recursive snark

[alias_sqbr]

It's funny, I used to despise Fandom Wank, and now I quite enjoy it, I couldn't really tell you what's changed. But I have no desire to comment 99% of the time and the vibe of the place sometimes rubs me the wrong way.

Anyway this post about ontd_ai and the resulting post about that post on ontd_ai and then the thread on fw about that post I think sum up the self conscious forced-ness that snark communities can fall prey to. (Well, dot_gimp_snark seems pretty safe, but that's a different sort of snark)

And no, I'm not doing the same thing. I'm doing quietly smug non-snarky moral-high-ground-taking, which is just as bad but different :D It's definitely as prone to self conscious "By deliberately not falling into this behaviour, am I thus being everything I despise? But by deliberately avoiding that..." recursive loops, rather like "Anyone who calls themselves a hipster isn't really a hipster"/"anyone who tries to be cool isn't cool" etc. I used to worry about this sort of thing a lot more then I decided to just accept that there was no way to avoid being a bit up myself and hypocritical.

(nb I would rather people didn't snark the snarking snarkers, I've reached my limit for the evening. If you like that sort of thing there's two perfectly good posts you can join in on :))

Comments

[stephbg.livejournal.com]

Um... what?

I must be too innocent.

[furikku.livejournal.com]

Folks need to learn that anytime someone is making fun of you on the internet in a not-harassing way, you just close the tab and go look at something more fun. It really is one of those "ignore them and they'll go away" things. (Possibly the only instance where this actually works.)

And nothing good ever comes from confronting the mockers. Ever.

[http://users.livejournal.com/peasant_/]

You are right - accepting a little unavoidable hypocrisy in our selves is one of those gentle adjustments that comes with age. Like ceasing to worry about the slightly sagging waistline or not having to say yes to every party invitation.

[danamaree.livejournal.com]

I hate the culture, but I post there. I hate some of the posters (well as much as you can hate someone you don't know, which admittedly isn't much), but I still post there. And I've posted there for years.

I've come under attack there, ok, maybe one and half times, the one time was hilarious because it was because of a mock snarky argument I was having with a friend from real life, and someone took it seriously and we were like 'WTF' but it amused me. I've had hands down, screaming, flaming insult exchanges there.

I've seen good friends from real life being attacked there, and what they said totally twisted out of context. But I still post there.

One thing F_W has taught me, is to get a thick skin, to know that you're gonna have to deal with the repercussions. To try not to HATE the smug sanctimonious absolutist bullshit from teenagers, because life is too short.

It's also given me a big hatred for petty personal insults (I know, I know, it's F_W right, it goes with the territory), but that no longer amuses me anymore.

But despite all that, I think F_W does fandom a service, and it needs to be there. (still hate the culture tho).

[alias_sqbr]

If you are not familiar with Fandom Wank then yes, you must be :)

(They basically post about fandom drama and mock from the sidelines. It can be meanspirited, but also amusing and informative, if only as a set of cautionary tales on avoiding Huge Fannish Drama)

[alias_sqbr]

The people on ontd_ai weren't so much "Oh noes they are mocking us" as "YAY SOMEONE IS PAYING ATTENTION TO US" which isn't quite as bad. But yes.

I think that if I was mocked on fw or something similar I'd probably freak out a little bit, but I'd like to think that I would at least keep any ranting to a locked post :)

[alias_sqbr]

Exactly!

[alias_sqbr]

I don't hate it, I'm just wildly ambivalent. Then again, I've never had to watch anyone I'm very close to (including myself :D) get mocked.

I have seen enough people get a raw deal to never feel entirely comfortable there, since I know that the same wankas would happily mock me if the situation arose and I don't think I'd like it very much.

[furikku.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it still looks p. pathetic when you're like, "OH MAN I AM INTERNET FAMOUS!" where people can see it. :/

[alias_sqbr]

I am Internet Famous for being mockworthy.