Fandom and Viewer Issues: "Fan" Is Short for "Fanatic"

[sharky]

I don't mind the people who are showing some sympathy -- regardless of how it happened, if it really was a hack, it's a pretty crappy thing to do to anyone. But then there are SQ fans who keep replying with "Why won't CSers say anything against this?" Or if a CSer says, "What can we do to help?" The response is "Why won't you denounce this person?" At some point playing the victim card is going to look less like you're a victim and more like you're an attention whore.

Edited July 22, 2015 by sharky

[Serena]

LOL, yeah. Like, this is just an example, but here's a CS shipper basically prostrating herself to show support. The post has like 100 notes of CSers being like "yes! I agree!". The SQ reaction? You shouldn't criticise SQ at all. Not even if you tag it appropriately so fans can avoid it.

Does that seem like a normal reaction to you? It's not "you shouldn't insult the shippers". It's "you shouldn't say ANYTHING less than positive about the ship AT ALL."

How do those people go through life when they can't stand the fact that someone, somewhere, may be saying something negative about a thing they like? Even if those people are taking all the necessary precautions to make it so that they don't have to SEE the criticism, the fact that it exists is enough?

That's what I mean when I say "showing support" is basically a waste of time. 

[Selina K]

Well, looking at some of this makes me feel better about the amount of time I spend reading these boards.  Do these people have jobs or anything?  

[mjgchick]

This is why you don't do drugs kids.

[sharky]

I wouldn't put much merit in that SQ response. She definitely seems to be one of the bad apples when you go read her entire tumblr. Some people won't be happy until Hook is buried next to Neal with Emma and Regina screwing on top of his grave. Luckily, it seems like more SQers have a rational response to these posts from CS fans and others in the fandom.

 

That being said, it is all so deliciously entertaining so at least there's that.

[mjgchick]

Going into the CS tag on tumblr is so annoying. People are either apologizing for stuff they didn't do or SQers coming in for god knows what and then those who want a kumbaya hand holding just because some don't agree on the Dark Swan stuff. Can we go back to pretty pics and gifs? lol

[Serena]

The "cs graphic" tag is only pretty pics and gifs! Try that instead.

[Souris]

Prepare yourselves for the Saga of Ms. Scribe, perhaps the wankiest fandom wank that ever wanked. Sit down, turn off your phone, have a cup of tea (or two). You may find something reminiscent of the recent OUAT hacking drama in this tale.

[Serena]

Thank you, Souris! That is wildly entertaining. I'm on page 3 and taking a breather.

I'm sad that fandom_wank recently went offline. It was super interesting. I wonder if someone saved the archives?

[Faemonic]

Prepare yourselves for the Saga of Ms. Scribe, perhaps the wankiest fandom wank that ever wanked. Sit down, turn off your phone, have a cup of tea (or two). You may find something reminiscent of the recent OUAT hacking drama in this tale.

Oh, thank every conceivable pantheon that I never got into the Harry Potter fandom. I read the books and liked them. Does OUaT have any Big Name Fans? Sufferers of Munchausen Proxy Page? There seems to be a casual case of prodromal De Clerambault's going around, but I'm no doctor.

 

At least back in the day, fandom drama was kept between fans. I was aghast at my first sockpuppet/catfish encounter, but now I guess I've come to terms with that being par for the course.

 

From the chronicles (acronyms spelled out because my fandom brain was still on OUaT acronyms.)

 

 

 

As a result of all these events, relations between Sugar Quill and Gryffindor Tower grew cooler, relations between Fiction Alley and Sugar Quill remained about the same, and relations between Fiction Alley and Gryffindor Tower were damaged beyond repair. Heidi and Cassandra Claire and their many friends now hated Gryffindor Tower and its admins with an understandably virulent hatred, and the feeling was fully returned. Being publicly (and, in their view, unfairly) disgraced for harboring a stalker was the last straw for the Gryffindor Tower admins and they became isolationists, vowing to enjoy their pairing in peace and not interact with the rest of the fandom -- or at least any part of the fandom that contained Heidi and Cassie.

