#tumblr is easier to curate what you see from fandom lol

[charmac]

the scene of dennis saying he can’t live without mac in that soft ass sad voice from the gang saves the day is going VIRAL on tiktok and i am not too mad abt it tbh usually tiktok annoys me but this…this is niiiice

Straight up I have my problems with viral Sunny stuff on TikTok that’s not the normal memes and insane clips that pass around out of context everywhere else, especially when scenes like that that are dreams/fantasies that are pretty misleading as to what the show is.

And I get edits and clips are how people get into tv shows nowadays, but I’ve found, especially recently, that it brings a weird flock of people to the fandom that clearly aren’t watching this show for what it is and are just here for a ship (more so Twitter than here)

It’s a little frustrating when people get into Sunny for the ‘soft’ Macdennis they see on Tiktok and then show up in fandom spaces demanding the fandom act the same way, complaining when the characters aren’t overly woobified, ignore when we actually talk about other aspects of the show, and get upset that we acknowledge these are bad people who do bad things to each other and that’s part of the appeal (and a fundamental part of Macdennis)

I mean, there’s nothing to be done when an edit/clip breaks containment, but hopefully there’s enough context to ground people from flocking here/twitter just for Macdennis (and hopefully these things aren’t being passed around purposefully as fandom/ship bait).

Every time there’s a viral soft Macdennis clip/edit on Tiktok I feel like their algorithm should require a ‘Mac and Dennis Abuse Compilation’ to come next. And there’s my hot take of the morning!

[genericpuff]

in the wake of LO ending, especially over the next three weeks as the FP updates become free, this is your public service reminder from a fellow anti that you should be following tumblr / fandom etiquette and keeping antiLO/critical LO posts to their respective tags (#antiloreolympus , #antilo, #locritical, #loreolympuscritical) as best as you can

yes, it's our own responsibility to curate our online experiences by following the accounts we like and blocking the accounts we don't, and using the general search bar on tumblr absolutely opens you up to the inevitable risk of seeing something you don't wanna see, but we as the critical side of the fandom should be doing what we can to make it easier for people to curate by labelling our criticisms / shitposts / etc. about LO with the correct tags ! this ensures that if someone doesn't want to see anti/critical stuff, they can do their part to block those tags and don't have to worry about it leaking into the general tags. I don't think it's that big of a reach to expect that general fandom tags will contain content from, y'know... people who are still genuine fans and not talking shit LOL

And yes, this is why you will not see me ever using the general loreolympus tags when posting my own critical essays or Rekindled. Obviously what you decide to tag your stuff with is on you, but I'm gonna ask y'all to please remember NOT to use general loreolympus tags when reblogging my stuff!! that's not to say my content is entirely off-limits to fans of the comic (we actually do have people in the Rekindled community who enjoy both!), but what I do here obviously isn't tailored specifically to general fans of the comic and the general LO tags are what those fans are using to find content from other fans, not hyper-driven maniacal anti's like myself ╭( ･ㅂ･)و

Just because it's no longer an unpopular opinion to rag on LO doesn't mean our slice of the fandom is now the whole pie. It's easy to think when you spend so much time in the critical part of the fandom that LO is somehow "dead" but like, there is still very much a dedicated fanbase to this comic and it still has some of the highest stats on the platform. We can't in good faith complain about fans coming into our spaces complaining about criticism existing if we're not gonna follow the rules of etiquette and label our stuff properly. And hey, at the very least if we properly tag things and they still find it from journeying into the anti/critical tags, then that's on them at that point. We don't have to take that "stop being such a meanie to two-time-Eisner-winning NYT bestselling creator Rachel Smythe" shtick from anyone, but we do gotta be willing to respect the lines that are drawn in the sand so that we don't tear each other apart over this dumbass webcomic LOL

[texasbama]

Hiya I know you're a safe space and I need to get this out, so sorry in advance 🙃.

I see how amazing canon bi buck is for the queer community and I don't mind how it happened in canon. But while I should be happy, I actually kind of feel like I'm mourning? I'm so attached to eddie, maybe unhealthily so, and the ensemble found family dynamic is what first brought me to the show. For a while it's been a struggle having the fandom basically shove buck into every spec or storyline and act like he is a perfect angel and the centre of the universe. But there was always the eddiezers and it was more balanced. But now literally EVERYBODY is all about buck and tommy. It feels like the rest of the show doesn't even exist. I know its only been a couple of days but going on social media now just makes me anxious and idk why really. I'm worried about future eddie storylines, I'm desperate for marisol to disappear, but the vibe is that now buck is bi nothing else matters, we've won apparently, who even cares about eddie or the other characters because buck kissed a man.

