People of Tumblr, I am taking your face gently in my hands, stroking your cheeks with my thumbs, and looking at you like a patient mother, trying to impart wisdom so that you may go forth and have a good time.
Use
paragraph
breaks
I am begging you, your post will be much easier understood, and perhaps reblogged to get your message out, if you resist the urge to make it one big wall o' text.
Use breaks.
Use punctuation.
Read through it and make sure it makes sense.
I'm not your English teacher, I'm not grading on proper grammar or use of adverbs and conjunctions. But I refuse to go cross-eyed trying to read through a huge chunk of paragraph, that may or may not even have punctuation to separate ideas and thoughts.
In other words, I absolutely do not read those types of posts. I may agree with you, I may have something more to add or expand on your topic, but I won't know because I refuse to read posts like that.
Please, those spaces between paragraphs are your friends. Put them to work.
Hi, I just saw the post you reblogged, genuinely, thank you.
My mom has always told me that I had to give up the things I enjoy because I'm an adult and I have to talk about things typical girls enjoy, like boys and makeup when... It's just not me.
Don't worry, I'm still doing the fandom things I enjoy, but every now and again I get told from people twice my age that my interests are childish and that I need to be more interested in adult things. The post you reblogged gave me solace and a sense of peace.
Keep being the way you are. If this matters any, I'm in my early 20s.
Again, I thank you.
(Talking about this post.)
I was writing and posting my first fics online when I was in my 20s. That was the time of message boards and the only 'big' place to post was Fanfic.net.
Being an adult simply means you've survived to reach the higher numbers in times you've rounded the sun. Growing older doesn't necessarily have to mean letting go of everything you loved when you were younger.
I still have a soft spot in my heart for TMNT, and Animaniacs, and Hey, Arnold. I still adore Applejack from MLP:FIM, and Chuckie from Rugrats, and can recite Simpsons dialogue and songs by heart. How to Train Your Dragon (the animated one!) is one of my top five favorite movies.
I never understood that mindset that once you hit a certain age some things were deemed "not appropriate" to show interest in anymore. 'Adults' aren't supposed to enjoy cartoons, or engage in fandoms, or write or draw things inspired by their interests.
Says who? Why do we have to let go of things we love just because they're animated or deemed 'too childish' or 'too silly' for adults to do? If you enjoy it, do it. Yes, in this world it's likely you'll have to keep it on the down low because there are others out there who'd make fun of you or consider it strange, but there is so much bad in the world (especially NOW) that we need to have something to focus on that brings us joy. Don't deprive yourself of that joy simply because others don't understand.
I'm so tired of the "You're over 20 and still here? GROSS" posts. If fandoms lost everyone over the age of 20, it'd be a barren place, indeed. I know many, many people who are over 20, and they write and draw the most amazing things. Stop focusing on the age and be thankful there are people who still create even though it's deemed 'unacceptable', even by some people in the fandom itself.
Age is just a number. People need to stop focusing on that like it's some determination of what that person is 'allowed' to enjoy.
No disrespect meant but how do you 'acquire' a disability?
I swear I get an ask literally *any* time I reblog anything disability related and it's part of the problem tbh. But. I'm going to assume no ill intent here and answer you.
I tripped on the sidewalk and broke my leg so badly that I shouldn't still have it. I should, medically, be an amputee. The injury I have accounts for 0.01% of leg injuries and 98% of that very small number are amputated immediately. We don't actually know why I managed to keep my leg.
The trade off is constant pain, mobility devices ranging from a brace to a cane to a wheelchair, and several other medical issues that are related. I will need a knee replacement before I'm 40.
Again. I tripped. On. The. Sidewalk.
Before the accident, I was a long distance hiker. I was planning a trip to the Yukon to hike and paddle. Then I spent 250 days in a hospital bed instead.
You are not guaranteed your health. It is everyone's responsibility to make the world accessible and safe for everyone.
I read this post about the whole snafu that recently happened, and agree with much of it. But I wanted to touch on the whole "bullying wins" mindset that I fear many may have after the change was rolled back.