 

Somewhat amusingly, Heidi and Cassandra Claire's circle at Fiction Alley fed their anger into increased and oft-expressed hatred of the Harry/Ginny ship, and the Gryffindor Tower admins fed theirs into increased and oft-expressed hatred of Draco Malfoy, a favorite character of both Heidi's and Cassie's.

 

The stalker that threatened Claire using her offline name is a serious creep, but that the tension spiked just because Claire decided to give a ship she was lukewarm about a chance via fanfiction...and she vocally disliked a recommendation that was squicky for reasons independent of the ship, and therefore could only be read and enjoyed by somebody already deep belowdecks? Via fanfiction. If you don't like that ship in canon, how can you trust amateur writers to turn it into something believable? That isn't to say that it doesn't happen, just that I thought when it does it's an accident.

Edited July 24, 2015 by Faemonic

[Minneapple]

Fandom Wank is supposed to be coming back up, not sure when, though.

 

The MsScribe drama is easily my favorite fandom story, ever. It has everything. Plus the biggest of big name fans in Cassandra Claire.

 

It looks like the Captain Swan tag on tumblr has returned to more pretty gifs and pics. I'd almost forgotten how pretty they are together!

[Rumsy4]

Coincidentally, I was reading the MsScribe expose myself. Man! It makes for entertaining reading (I did skim over parts of it). I was somewhat active in the HP fandom, and I vaguely remember there was some wank and rivalry between different HP fanfiction sites, but it was all so convoluted so I ignored most of it. You know what they say... there is nothing new under the sun. However, after reading the "Unauthorized Fandom Biography" I have revised my opinion--the BAs of the OUAT fandom have nothing on MsScribe. The OUAT BAs work in groups. MsScribe was a one-woman master manipulator. She was the ultimate internet troll. Quite scary!

Edited July 24, 2015 by Rumsy4

[Serena]

And isn't it amazing that CC is a published author who's about to have a show on ABC Family now? It makes me wonder if one day, one of the crazier parts of the OUAT fandom could end up the same way. Maybe they'll be on the same network as A&E and have lunch!

 

I remember reading her "Very Secret Diaries" ages ago (maybe a translation, though) and finding it very funny. However, I never got into her published books. I believe (please correct me if I'm wrong) she was the creator of the trope "Draco In Leather Pants" (or, anyway, the one who made it popular) of which our dear Regina is a great example.

Edited July 24, 2015 by Serena

[Faemonic]

I believe (please correct me if I'm wrong) she was the creator of the trope "Draco In Leather Pants" (or, anyway, the one who made it popular) of which our dear Regina is a great example.

I believe Cassie Claire is the most prolific and best-known writer of the trope, yes. But I'm guessing that AH&EK arrived at the same character preference independently. Who knows, Milton might have had those same leanings!

[Serena]

Okay, since we were talking about people sending hate to themselves and that whole HP fandom debacle, what do you think of this? (warning: spoilers in the link, as the person is Canadian and hangs out on set often). Psychotic anons? Fan who sends anon hate to herself to get attention? WTF is up with the world? And why would someone keep publishing those messages?

Edited July 25, 2015 by Serena

[Rumsy4]

Yeah. Fake as heck. What even??

[OnceUponAJen]

Prepare yourselves for the Saga of Ms. Scribe, perhaps the wankiest fandom wank that ever wanked. Sit down, turn off your phone, have a cup of tea (or two). You may find something reminiscent of the recent OUAT hacking drama in this tale.

I'm not through reading yet, but someone must have suspected all the sock puppets surrounding her.

[myril]

Just stumbled upon this bit of fandom and fandom wars history. http://meeedeee.tumblr.com/post/124336465771/dedication-inside-the-blakes-7-fanzine-the

Older than the world wide web.

OUaT fandom is not that special. 

[Mari]

OUaT fandom is not that special. 

But . . . but . . . but   . . . we have Regina, and sparkly Rumplestiltskin, and vicious arguments about whether a kiss is just a kiss, or a True Love Kiss, and the exact meaning of shoestrings . . . What do you mean we're not that special?