Also I'm sex-repulsed ace and people saying how if you don't like it you're a purist and an evangelical and homophobic and biphobic actually makes me feel like shit. I never really understood wanting two characters to have sex 'because why not', because I don't understand why anyone wants to ever lol. I can only read buddie smut in very specific scenarios and most of the time i skip even that. And the rhetoric in a lot of tumblr space recently makes me feel like a bad person for not being all for it 100%. I don't think I've explained myself well here but I tried. You don't have to reply or post this either, I just wanted to reach out to someone in fandom who won't jump down my throat for it 😅. 911 is kind of a hyperfixation of mine so even though I'm trying to stay away as much as possible so as to not make myself more upset but I have no idea what to do with myself otherwise 🫠. Thanks for reading and sorry for unloading on you

Please don’t apologize, im happy you felt like I was a safe space. Im gonna break this into two parts and I hope I can articulate myself correctly lol

1) the first few days after an episode, any episode but especially one like this, isn’t indicative of fandom as a whole. Emotions are heightened due to what happened in the episode. Everyone is screaming about something and it’s in your face ya know? This week something HUGE happened, so yes people are talking about it. It was to be expected. We must make space for people to be happy about it. It’s a beautiful thing and queer joy MUST be celebrated.

This show (for the most part) has done a beautiful job of giving each character their time to shine(some more so than others but thats a conversation for a different day). Coming off 7x04, yes the headline is Bi Buck. And it will continue to be for a while, but it’s important to remember that YOU curate your fandom experience. I don’t blame you at all for what you’re feeling, ESPECIALLY as an Eddie girlie(gn), like I get it! Trust me! I’ve had to carefully maneuver through some emotions this week myself. I’m human! But filtering and being able to step away is everything.

Being excited about the storyline and also hoping and wanting more from other storylines are two things that can be true at the same time. It’s not one or the other. Remember that.

2) im going to say this and just know the caps is because I am just passionate. I promise you, its yelling at you with love okay?

I know it is easier said than done, but don’t you EVER allow ANYONE on this fucking hellsite make you feel less than or that your asexuality is anything but 100% valid. YOU are valid, you hear me?

Okay. I had to make sure to say that first. Whew. Now. As for the fandom piece of it all, we have to remember that there levels to it. You are allowed to feel the way you feel about sex, BUT it’s also important to remember that sex positivity (and those who express it) is also a good and valid. If you feel like there are blogs that talk down to you, imply that YOU are homophobic or biphobic simply because YOU are not doing cartwheels about different sex acts, then block. Unfollow. Do whatever you need to. Those people are scum.

Listen to me *pulls you close*, this is always a safe space. You are a valid, your existence and experiences are valid. And anyone who makes you question that can fuck right off. And lastly, HAPPY ASEXUALITY DAY TO YOU SPECIFICALLY! MUAH! 💜🤍🩶🖤

[softranswolves]

In the Teen Wolf fandom, it seems like peeps only love the big-names, the ones who regularly return to post content versus people who joined in the last few years.

As someone who has been here a while, what's your take on this? Should new people stop trying? Because that's what I'm feeling.

Hey friend!

I just wanna say, before I really get to my answer, I'm kind of touched that you see me having been around for a while!! I'm definitely not what I'd consider a big-name and I know my blog is mostly just my little corner full of stuff I curate with my own creations or reblogs of other people's but you see me 😊 I'm also for sure not tapped into the fandom itself like some folks I follow. I just doot my snoot in my little archive of teen wolf shenanigans and try to maintain friendships with anyone who wants to interact with me (via asks, messages, or tags, good golly I wanna hug anyone who interacts in tags lol and I for sure recognize when ppl come back).

