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How Fandom Has Changed
So, I've spoken to people about this in various places in various ways, but I kind of wanted to put this out there, and get people's opinions.
Maybe it's just the fandoms I've been in, or it could just be me, but it seems like fandom has changed how they present themselves a lot since I joined. The area that I notice this the most is with vidding.
I remember making my first vid, and then having no idea how to go about sharing it. I was a poor student! I couldn't afford to buy webspace! I also was stuck using WMM (Version 1!) because you couldn't get downloads of better programs, and that was all that was available to me. It took me *months* to get my hands on all the aired episodes of QaF, because there weren't all the communities available, and while there was probably bit torrent, I certainly didn't know about it. I used Kazaa to get all my eps. :P I remember, even as I got started, there was meta going around saying that vidding was beginning to lose some of it's quality because what with WMM being on most new computers, and episode downloads more readily available everyone was trying vidding now, even if they hadn't any talent for it. I took exception to such meta, mostly because I was one of those talentless n00bs taking advantage of the new fangled technology suddenly on my computer (I still don't really agree with that idea, because for all the less than stellar vidders, there are a lot of amazing vidders who wouldn't have tried in the old days, and even if you're not an amazing vidder, I still think your work has merit if you enjoyed yourself. Hell, if I was that kind of elitist, I could never have made anymore vids, and I'd like to think that I've moved beyond the mediocre vidder I started as).
Despite it giving me problems when I first started out, I think the thing about vidding today that annoys me the most is the fact that people don't have personal webpages for their vids anymore. They just post them to Youtube or Imeem, and so, so many don't even offer a download link anymore, or if they do, they're often hosted on temporary sites such as sendspace or megaupload. I'm one of those people that always downloads vids, I watch them as I do other things on my computer, I hate streaming vids. I won't watch them if there is only a streaming option, and I like being able to go to a vidders website and downloading more of their vids if I find something I like. Half the time if I want to do that now, I end up having to root someone's LJs tags or memories, only to find that the download link has expired.
And it's not just vidders that I've noticed giving up on personal websites, it seems like so many author's have decided that their LJs are the only place they need to post fic. I had a big long discussion with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
paradise_city about this, she was wondering why anyone would need more than LJ in fandom, and no offense to her, but that idea really... worries me and drives me crazy. Because LJ? Not really the best archive. Unless the author takes the time to maintain a master fic list, I find it so frustrating trying to find their other fics. Tags just... aren't really enough for me, and people can be really bad at keeping them updated (I know *I* am). Do people even *use* the memory feature any more? I've been lucky in SGA, that it has enough fic appearing on my flist, that I never really have to search any out, but it's not so with all fandoms. I've pretty much given up on reading Numb3rs fic, because it's always so much effort finding it. That's really the reason why I wanted to start an archive for Numb3rs, to help centralize it, but for reasons having to do with stupid eFiction those idea have been put on hold.
I know that when I started in fandom, it was literally *months* before I even found LJ, I happily did all my reading initially from personal webpages of authors, and then later from archives. Even once I was on LJ I did most of my reading off it. I really miss that. For one thing, as someone who doesn't bookmark fic as I read it, it was a lot easier for me to go back and find the fics that I had read previously, because it's a lot easier to remember a webpage than it is to remember someone's LJ.
I find myself missing the days when more fic was stored off of LJ, and not just because I feel that LJ isn't a reliable place for fandom. It's funny how fandom moves, I wonder where we'll be next.
Maybe it's just the fandoms I've been in, or it could just be me, but it seems like fandom has changed how they present themselves a lot since I joined. The area that I notice this the most is with vidding.
I remember making my first vid, and then having no idea how to go about sharing it. I was a poor student! I couldn't afford to buy webspace! I also was stuck using WMM (Version 1!) because you couldn't get downloads of better programs, and that was all that was available to me. It took me *months* to get my hands on all the aired episodes of QaF, because there weren't all the communities available, and while there was probably bit torrent, I certainly didn't know about it. I used Kazaa to get all my eps. :P I remember, even as I got started, there was meta going around saying that vidding was beginning to lose some of it's quality because what with WMM being on most new computers, and episode downloads more readily available everyone was trying vidding now, even if they hadn't any talent for it. I took exception to such meta, mostly because I was one of those talentless n00bs taking advantage of the new fangled technology suddenly on my computer (I still don't really agree with that idea, because for all the less than stellar vidders, there are a lot of amazing vidders who wouldn't have tried in the old days, and even if you're not an amazing vidder, I still think your work has merit if you enjoyed yourself. Hell, if I was that kind of elitist, I could never have made anymore vids, and I'd like to think that I've moved beyond the mediocre vidder I started as).
Despite it giving me problems when I first started out, I think the thing about vidding today that annoys me the most is the fact that people don't have personal webpages for their vids anymore. They just post them to Youtube or Imeem, and so, so many don't even offer a download link anymore, or if they do, they're often hosted on temporary sites such as sendspace or megaupload. I'm one of those people that always downloads vids, I watch them as I do other things on my computer, I hate streaming vids. I won't watch them if there is only a streaming option, and I like being able to go to a vidders website and downloading more of their vids if I find something I like. Half the time if I want to do that now, I end up having to root someone's LJs tags or memories, only to find that the download link has expired.
