one piece of early internet culture that I think we need to bring back is “don’t feed the trolls,” but like, for fandom.
it used to be common knowledge that if you engage with people who are just looking to start shit, you’re only encouraging them to continue to do that. modern fandom, however, seems to have this idea that you can do something about it if you just respond the right way, make the right points, or counter their argument well enough, but that only works if these people are acting in good faith, which they aren’t.
someone talking shit about your favorite show is not looking to have an informed discussion about your respective opinions.
someone deliberately mischaracterizing your favorite character for the sake of their argument does not actually care what the text says about them.
someone telling you all their reasons why you shouldn’t ship your favorite ship isn’t really trying to get you to change your mind.
it doesn’t matter how masterfully you can deconstruct any of these arguments, because what they’re after is validation and attention. no matter how you respond to them (yes, even if it’s a simple “fuck off”) you give them what they’re looking for. there’s no winning against these people, so don’t bother engaging with them in the first place. just delete their asks, ignore their comments, and block their blogs.
don’t feed the trolls, because it only encourages their behavior.
titsay
gummygunk
romaincrisis
janainaart
blakekathryn
kaledo-art
snowghoul
prguitarman
