. Not to police what others decide to create as a hobby.

C) Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations (IDIC)/Your Kink is Not My Kink and That is OK (YKNMKTOK)

IDIC was Coined by Star trek own Gene Roddenberry himself. This canonical Vulcan philosophy was adapted by Trekkie fans (like my parents) in what was the first online forums for handling the sudden expansive awareness of just how popular something is among different cultures. YKNMKTOK (Or Kink Tomato) is the smut/erotica adjacent phrase that followed the same philosophy.

Both of these phrases within the fandom sphere basically mean: "I may personally believe one thing, be a part of a specific group, or enjoy my own thing. You may believe, enjoy something completely different, or be from a completely different world than I. Both are valuable to the individuals, and must be mutually tolerated, both are invaluable when in creation."

In fandom, this was another way of helping people to personally identify if something was a potential conflict or if it was just a matter conflicting perspectives in discussions. Allowing both fans to fall back on SaLS/DL:DR guidance on behavior. It is a way to acknowledge what differences might exist in the fannish space (headcanons, theories, OTP's, cultural influences on perceptions of the same story, etc) while simultaneously recognizing those differences were not always personally harmful to the other. Just something that was real, and worth chatting about respectfully.

For kinksters specifically: it allowed people to navigate the vast and various fetishes that exist in the universe, to curate a personalized enjoyment selection. Without calling out/banning people with sexual deviance that -while weird to one person- were just an situational prop that could be "put away" when done playing with it.

Since both inception of these two phrases, and more noticeably in kink: I've noticed there has arose a need to emphasize "fictional" as being okay. But "real" as not allowed.

While in the criminal instances where great harm can occur like pedophilia, which is an instance where that separation of fictional and reality is very worth keeping. In the case of more dangerous kinks like knife/gun play/choking: full awareness of the dangers present, and precautions and discussions between the individuals involved, must occur for safety reasons. But should NOT be a reason to separate based on fiction/reality. As the BDSM community has created a full on guide on how to navigate and manage extreme kinks during scenes. Some even offer courses on how to kink safely!

It is ALSO important to remember that what is not allowed by law can change at anytime. As is the case with what we are currently witnessing for Transgender people or visual representation of both or either in art or fandom, with not ACTIONABLE proof of ACTUAL criminal activities. There are queer folks today on the sex offenders registry, because state and those laws defining "sodomy" are too loose, that kissing the same perceived sex individual in public was enough to get someone arrested for "Sodomy". Or ACAB breaking in and catching gay couples mid coitus in the night to arrest them, getting warrants after the fact to cover their asses. Trekkies like my parents risked 1970's asylums and lobotomies for shipping Spirk.

We must remain vigilant as a fandom whole, to those who would weaponize the law against deviant enjoyments. Activities that ultimately causes no harm to the individuals willingly engaging in it or who use such diverse subjects as a personal expression of a different and often temporary reality.

That's no to say harm wont occur at all. After all in order to find out if you don't like something, you do have to experience it in some mild capacity. You can not like a vegetable from looking at it. you can not like a perfume by smelling it. You can not like a kink just from seeing a posted image or video about it online.

I was exposed to scat play via 2 girls 1 cup. It only took one watch of that trailer to put me off that kink eternally. I could say that video mentally scarred me for life yes, but that does not mean that I can stop that director from making that porno, or stop the girls from taking the bacterial and infection risk while playing in shit. The only time I would be allowed to say anything against that video is if I was being forced to act with the subject I am not comfortable with. As I am just the viewer of the content posted, with no direct risk of health and safety that those actresses took, the only thing I can do is blacklist scatplay and move on with my life.

Tolerating differences in interests, shipping, plot lines, ideas, kinks, and creative choices is mandatory when you're in the socially creative space that fandom has become. Even though many people enjoy the same original content, perceptions and takeaways from the Original Canon will vary from person to person.

And ultimately not worth starting fan wars over in a hobby space.

D) What is Said in Fandom Stays in Fandom

I debated on where to put this considering this was not a core tenant rule when I was just starting to get online. But has grown to become a necessary rule to state, rather than an unspoken expectation that it was in my youth.

This rule mimic's the rules about interacting with Celebrities in public spaces. And honestly this became a litmus test on how Fans could behave with public figures. Most pass, the loudest few have unfortunately smeared the name of fandom with their actions (again the only thing anyone is judged on with the Law).

Because it was understood that between copyright laws, concerns of copycatting, intellectual property laws, and creative property laws, as well as the safety and sanity of the creator's well being. That the risk of fans breaking the law, or the creators themselves breaking laws and contracts, or saying something so offensive to either party, was WAY TO RISKY to even talk about fandom stuff at conventions to the cast and crew.