And it's not just vidders that I've noticed giving up on personal websites, it seems like so many author's have decided that their LJs are the only place they need to post fic. I had a big long discussion with
paradise_city about this, she was wondering why anyone would need more than LJ in fandom, and no offense to her, but that idea really... worries me and drives me crazy. Because LJ? Not really the best archive. Unless the author takes the time to maintain a master fic list, I find it so frustrating trying to find their other fics. Tags just... aren't really enough for me, and people can be really bad at keeping them updated (I know *I* am). Do people even *use* the memory feature any more? I've been lucky in SGA, that it has enough fic appearing on my flist, that I never really have to search any out, but it's not so with all fandoms. I've pretty much given up on reading Numb3rs fic, because it's always so much effort finding it. That's really the reason why I wanted to start an archive for Numb3rs, to help centralize it, but for reasons having to do with stupid eFiction those idea have been put on hold.I know that when I started in fandom, it was literally *months* before I even found LJ, I happily did all my reading initially from personal webpages of authors, and then later from archives. Even once I was on LJ I did most of my reading off it. I really miss that. For one thing, as someone who doesn't bookmark fic as I read it, it was a lot easier for me to go back and find the fics that I had read previously, because it's a lot easier to remember a webpage than it is to remember someone's LJ.
I find myself missing the days when more fic was stored off of LJ, and not just because I feel that LJ isn't a reliable place for fandom. It's funny how fandom moves, I wonder where we'll be next.
no subject
I started vidding almost 3 years ago, but been checking vids for like 7 years, and I'm kind of mourning the loss of personal sites. Not that much for fanfic, but I confess I don't have much time for fic reading.
I'm a huge anti-youtube for various reasons. First, I'm a vid DL girl, I like storing them on my computer and have time to properly (re)watch them. Youtube is kind of crappy about quality/ratio most of time, and it also kills my browser on a regular basis though I'm not on dial-up. And browsing only a youtube page is something I find quite bleh. (As for vid theft, I'd better not start on it I think).
I'm a huge LJ girl personnally. But I use it in parallel as my site, as a kind of announcement place (for the open posts). But I always take time to tag everything perfectly, with the tags showing on the main page, so that people don't take hours to browse them. When it's done this way I like LJ. It's easy to have updates and to leave feedback. But a personal site is still something more than useful and that I enjoy pretty much to browse. And it means DL links!
The temporary links are quite boring as well, especially when there are a few free sites that allow enough room to store loads of stuff there, on a permanent basis and that you can link either to a little personal site, or to a LJ well sorted out (like 4shared for exemple).
I guess I'm not such an old vidder, but an old fashion one for sure! And I'm afraid I just posted a novel on your LJ! Hum... *waves* Nice to meet you! =)
no subject
Oh, that's exciting, I keep meaning to friend
And welcome to my journal. :)
Not that much for fanfic, but I confess I don't have much time for fic reading.
I don't actually notice the change in fics as much, because LJ turns out enough fic that I always have something to read, but with vidding some of the changes have gotten me to stop watching vids as much, and that is just so much worse.
I'm a huge anti-youtube for various reasons.
I can understand the appeal of YouTube, so many people use it, and the average Joe, who doesn't know about fandom, is more likely to find your vid that way, and it can be a way of finding new vidders, since generally once you finish a vid, it'll suggest a similar one, but I certainly wouldn't want it to be the only place I watch vids. As a vid watcher, I don't decide "I'm going to spend the next hour watching vids" I download vids as I find them, and then set them to play, while I do the rest of my searching, glancing down and watching them as I go. Sometimes when a favourite one comes on, or new one catches my interest, I'll full screen the vid, but most of the time I don't devote all my attention to vid watching as I watch, so the idea of going around YouTube for vids has no appeal to me. But I understand that it might for others. I admit, I have posted my vids there (mostly, because I discovered that they were all up there anyways :S), but not only do I list my webpage in the credits of each vid, I also have it in the description on YouTube so that no one has to live with just the YouTube quality if they don't want to.
First, I'm a vid DL girl, I like storing them on my computer and have time to properly (re)watch them.
*nods* I watch my vids all the time, sometimes when I'm not on the internet, hell, I have a couple DVDs made of my favourite vids that I'll watch if I'm on the treadmill at home, you don't want crappy YouTube quality on your *TV*.
(As for vid theft, I'd better not start on it I think).
That's... actually how I found out about YouTube, someone on my flist had their vids posted there, and as I said, most of my vids were up before I decided to join.
I'm a huge LJ girl personnally.
I love LJ too, I just look at fandom these days, or at least my corner of it, and have to think that we're all kind of putting our eggs in one basket. I also know, for as much as people like LJ, I still move around on mailing lists, and I've heard quite a few rants from people saying how much they hate it, and don't want to join at any cost.
And I'm afraid I just posted a novel on your LJ! Hum... *waves* Nice to meet you! =)
Ha, don't worry about rambling away on my LJ, I do it all over the place too. Actually, I'm kind of surprised that I was able to keep this reply small enough to fit in one comment.
And it was really nice to meet you too. :)