To be clear, we didn't "bully" staff into changing it back. In the strictest definition, bullying someone is essentially attacking them because you perceive them to be weak and vulnerable. Bullies in nearly all cases, need no concrete reason to focus their aggression on a target. That's not say there isn't one, but in many cases that singular reason is likely something the victim isn't doing intentionally, or at least not intentionally to the bully. (Being smaller, gay, trans, acting different, etc.)
In this case, staff intentionally altered a major functionality of the site that would be a great detriment to us, the users. Perhaps they honestly did have the best of intentions (although I still do not understand this mindset of 'giving credit to reblog additions', as I don't believe anyone has had a problem with that in the past) and realized they stepped in it once it was released and we stood as one and said "NO THANK YOU".
We didn't bully them into changing. We banded together and told them, in a unified voice, why this was bad, and why we did not like it or want it.
Those aren't the tactics of a bully. Those are the tactics of a user base who rejected a change that would reduce the enjoyment of the site. We made our voices heard, and the higher ups listened because we were unified in our outrage.
As an aside, I do believe that this mindset has seeped into fandoms, much to their detriment. The Sonic fandom in particular, seems emboldened by the fact that they "bullied" Paramount into changing Sonic's design before the first movie came out. I say that wasn't bullying, that was very similar to this case. Fans saw Ugly Sonic's design, and said "HOLD UP. If you release that monstrosity, you're tanking your movie before it even hits the theaters."
Again, it was a very unified cry over something the fans--the future ticket buyers, in this case--rejected. Thus the design was changed, and things went better.
But this has set a dangerous precedent, in that fans of many fandoms now seem to think they can "bully" creators into changing things they personally don't like. No, not every franchise is going to do what you want, they're going to make strange choices and have stories go in odd directions. The characters are not going to fit your headcanon, or the fandom accepted canon. That's just the way it goes.
And that's okay. You can love a franchise and not be thrilled with every single little aspect of it. You can fall out of love with it. You can be disappointed with it. That's life. That's okay.
What's not okay is to attack the creators over things that you personally disagree with. Even if your headcanon is a widely accepted fanon, that doesn't mean you have the right to bully (and yes, in this case, it would be bullying) creators or anyone involved in the franchise into altering their vision to suit yours.
In the case of Tumblr's latest snafu, that change would have hurt many, many people, and adversely affected the way they interact with not only the site, but everyone on it. There was a unified outcry by the user base stating this.
In the case of fandom, there are countless different headcanons and opinions regarding the media. An odd storyline doesn't directly hurt anyone. A strange direction in a character arc does not adversely affect the way people interact with others in real life. (In general, anyway. There are always some who really need to step away and touch grass.) For every hundred fans who scream "This should be canon!" there are another hundred who scream "No it shouldn't!" That is personal opinion, and not something to be used to attack other people over. Creators or other fans, honestly.
So, no. This was not a bully campaign, we didn't bully Tumblr into rolling back that change. We banded together and told them the same reasons this would hurt all of us, as opposed to complaining because we, personally, didn't like it. There is a difference.
"The reblog chain is one of the things that makes Tumblr unlike anywhere else. So we're changing it to be more like Twitter, where there's no sense of community, no communication between blogs, and every post is like an island, leaving the op in the dark about how people like their writing/art/commentary."
All numbers for reblogs and comments SHOULD be attributed to the original poster. If I'm reblogging something from someone, I don't want those numbers going to me, I want the op to see how far their post has reached.
That's the thing we like here! As much as we complain about a post going viral and destroying our notifs, it's great to see something go round and round. It's great as an op to see what resonates with people, and what's tickled their fancy.
If that's broken, if every reblog is it's own thing now, it would be really easy for the op to get lost in the shuffle. For writers to not get the recognition of a popular bit of writing going around, for artists to lose track of how popular their drawing is. I don't want to go through every writing post I publish to tally up the likes and reblogs from other blogs. C'mon now.