I typed a way longer response that you may not have wanted, all to just say I would hate to see new people stop trying!! I adore that teen wolf is still pulling people despite it being off air and potentially not getting more movies (whether or not that's what most people want). I think fandoms need fresh air continually too. No two people will experience the show or content 100% the same way and have every single response be the same. Just with the two cakes mindset of creation, there are multiple cakes for how we all digest the show and they're all delicious. I carved out my own little corner here because I wanted organization for myself, and I create largely for myself. Any interaction I get, I fucking adore, I cannot impress that enough lol. I just never really expect it bc I know I do my own thing here with stuff like Multiamory May moodboards. Rarepairs and polyamory and trans headcanons just aren't everyone's cup of tea and I stopped trying to be recognized for what I "target" when I know my quality isn't 100% and I'm just vibing to my own weirdness instead of being super put together about it. I've definitely flickered in and out of the fandom when it comes to engagement too - like how last year (or year before? idk, time is confusing) I was running regular events but currently I just don't have the energy/passion in the same way.

If you really want to be seen more, esp if you make your own posts/content, utilize tags, even if you're hella lazy with it like me. I try to always use #twedit no matter what, in addition to #twfemslash and #twrarepair when applicable. Those go on the radar of people who fill the queues of some "big" blogs that do a bunch of reblogging just to have continual content out there. I also feel like I got a foot in via a couple of my discord servers, mainly Teen Wolf Legacy, and making a couple too (one for Scott shipping, one for teen wolf femslash; others i know of included pecific Derek-positive ones, a Stiles shipping one). That absolutely increased my reach, because I could share my stuff with people who specifically wanted to get pinged for, say Allison/Stiles content as an example. Idk that my following blew up or anything, I'm still a relatively small teen wolf blog. But it did make it easier to grow into my niche here. It also made me realize how big the fandom is. Some might only watch for or engage with a particular ship or character, while others like me do so for pretty much anyone.

This was still lengthy, I'm sorry. You caught me after work when my brain is like solely focused on decompression via fixation and tumblr is often a source for that. Please don't be discouraged from trying, and if you feel comfortable coming directly to me I could possibly point you in the direction of some other teen wolf blogs with similar interests! Big-names are hella daunting and it still blows my mind some of the ones I always sort of looked up to also just have some nerd behind them that I can talk to (even if I feel like im annoying them lmao). Feel free to talk with me more either on or off anon too, I'm pretty much always here to some extent. I love new people so fucking much, I'm just not engaged enough to always see you 💜💜💜💜

[translucent-bisexual]

okay SO not to sound self important but theres been a few times i had to take a step back from fandom/tumblr BECAUSE it was so negative and my advice isnt perfect but essentially like, curate your experience as much as possible. block and blacklist willy nilly cause honestly its 2021 and you dont owe anyone anything. also, its easier said than done but ive gotten into the mindset of “well i liked it and i enjoyed it, and thats what matters.” everythings a mess these days and we dont get a lot, so get into the habit of taking a moment, brushing it off, and getting back to taking care of YOU and making YOURSELF happy! its hard at first but i promise it gets easier! youre such a cool person and id hate to see you leave so i hope maybe this can help a little!

Honestly I really appreciate the advice. It’s getting to the point where I enjoy 9-1-1 most when it’s on break and Tumblr/Twitter is just calm, like I’m really excited for the winter finale and I feel bad for that. I’ve done better at blocking people lately when they start talking shit in the tags all the time so at least I’ve got that for myself lol. I think it’s just me feeling bad for not always seeing what everybody else might see in Buddie or me being down to see Ana and Eddie while everybody else yells about it. This is the first time I’ve actually jumped head first into a fandom and I think I’ve realized that a lot of it just isn’t for me and once the shows over I don’t see me joining another. I’m so glad that I’ve been able to meet so many incredible people through 9-1-1 though and I think I’d miss y’all way too much if I left this far into it. I just need to learn to do what’s better for me rather than trying to be something for everybody else

[musette22]

Hi Minnie! First of all, thank you for being so sweet, reasonable and respectful, I can't even describe how much joy your blog gives me! You are a true pro in emotional support for Evanstan fandom, so I guess I kinda need some reassurance. [1]

The thing is, as you probably know, some Seb stans on Twitter take the whole Chris insta situation and turn it into smth embarassing, like making fun of Seb and Mackie ignoring Chris and calling the idea of the challenge stupid (even though Chris did donate, not just "asked fans for money", as they say). It's like they feel the need to attack the first before smb calls they fav out. [2]

I know there ARE good people in Seb fandom, it's just that the aggressive ones are so loud and spread their bs so fast, I end up seeing it on my TL. No matter how stupid it sounds, it keeps making me sad to see so much hate towards Chris and his fans not from some random locals but from Seb stans. It's like two halves of my heart are torn apart. Not even ship-wise, it just seems so hard to love them both and be present on twitter these days. [3]