I know it feels like things have become relaxed with the advent of social media and out collective access to celebrities and creators online. and the relative content that has become part of ARG's and adjacent to canon media sources. But those laws have not relaxed AT ALL! At any point in the discussions of ships at the next anime/comic convention, you and the celebrities/actors/creatives for the OG content risk legal retribution from both company and courts if anything you the fan create, think up, or share with the creator, gets put into canon or without expressed permission and financial compensation from the company overseeing the contracts involved.

I know marvel had a running joke about NDA's and Tom being the worst secret keeper, but that shit was to protect Disney legally from anything fan's could have theorized or try to claim legal rights over. Especially if the creation of a plot line in a fanfic just so happened to be written and published at the same time as a script being negotiated! The secrets are not there just to keep fan's on the edge of their seats! It's a legal wall to protect the company from being sued over copyright laws. Mass Effect 3 bombed and changed their story after a Fan successfully predicted and published their original series ending theory. Because Bioware could NOT RISK THAT FAN SUING THEM FOR INTELLECTUAL RIGHTS!

No matter how far the social attitude about theorizing the next plot point, or the next canon ship has become. It's still a legal concern the staff and company need to be cautious about. and we the fans need to protect that line so that our favorite games and shows don't suddenly go tit's up or ended prematurely over creator/fan discussions!

Another reason this solid line about fandom staying away from the OG content creators and actors is because not every ACTOR or WRITER or ARTIST is comfortable with the kinds of questions fans ask them! Not every creator is comfortable with the ships you have for them. Some get really annoyed with questions about what a characters dick looks like. Or who should be fucking who!

There are just some question you do NOT ask Strangers, and the OG creators are Strangers who just so happen to create something you enjoy. And fans have forgotten that fact in recent history. The creators of your favorite shows and books are strangers; Thus all the social rules about how polite you need to behave and what level of intimate questions you could ask. Need to apply to what you would ask a stranger. If you don't know what's appropriate to ask a stranger: I suggest talking to your parents or trusted adult about the questions you want to send to your favorite creators, before posting and @ -ing them. Just in case it's out of line.

2. T H E U N S P O K E N R U L E S

Now that the foundational fandom laws are explained. Let's go into the more fandom specific/ambiguous/case-by-case rules I've learned. Because there a lot of things that are not so obvious or written out. Or if they are its different for each fan.

A) Commentary and feedback

As an unspoken rule of fandom for a long ass time that I wish someone told me: if you enjoyed something enough to give it a like or thumbs up, or reblog: you should share your positive reactions on someone's fan work. That comment had to either be positive, or ONLY WHEN REQUESTED: Constructive Criticism*.

The reason negative comments and spam hate are not generally accepted is because in a lot of cases: fan works are Freely shared. Freely shared is NOT and invitation to Freely Criticize. Despite personal opinions on this; you don't just walk up to a strangers house, insult the decor, and expect to get dinner from them after that insulting commentary!

Commentary should be framed like High School plays that are technically open to the public but mostly filled of parents and families of the actors. When someone posts something within a fandom it's treated not like a professional performance worthy of acclaimed fame or fortune, but something shared with a friend or family member that you the consumer need to be mindful about when you go to comment.

Criticisms or critiques should be limited only to the individuals to specifically request feedback. And if they do, you need to make your feedback constructive, rather than destructive.

Commentary however is greatly encouraged! There are some fandoms where commentary is limited to positivity and reblogs with a wall of text. Other fandoms have a more involved "we trade art in our strongest methods of creativity" sort of commentary. Sometimes the fandom is just you and ten friends all circled around one campfire idea, while another group is around a different idea in the same OC campgrounds.

Fandom does not exist without complementary commentary!!!

Art trades and writing trades still happen, gifts are abundant among Fandom's because that's about all the "compensation" fanworks get. Fandom for a long time was the "You make this for me I'll reblog and give you exposure." Because the lacking financial compensation for artwork and fanfics was and STILL IS the only thing protecting fanartists and fanfic writers. Reblogging wasn't just a post on my wall to join the collection, it was literally the only way some creatives got their "revenue" of activity and interactions! Which is why you see older bloggers begging for reblogs more than likes!

That's Exposure, that's inviting interaction, that's crediting someone for their creativity when they cannot financially compensate their time burned making it!

Remember: Sharing something you create online is an expression of a Human Being reaching out for connection. To like and reblog without further discussion is like waving as you walk past each other on the sidewalk. Nice, polite for sure. But for fandom spaces, commentary is like sitting at a cafe and having a break from the world to chat with someone about the mundane. Fandom Friends have been forged not by regular passing waves, but by sitting down and talking for hours on end about the fanwork/fanart made for a mutually favorite story.

