just speaking from my own quite limited perspective, I’m someone who wasn’t “driven out” of fanspaces per se—but put off before that could happen—nearly a decade ago, by seeing other people with similar experiences and/or ideas and impetuses for creation actually getting hurt and deciding I had no wish to be on the chopping block next, as well as just a couple particularly strong personal slaps on the wrist (+ being rather strongly asked to share personal details I was not going to) for even expressing thoughts about, e.g., abuse. and I actually do still find the experience to be one of the major things affecting my engagement with my interests in a pretty broad sense as a full grown adult almost 10 years later. I think I would have found great relief, particularly at the time, in both darkfic and community, and I didn’t because the space was hostile. it’s much less so now, in the space I’ve carved, but I’m still fucking terrified to even talk about ssc bdsm half the time 😭