And, since I'm whiney af today, one more twitter thing: the CW promo era was some kind of honeymoon for us, sure, but I've recently seen some opinions on how Chris was all lovey-dovey and Seb was stiff and bored and uncomfortable, how their interviews were unnatural and boring. I mean, in my part of fandom (non-English speaking country) there has always been a popular perception of boys' dynamic as these "over-excited puppy playing around a confused cat" vids, if you know what I mean. [4]

But it kinda seemed ok for me, and the way they acted a little awkward around each other etc. Well, you can tell I'm easily affected cause now it does feel more negative to me. Stuuupid, I know. Maybe it's my "let's feel sorry for Chris and his fans" phase, idk. Sorry for bringing it here, you just seem to reassure people so well. [5 and last, it was long lol]

Hello my lovely!! This was indeed long hahaha but that’s totally fine, I myself am also someone who also has trouble keeping things short to I feel you 😘 

This is a very long reply so I’m putting it under the cut so I don’t clog up people’s dashes!

Okay so first of all, let me say I was never a fan of Twitter, but everything I’ve heard lately has just lowered my opinion of it even further. I know there’s a lot of amazing stuff and brilliant folks on there as well, but it also seems to be where all the bitchy, hateful, entitled and inappropriate people congregate. So personally, I’m very happy with my little community on Tumblr when it comes to fandom, and for news and social media I prefer actual news outlets and instagram. The sad truth is that there are a lot of harmful and hateful opinions in the world, and as someone who struggles with anxiety, I try to find ways to avoid a lot of it. Especially the stuff I can’t do anything about (you can try to reason with most haters until you’re blue in the face, and 90% of the time it’s not going to make an ounce of difference). It’s much easier to curate your own experiences on platforms like Tumblr and even Instagram than it is on Twitter, or so I’ve gathered. So I’m afraid I don’t have a lot of helpful advice for you there apart from ‘maybe try and stay away from Twitter if you can’ which you probably don’t really want either...

As for the whole Seb vs Chris issue: it’s clearly completely ridiculous. There is no ground whatsoever to believe they’re at odds. At worst, they’re now just casual work friends, but there is no reason to believe there’s any bad blood. It’s interesting to consider that initially, the argument seemed to be they had fallen out and both disliked each other (no idea where that came from but sure), then it was that Chris didn’t like Sebastian (because he allegedly shaded him when he joked that Scarjo was the only one of his friends who came to see Lobby Hero), and then Chris got Instagram and tagged and followed Seb, but because Seb hasn’t responded to the challenge yet, he now apparently hates Chris. For what reason, god only knows, because only last year at MCM London (where I was present myself) Sebastian gushed about Chris and his experiences with him while filming the Cap movies, and lets not forget it was him who initiated the hug at the Endgame premiere. Long story short: they don’t dislike each other. They’re completely fine, people just like to make up drama for whatever reason.   

As for the Sebastian stans who hate Chris and vice vera: to be honest, I wasn’t even really aware it was an issue until recently, because I was under the naive impression that it was kind of impossible to love one but hate the other. Both of them are such amiable, sweet, thoughtful, funny, talented guys, and everyone who actually knows them adores them, so why on earth anyone could hate either of them is beyond me. But even if you do, I genuinely don’t understand this need to pit them against each other? Why? I think a lot of it is down to people just liking drama, or being actual 12 year-olds who still see the world in a kind of high school dynamic-way. I’m not saying Chris and Sebastian have never done anything wrong, but in my opinion, none of it warrants outright hate or being cancelled over. It’s such an immature and unreasonable take. I’m just sorry for the people who can’t love both of them, because man, are they missing out! I understand that it’s painful for you to see all those opinions when you love both of them so much, but that’s why I try to just avoid them. I know they exist, but not seeing them makes dealing with it a whole lot easier, I promise! ❤️

With regard to the challenge itself: if the celebrities who are taking part in it are not donating themselves, then yeah, that would be problematic. However, we know that Chris donates to a ton of different charities, so there’s no doubt in my mind that he’s donated to this cause as well. Asking people to buy tickets to try and win this “prize” is not in itself an issue, if you ask me. People can think for themselves, can’t they? If they think it’s worth it, they think it’s worth it. They’re not being forced to part with their money, and moreover said money is being used to help people in need. Of course fake and problematic charities exist, but there are still good ones out there as well, so let’s assume for the moment this one is actually doing all of this from a genuine desire to help people and it’s not some money grabbing scheme.

