{"id":212349,"date":"2014-05-09T02:11:54","date_gmt":"2014-05-09T02:11:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2014\/05\/09\/b-youre-my-absolute-favorite-sherlock-writer\/"},"modified":"2014-05-09T02:11:54","modified_gmt":"2014-05-09T02:11:54","slug":"b-youre-my-absolute-favorite-sherlock-writer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2014\/05\/09\/b-youre-my-absolute-favorite-sherlock-writer\/","title":{"rendered":"B- You’re my absolute favorite Sherlock writer there is and I’m really sad to hear that you and other great fandom artists feel like you’re not getting the respect and appreciation you deserve. Is there anything, other than encouraging comments, that you think those of us who are more silent in the fandom can do to try and bring back a better atmosphere for artists?"},"content":{"rendered":"

beautifulfic-deactivated2015091<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

Thank you, hun! This is really sweet of you to ask. Obviously, I don\u2019t have all the answers, but I think what the quiet people can do is speak up, just a little bit.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t have to be much. If your favourite artist or writer or whatever puts something up on tumblr, like it and reblog. That\u2019s like a double whammy of love, and you don\u2019t have to say a word. You could drop them a little message just to say thank you or loved it. Some will reply, others won\u2019t, but either way I bet they\u2019ll appreciate it!<\/p>\n

If they\u2019re posting on a site where comments are easy, again just a couple of words gets the support across. if you\u2019re worried about sounding repetitive or something (don\u2019t be worried, all praise = good) then try picking something that you really, really liked. Is the colour of Sherlock\u2019s eyes particularly stunning in the picture? Is there a line in a chapter you love beyond all others (I LOVE it when people who pick out favourite lines – it shows, to me, that they\u2019re really engaged with the fics.)<\/p>\n

Basically, when it comes down to making fandom a lovely place, a key thing to remember is respect. Even if you don\u2019t like what someone is saying, or creating, or whatever, you (this is a nebulous \u201cyou\u201d not a direct \u201cyou\u201d) need to remember that they\u2019re entitled to feel that way or create that thing. Ask yourself:<\/p>\n

Do I really need to challenge this person about this thing, or can I let is pass?<\/p>\n

If you can let it pass, do. Sometimes it seems like people create conflict in fandom for the fun of it, which is unfortunate, because often the community is used as a place of refuge and arguments make it feel like a warzone instead.<\/p>\n

By all means, enter into debate, but keep it polite and respectful. Don\u2019t just say \u201cYou\u2019re wrong and stupid!\u201d bring your evidence to the table, and lay it out in an unemotional way. Debate\u2019s not about choosing right and wrong. it\u2019s about viewing a topic from every angle and gaining a better understanding of it as a community. It can be hard not to get angry over things your passionate about. Don\u2019t kill the passion, not by any means, but bring the respect.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I think open conversation and discussion of flaws and points of view is phenomenally important. It enables us to educate ourselves and refine our world view, but lately such efforts have quickly evolved into petty squabbling and hateful comments. Bit not good.<\/p>\n

Also (and this is a personal thing for me and might not bother other creators), there is a time and a place for commentary on the show and its creators, and that place is on your own blog (the time is up to you.) It\u2019s not in the comments of my fic when I\u2019ve just posted a new chapter, or that piece of art someone\u2019s just put up on tumblr, or even that in-passing comment they just made.<\/p>\n

Finally, I don\u2019t want to be told I\u2019m \u201cbetter than most of the shit fic on this archive\u201d or \u201cShould take Moffat\u2019s place because he\u2019s crap.\u201d<\/p>\n

That might be your opinion, but it is fundamentally divisive, and it\u2019s really not flattering. Comparisons are odious.<\/p>\n

Those creators are as deserving of respect as anyone else, and it makes me feel guilty by association being on the receiving end of that kind of comment, and only enhances hte negative fandom vibes.<\/p>\n

I hope all that sort of outlines what you can and can\u2019t do. The tl;dr version is: share the love, silence the hate, show the respect.<\/p>\n

If you do that, then it\u2019ll be sunshine, rainbows, and open, honest and educated debate all the way!<\/p>\n

(The you throughout ALL of this is hte nebulous you, btw. It\u2019s not the you<\/em> you. The you y<\/em>ou probably knows all this already and is, by the way, looking very sharp and keen and intelligent today. Go youl)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

beautifulfic-deactivated2015091: Thank you, hun! This is really sweet of you to ask. Obviously, I don\u2019t have all the answers, but I think what the quiet people can do is speak up, just a little bit. It doesn\u2019t have to be much. If your favourite artist or writer or whatever puts something up on tumblr, like … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “B- You’re my absolute favorite Sherlock writer there is and I’m really sad to hear that you and other great fandom artists feel like you’re not getting the respect and appreciation you deserve. Is there anything, other than encouraging comments, that you think those of us who are more silent in the fandom can do to try and bring back a better atmosphere for artists?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[22267],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212349"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212349"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212349\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}