Rules of a Happy, Healthy Fandom
Rule 1, Don’t like, Don’t read
Pretty simple and straight forward. It doesn’t matter if it’s tagged as a ship you dislike or you’re 10 chapters in, if you don’t like it or it disturbs you too much, stop. The back button is your friend.
If your fic contains anything possibly triggering or squicky, tag it. If your fic is an AU, tag it. If your fic is about a ship, tag it. Vice versa, do not overtag or improperly tag. If your fic is based around Stucky, don’t tag Stony.
Rule 3, Filters are your friend
If the app or website has an option to filter tags, use it. If you need to download an extension, download it. If someone has missed an important tag, you can politely message them requesting to add it.
Rule 4, Don’t harass people for shipping your NoTp
We all have that one ship we absolutely positively hate with every fibre of our being. And chances are, someone hates your Otp with the same ferocity. Don’t harass people over shipping your NoTp.
If you’re writing a fic and a plot point or character is introduced you’re not sure how to write, research it! Google is your friend! There are also blogs dedicated to assisting people with certain topics such as @writingwithcolor
Rule 6, Your kink is not my kink, and that’s okay
Chances are, someone gets off to something you hate. And, that’s okay! We all have different and varying tastes!
Rule 7, Feedback keeps content creators creating
Likes, comments, reblogs, and recomendations keep your fanfic writers writing. Where would writers be if no one read their works? Where would artists be if no one bought their art?
Rule 8, If you want it, write it
It’s bound to happen to everyone, you just can’t find a specific fic for a specific ship or it’s that one rare pair no one appreciates like you do. What do you do in this situation? You write it yourself! It may not be the best-written or most poetic or maybe it’s just a pure crackfic, but that’s okay!
Rule 9, Fanon is not Canon
Likewise, headcanons are not canon. And if someone has a different headcanon, that’s okay! Sure, we may ignore canon for fics but headcanons and fanfiction and fanart are not canon!
Rule 10, Fiction is not reality
And the most important of all, fiction is not reality. Writing abuse fics does not mean you support abuse in real life. Writing suicidal characters does not mean the writer is suicidal. Writing glorified murder fics does not mean the writer supports murder in real life.
If you have more positive rules, feel free to add! These are just 10 little rules I find to be very important for a happy healthy fandom. Remember, fandoms are supposed to be for fun! You write that shameless self-insert Mary Sue OC, you write that rarepair smut, you write that 250k slow burn Coffee Shop AU! You make fandom as fun as you want it to be!
