Recently someone posted on the Ao3 Reddit page that they noticed more people were talking about things that they disliked about fandom rather than celebrating what they liked about their fandom or fandom spaces. This is so relatable. It’s far too easy to get dragged into negativity because well—that’s what sells the papers these days, isn’t it? Drama between fandom Big Name Fans, things going wrong at conventions, and annoying little bots going around spreading nonsense in Ao3 comment sections…it’s enough to make you think that fandom just isn’t fun anymore. So I’ve decided that instead of taking advantage of whatever nasty little drama is going on right now (I’m sure there is one), I’d list off a couple of ways we can make sure to cut off the negative and bring in the positive. Here we go!
Disable “Guest” commenting on your fics. If you’re a writer and you may at all be sensitive to unwanted “critique” or what we used to colloquially call “flames” in your comment inbox: disable your guest commenting function! Ao3 lets you disable anonymous commenting which will force anyone who wants to berate you to actually have an account. You can even pair this with the function to only allow members to read a fic. This can be helpful for so-called “problematic” works or anything you think might have the potential to cause someone to get butthurt and be a meanie mcpoopie pants on the internet. Just one of several other measures you can enable/disable to make your fandom experience a little quieter.
Reply to comments on your works. Not only do we writers love to get comments on our fics, people also love hearing straight from us in replies. They say that the greatest human need is to feel appreciated and there’s no one we should appreciate more in fandom than the faithful and loving commenter. Not just the ones who put their heart and their soul into every comment and take ten whole ass minutes to give their theories and their heartfelt thanks but also the ones who can’t summon anything else but heart emojis! Sometimes it’s a daunting task to be commenting on a fic. Sometimes you’re so overwhelmed by a chapter that you don’t know what you could possibly say that the writer doesn’t already know. They’ve looked into your secret soul and seen something that connects you as humans and sometimes all you can manage is…heart emojis! So send some heart emojis back to that commenter! You’re on the same page and the same team! Show them some love too!
Take some time out of your busy schedule to comment on a work you’ve been reading. Doesn’t matter what chapter. Doesn’t matter how long ago you read it. Doesn’t even matter if you’ve commented on it before! “I’m on my sixth reread and this is still hitting hard” just might be the best thing they’ve gotten in their inbox all week.
Stop. Checking. Your. Stats. They haven’t changed that much and you’re letting numbers dictate how you feel about your work. This isn’t good for anyone and fosters a mindset where you start assigning value to your work and yourself based on numbers you have literally no control over.
Talk to your friends about their Original Characters (OCs). They’re so freaking passionate about their OCs and that passion is infectious. It’s often so inspiring to have a good long chat with others about characters they’re super all-about. These are the people who live in your best friend’s head! Every human being on this earth is so creative and being able to be there to hear about their creativity is going to get your brain juices boiling over too. Who knows, maybe there’s a joint project in store for the two of you. You never know.
Host a rewatch party in person or online for your shows. I know the Hannibal Fandom (The Fannibals) are so good at this and rewatches are happening all over the place in fandom circles here and there. If you haven’t heard of a group rewatch happening in your fandom that just means you’ll have to be the one to bite the bullet and do the organization for it. They can even be on the fly—ask your group chat if anyone’s free to do a movie night with you. You never know, they just might say yes.
Make a zine. Zines don’t have to be flashy to be an important part of fandom cultural exchange. They can just be made from a single sheet of paper cut in strategic places to allow it to fold properly. You can print them out right from your home computer and they can be about anything at all. You know all those weird Evangelical Propaganda pamphlets you find in bathroom stalls here and there? It’s like that but instead of citing Bible versus and telling people they’re going to hell, you can just chat up some neat facts about Star Wars. I’d much rather read about our Lord and Savior Jedi Master Yoda than just about anything else from bathroom literature, that’s for sure.
There’s way too much stress coming from the outer world right now, it’s about time we made our inner world that much brighter. To do that we have to mitigate the effects of the bad and add in a little bit more sunshine. It’s not about who can do the most or be the best when it comes to fandom—it’s about all the small things that come with being a responsible and appreciative person who engages with their fellow fans in uplifting ways. The drama is going to be there tomorrow, I promise. It’s not going to go anywhere and there’s going to be even more whenever you can’t find something equally exciting on a streaming service. (It really is kind of like a trainwreck watching more and more white people get busted for race-faking, isn’t it?) Winterfox will probably be back threatening people, being hateful, and overtly a piece of shit just like she has been for the last decade or so…you don’t have to worry about your entertainment not being there when you get back. So go! There’s nothing to lose! Go be nice on the internet! And be nice to yourself too.