 

:)

 

I bet if we looked enough at Trek fandom, we'd find some doozies.

[Faemonic]

I bet if we looked enough at Trek fandom, we'd find some doozies.

When William Shatner got Twitter hate for his take on OUaT, I kept thinking, No...No, no, no, Mr. Shatner...we can't be as worthy of attention as the bad apple Trekkies...we caaaan't...

 

And then a(n apparently telepathic) friend of mine went, "Naw, he does that with Supernatural, too. Nobody will ever be as wild as the original Trekkies."

 

I figured the fandom ranking would go:

 

Trekkies

Potterheads

Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans now displaced by SuperWhoLock

My Little Pony par with Marvel Cinematic Universe

Twihards, Teen Wolf, and Vampire Diaries fans

Once Upon A Time

Final Fantasy par with Tomb Raider

Rentheads

Guilty Ones

Browncoats

Edited July 26, 2015 by Faemonic

[FormerMod-a1]

The topic here is Once Upon a Time Fandom and Viewers.  Please stick to it.  Thank you.

 

 

[Selina K]

From the speculation thread:

 

I would rather see OUAT go with the Swan Queen fans' theory that Henry is imagining the whole thing as a way to cope with his mothers' separation than make Emma the one in the asylum. 

 

This is really a thing?  I mean, I know, whatever you can think of someone has thought of it first and likely made porn of it, but really?  Is this just a weird ff type speculation or does this have adherents who think this is a legitimate possible ending of the show?

[Panopticon]

Yes, there are SQ fans who legitimately believe that that is how the show will end. I don't know how widespread the theory is.

[mjgchick]

What a way to white wash all of the villains misdeeds. lol

[KingOfHearts]

 

What a way to white wash all of the villains misdeeds. lol

In my opinion, Swan Queen itself is a giant whitewash.

[Curio]

What a way to white wash all of the villains misdeeds. lol

 

Isn't that what the show already does?

[mjgchick]

In both of your posts I see no lies.

[sharky]

So remember when that Ethan guy had his tumblr deleted and we had that huge fandom war over some hacking scandal? So yea... apparently that Ethan guy was a fake. He used someone else's photos, he lied about who he was, he deleted the second tumblr he created. And yet despite all that, there are still apologists who are all, "Even if we didn't really know him, we know he was a Swan Queen fan." Doesn't matter who he was a fan of. To me, it looks like he deleted his own accounts and then tried to push it off on other fandoms. Tumblr posts here and here from SQ fans trying to explain what the hell is going on. I still can't piece all of it together though so.... Can someone help?

[Souris]

Notice they're not apologizing to the people they accused of hacking him. Sounds very much like "Ethan" was a sock puppet for somebody, then they used that "Ethan" account to try to set up the CS fandom for hacking him. Kind of a mini MsScribe scenario. But somebody got suspicious and figured it out. 

 

Here's another post about it, but it's not especially clear.

Edited August 11, 2015 by Souris

[mjgchick]

I have no words. Are they that bored? Some people genuinely felt bad for those who claimed they were hacked for it to only be them framing Captain Swan fans. I doubt they'll be apologizing. I'd be embarrassed if I was apart of that fandom.

[Mari]

Maybe they just want the sympathy and encouragement they get from being a victim.  And, hey, if you can discredit a person or group you dislike at the same time?  Bonus.

 

It happens occasionally in the nonvirtual world--people faking a crime or hate activity against themselves.  Sometimes it's to raise awareness, sometimes for monetary gain, sometimes due to mental illness.

 

(Note:  Not saying that everything is faked, or that being a victim is enjoyable.  Just pointing out that if you weren't actually victimized, you might enjoy all the positive strokes that people often give to those who've been wronged.)

Edited August 11, 2015 by Mari

[Souris]

Munchausen by Internet?

[Minneapple]

Somebody lied on the Internet. Well, I'm shocked.

 

From one of the SQ tumblrs linked above.

 

Please stop accusing people of doing that when you don’t know what happened.

 

Ha. Haha. Hahahaha.

