#same as it ever was...

Actually spinning this off into it's own post since it is an interesting topic as a General Fandom Old.

I think it's not a really recent development but many, many years in the making with a combo of social media taking over + losing many traditional forums + algo pushing and rewarding ragebaiting and the like.

To say trolls and people being aggressive didn't exist in the past is silly and shortsited, but you didn't have websites pushing that guy that says he hates ugly women directly into your feed with a dozen comments already yelling at him and a dozen more agreeing with him. If it was on a forum, you had mods that could ban that guy, or kick him out of a chat, or whatever. And not to say arguments didn't get heated with moronic opinions that devolved rapidly, but again, you had mods to step in to stop it.

But for the ever popular socmed, that's your job, as your own user of socmed, to curate your experience. You can't be having a nice discussion, see a random user post racial slurs, and just wait for them to be banhammered (is this even used anymore...), then continue on in the same space.

(Not to mention I always felt forums were for discussion, while socmed was for...well, social media, not longform, in-depth posts to spread between, but that's me, mentioned Fandom Old personal opinion. Tumblr is the unique case too.)

And now people are just so...reactionary. Like my post this was a reply to was not a joke, I fully saw fans say with their own chest if you are any sort of non-positive abt VG you are a bigot, you hate queer people, you're just as bad as MAGA, you're ruining the fandom, you're chasing all your favorite fanartists and fanwriters and all of them out by posting this, don't let your vents be rebloggable, so on.

Like...I wouldn't mind sitting down to discuss why someone liked VG for all the reasons I didn't or just exist in the same spaces but I don't want anything to do with someone that holds those opinions about me.

As mentioned too...curating your own experience came about from the ongoing (endless really) debate of "engaging in content that upsets you" that spans years, decades even, and pretty much every piece of media and fandom to exist. Lists upon lists of DNI and getting angry people in your QRTs because you drew a ship they didn't like, and by god you deserve to know that, calling people slurs and names and whatever buzzwords you can imagine because how DARE you actually LIKE Blorbo Blinkus don't you know HE'S A BAD GUY? YOU FREAK.

And.........once more Fandom Old I've been in those trenches for many fandoms. It's tiring to constantly fight or be angry. I didn't gain anything in the end by doing that, and it's just as tiring to see it happen again and again even if I'm not involved.

And you may find yourself waking up in bed

And you may find yourself waking up in bed

And you may find yourself in your own house

With your terrible husband

                                              9. from an 80s song // lyric starters!

      "And you may ask yourself, am I right? Am I wrong? And you may say to yourself, my god, what have I done?"