Fan I am #4: Fandom Identity And Pathology

Planetary Collision

We’ve all been there. Some of us may be there right now and wish we weren’t.

The fandom meltdown. The flame wars, the slander, the arguing, and perhaps even the outright confrontations and questionable activity. We’ve all got a story of arguments, of failed endeavors, of con overspending, and so for.

Now when you back up and say “but aren’t we here to like the same things” it makes one think. Why the people dedicated to “liking” something are so busy hating each other and creating problems.  It sort of botches the whole goal.

In fact, it may seem fans hate each other more. As a friend once, when discussing a specific (and yes, unnamed) fandom noted that he saw more infighting among fans than he did in people who didn’t like said fans. Familiarity is seriously a petri dish for contempt.

So as I noted I think there’s five kinds of fans: Recreational, General, Social, Active, and Applied. People may just relax, or their fandom is part of their overall active and probably professional life.

I think conflicts can actually be understood as meltdowns in specific spheres. Usually this leaves the Recreational and General fans going “WTF?”*

But for others, it makes perfect sense. Or at least imperfect sense.

Here’s where I think it happens.

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Geek Catalog Update 10/26/2014

And here’s the latest update on the Geek Catalog.  Be sure to check out the ever-growing lists for Geek Focus or Community Focus.

Comics

  • History
    • Wonder Woman Museum – A museum dedicated to Wonder Woman – and sponsors various charities as well.
  • Literacy
    • Comics For Kids – Collects and donates comics to kids, with a focus on literacy and developing creativity.
  • Military Support

Computing

  • Female Geeks
    • Girl Develop IT – A nonprofit that provides accessible programs for women who want to learn coding.
  • General
    • Code For Progress – A community that trains IT professionals, provides residency, and helps people get involved in communities and causes.

Video Games

  • Charity
    • GamesAid – An UK-based “Umbrella Charity” that supports a number of smaller charities that help disadvantages and disabled young people via video-game related events and activities.
    • Indie Games For Good – Indie Games For Goods raises money for Child’s Play by focusing on Indie Game marathons.

Writing

  • Literacy
    • LitWorld – A global nonprofit that does on-the-ground solutions to address literacy.

 

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.musehack.com/, publishes books on career and culture at http://www.informotron.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.