Where to find other fans of things...

[malymin]

I kind of hate the tag-as-watering-hole approach of modern social media: when the most absolute negative (to the point of uncharitability) and positive (to the point of glossing over real problems) posts about a particular topic come from the same "spout" with no meaningful way to filter, it seems to inevitably lead to conflict. When I have to swim through repetitive low-effort memes and shitposts to get to the meaty fanworks, it breeds frustration. Tags are impossible for members of a subculture to moderate, which encourages vigilante "moderation" through callouts, harassment, and shaming to proliferate.

At the same time, I understand why it became a popular way of doing things. Because it shows whether or not people are talking about something already, to see people using a tag for it.

I want to show a niche Princess Tutu fic I wrote to other Princess Tutu fans. I want to also ask for feedback on how they interpret it, if they have any critique, and if they'd be willing to act as beta readers. I already posted in frillsofjustice; I worry that it might be too niche for anime_manga, and also I already recently posted a friend's niche fanfic in there. I check to see if there are any Princess Tutu-specific communities.

The most recently updated one in an interest search is tutufans... but the last post is 2016. I'd contact the mods and ask if it's ok to try to re-start activity - I did this for frillsofjustice because it was also inactive, and the moderator gave me the go-ahead to resume activity. However, the mods on this comm haven't been active since like... 2012. You'd think between three mods, there might be one active one... no dice.

I could DM individual journals with "Princess Tutu" listed as an Interest... but I'm worried that will come across as rude? Is it rude? I don't remember what the DM etiquette is in Livejournal/Dreamwidth culture, it's been too long.

What should I do?

Comments

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> I kind of hate the tag-as-watering-hole approach of modern social media: when the most absolute negative (to the point of uncharitability) and positive (to the point of glossing over real problems) posts about a particular topic come from the same "spout" with no meaningful way to filter, it seems to inevitably lead to conflict. <<

I agree, that's a problem. However, social media is often designed to create conflict, so the designers likely see that as an asset.

>> When I have to swim through repetitive low-effort memes and shitposts to get to the meaty fanworks, it breeds frustration.<<

Too true. I miss when people came to fandom to squee over what they loved instead of whine about what they hate.

Watch for marchmetamatterschallenge. meta_warehouse has had some good stuff recently.

>> Tags are impossible for members of a subculture to moderate, which encourages vigilante "moderation" through callouts, harassment, and shaming to proliferate. <<

I have no patience with that shit. I found it tedious in junior high and no more interesting now. One reason I like Dreamwidth is its good privacy and moderation tools. Communities make good gathering places for shared interests too.

>> Because it shows whether or not people are talking about something already, to see people using a tag for it.<<

Dreamwidth offers Tags and Interests as different ways to search for and organize things.

>> I want to show a niche Princess Tutu fic I wrote to other Princess Tutu fans. I want to also ask for feedback on how they interpret it, if they have any critique, and if they'd be willing to act as beta readers.<<

Communities are one option. You could also use your own blog, especially if this is a favorite fandom of yours.

>> I worry that it might be too niche for anime_manga,<<

You could check if the guidelines say.

>> I'd contact the mods and ask if it's ok to try to re-start activity <<

It's worth a try, but with that big a gap, they probably are not on DW anymore. So if you don't hear back, you could just post because there's nobody to tell you not to. However, then you don't have the mod tools if anything goes wrong. Starting a new community is more work, but at least you have the controls if you need them.

DW is littered with dead or dormant communities, which is sad and makes it hard to find active ones. That's why I started making lists of active comms. It's easier to look at an active list for things you like than search for your interests hoping one is active.

>>I could DM individual journals with "Princess Tutu" listed as an Interest... but I'm worried that will come across as rude? Is it rude? I don't remember what the DM etiquette is in Livejournal/Dreamwidth culture, it's been too long.

What should I do?<<

Private messages are more often used between people who know each other.

Blogs give you a clue how open the person is to meeting new people. If it's Friends Only, they're less open, but some will have an open post that anyone can comment under to be added. If the posts are all or mostly visible, then the person is more open to contact.

So, start with the members of that community or with people who share that interest. Visit their blogs. Is it active? If not, move on to the next. Is it Friends Only? Check if that post has instructions about friending; if not, move on. If the blog is both active and open, scan the first page to see if there are any posts where talking about Tutu seems relevant; if so, put that there. Otherwise, you can comment on a random post and see if you can strike up a conversation with the blogger that might eventually lead to common interests.

Another approach is to use Add Me communities, which let you say what you're looking for, so people who share that interest can respond.

I hope this helps.