Fandom all the way down...
Sep. 2nd, 2015 04:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
graculusA lot has changed since I got into fandom, back in the late 1990's. That was also when I first got online and it was dial-up, which seems like another world completely - I regularly ended up paying extra at the end of the month because I'd exceeded my allotted time online.
At one point we were downloading episodes of SG-1 in what everyone referred to as 'squinty-vision' because the resulting files were huge (in relative terms) but the video produced was tiny and so you'd have to squint to figure out what was going on or even to tell non-speaking characters apart sometimes (the joys of a series that takes place mostly in a setting where people wear uniforms, I guess!). Those files still used to take literally hours to download, so I used to set them up before I went to bed and hope the download wouldn't crash overnight.
And then there were the mailing lists, long before the advent of LJ, and their own particular way of doing things. Some fandoms still have them and they're ticking over, but most of them have (understandably) gone the way of the dinosaur when LJ became the main place for fandom to be.
Now, bypassing the rise and fall of LJ, a lot of fandom is on Tumblr, which is by no means the right place for anything other than lots of 'ooh shiny' given the way it does things. And there's definitely a place for shallow and pretty, but that doesn't mean it works for anything else. So it's quite amusing (in a sad head-shaking and remembering we've been through this before) that some folks now on there are all 'oh, Tumblr is changing and fandom should leave'. This started last year, iirc, when Tumblr was bought by Yahoo and people starting having minor freak-outs. Yes, you should leave and come back to LJ and/or Dreamwidth where we can have proper discussions about things without horrible nesting issues.
I wonder where we'll end up next? ;)
Meanwhile, in related news, I'm happy to say that I'm managing to write at least 750 words every day and am currently on a 16 day streak. After a very scientific method of tossing a coin on August 31st, I also signed up for the month challenge on 750 Words, which gets me another badge and my name on the Wall of Awesomeness if I manage it. I am apparently much more easily motivated (in this case by small internet pics of animals and birds) than I ever imagined would be the case!
Now, after months of my subconscious going 'pfft, call yourself a writer, you can't even manage to sit down and do anything!', we've now moved onto 'oh, so maybe you can write everyday, but what you're writing is shit' which I guess is an improvement? Yep, just over 15,000 words and maybe some of it is crap, but at least it exists.
Been posting on the new UNCLE kink meme which is a bit of an odd experience, all this anonymity and so on - boy, there are some really 'interesting' prompts on there! And yes, I'm writing movie fic but plan to use the same method to break the deadlock on my two existing public WIP as well as clear out some of the other stuff I've had lurking on my hard drive, some of it literally for years.
At one point we were downloading episodes of SG-1 in what everyone referred to as 'squinty-vision' because the resulting files were huge (in relative terms) but the video produced was tiny and so you'd have to squint to figure out what was going on or even to tell non-speaking characters apart sometimes (the joys of a series that takes place mostly in a setting where people wear uniforms, I guess!). Those files still used to take literally hours to download, so I used to set them up before I went to bed and hope the download wouldn't crash overnight.
And then there were the mailing lists, long before the advent of LJ, and their own particular way of doing things. Some fandoms still have them and they're ticking over, but most of them have (understandably) gone the way of the dinosaur when LJ became the main place for fandom to be.
Now, bypassing the rise and fall of LJ, a lot of fandom is on Tumblr, which is by no means the right place for anything other than lots of 'ooh shiny' given the way it does things. And there's definitely a place for shallow and pretty, but that doesn't mean it works for anything else. So it's quite amusing (in a sad head-shaking and remembering we've been through this before) that some folks now on there are all 'oh, Tumblr is changing and fandom should leave'. This started last year, iirc, when Tumblr was bought by Yahoo and people starting having minor freak-outs. Yes, you should leave and come back to LJ and/or Dreamwidth where we can have proper discussions about things without horrible nesting issues.
I wonder where we'll end up next? ;)
Meanwhile, in related news, I'm happy to say that I'm managing to write at least 750 words every day and am currently on a 16 day streak. After a very scientific method of tossing a coin on August 31st, I also signed up for the month challenge on 750 Words, which gets me another badge and my name on the Wall of Awesomeness if I manage it. I am apparently much more easily motivated (in this case by small internet pics of animals and birds) than I ever imagined would be the case!
Now, after months of my subconscious going 'pfft, call yourself a writer, you can't even manage to sit down and do anything!', we've now moved onto 'oh, so maybe you can write everyday, but what you're writing is shit' which I guess is an improvement? Yep, just over 15,000 words and maybe some of it is crap, but at least it exists.
Been posting on the new UNCLE kink meme which is a bit of an odd experience, all this anonymity and so on - boy, there are some really 'interesting' prompts on there! And yes, I'm writing movie fic but plan to use the same method to break the deadlock on my two existing public WIP as well as clear out some of the other stuff I've had lurking on my hard drive, some of it literally for years.
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no subject
Date: 2015-09-02 07:22 pm (UTC)Yea for writing! Good for you! I have yet to see the movie, though it is on my list of 'to dos'. Looking forward to seeing what you produce! Um - where is this UNCLE kink meme?
no subject
Date: 2015-09-02 08:15 pm (UTC)Yep, I've needed a good kick up the arse to get me writing again and the combination of 750 Words and the movie seem to have done the trick - I've written just over 16,000 words and almost all of it has been UNCLE movie fic. The kink meme is here: http://kinkfromuncle.dreamwidth.org/ and usual quality caveats apply.
UNCLE, etc
Date: 2015-09-02 10:49 pm (UTC)I just saw the new UNCLE film and it made me think of you (which also made me rather sad and nostalgic about Connotations again). I really enjoyed it and feel like I now need to go back and re-watch some of the TV series to refresh my memory and compare!
I've fallen out of fandom in recent years, mostly due to life being too hectic. It's nice to see that you're still at it! I should get back in and start writing again really. Maybe I'll check out that kink meme. ;)
I agree with you that Tumblr is a horrible place for fandom, although I'm probably biased because I dislike videos or gifs leaping out at me without warning on the internet and find a wall of text much more soothing.
Re: UNCLE, etc
Date: 2015-09-04 06:14 pm (UTC)It's funny what will spark an interest - I'd grown gradually more sure I wanted to see the movie and enjoyed it very much, though there are certainly elements that are different from the series. Which I also love and hope that folks coming into the fandom via the movie will take the time to explore as well.
The kink meme is here on Dreamwidth, so you might find something to your liking, though the usual quality caveats apply. If nothing else, reading the prompts gives a real insight into what current fans think is interesting/hot and that's entertainment enough in itself...