I hate the idea of "Toxic Fandoms"

[Malcolm]

I hate this for several reasons. Instead of actually calling out an individual group of fans being toxic, it's devolved into yet another excuse to trash on people for what they like.

Not to mention toxic fandom is such a pointless term since all Fandoms have toxic super fans(or dumb kids being dumb kids). The label and incessant need to rank them feels more or less like an excuse to trash on a work and its fans while feeling superior about the stuff you're a fan of. It just reeks if a "my shit don't stink" attitude.

I also notice how some of the most "problematic" Fandoms tend to have a large overlap of marginalized groups(Sonic and Autistic kids. Furries and queer people, MLP and both. Steven Universe and LGBTQ) A lot of these fans tend to get shamed simply for being associated with the fandom to the point they're scared to say that they're fans. So there might even be a sinister underlying thing behind it.

Tl'dr: I think "toxic fandoms" might be dog whistle and yet another excuse to justify singling out certain groups.

[BorneAgain]

Toxic fandom is a description that's utilized for a lot of reasons.

At times, it's applied to be a wake-up call to individual neutral fans that aren't engaging in dubious behavior themselves, but also fail to call out the dubious acts that others in it are committing.

Other occasion's it's used because either for clicks or YouTube views, harsh and/or close minded commentary about a show and especially other fans is incentivized. The money and cloud is specifically in conflict, not agreement.

Finally, it occasionally comes down to fan bases being so divided and segmented that bitter treatment of each other can ensue. To name the Sonic fandom for example, I don't think it's labeled toxic because of OC's, fanfiction, or video essays as much as because of just how harsh fans can get with each other because of their contrasting views about the franchise. Classic Sonic fans having bad faith agruments about the Adventure era games, Adventure fans unfairly judging the tastes of Modern fans, attacks about Archie and IDW, Sonally vs Sonamy and so on. There are a lot of outsiders who can use the toxic label as a cheap shot against the fandom definitely, but it's a reputation that didn't just appear because people felt like mocking Sonic either.

I personally think in many cases (Sonic included) broken is a more fitting descriptor than toxic, but it will often come down to one's individual experiences.

[Clash, Never a Meter Maid]

Fandoms on their own can be a good source of comfort . The problem is Toxic Fans as a whole who will get into those communities and make it worse for everyone reputation wise.

Said toxic fans are also used by douchebags (and bigots who will unfortunately latch onto anything they can use to their end) outside of fandoms as an excuse to vilify everyone inside said groups, which isn’t fair to them, and then everyone just winds up mad at each other and they can’t figure out why they’re upset in the first place.

It’s not those properties’ fault of course, you just named three I’d recommend to any age.

[Deleted]

I didn't even know people were still using that term.

I've certainly never heard anyone give a f*** about toxic fandoms in real life. Just stay away from shitty websites.

[Lizuka #BLM]

There certainly are plenty of fanbases with vocal minorities of shitty fans, but I do try not to let it color my perception of the original media.

[Zaq "That Guy" Buzzkill]

Feb 24, 2022 19:58:37 GMT -5 @therealoblivion said:

I didn't even know people were still using that term.

I've certainly never heard anyone give a f*** about toxic fandoms in real life. Just stay away from shitty websites.

Then why are you on FAN?

*rimshot*

[Clash, Never a Meter Maid]

I think the problem culturally-outside of people getting so fixated and grumping around always thinking “ugh, this/that fandom is so toxic!” that you develop a toxic and off-putting attitude yourself and forget to actually, y’know, have fun with the property- is that too many of us shame others for being different or weird.


“Cringe culture” will start off with getting bent out of shape over a perfectly functional adult enjoying kids’ centric media now and then or people enjoying themselves at some convention. And sadly, some will slide down a dark slope from there via getting aggravated about entire groups of people.

It becomes one of those weird issues that can just be solved by some basic common sense and tolerance. Where you getting worked up over what other people are doing that isn’t affecting you.

[Fade is a CodyCryBaby]

Studios have definitely weaponized it to shield from criticism and/or failure when it comes to certain properties and that irks me. Cause if something is good, its good. If it’s bad, it’s bad.

But yeah, you’re always going to have terrible people in any fandom. Be it for cartoons, cars, sports, whatever.

[Cyno]

I'm fan of a lot of things that have toxic fandoms, but I just tend to avoid the toxicity. There's good and bad in every fandom and that's especially true of the larger ones. Some of the more niche fandoms can stave it off for a time, but it's inevitable.

Though there are a few cases of companies subtly or even overtly encouraging toxicity that makes things unfortunate. Blizzard and World of Warcraft, for instance.

[ayumidah]

Social media has kind of amplified voices on either side so there's almost always a lot of petty fighting in fandoms. I usually stay on the fringe of fandoms and use the block button as often as I need to.

[Hit Girl]

Fandoms for the most part are fine. What has happened is that toxic people, ideologically motivated, jump on the bandwagon of fandom to promote themselves and their social media channels and accounts. These people are then amplified by those sites and become seen as the representatives of those fandoms, when in fact they probably aren't even real fans to begin with.