Furthermore, as I’ve said so many times before, I really don’t believe Sebastian and Mackie are “ignoring” Chris. If they’re choosing not to do the challenge (they still might do it at some point) then I’m sure they have a good reason for that and it isn’t that they’re holding a grudge and are thinking “screw this charity and that Chris Evans, I’m going to ghost him to get my revenge!” I mean, do these people even realize how ridiculous that sounds 🙄 I also believe they would have let Chris know about their decision privately. They do have each other’s phone numbers, you know... 

And lastly, about the CW press tour... I don’t know what footage these people have been watching to come to such conclusions, or what’s wrong with their eyes and ears, but that makes NO sense to me. I’ll tell you what; it was mostly the footage from the CW press tour that got me convinced there was something going in between the two of them! Both Chris and Sebastian acted in a way that screamed “smitten kittens” to me, and if there was ever any “stiffness” from Sebastian’s side, then that was no doubt just his slightly more reserved personality compared to Chris and Mackie’s. Chris and Sebastian’s videos together give me LIFE, so for anyone to call them boring is actually kind of insulting lol. To me, almost every interaction Chris and Seb had during that press tour showed that they were either low-key (in a friendship way) or high-key (in a romantic way) crushing on each other, and they clearly admire each other very much. Any awkwardness I’ve ever seen between them for me seemed to stem from that crush (is anyone not at least a little awkward around their crush sometimes?) and not from any dislike from either side. That’s actually such a ridiculous idea to me that it doesn’t even make me worried, it just makes me laugh. Some people really don’t have eyes, it seems. 

Anyway, that was a reeeeeeaaaaaallllyyyyy long reply lmao, I’m sorry! I hope this helps a little though, because I do know how shitty it is to feel like you do about things that are supposed to make you happy!! Tuning out the haters and focusing on people who feel the same way you do in my experience is the best way to get to feeling good again 🥰 Big hug, and hopefully you’ll feel better soon!

[tinacentury]

61, 62 & 78 (i think?) Lol

Thanks for the ask, @kierna-ro!

61: What makes you unfollow a blog?

So my dash isn’t actually curated that much these days. I’m always worried that it looks like I’m making a statement by not following someone, when a lot of the time I’m just not paying that much attention. But, a few things:

-if someone incessantly posts about a fandom I don’t know or am not interested in. And by incessantly I mean like 10+ posts a day, so not just commonly posting about other fandoms. It kind of clogs up my dash and prevents me from seeing content for the fandoms I actually am interested in.

-and I might get crucified for this one, but if a blog is too focused on current events and/or politics, I’m more likely to unfollow. I caution anyone against making the “you can ignore it because you have the privilege to ignore it” argument in the context of Tumblr specifically. I listen to news podcasts and read The NY Times daily. I read books and have meaningful conversations with people about current events. I’m quite aware and angry about how much of a dumpster fire things are. I see how Tumblr is a safe space for these discussions for many people, and I like that, but I personally come to Tumblr specifically for escapism. Also, I see the viral spread of misinformation on Tumblr and other social media sites as a massive problem. It’s really easy to blame the Boomers for spreading viral misinformation on Facebook (they do), but it’s done here, too.

62. What makes you follow a blog?

This one’s a little easier. I’ll follow a someone if they’re writer I enjoy or someone in the Sailor Moon fandom I’ve interacted with, if they post pretty non-stolen fanart, if they’re funny, and if their blog is personally relevant (like to my region or family history or something)

78: Is swimming or ice skating more fun to you?

Ice skating!!

[mizugucci]

hiii you seem like a pretty chill and unproblematic person, so I wanted to ask (since you stan svt but I'm not sure about bts): how you deal with fandom toxicity? as a multi, I'm really tired of seeing fandoms I'm in bashing each other and it makes me feel like dropping everything and never listen to kpop ever again...

hey there! first, thank you for the compliment lol but to tell you the truth I'm not entirely the best person to ask advice for this? and what I mean by that is I have entirely cultivated my online experience, and I only see what I want to see. I'm aware of a lot of toxicity in fandoms, especially bigger ones, but I rarely personally see it on my dash, so it's hard to give you advice on how to deal with actually seeing the toxicity and/or interacting with it.

really, the only thing I can say is to pick your battles and if ignoring or blocking the main culprits can help, then so be it. I've found it's quite easy to be oblivious to (most) toxicity if the only people I'm interacting with are the ones I trust not to participate in such things, especially if I'm only on tumblr. twitter is a different story, but if you're able to curate who you follow and you avoid searching in tags, that should be relatively okay as well.