Fandoms are the playgrounds. Fanart/fanfic are the cool toy's children use to point out and break the ice on a first meeting.

*Constructive Criticism is NOT just point out the flaws in someone's work. It is specifically marked by actionable commentary on how something at fault can be improved.

For example: In my fic A Reapers Reform I had written a very detailed scene of metal forging and painting. One of the constructive criticism's I received was a metalworker who explained what Patina was, and how it could be done. I was able to then improve my descriptive skills with a new artistic process I was not wholly knowledgeable on, and the commentator got to see their favorite fanfic become even better. Win/Win

B) If you write something inspired by another story, you must credit the inspiration/source.

This part is the easiest thing to do as a fandom. And incredibly hard for AI developers to commit to. As a lot of fan creations already have fandom tags linking to the original work. It's also easy to link back to an original fanwork, or the idea that sparked a whole as AU, But that wasn't always easy to do back in the day. So this rule exists as a tenant reminding people to pay respects to their fellow fan creatives or the original creation itself.

This was a little harder with original ideas, and such citations were very dedicated in old texts. Paper zines, letters, and early fan created stories were tightly knit groups. Often releasing such physical evidence at the risk of legal persecution. With the digital age we are in now: @ ing bloggers or going to their notes/DM's to request permission, has made such daunting scroll based tasks easier.

We benefit currently from copyright laws that allow fandoms in very small allowance spaces. The disclaimers you sometimes see about something being a parody or imagining or non-profit creation of someone's original work: was a legal precaution and adherence to this rule that was not directly spoken of. But a necessity in the age of cease and desist orders during Anne Rice and JK Rowling's hunts against any things homosexual and Trans positive. While not always necessary given the prevailing knowledge of fanworks in the common sphere, there will still be legal precautions among the lesser known sites online if someone wants to be proactive in protecting themselves from legal action.

C) Warnings, Tags, Labels.

Honestly this is pretty short, but back in the early days of fandoms it was a courtesy not always taken to put content labels and warnings like we get on AO3 today. Now-a-day's it's an expected thing but still considered an OPTIONAL courtesy, rather than a necessity or formality.

After all, it's impossible to tag for every warning and trigger that 8 BILLION PEOPLE could have. That's just an impossible task for one person to actually achieve. There's also the issue of an Author not wanting to spoil their own fanart/fanfic, and they may not tag something to protect that twist!

It is however easier to get the jist of the larger umbrella content and let people use SaLS to their personal discretion.

By using tags in combination with SaLS's + IDCD + KINK TOMATO: readers have the power to control what content they see online to a far greater degree than you get at the library or standard legal minimum required content warnings like what you see at the start of movie commercials.

Because readers and viewers have more control over what they can or choose not to consume, there is a greater responsibility to not be an asshole. Because you in the year of 2026, HAVE WAY MORE TOOLS TO CURATE YOUR FANDOM EXPERIENCE INTO SOMETHING ENJOYABLE, more than my Trekkie Parents had back in the 1960's and the book readers well before the advent of the computer age.

D) Spoilers/Leaks/Corporate Greed and Problem Staff.

This is HEAVILY dependent on case-by case, as no two situations will be the same.

But for the Fandom I grew up in, the rules around these were generally dependent on some critical thought questions:

Is the business likely to loose enough profits to go bankrupt if a leak/spoiler of content is released and shared early?

Is the Business already mired in scandals that would make further profits beneficial to a toxic situation?

Is the actions of the corporate/Staff promoting or engaged with criminal activities?

Would I the Fan be liable for any criminal action, if I engaged with Leaks/Spoilers/other activities relating to the property of this content?

If I were to use a specific Example: During the early days of Anime Streaming back in the early 2000's, There was no massive English Dub scene for anime. No professional voice acting, no studio translations, no marketing, nothing like we see today. The goal of pirates online who were posting "leaked episodes" of anime's whole ass on youtube, from Japan was to show the American operations that there WAS an interest and market worth investing in! Once that investment started all pirating of anime stopped.

Now the pirates are back again for anime, but this time to protest the streaming isolation and greed occurring at the coporate level and specifically Crunchyroll for dominating the market and limiting what is available for free online, and what gets produced as physical media. Which is in hand with the entertainment industry as a whole enduring this push back against streaming and ownership rights against businesses who would rather destroy art than preserve it.