[myril]

You might be surprised what people do a times to create a fictional identity for whatever reason, to become a different person online, creating and feeding fake accounts over long time. Ever heard the term "catfish"? Had that some years ago on a tv show forum, had to deal with it as moderator. It's not that hard though to create such a fake, if you keep the fake biography and life somewhat close to your real life. Find some pictures to use, otherwise explain that you're a bit shy to put pics of yourself online for job reasons or because of some nasty ex friend(s) or even in general, post some location and activity pictures not showing your face. Socialmedia and all kind of sides and apps make it rather easy for everbody to keep up to date with thing like weather , events even in other places. When I worked in Customer Care I made it a habit to keep up to date of what was going on all over the country just for chitchat, people love when you connect with them on a somewhat personal level (unless they're super angry).

 

Reasons why people create (elaborated) fakes can differ, attention seeking, power plays, just because they can, trolling, bullying, stupid fun.

 

Nothing funny about that IMO, it's just sad.

[sharky]

The problem is that this goes back to that whole "I saw this awesome spoiler but I can't tell you what it is!" mentality. These fans apparently know "what really happened" but won't tell anyone. If the person is hiding his identity for fear of being outed, then just say that. But this all came to light when someone realized this Ethan guy was using actual pictures and video of someone else and claiming it as him. So not only was it catfishing, but it was catfishing with another unknown person's identity, which just seems a step too far for me.

 

And on top of all that, these people claimed it was the CS fans who hacked him and deleted his account. I honestly felt bad about that. I thought that was a step too far for a fan to take and said as much along with other CS fans. We were genuinely upset that someone would do that in the name of the fandom and apologized for something we didn't even do -- which, of course, was shoved off as not being apologetic enough by the SQ fans. And yet I haven't seen one of those fans apologize after this turn of events. Always playing the victim even when one of their own was the perpetrator.

[Serena]

Well, I'm gonna be mean and assume the reason those people aren't sharing what they know is because it paints him, and everyone associated with him (if it's even a him) in a bad light. And I'll go one better and say I think some of the people who aren't sharing were in on the fake hack, and now they're covering their asses because the other, non-involved SQ-shippers found out there was something fishy about this guy and asked for explanation. They are the only ones I feel sorry for.

The CS shippers who apologized and found out they have been duped... well, I've been saying from the beginning they were being dumb. I guess they've learned something about the Internet.

I notice the diagonally different reaction when they found out it was him and not CSers the one who was making the "young, vulnerable queer teenagers" of the SQ fandom feel unsafe and catfishing them... in some cases learning sensitive details about their lives under false pretenses.

[Rumsy4]

All the SQers who were complaining on twitter to Adam, Lana, JMo, etc., about CSers "hacking" their accounts are hardly attempting to set the record straight, are they? I hope someone does! 

Edited August 11, 2015 by Rumsy4

[YaddaYadda]

The internet is a cesspool.  I get that some people were trampled on by this, were personally taken for target, deleted their blogs, but JFC! This is a TV show.  The actors and writers have lives outside of the show.  Maybe these drama queens and attention whores need to get a life outside of the show too.  It's summer.  Go to the beach, pat a puppy on the head, go run a few laps around the park, have a hot dog, maybe reassess where your life is at while you do that.

[OnceUponAJen]

All the SQers who were complaining on twitter to Adam, Lana, JMo, etc., about CSers "hacking" their accounts are hardly attempting to set the record straight, are they? I hope someone does!

I don't see why any of these people need to be involved.

[Serena]

Yup. SQers didn't need to involve the actors then and CSers don't need to go to them now. Leave them OUT.

Edited August 11, 2015 by Serena

[Souris]

As usual, the initial charge will be the only thing that sticks in the fandom mentality; the truth that comes out later will be quiet and ignored.

[Selina K]

I'm going to pen a sample tweet here which non specific fandoms can feel free to pick up and retweet:

 

Dear (Jmo, Sean, Lana, Colin, Adam, other actors) I am sorry I bothered you about made up fandom issues regarding my non canon preferred pairing.  I promise to stop bothering you with my made up problems now and forever.

