From: msipher@aol.com (MSipher) Subject: RANT : "True Fan" and more stuff I hate about fandom. Date: 1997/05/28 Message-ID: <19970528010600.VAA25699@ladder02.news.aol.com> Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com Newsgroups: alt.toys.transformers X-Admin: news@aol.com I've been sitting on this little tidbit for a few weeks now... one of those weeks was because I was kinda out of the country (ah, St. Maarten... sun... surf... distinct lack of any responsibility...), others because I wanted to be sure I got this just how I want to do it. (And another because AOL wouldn't let me at the newsgroups. Rrrrrrgh...) Any rate. This is a rant. Not a DVD-style toy rant... more like a Dennis Miller cultural rant. (Not that I'm comparing myself to him. He's a genius and can sub-reference like nobody else. I'm just pissed off.) Wear eye protection, because I have my shitkicking boots on. (Dammit, I wish Kendrick was here... we need more unflinching realists.) ***** A few weeks ago, I made a few disparaging remarks towards TransCon. (So have many others, I've noted. Some justified, some not.) Specifically, THIS disparaging remark about Men-In-Black's statement "We've considered the fan"... >M "Unless That Fan Isn't A Dealer, Of Course. Then He/She Is F*cked" Sipher Not but a few hours afterwards, I get an e-mail from some dim-bulb, calling me a "hippocrate" (sic) and a fraud, ranting about how I was saying dealers aren't fans. (No, I don't know how one could get that from what I said, either.) I had a nice long laugh at that. No no no no no no no... read it again. Perhaps some people should READ and THINK before they start spewing bile? Maybe try spelling correctly? (Or am I expecting too much here?) NOT ONCE have I EVER said that the terms "fan" and "dealer" are mutually exclusive, because I know that that's an impossibly stupid view that flies in the face of everything I know about my fellow TF fans. You'd be hard-pressed to find ANY TF fan who hasn't sold off some bit of his/her collection in some way, or wouldn't sell off or trade away any un-needed extras should the opportunity arise. Do I care? NO!! The only problem I have with newsgroup auctions, sales and such is that they really should go in ATTMarketplace now that it's set up and generally available everywhere. (And don't *ANYBODY* start on THIS. It's here, it's being used, use it if you can, shut up.) No, I was referring to the current "One Per Customer" policy of the regular TC Exclusive, while the DEALER Exclusive (a concept I don't care for in the first place) has no set limit on how many a dealer can purchase. (According to material sent to dealers from BotCon'96. I have seen nothing since then contradicting this.) What I want to know is, if figures are in such short supply, then why aren't dealers subject to the same "One Per Customer" rule? Or, if the Dealer Exclusive is plentiful, then why isn't THAT one the regular exclusive, and the less numerous toy made the Dealer Exclusive, enabling MIB to offer multiple purchases? What about Toy-For-Tots? The presentation of 100 Onyx Primals to them was an act worthy of praise, and I would hate to see it end. The current policy seems rather off-balance to me, with an obvious preference towards the people signing up as dealers. (And to all you people slamming MIB for the exclusive figure choice... back off. I've heard the story behind Nightracer, the BC'95 Exclusive... Raksha's FIRST choice was a recolor of the Smokescreen mini-jet. But Hasbro told her that they can't split up a toy like that... fine, that's understandable... so her next choice was another G2 Stunticon. But Hasbro AGAIN told her this was impossible (I don't remember the reason behind it), and so it volleyed back and forth until it finally came down to a Go-Bot. (Which ended up the wrong color. Nightracer's SUPPOSED to be dark blue where she's neon yellow. There's your fun trivia.) So back off. HASBRO, in the end, has final say as to what the figure is. MIB and ANY convention organizer can only request and bob along until the final decision is made.) (Besides, I happen to think that the Megacroc figure's decent. Not the BEST BW figure ever made, but hardly terrible. (Although I think a sandy brown would be a better color scheme