We have a system that works, that we, your userbase, like. Don't change it just to change it, and for the love of all that's holy, don't change it just to be like Twitter. There's a reason we're HERE and not THERE.
Okay, in the seemingly neverending battle for writers and artists to get feedback, engagement, and otherwise have people talk to them about their creations, I'm wondering if part of the problem is the fear of being seen as a forming a parasocial relationship with said creator.
I feel like there's confusion over what a parasocial relationship is.
(Granted, this may not be a reason at all, but I've seen a number of posts from people claiming they don't want to comment or DM or ask questions for fear of that being seen as parasocial behavior. So I thought I'd address it to clear the air.)
So. Parasocial relationships are essentially defined as a one-sided sense of intimacy or connection toward someone you do not know. The easiest examples to cite are overzealous fans who take it extremely personally when the object of their fascination (a celebrity, in most cases) enters a relationship or says or does something that they, the fan, personally takes as an insult or slight. The fan has formed an unhealthy 'relationship' in regards to that celebrity--who does not know of their existence--and becomes upset about it to a disturbing degree.
What we, the writers and artists of fandoms, are requesting isn't this degree of obsession or fascination. Being social isn't the same thing as being parasocial. Engaging in conversation about a drawing or story isn't the same as building a shrine to us in your closet.
Fandom is community. Community is grown from conversation. From connection. Simply commenting on a fic, or having a back and forth with an artist isn't parasocial behavior. That's social behavior, which is healthy, for both the fandom and human beings in general.
You can love a person's work. You can find their posts funny or smart or whatever. You can be sad if they're sad or happy when they're happy. You can comment on their stuff, ask questions and respond in a conversation. That's not parasocial. That's perfectly fine. Encouraged, even!
If, however, you start to stalk them, treat them as though you're besties just because you've chatted a few times (or never at all!), become overly obsessed with them or their creations, and feel you have some special connection to them, that's parasocial. That's bad.
Think of it this way. If you met someone in one of your classes, or at your job, and you thought they were funny or sweet or told good stories, it would be perfectly okay to chat with them, to exchange a little small talk, maybe even compliment them. Everyone likes to be genuinely complimented.
It would not be okay to follow them everywhere, to act like you're besties, to comment about how you didn't like when they did this or that, how they should do more of this other thing you personally liked. How they shouldn't interact with this other person, or this topic because it bothers you. Because that would be creepy and weird.
Be social. Be friendly. That's what we're looking for. That's why we post. It's not fun to hear nothing but crickets over something you worked hard on, and reaching out to tell an artist or writer your thoughts on their post is going to make their day.
I know Clip Studio Paint is a really popular and well used program among artists. It's feature rich, has tons of brushes, and is one that many, many artists use (many of my own friends).
The problem I have with it is this constant 'reauthorization' crap it wants to pull, even if you buy the perpetual license. I hate programs that require an internet connection, and need to 'double check' that your version is 'authorized' before it'll even let you use the program you paid money for. (I would not do that monthly subscription service.)
I miss the days when you could buy a program, install it, and that's it. It's yours to use until your computer goes belly up, or you decide to upgrade or whatever. No nuisance-ware popups that remind you to 'reauthorize' your license, no limiting your ability to use it should you not have access to wifi for a while.
If I'm paying money for a program, I want to be able to use that program as long as I like, without having to essentially check in with the parent company to show that I'm still allowed to use it. On my machine. That I purchased it for.
If I paid for the perpetual license, they got my money, and I'm using the program perpetually. They don't need to keep checking to verify.
I've still got a little time on my free trial, but I'm considering just going back to Krita. I don't want to pay money for a program just to have to keep getting 'permission' from the company to keep using it.
I found myself on someone's blog--doesn't matter who, already blocked them for their overall negative views of fandom in general, and there are plenty with a similar opinion--who once again blasted fandom creators for not encouraging "constructive criticism".
I've spoken about it in this post, but since this seems to keep coming up, thought I'd touch on it again.
