Linkspam: fandom meta

[quietmoon]

It feels like it's been ages since I was last on here! But in reality it's been shy of two weeks lol; nevertheless, good to be back. Here is the much-promised linkspam regarding fandom, tumblr, pfio, etc. I kept talking about. I wrote it few weeks ago so please brace for an unsparing tonal shift.

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A little explanation, and then All The Links.  ＼(￣▽￣)／

I've been really enjoying reading lots of fandom meta recently. Few if any of the following links are extremely recent, but going through them at my own pace was a delight. While reading I came across a fair bit of discussion surrounding the differences between tumblr and dw, perhaps made more relevant than ever by recent events; and one of the main concerns was that, even for those who preferred dw's slower and more thoughtful pace, it was sometimes difficult to find where the cool things were; with most communities not being used much if at all, and discussion often taking place in comment sections of posts that won't find their way to your reading list unless someone intentionally puts them there, it can feel a bit quiet if there isn't an active effort to share stuff.

So I figured I'd just dump a bunch of links of the stuff I've been enjoying or cool things I've found so as to share them. I like how personal it feels as compared to reblogging; there's a lot more intention here, and I really appreciate that. It feels like what is shared is done so with care and thought, and it makes it all the more incentivising to check out said links.

Anyway. Enough of that.

So I started with this post in snowflake_challenge which spawned so many interesting takes that I got lost in reading them, going from post to post for nigh a week. I would really recommend for those interested in discussing the state of fandom right now, in the wake of nipplegate (oof) and pfio (oof) especially, to give it a look.

Then I found my way to muccamukk 's post on how dreamwidth today is different from livejournal fifteen years ago, which again had a goldmine of a comment section. There's a lot of discussion surrounding fandom purges and the effect it can have, as well as extended thoughts on communities and how they are utilised differently (or often, sadly, not at all) and why it is that coms just aren't used to post fic; and what, therefore, is their purpose. I really enjoyed it and learned a lot as someone who sidestepped lj during it's peak and therefore has very little context.

Following the discussion about communities and their role, I loved tozka 's post surrounding fandom meta discussions and the follow-up to much of the conversation sparked by that, 'thinking about comms'. There's a lot to unpack about why so many communities are inactive, what it takes to start a new active one, what is their role in the dw/fandom space today, and how much potential there is to unlock if only one can get a com to work. I spent ages making my way through the comment section because there were just so many thoughtful takes on the topic, and I learned a lot about how to get more out of dw as well (as someone who only started being active on here a few years ago). Big love for these posts.

Pillowfort came up a fair bit, so that's where I went next. kalloway 's informative post on the situation with pfio regarding their changed ToS and mess-ups really helped — I had no idea they had done this, and I only wish I'd known sooner. My hopes for pfio as somewhere I could potentially hang out have kind of plummeted. /sigh
Someday I might like to talk a little more indepth about where I stand on the censorship/problematic content schtick, but the tldr of it is; sites can do what they want, but I have no interest in occupying a fandom space that purposefully cuts out part of my or any other fandom, so pfio can cater to the audience that is interested in a space like that, and I'll wait for something to come along which will allow adults to enjoy fandom and fiction uncensored. Well, besides dw. I'm very happy to stick around here. I mean more for visual fandom. Ughhh I won't get into it all now, but one day... One Day. I still need to think about it.

Anyway, there's a lot more discussion about pfio. The comments in the previous post have some interesting links as well, so check those out if you're interested. There's also jamethiel 's post regarding the actual changes in pfio's ToS — my opinion echoes much of what was said here. 

More regarding pfio, and it's future: elf 's post 'I'm afraid Pillowfort is Doomed' (and Part 2) was really interesting, if a little sobering. I hadn't thought about the money aspect but of course it makes sense; for a site aspiring for the levels of traffic tumblr had, money is always going to be something that needs to be carefully thought about. 

(This isn't one of the links I necessarily wanted to share but it relates to the next one I do — I posted a wee while ago about when I quit fandom because social media overwhelmed so to the point of misery. The context of that helps explain why I love the following post as much as I did.) terresdebrume 's post regarding the overwhelming options that social media/fannish spaces consist of really spoke to me. It's always such a relief to find like-minded folk who've had similar reactions to the breakneck speed of twitter and tumblr, and the experiences he spoke of really align with my own. :')

If you're interested in the switch some people made from tumblr to dreamwidth, this might interest you: muccamukk 's post 'tumblr meets dreamwidth'. It discusses some issues regarding different interpretations of the word 'reblog', and the fundamental difference in how content is shared here. I didn't know any of this had happened and since it's a topic I'm already interested in this (and comments/links associated) was an intriguing read.

But let's end on a happier note — I loved melannen 's post 'how to make discussion happen on dreamwidth'. There's a lot of great advice there, surrounding interaction and the creation of discussion posts on which people can comfortably have some in-depth conversations. It made me want to go around commenting on everything hahaha.

In the end, perhaps this walks the line between fandom meta and journal meta, but I'd argue that the spaces we occupy and choose to set down our fannish flags are hugely important. We can see the truth of that now more than ever, what with tumblr's implosion and pfio's... That. And now that I'm being more active on dw for the first time in... more than three years? Ish? It feels particularly personally relevant.

One last note: does anyone have any opinion on whether this format, or a more list-y one (bullet points/headline-centred) is more convenient and easier to read? 

What do you think of pfio? Do you think there's still hope for it to become what it wants, or that it is in fact doomed? I've read a lot about it lately so I'd love to hear more about what people are thinking. ╰(´︶`)╯♡