Part of the problem is that the studios who produce those franchises that attract fandoms have closed their original moderated sites and message boards where the occassional dickhead could be banned. Those sites were forums for genuine fans of said franchises. Instead, they've switched to completely unmoderated social media, which along with dedicated troll message boards, drown out and alienate real fans, who have nowhere now to go.

I offer the example of Star Wars. They used to have a pretty good message board, with mods and admins who, like FAN, interacted with fans. Trouble members could be quickly reported and removed. But they closed them and now the Star Wars fandom is represented by twats complaining about woke and social justice in nine hour videos or on cesspits like Twitter and Facebook. Any legitimate arguments are buried under tons of this shit.

[Kevin Hamilton]

If someone is letting anything they're a fan of: movies, comics, a sports team, whatever define them as a person it's never a good thing.

One can like or even love things they enjoy and even build a sense of community with others about it&be positive. The trouble is, and where the toxic part comes in is when they make things they're fans of a driving focus of their being. That's when you get people hurling death threats at actors or writers and that kind of thing.

The phrase toxic fandom has probably morphed into being a catch all beyond what it should, but at its core the idea of not being obsessed over anything you like entertainment wise is a good one.

It's always good to occasionally take a step back and realize so much of what folks are fans of is imaginary¬ to tie too much of the good emotions that come from enjoying the thing completely in with the product itself.

[Clash, Never a Meter Maid]

The problem no one talks about is how jerks outside of fandoms will use the small minority of overly obsessed people- and it usually *is* a minority of a fandom who make it their complete identity- to act as if every fan of an IP acts in that manner.

90% of fan bases are everyday regular folk who don’t walk around with the merch/costumes/gear 24 hours a day.

[Futureraven: Beelzebruv]

There's no such thing as a toxic fandom.

But all fandoms have toxic elements that do hound people for not liking things, being inaccurate, perceived slights, trying to change things.

Hell, the Snyder cult got millions put into a movie, Star Wars fans chased people off twitter, got characters they didn't like marginalised and a last movie that was a total mess just to please them, so those elements ARE real and have actual effects.

[Clash, Never a Meter Maid]

Feb 25, 2022 5:36:31 GMT -5 Futureraven: Beelzebruv said:

There's no such thing as a toxic fandom.

But all fandoms have toxic elements that do hound people for not liking things, being inaccurate, perceived slights, trying to change things.

Hell, the Snyder cult got millions put into a movie, Star Wars fans chased people off twitter, got characters they didn't like marginalised and a last movie that was a total mess just to please them, so those elements ARE real and have actual effects.

And those overzealous fans who do cause trouble are the ones who have the normal fans feeling ashamed and embarrassed.

They're automatically lumped in with the crazies.

[Deleted]

Feb 24, 2022 20:29:21 GMT -5 Clash, Never a Meter Maid said:

It becomes one of those weird issues that can just be solved by some basic common sense and tolerance.

That's the solution to almost every problem on the planet.

Unfortunately, about half of all people don't want to do that even though it's simple.

[Kevin Hamilton]

Personally I'm not even necessarily talking about crazies etc though it can lead there.

It's just a case of not getting one's identity too tied up in anything: cartoon, football, hell religion even.

[eJm]

What also has to be said is that some communities are very easy to let those people in when they're being under false pretenses and that community then don't right away throw them out or say that it's not welcomed and I've seen that way too many times in good places. I've been also guilty of not saying anything about it to not be the difficult one.

It's one of the problems we've somehow avoided here, there have been times people come here and then hopefully be able to stay because they act a certain way and we make it clear that it's not acceptable and they either not act like jackoffs and follow the rules or we throw them out. They might then go "Well, you're not welcoming" but the fact is, we have rules and things we deem acceptable behavior and if they aren't following it and continue to do so when told, they're out the door. Simple as that.

[SHAKEMASTER TV9 is Don Knotts]

The only Toxic Fandom allowed is for Toxie the Toxic Avenger.

[Malcolm]

Feb 25, 2022 4:39:49 GMT -5 Kevin Hamilton said:

If someone is letting anything they're a fan of: movies, comics, a sports team, whatever define them as a person it's never a good thing.

One can like or even love things they enjoy and even build a sense of community with others about it&be positive. The trouble is, and where the toxic part comes in is when they make things they're fans of a driving focus of their being. That's when you get people hurling death threats at actors or writers and that kind of thing.

The phrase toxic fandom has probably morphed into being a catch all beyond what it should, but at its core the idea of not being obsessed over anything you like entertainment wise is a good one.

It's always good to occasionally take a step back and realize so much of what folks are fans of is imaginary¬ to tie too much of the good emotions that come from enjoying the thing completely in with the product itself.

So in other words, it the phrase was once something could've been potentially used for good but has been co-opted and corrupted by jackassses, idiots, and assholes, for completely selfish reasons.

Just like crytocurrency.