Such is the case of the 1990's Sailor Moon series I grew up with: which Was not brought over for Dubbing until there was petitions and demands from fans for it to get the English Dub, it has no more physical media being printed (the original set for production were ruined), No streaming services hosting it (what with the new SM being produced), and no other option to view it other than pirating.

There's a lot of people in the business sphere of entertainment who say pirating is a really bad thing for their business. But for cases where the OG content is no longer being produced or sold to consumers, pirating becomes the only means of viewing content that fans enjoy.

Generally when it comes to independent creators and small studios: the consensus was "Support However and Whenever Possible". Because the juggernauts like Disney are now suffering a stiffing of creativity, lacking from diversity and competition. Businesses never understand that social aspect of artwork. Only the bottom dollar for their product line. So Studios willing to take risks on what is perceived by larger studios a loss, is worth spending every cent on the legal way.

Disney, who spends half a movie on fixes that could have been saved on more planning efforts, has multiple means of revenue from merchandise, theme parks, investors, stockholders, and gets military contracts for propaganda promotional materials: has FAR MORE money than a single subscription fee loss of pirating could do.

For Cast and Crew there was that expectation of respect and decency for any public figurehead. But every case is unique, and needs to be judged on that case and that evidence in the moment of harm they've caused.

I personally wait for court cases to become public in order to judge on a personal basis, but honestly just applying the Golden Rule here is easy enough. You can repeated the critical thinking questions, changing them from "corporation" to "person", add in the social norms and expectations of what defines "good behavior", and decide from there where you want to go.

NONE OF THIS is blanket guidelines for how to interact with a business or celebrity or studio. There are so many computations possible it's impossible for me to write every single one of them out here. But when it comes to Spoilers or Scandals: Using you Best Judgement and Holding control over your Personal Choices, are preferable to Harassment campaigns. Unless the harm is so severe it deserves Boycotting.

Which AGAIN has to be decided on a case-by-case basis.

3. F A N D O M ' S B E H A V I O R: T H E P H I L O S O P H I C A L B A S I S

If you have not heard of Karl Popper's philosophical Concept of the Paradox of Tolerance. I seriously recommend you give it a full undivided attention read through. In it he concludes that the only type of intolerance a society should be against, is those who are intolerable. This ideology came around After Nazi Germany's rise and fall as a global power, and the unique economic and social dynamic that arose from fascism. So within the context of WW2, the paradox tolerance says Nazi's (Who's entire philosophy is emphasizing the individual uniform rather than the diverse community) are intolerable to others, and therefor should NOT be tolerated by the world at large. (I know tongue twister)

Another thing that should be noted in relation to fandom etiquette is the idea of the Social Contract. In which in loose definition: there is a level of surrender the individual does towards an authority, in exchange for protections, rights, or maintenance of a social order.

Fandom, and the Rules above are based within the SOCIAL Interpretation of the Tolerance Paradox, and the Social Contract.

Now the social interpretation of the Tolerance Paradox basically sums up as: Tolerate everything everyone does, EXCEPT those who are intolerant towards others or you for the things you do that are harmless.

Example: You write a smut fanfic with werewolves in it and invite constructive criticism on AO3.

Person A comments "nice fic".

Person B mentioned the inconsistency of having a described human dick with no knot in a tagged werewolf fic.

Person C says you're promoting bestiality and doxxes your facebook account on the comment section of your fic.

By the rule of Social Tolerance Paradox and all the Fandom etiquette Rules listed before: Person C is the Intolerance that should not be Tolerated. Therefor you should report for Doxxing which is a criminal offense, and block Person C from further interactions with you.

The social Contract for Fandoms are a little more complex but can be summed as thus:

Fandom does not exist for profit. It is a hobby, and afforded the respect of a hobby.

Because fandom is a hobby for most fans. People are expected to behave with respect towards their fellow hobbyist.

Because fan creations do not exist For Profit. Fandom content is freely shared. By freely Sharing a Hobby creation, the expectation for anyone coming across what is posted should be either Polite conversation, or Silent ignoring. Harassment of any kind is a violation of the social contract.

Fandom content While a hobby: is protected intellectual property, and subject to rights and privileges as original ideas by copyright, even though they are shared freely. Any Theft of intellectual property by a corperation or fellow fan is a violation of the Social Contract.

Fans that becomes Users of a social media page or website are to treat others with respect in accordance to the Terms Of Service (TOS) guidelines on their choice website of interaction.

Because Fans are Users and therefor must adhere to the TOS of their preferred social media/website: they forfeit some privacy such as IP address and other computer data necessary for posting. For the right to publish their creative works and receive protection from harassment, thief of their intellectual property, and the means to which they can present their creations to the public, friends, or other allowed individuals.

