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So with the looming Great Tumblr Crackdown (do we have a name for it? Something about female-presenting nipples, I hope? NippleGate?), I have shifted my arse back to DW.
In some ways, I am pleased to be back here. I'm a writer, words are my primary mode of communication and self-expression; I was never quite able to reconcile my tendency to prattle on with Tumblr's fleeting, image-heavy, ever-scrolling nature, although I adjusted well enough.
It did make me thoughtful, though, about... hm, let's call them 'perceived thresholds' for becoming an active participant in fandom.
In the message board/Yahoo Groups/LJ/DW days of old, the threshold was more or less: you become an active participant by generating fanworks, participating in or creating fandom events, or commenting. There's an intimidation factor to all that, and I think a large part of Tumblr's appeal stems (stemmed?) from a lower perceived threshold. The old standard still applies, of course--you can create fanworks or moderate some sort of fandom community hub/event, just like in the old fandom days. But on Tumblr, you could also become an active fandomer through sheer consistent reblogging alone. You could ease yourself into fandom, as it were, and I'm not sure any other platform offers an equivalent of this lowered perceived threshold.
So, happy as I am to be on a text-based platform again, I suppose I do feel a spot of ambivalence when I think about the fandomers who may opt out of fandom or pull back due to the intimidation factor. I'm not really sure how it can be mitigated, beyond saying: hi, anyone who's checking out my DW! Feel free to drop me a line if you so wish, I have anon commenting enabled, and I always welcome chats.
In some ways, I am pleased to be back here. I'm a writer, words are my primary mode of communication and self-expression; I was never quite able to reconcile my tendency to prattle on with Tumblr's fleeting, image-heavy, ever-scrolling nature, although I adjusted well enough.
It did make me thoughtful, though, about... hm, let's call them 'perceived thresholds' for becoming an active participant in fandom.
In the message board/Yahoo Groups/LJ/DW days of old, the threshold was more or less: you become an active participant by generating fanworks, participating in or creating fandom events, or commenting. There's an intimidation factor to all that, and I think a large part of Tumblr's appeal stems (stemmed?) from a lower perceived threshold. The old standard still applies, of course--you can create fanworks or moderate some sort of fandom community hub/event, just like in the old fandom days. But on Tumblr, you could also become an active fandomer through sheer consistent reblogging alone. You could ease yourself into fandom, as it were, and I'm not sure any other platform offers an equivalent of this lowered perceived threshold.
So, happy as I am to be on a text-based platform again, I suppose I do feel a spot of ambivalence when I think about the fandomers who may opt out of fandom or pull back due to the intimidation factor. I'm not really sure how it can be mitigated, beyond saying: hi, anyone who's checking out my DW! Feel free to drop me a line if you so wish, I have anon commenting enabled, and I always welcome chats.
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