#i hope this doesn't come across condescending i just think tumblr is very bad about letting you click on things sometimes and wanted to

[winonaparadise]

Can you please send the link for the YouTube vid? I can't see the name or use the link on my device, it's fine if you can't but I'd really appreciate it if you did!

Sure! Sorry that you've had difficulty seeing it.

Here is the link.

Here it is written out just in case: https://youtu.be/F2gByQP2n6c

And here it is embedded once more just in case and also the text for this description is a link just in case!

For real, I must apologize 2 every follower I got. Boy, you've seen me post about this thing Quite Persistently. 2 times in one day, sometime. Nonetheless, I'm quite proud of it. It's funny, it's personal, and it's funky and experimental in a way I'm excited to try and continue in future videos. Even if it takes 600 centuries, I'll keep asking you to watch it, because I don't think you'll regret it. Also, every bold letter in this paragraph spells out the code that you can type after "youtu.be/" in order to access the video, just in case!

[mydaroga]

Hello! I had some thoughts on your post about fandom behavior. First of all, the scold-posting/vague-posting is totally something I've noticed as well and I do find it irritating. Unfortunately, I think there is always going to be a strong undercurrent of bitchiness in this fandom for few reasons:

Beatle fans have always been extremely tribal and decades of divisive media narratives have only caused this kind of behavior to become more entrenched. Add this dynamic to already tribal nature of online spaces and it's very easy for the vibe to turn toxic.

Everyone uses tumblr for different reasons so all of our different goals/agendas/preferences will never align. And since this is such a passionate fandom it's easy for us to get swept up in our feelings and forget that even though we all have a common thread that ties us together we are not all here for the same purpose.

There is a wide range of ages involved in the fandom so there is going to be a wide range of reactions to posts, people, behaviors, themes etc, based on where everyone is on this journey we call life.

All of this to say… yes, in a perfect world this could be a positive, encouraging community where together we could all celebrate our favorites, learn new things, and engage in thoughtful discussion. However, I just don't see that as a viable possibility due to the nature of the subject matter. I think the best we can do is try to curate our tumblr experience to meet our goals and preferences and just accept that there will be others out there that don’t like what we have to say. So if you want your blog to be a place where open discussion is welcome then lead by example and make it clear that is you're here for (which I think you’ve done a great job with btw). But don't waste your time trying to win the hearts and minds of people who are just here to be condescending or spread negativity or who simply have an agenda that diverges from what you're trying to do. If they're not adding anything useful to the conversation then just ignore them. Just let them pass by you and keep doing your thing. Eventually you will find your happy place. <3

ps. I say this with love and as someone who wants you to have the best fandom experience you can have, so I hope this doesn't come across as me trying to dismiss your concerns. I also struggle sometimes to not take things personally, or wonder where I fit in or who "my people" are, so all of this is just me sharing some thoughts on how I've navigated these issues.

pps. feel free not to repost, thoughts can just be for you

Thanks so much for your viewpoint. I am going to post this, because I do think it contributes to the conversation and you make a lot of important points. I don't fully agree with all of them, or with the foregone conclusion that all Beatles fandoms are going to be toxic (I know some that are NOTHING like this actually), but I do think curating your own experience and carving out a little world for yourself is super important. I *do* think I already mentioned that it's more difficult here because of the tiny size of the fandom, and one other thing:

Tumblr is notoriously bad for community, which was sort of initially the point, and the way it is structured makes it far less easy to just ignore the things that bother you, because once you post you have no control and what posts you see are only marginally controlled by you. I think that is far more of a factor than the age of participants or the subject matter. Lots of Beatles fans get along just fine, and I don't see any patterns here in terms of the ages I know about. But I do think that the way tumblr encourages a specific type of gotcha! engagement, discourages actual threaded discussion, and makes interaction a crapshoot is a huge part of this. (So I suppose the advice to me is: get off Tumblr! Which I did. For over ten years. If DW was still a thing I'd be there. But I also think that what I have found here is worth it.)

I also just wanted to point out that while your advice is appreciated, my post was actually in response to a question I got, in reference to my reply to another tumblr user's concerns about the fandom. My intent was not to log a complaint on my own behalf, but to clarify my observations when prompted. I appreciate people being willing to voice those concerns and while I doubt it will lead to any actual change, there's always a chance that recognizing something will lead people to be more mindful of it so I wanted to validate that conversation. At the same time, I also think your experience and navigation of this are useful for myself and possibly other people, so thank you for taking the time and care! I really appreciate you wanting me to have a good experience! I want as many people as possible to, as well!