than the white, myself. But that's me.) C'mon, people. Be logical in your assaults.) And NEITHER was I attacking dealers. Dealers are an integral part of any TF convention. I'd be sorely disappointed if I went to a TF convention and couldn't buy any TFs I've been looking for because nobody was there to sell them. And I don't CARE if a dealer is a fan or not. I care about their prices and business practices. I don't care if they think Optimus Prime is God (although I admit I'd be a bit worried about them, myself)... if they're overpricing their merchandise or are condescending, I won't buy from them. I'll buy from the guy who doesn't know what a Quintesson is if he's got good prices and a semi-decent attitude. (Please note, though, that toy dealers, while a necessity of a TF (or almost any) fan convention, are far from the ONLY factor in a good one.) ***** This is fun and all, but it's not the point of this post. That was just me setting up THIS part, and clarifying my position while I'm at it. (I wonder how many people are amazed that I'm *defending* MIB on a few points... I give praise where I think its necessary, regardless of who's getting it.) Any rate, I WAS going to dismiss the mail as the ramblings of a moron and never think of it again, but then they got on some diatribe that REALLY put my nerves on end. And I saw in this letter so much of what I consider to be one of the WORST aspects of ANY fandom... regardless of the object of that fandom. The notion that fandom can be ranked and scored, that one's knowledge of trivia and/or collection size defines not only "fan", but "better fan than you". The philosophy that someone who likes/dislikes a particular aspect of TFs is not a "True Fan". "True Fan". I've seen that phrase tossed across this newsgroup countless times. Every time, it disgusts me. Unlike some people, I don't feel this paranoid McCarthyist urge to divide the world into the black-and-white division of holy and good "True Fan" and evil "Not Fan" based on my own personal preferences of the TF universe. What is a TF fan? As far as I'm concerned, a fan is anybody who holds an interest in the aesthetic aspects of TFs... someone who cares for MORE than a TF's resale value. Someone who enjoys the IDEA. ANY part of that idea. I know plenty of people whose only interest in TFs is selling them. Does that bug me? Hell no, I deal with these people every weekend. If anything, that prevents them from saving the cooler ones for themselves. No skin off my back. (Go re-read the section on toy dealer comparisons if you want to. The guys I'm talking about here fall into the latter category.) And guess what folks. "Fan" encompasses a WIDE range of interests AND dislikes. I am SO SICK of seeing messages like "Anybody who likes/doesn't like (Fill In TF Subgroup of Choice Here) isn't a true fan!", and "You don't know what (Fill In The Blank) is? You can't be true fan!", and that ilk. "True Fan" is a bullshit term used by insecure, narrow-minded people acting holier-than-thou, trying to make themselves feel better by putting themselves up on the "True Fan" pedestal while kicking others off. There is no such thing as a "True Fan". There is only "Fan". Any measurement of fandom is arbitrary and personal AT BEST. What you know, what you own, or what individual aspects of TFs you like does NOT define whether one is a "Fan" or not, and frankly, doesn't make anybody a bigger or better fan than anybody else. Quit thinking that trivia and collection size equals penis length. (Apologies to the female TF fans out there, but you know what I mean.) I don't care if you could rattle off every tech-spec from memory BACKWARDS, myself. I don't care if you own every TF ever made, including rare prototypes. I don't care if you could act out for me every episode of the American and Japanese cartoons, including the voices. Anyone who hates/likes Beast Wars or Machine Wars is a TF Fan. Anyone who hates/likes Action Masters, MicroMasters, Pretenders, or any other generally disliked subgroup is a TF Fan. Anyone who likes G1 but doesn't know what G2, BW or MW *is* is a TF Fan. Anyone new to TFs who only knows BW is a TF Fan. Anyone who likes G1 but doesn't know anything about the Japanese or European lines is a TF Fan. Anyone who only