I also want to mention that these fights have nothing to do with you, or even the majority of fans. if you're able to grow thick skin or acknowledge that those fights are not your fights, and that most likely they don't represent all fans, I think it'll be a bit easier to withstand such things. of course it's harder than it sounds, but to see such awful things and think, "hey, that's their problem. this toxicity is on them" would lessen the burden, I'm sure.

by the way, it's totally okay if you do feel tired and want to quit listening to kpop... this is a fun hobby, it's not a job and it's not required for you to give your time to it. if it's exhausting, then take a break -- it shouldn't be like that. the same goes for multis! if you find yourself liking a group less, don't feel bad. you only have so much time and energy to go around, so you should spend it with who you want without any guilt.

you should also not feel any guilt about liking a group less because of their fans. it's human nature to dislike something because of other people, whether it be because of toxicity or because of the "i liked them before they were popular" mindset. it just... happens. I can attest to that personally, as I used to be a huge army in 2015-2018ish until other fans drove me from stanning bts. sometimes you just gotta acknowledge how you feel and move on, because it's never going to feel the same. people are always going to be nostalgic for the good ole days and that includes kpop, but it's best to stay in the present.

I hope at least some of that makes sense, lol. my main point for you is to curate your time online to your benefit, acknowledge that other fans are not you, and to understand that liking kpop is purely a hobby.

[tuiyla]

why the FUCK did I think it was a good idea to check out the sub and an unpopular opinions post at that

everytime there's an unpopular opinions post is either something like that or something like: "I don't like artie tbh"

I however think reddit fandom is not less toxic than tumblr lol.

Cont.: wait I wrote it wrong right? I meant more toxic

So you think reddit isn't any more toxic than tumblr, right?

I mean, I get that. I think it's the fundamental difference between the two platforms. Reddit is a forum and the sub is always going to a more contained community than tumblr. Here, people have their individual blogs and can choose who to follow, what tags to check out, what to reblog. You still have a choice on reddit, of course, I for example could have chosen not to engage with the unpopular opinions post that I had a feeling I'd disagree with. But the nature of it is such that you immediately see pretty much all the content that's available within the community. Not to mention that it's become barren so if one wants to engage with that community they're more inclined to check out every single post. On tumblr, you curate your own experience to a much higher degree. You can block people on reddit of course (which isn't all that effective but that's another topic) but there's a huge difference between this basic mechanic. You actively chose to follow people on here and on there you have to choose to not see their content.

At the end of the day it's different strokes. I've always been a tumblr lad with my fandoms - well, since 2012, before that it was fan sites and forums not unlike modern reddit. Glee was my exception. I don't even know how I stumbled across the sub because I've only ever used reddit once for a specific thing before that. I really enjoyed the discussion aspect of the sub and felt I couldn't get that on tumblr (I guess I hadn't yet followed the right people on here back then). I was active on the sub for about a year and I want to emphasize that I am grateful for that overall experience and the people I've met and engaged with. Things I didn't like happened, as should be expected, but it was only the last couple of months that were downright unpleasant.

I really haven't been on Gleek tumblr all that long and like I said, it's a less tangible and contained community. So while I can't say I've encountered all that many "toxic"* things, I also can't (nor do I want to) dismiss anyone who says they have because it really is such a personally tailored experience. I've been incredibly lucky and am grateful for the general type of anons I get, they tend to be nice and seeking a discussion. Funnily enough anon messages are the reason why I made the switch from reddit to tumblr because they made me realize discourse (woof heavy connotations) is possible on here, too.

(*Toxic as a word has been so incredibly overused and diluted beyond the point of recognition, in my personal opinion, that I dislike using it outside the context of the Britney bop. But I think I know what kinds of things you mean by a toxic environment.)

That was a tangent but what I'm saying TL;DR is that they're two different kinds of platforms at their core, and it's easier to create your own fandom experience on here. I'm sorry if you've had bad experiences on either platform but I hope you find the fandom space that works for you. For me personally, that space right now is definitely right here, with a lot of my favourite people from the sub also being active here and having "met" lots more cool people since I've started being more active.

