okay so developing research project question: where do you guys see standardization/rule formation of fandom happening? like why a particular name is adopted for a specific ship, or how the rules for things like soulmate aus develop? or like what’s the division of hurt/comfort vs angst? or how far does a fic have to stray where it’s not just canon deviation anymore it’s an au? Where do these things come from or where did you personally learn them? Is there a difference in what you write for prompt response fic vs stuff that you just come up with on your own? Is there ever a point where an AU becomes an original work? More details under the cut:Â
Since fandom is regarded as kind of a lawless space without any really hierarchy or organization or source of authority I’m curious about how a certain level of standardization has developed and evolves over time. Some terms like slash can be traced back to a particular fic but what about that term made it so sticky that we still use it today? Other things though, like hurt/comfort as a genre category is harder to place. The project doesn’t have a specific scope or even a defined research question yet (honestly I still have to meet with my adviser about it) so right now I’m working on getting ideas for where to start my research. I’ve got a pretty good working knowledge of ff.net and ao3, in particular I used to tag wrangle for ao3, but if anyone could explain and give me a tour of how wattpad works that would certainly be helpful, but I’m also just interested about the perception of authority and standardization in fandom, particularly as it relates to fan fiction because I am working on a masters degree in English and right now am in a writing studies class any way shoot me an ask or a message or whatever if you have thoughts I’d love to discuss them with you Â