As a User, a fanartist/writer using a website with a TOS: they will be given tools to shape their online experience to their desire. And the means to report violations of the websites TOS.

Because fans must adhere to the TOS of their preferred social media/website, They must ABIDE by the TOS to continue publishing rights by the website.

Because people must adhere to the TOS of their preferred social media/website. People must OBEY the TOS regarding respect for the law. For the privilege of viewing and interacting with published content.

Disobedience of the Website's TOS, or the acceptable Fandom interactions expected of respectable individuals: may result in account termination and the loss of fandom privileges including the right to publishing fancreations, social interactions with other fans, and may be liable for criminal action in accordance to the law depending on the severity of the action. As a result of breaking the Social Contract.

In short: when you become a fan and decide to join a discord or tag group for a fandom here on Tumblr. You are in unspoken agreements to not act like a dick or break the law: in exchange for a place to explore fannish works of art/writings and interact with other fans.

Combining the social contract into the example given in the Social Tolerance Paradox:

Not only is Person C the intolerance not to be tolerated, but they are in violation of to social contract and the law.

AO3's Harassment policy does not allow for doxxing users and depending on the states/countries involved, Person C is now liable for criminal action in the court of US law the site is based in.

You have the right as well to warn other people you know on that site to watch out for Person C who have shown intolerable behavior.

Note: no where in the Social Contract points is there an expectation that people cater to an individual other than the user catering to themself (point 6). As part of the social contract: it is expected on the individual to take control of their behavior online, and to avoid being rude or start fanwars or drama that could break the TOS or Law. The world does not cater to you, you cater to yourself.

The Etiquette list above are centered around personal responsibility for your actions and your choices in the fandom. People may choose to interact with you if they wish. But You cannot force them to interactions they do not desire. And some actions are not tolerable or break the social contract. and invite unwanted consequences.

Are the rules always followed? No. Tumblr itself can't even behave when it comes to Transgender and/or POC blogs. There will always be an asshole that tries to start shit by throwing a rock as someone's head. And there are people who do deserve to be reported for their bigotry, racism, sexism, etc.

But these guidelines exist not to have everyone turn around and throw rocks back. But to silence what is otherwise inappropriate connection seeking behavior. Allowing users the chance to change their actions into something acceptable and respectful. Or at the very least more tolerant and avoidant to drama.

Does that mean all breaks of social contract is bad? No as well. Remember, these unspoken rules exist not to limit or police behavior, but to help individuals identify problematic users to their personal fan experience.

So if we go back to the Example of you writing werewolf smut:

Person A notices Person C's comment and digs around their account and links, to then find out they're Racist too.

Person A has the privilege to warn their Black community/their followers about Person C being a jerk in the fic and a racist on their personal accounts, and encourage their followers to preemptively block Person C.

Because they are a User and the TOS gives them the right to block other user's, the website has to respect that kind of callout post.

If Person A instead commands their followers to doxx or harass Person C, then they too are in violation of the Social Contract.

Not for speaking out against racism, but because they encouraged illegal behavior against TOS. And will face the same judgements as Person C by the website moderators.

4. I N S U M M A R Y

Ultimately to really enjoy fandom as a whole:

It's up to you to decide what tags or blogs you follow,

It's up to you to find the things that make you happy,

It's up to you to find the people who enjoy similar things you do,

It is up to you to decide what you write and draw,

It is up to you to interact with the things you've enjoyed, in the way's that make you happiest.

It's up to you to decide how you conduct yourself in a public space,

It is up to you to ACT in such a way that is respectful to other's around you. With the understanding that harm reduction efforts should be taken when possible.

Business choices will not always follow moral reason or personal choices, it is Your Choice to support the business or not. Reason's do not need to matter to you.

It is up to you, the websites/apps/Moderators, and people exploring fan spaces to respect protected works stories or artwork. From the laws that would suppress and stifle creativity.

No matter the subject, no matter who posts it, Fanart/Fanfic is protected by rights. You do not have the right to suppress or stifle creativity.

No matter the Disgust or the Harms other's have used such content for. The Fault is on the Person who commits harm, not the fan creator.

No One cannot violate the TOS/Social Contract without expecting some level of consequences for doing so.

There are instances where refusing interaction, callouts, and boycotts are necessary. THESE MUST BE HANDLED WITH CARE AND HEAVY CONSIDERATION TO THE HARMS THAT COULD OCCUR.

If you got to this paragraph Thank You for taking the time to read all this. I hope it helped you understand fandom a little more. I hope you learn more about yourself and what you have control over. I hope wherever you go or whatever conversations you have are full of respect and considerations to the diversity of life and perspectives.