Just really, really curious

[author_by_night]

Poll results are screened. Comments are not, but anonymous posting is enabled without IP logging.[Poll #1091597]

Comments

[daintress.livejournal.com]

A lot of folks get so involved in fandom that they start classifying fans. I'm not one of those folks. Yeah, I've read the Twilight series four times each, and I'd read HP4 six times - and the others almost as much - before I really started posting anything. This is because my contribution to fandom tends to be in-depth stories. But you can read a book once - or even just watch the movie *gasp* and get enough of an idea about the characters to write a decent one-shot, or draw art. So, you know, I'd say it depends on what people are trying to contribute.

Obviously, it's annoying to read fiction written by someone with no true understanding of the plot/characters/themes - but such a person might be HEAVY into the fandom, and just be an idiot, which is every bit as annoying to me because the end result is that I waste time reading half a chapter of sucky fic.

So, I guess what I'm saying is that 1) it depends what the pseudofan is trying to contribute, and 2) other things can be just as annoying in the world of fandom, so I don't bother getting too upset about pseudofans.

[stubefied-by-gd.livejournal.com]

psst. I think you mean "let on," not "led on."

I didn't know this was really an issue with people, pretending to be fans. Better things to do?

[stubefied-by-gd.livejournal.com]

I mean, why waste time on a fandom you don't actually want to be in? Very strange.

[parsimonia.livejournal.com]

I think the only situation in which I've been a "pseudo-fan" is when it comes to music. In conversation someone might mention a band/artist and I might know a song, or have heard *of* them, but aren't really familiar with their music. My reasons for exaggerating my familiarity with the music is more often than not just to avoid the conversation being stalled, or because I'm unsure about the level of my knowledge of it.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Interesting.

[victorialupin.livejournal.com]

The only way I've really participated in a fandom I'm not familiar with is by supporting friends (usually RL ones). If they've written/drawn something that they're proud of, I'll look over it and comment on it, but make sure they understand that I don't know the fandom (eg. "That was a really intense and emotional story. The characters were interesting even though I'm not familiar with them).

But I don't seek out things for fandoms I'm not in. It's only if I know somebody who has something they want seen/read.

[farting-nora.livejournal.com]

It really depends how it is done. most pseudo fans don't bother me.

People who enter a fandom and pretend to be fans of something, just so they can post things simply for the sake of creating wank irritate me. People who comment on fanart/fanfiction who aren't familiar with what the story/show/anything else the fanart/fanfiction is written/drawn for tend to just make themself look really stupid. (For example, well after HBP came out, I had someone leave a comment on a piece of fanart I had drawn of Blaise Zabini to tell me I got it wrong and Blaise is a girl)

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

(For example, well after HBP came out, I had someone leave a comment on a piece of fanart I had drawn of Blaise Zabini to tell me I got it wrong and Blaise is a girl)

Oh man. It sounds to me like maybe the person had not read book six?

[partly-bouncy.livejournal.com]

I think that could sometimes describe my relationship with the Harry Potter fandom, especially during the earlier period.

[ehnel.livejournal.com]

People pretend to be fans? What's with that?

[maple-clef.livejournal.com]

It doesn't really bother me what people do or don't do. A lot of grief in fandom is caused by people who are "fanatics" in a bad way, so someone playing along at being a fan is a lot less harmful than a crazy because they're probably going to play a lot nicer in the sandpit!

[talimeeka.livejournal.com]

I think that unless you're involved in fandom, you don't realize that you're "pretending" to be in a fandom. A lot of non-fandom people who are casual fans think they're involved in the fandom, but they're not. They can't help it because they don't know, but irritates me nontheless.