[sharky]

I don't think they need to go to Adam's Twitter and say, "Oops, we goofed!" or something, but they bullied CS fans and a few specifically by name, including one who went off of tumblr because of the bullying. The least these SQ fans could do is say, "Hey, we didn't realize we were being catfished. Sorry we bullied you. We shouldn't have done that." And instead they're all "Even if his name wasn't Ethan and he's not from where he says he was and he stole photos of someone else and said it was him, he was still a SQ fan so it's all good." Um... no, it's not all good. You can't call people homophobic and bully them and say "We know your ISPs and will tell people who you are!" and then be silent when you turn out to be wrong. Here's a good response from a CS fan about it.

[OnceUponAJen]

"So, it’s been an interesting day in fandom, watching a few diligent SQ fans work to unravel the wank that was apparently coming from inside the house, if you know what I mean."

LOL.....I like this!

Go ahead, cry wolf enough times and nobody will believe anything you say.

Edited August 11, 2015 by OnceUponAJen

[october]

This whole situation is making my head spin. All this hacking business is the first I've heard of this guy's tumblr. I decided to read a couple of his archived SQ and anti-CS metas here though. They're the kind of garbage you'd find all over the SQ tag on tumblr. His arguments are so mediocre and shallow I'm actually quite disappointed. With all the fuss people were making I'd expected to find some genuinely well thought-out pro-SQ meta that'd make me look at the pairing differently and that, if lost, would be a major blow to the fandom due to their quality.

 

Instead I fell into an incoherent pit of stale fanwank. I need a shower. I mean look at this wall of text on why he likes SQ. To be fair English isn't his first language, but even taking that into account his posts are barely readable. One of his anti-CS metas is just a 'joke' that Hook is really Cora. I tried to access the one about Emma and Robin Hood being alike (lol) but the link was sadly broken. I totally respect his right to like what he likes and I suppose the big deal is that he's so well known in the fandom that his absence was felt, but still... is this it? This is the blog SQers were warbling over losing? Jesus.

 

Also it appears he was one of the people behind Swan/Town. So... as mean as this sounds... good riddance 'Ethan'.

Edited August 11, 2015 by october

[sharky]

"So, it’s been an interesting day in fandom, watching a few diligent SQ fans work to unravel the wank that was apparently coming from inside the house, if you know what I mean."

LOL.....I like this!

Go ahead, cry wolf enough times and nobody will believe anything you say.

This exactly. The next time some SQers try to attack anyone else in the fandom -- anyone for any reason -- just remind them of this. "Someone is sending you threats again? Really? Are you sure they aren't coming from INSIDE YOUR HOUSE? Maybe it's Ethan. You should check the ISPs." I've checked a few of the tumblrs that belonged to people who went full-out on attacking CSers for this and most of them seem really quiet about it all now. Maybe too quiet. I'm kind of worried it's the same kind of quiet that exists before I check on my kids and find they've taken a crayon to the entire house.

[Serena]

It's wrong to be feeling schadenfreude right now, isn't it?

Oh well. I never claimed to be a Regina-level True Hero.

[maryle]

I guess my biggest issue with all this false hacking episode is that I feels their real motivation to keep the (maybe he was still hacked even if he lied about everything else) is to consciously taint the CS fandom as a whole in a terrible light .

That why they involve the actors and A. in the first place.

They cannot admit to ever have bullyed JMO even if I remember they make her cryed last year. (The Yvette incident with the hot CS kiss in the premiere)

But they want the narrative that CS are horrible, homophobic and even criminal be know by many as possible even the actress and creator.

That what I have a problem with what they are doing actually. They know ( the B A) what they are trying to do and I find it repulsive.

[OnceUponAJen]

Honestly, I think in trying to get these people involved, they are just making themselves look foolish. I wish people would take these things with a grain of salt.

[mjgchick]

Damn I was just having a hilarious debate with a Regina stan, I should have used this as a clap back but I think the one I used scared them. Ha. Ugh this fandom sucks.