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| ANTI BLOG FIC HOME INFO LINK TO ME LOVE RANTS RAVES |
| 02/26/02
Got a letter from Anna today about not including Spoiler Space or such in my previous blog entry. Apologized and changed the font color on the entry so it needs to be highlighted to be seen. Gotta admit it didn't occur to me that actor info. was considered Spoilers, but I guess as a Spoiler Virgin myself I *should* have thought of it. Had a brief moment of 'hey! it's my blog, darnit!' but that passed in favor of Anna's freindship and the sense of community I truly enjoy here. Which got me thinking..... This is a community, isn't it? I mean, how else do you define a group of folks with common interest who come together to discuss, rant and generally hang out and *let* it all hang out? I go with community. We're a microcosm of society as a whole, and we reflect all of it, good, bad and downright stupid. Which means each of us have responsibilities to the other to some extent. We label spoilers, we do technofavors for one another, we pat eachother on the virtual back for jobs well done. So, now onto the thinking part... EDITED 730PM. I decided I really wanna hear some answers. So here's my blog entry re-formatted into a questionaire of sorts. Mail in responses, post them on your blog, whatever. Enquiring minds yada yada. Do you consider this fandom a true community? In what sense? What are the members' of the community responsibilities to one another, (if any)? Who are the other members of this community? Buffy writers? Buffy VIPs who post at the Bronze? Or is that just wishful thinking on our parts? (Star-fucking, if you will) What are our rights as members of this community with regards to the PTB? IE, does Joss et al owe us anything for our audience participation? What do you give to the community?
And what do you get out of it in return?
I'll have my own personal answers posted later. I have too many thoughts. Got Spanked by: Late Entry from Minitrog:
Subj: Blog back re: community.
Hiya Kita, Wanned to answer this one
for ages, but I am
Do you consider this fandom
a true community? In what
Yes, and in the same sense
I consider any other
What are the members' of
the community
Courtesy. Contribution. Kindness. Who are the other members
of this community? Buffy
Buffy Lovvers. Any kind. What are our rights as members
of this community with
I don't think he owes us
anything for audience
What do you give to the community?
And what do you get
I am a pretty good feedbacker,
an apalling writer, I
What do I get? Great
reading material, fun,
There ya go kita, sorry its
late, but you have been
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OF
THE RECENT THEN
OF
THE THEN
Hi Kita, Usually I lurk quietly at your blog, but one of the questions you threw out recently is one I've given some thought to as a person who thinks both shows this season are pretty awful - specifically, the one about whether Joss/ME etc owes us, the fans, anything for our audience participation. My general feeling is that yes, they do. TV is a business, and on the most basic level ME are businesspeople. Therefore, on the most basic level, they are the producers and we are the consumers. (I say 'the basic level' because it is TV, and it's possible that there are things like creativity that do/should/might cloud the issue). If I buy a car, I expect certain things from that car. Perhaps I've bought that particular car because I saw an advertisement that attracted me to it. If that car doesn't do what the ad (or, okay, in the real world the manual) says it will, I'm entitled to complain to the car manufacturers that their car is crappy. If many people feel the way I do, the car will fail. On the same token, I watch BtVS and Ats because I expect certain things from them as shows. Here the analogy starts to break down, because many people will watch the shows for different reasons and expect different things. But in general, it's probably safe to say we look for believable characters, good plots, humour, and real life situations explored through the supernatural. This is what we've come to expect from the shows, and things they are marketed on the strength of. If the shows then fail to deliver these things, consistently and well, we are entitled to complain to ME that their shows are crappy. Obviously, when a show is failing is far more subjective than when a car has broken. But the principle is the same - the car manufacturers rely on people buying their car, therefore they have a duty to the people they're trying to flog it to. ME relies on people watching their shows, so they have a duty to the people they're trying to flog them to. To tie it back to community - IMHO, that duty is more significant to long-time or highly interested fans of the sort that make up a fandom, and I think ME do appreciate that with the sort of references to previous episodes or arcs that are great for someone who knows the history. Lisa >Do you consider this fandom a true community? In what sense? Hard to say, seeing as I'm a loner-type, but yeah, I think it's a community. >What
are the members' of the community responsibilities to one another, (if
To respect eachother and keep some perspective about things. Regarding
respect: everyone has a different take on what the fandom is and
Regarding
perspective: it's a TV show. A great one, but it's not the only
>Who
are the other members of this community? Buffy writers? Buffy VIPs who
Anyone
who has an interest in the show and shares their views on it, either
>What
are our rights as members of this community with regards to the PTB?
Torn on this one, but I think no. Or maybe yes. Very confused now. >What do you give to the community? And what do you get out of it in return? I try
to give constructive feedback on sites and 'fic, and I link to sites,
What
do I get out of it all? The knowledge that I'm not the only person
Julie Karasik
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