likes the first two years of G1 toys is a TF Fan. Anyone who likes the toys but knows jack about the cartoon/comic fiction is a TF Fan. Anyone who doesn't care about ANY of the toys but enjoys the cartoon/comic is a TF Fan. Anyone who only likes the first two seasons of the G1 cartoon is a TF Fan. Anyone who only likes the comic is a TF Fan. Anyone who thinks the Decepticons have got it right is a TF Fan. Anyone who doesn't like the way any of the fiction went but likes the characters is a TF Fan. Do you see where I'm going with this? Possessions and trivia don't enter into it. Personal likes/dislikes don't enter into it. Those are ASPECTS of TF Fandom, they don't DEFINE it. That "TF Fan Purity Test" of Diana's is a JOKE, people. (I'm dead certain she'll back me up on this.) It is meant to provide amusement. NOT to be used as a measuring stick. I've been on this newsgroup for years. And there have been many others on it before I was. Some may know more about the whole TF universe, some may write fanfics or other TF-related documents, but they are no "better" fans than some lurker or somebody who just joined last week. So anybody who's been holding back on posting because they're afraid of being stomped on by some almighty TF clique, stop worrying. Post away. Give us your questions! We're here to help and encourage and share, godsdammit! (_*BUT*_... I URGE you to READ THE FAQ FIRST. We don't mind questions asking to ID toys or episodes or whatever. _*BUT*_, if you ask one of the questions that can be found under the heading "What Not To Ask" in the FAQ, you are indeed asking for trouble.) ***** There's another aspect to this issue that is just as appalling. There are less people guilty of this, but I still see it a lot... people who decide that anybody who doesn't like TFs must be burned at the stake. It's practically the same story every time. Somebody on some barely-related-newsgroup makes some kind of negative remark towards Transformers, and instead of simply IGNORING it, some zealot decides to send hate mail and post the remark up on att and demand everybody mail bomb this guy SIMPLY FOR HAVING A DIFFERENT OPINION. Usually under the heading "All TF fans have been insulted!" or something like that. (No, we haven't. You can only be insulted if you LET something insult you. If you ignore it like a sensible person would, then you're not insulted!) It's a disgusting display of childish behavior. Is this the image of TF fans you want to project? Whiny, violent people who just can't *stand* anybody who doesn't think TFs are the epitome of creation? Crying, self-obsessed nerds? NO THANK YOU. Some reviewer didn't like TRANSFORMERS THE MOVIE? Yippee. Who cares. Hey, I love the movie myself, but I'm more than willing to admit that it's not going to be in the "Best 100 Movies OF All Time" list. Same with BEAST WARS... I LOVE the show, but the sparse bad reviews don't faze me at all. (And yes, I *DO* think the review in TV GUIDE was poorly-written and half-assed. But getting vehement over it solves NOTHING. Remember, that putz likes POWER RANGERS.) Not being a fan of TFs is hardly contemptible. There are billions of people out there who aren't TF fans. Get some perspective. And this applies also to trolls. You know the kind... people whose idea of fun is to post "transformers suk!" and insult TF fans in a barely coherent or legible post. You shouldn't CARE what these pustules think. (IF they think.) Stop looking for outside justification of what you like. IGNORE THEM. GET ON WITH YOUR LIFE. Hate them not because they don't like TFs. Hate them because they're immature little wastes of time and space. Behaving like a troll, regardless of which side you're on, is just stupid. ***** And no, we DON'T have to start behaving like one big happy Brady family and agree with everything and never argue. That would be intensely BORING. But dammit, watching everybody turn on each other and get elitist over mere aspects of fandom is *embarrassing*. We're ALL fans here. No one is a better fan than anybody else. And NEVER put words in my mouth. Else I'll cram them right back in yours. ***** M "I'm Just Wondering What's Going To Happen When I Finally Lose All My Patience. I Tell You Now Though, It Will NOT Be Pretty..." Sipher