If you peruse through my blog, you'll find plenty of posts and reblogs that encourage readers to comment on fics they enjoy. (This goes for art too, but in this case, we'll focus on the writing end.) Some posts and reblogs also point out that if you do not like something, you're encouraged to keep your opinions to yourself and move along.
Now, some people seem to take offense at this bit of advice. "How can people improve if they don't know where they need work?" they theorize, which, in truth, makes sense. On the surface, showing someone something and saying "Let me know what you think!" is, in itself, inviting personal opinions on the matter. And these opinions could be good, or could be bad.
So, when you get down to the brass tacks, yes, that argument sounds valid. Writers should be open to the negative feedback in addition to the positive.
But see, here's the thing.
This is fandom.
Fandom.
As in, a community created by fans, of fans, for fans.
For free.
We're all just here to have fun, to play with our favorite characters, to put them into situations and think about how they'd react. Everything created is a labor of love, something done simply for the fun and enjoyment of the fandom.
That's it.
We're not here striving to be the next Hemingway, or King, or Pratchett. We're not concocting stories featuring aliens and magic and supernatural elements in the hopes of being discovered and offered a multi-million dollar book deal.
We're here to have fun.
Period.
We're sharing the work to share that fun with others.
Period.
That's really all it comes down to. Writing fanfiction is fun. When it stops being fun, we stop doing it. And when people take it upon themselves to take that fun away from us, we stop sharing it.
"But you need constructive criticism to improve!"
Maybe I don't care to improve. Maybe I'm just throwing these stories out because they interested me, and thus, I thought they'd interest someone else. Maybe improving is something I would personally pursue via other means, and not by taking the advice of some rando online who likely hasn't written a single thing themselves to even show they know what they're talking about.
Maybe reading some scathing review under one of my stories isn't going to help me see the error of my ways and make me want to get better. Maybe seeing some Joe Schmo online tearing my work apart would only kill the enjoyment I get out of writing these things in the first place.
"Maybe you just need thicker skin!"
Maybe you just need to recognize and understand that people who write fanfiction are not generally looking for any unknown reader online to come out of the woodwork and tell them everything they're doing wrong in a story that was fun for them to write.
Maybe you need to really understand what "constructive criticism" actually means, instead of using it as a shield to hurl hurtful and unhelpful comments at the writer. Too many times I've seen horrible, hurtful comments that are veiled as "constructive criticism" when, in fact, they are nothing more than horrible, hurtful comments.
And maybe you need to realize that if someone didn't specifically ask for "constructive criticism"--and again, learn what the term actually means first--then offering it isn't, shockingly, helpful at all.
"Blah blah blah TOXIC POSITIVITY!!"
Blah blah blah, cram it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with people sharing things--again, FOR FUCKING FREE--and not wanting to be torn down because it's not 'professional quality'. You didn't pay for it, it doesn't affect you in the slightest if this person writes stories you personally don't like. Move. Along.
And maybe it's alright to let people feel good about themselves. About something they created, even if it's not the most perfect thing in the world. That's how love grows in a hobby, how people stick with it, even if they're not The Best right out of the gate. If they're encouraged enough, they themselves will likely seek out ways to improve. It's very unlikely that someone will start a hobby, and never, ever improve. But that improvement comes from within, from their own study and work, not from some internet rando who thinks they're 'helping'.
Lotta armchair critics out there, trying to tell fanfic writers how to do their thing. Leave 'em alone. They're having fun, they're sharing their stories with you for free, and if that particular story doesn't hit you right, hit that back button and find one that does. Easy enough, right?
"But--"
Nope. Nuh uh. If they didn't ask, keep your trap shut. Ain't your job to push them to 'improve'. This is their sandbox, they're playing how they like. Not your thing? Mosey on over to a different one. Plenty out there.
And if they did ask? You better make damn sure you know what "constructive criticism" actually means, what it actually looks like, before you throw your two cents in. Because from what I've seen, people have no clue what it actually entails. And it ends up hurting a lot of writers, driving some completely out of the craft.
Just don't be a dick. Honestly, it's really not that hard.