I genuinely mean that checking out that particular post was my bad. I should have known better. I'm against the overall concept of unpopular opinions posts; I get the main idea that people want to shake things up and get the conversation started. I just don't like how it fits into the larger context of contrarian and controversial opinions dominating fields like journalism and how it's all driven by the capitalistic hellscape we're living in (now that's a side tangent). And like you say, the opinions themselves are often the most lukewarm takes ever which okay, I guess, or in my experience 90% of them time such negativity for no reason other than to incite argument - not debate, argument. "So and so sucks ass, XY is soooo overrated, and this and that couple are just the absolute worst." Okay, thank you for that meaningful contribution. Mind telling me about things you enjoy instead?

[moonanagames]

(sorry if this was answered before) As someone who managed to (very succesfully) go through a crowdfunding campaign, do you have any tips for other indie game devs who would also need to fund their game this way?

This will be gigantic, I am sorry =|

Tips for a successful Crowdfunding Campaign ahead:

For a crowdfunding campaign the game has to initially have this good proposal/be good looking or interesting in the first glance. That will make the difference between people getting interested by your thumbnail or not (and even make the difference on #screenshotsaturdays and such). I know it is a bit disheartening to hear this, but crowdfunding campaigns are basically a very hardcore marketing mode (and honestly, I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone who want to keep their sanity, I think it is a very desperate measure for desperate times, I had a REALLY hard time doing it, but it was really fun and challenging and I grew up a lot out of this experience). Basically it has a lot of downsides, and its brightsides! :3

If you do have an interesting game, it will be probably easy to gather the people interested in it! Some people take up to 1 year to gather a fandom before the crowdfunding campaign. I took about, uh… 6 months! At first I wasn’t thinking about this at all, so I was just randomly posting. Since the game got a good fanbase at start I thought it should be a good idea (also the pressure of bills, lol)

So basically, for starters:

Have an interesting concept and good looking game who works well with gifs/screenshots, have good promotional art.

Build a fanbase, some people take a year at that before the campaign.

Building the Fanbase:

Create a twitter, tumblr, instagram, facebook, IndieDb, Tigsource, accounts in specific forums for your engine, reddit. Whatever suits your game, go there. But focus on the social media your game gathers more fanbase on. For VvtZ that should be Tumblr! For a lot of games it’s twitter or even Instagram. Respect the way each media works also, there’s different mindset for each media, since they gather different kinds of people. Instagram is still a mystery for me, for example. Facebook, pffft… I don’t even know. So don’t get desperate if you have no followers in one of those.

Cultivating the Fanbase:

The Fanbase is the most important aspect of something like this, because you are essentially asking for people’s moneys and they should trust your work for that. You do that by having a demo of your game, by building a good relationship with them (that can be really hard if you don’t feel comfortable around people, and can be really nerve wrecking, so don’t push yourself too much, you can always trust a publisher for that as well!). The good relationship basically comes from you considering people as friends and treating them as, oh well… People? I see a lot of articles on those, and they basically teach you to treat people in this strategical way, like they are robots and stuff, but it’s just easier to treat everyone as people xD In that way, you can really engage with everyone and respect their space, without being annoying. I also try to remember everyone who follows by their avatars (when people change avatars is hell), and I always get excited when someone who likes a lot of posts reblogs and stuff. I also try to welcome them to the blog, sometimes I forget, but when I remember I show them the discord server etc, where we can talk more easily.

It’s basically like how in the first day of school, or work, you don’t know anyone and you try to engage. It’s hard, but once you mingle with people you’ll see they’re not that frightening. (and if you really feel anxious around them, I recommend getting a publisher to handle this job! They like people and a good publisher can really help a game out :0)

(the discord server should be created after you have some fanbase on social medias)

Contacting media:

It’s important to contact media, but you can do that directly on Indiedb. Every time you have news on your game, you go on Indiedb and upload your game page. Media check IndieDb all the time, so that’s great! If you can attend events, go on those. It’s the easiest way to be covered. Try posting on IndieDb on the week days, because that’s when journalists work. The crowdfunding campaign date should start in a weekday and end in a weekday also due to that.

Some tips on media:

Gather emails of journalists who talk about the genre of your game or similar games. Don’t contact just any journalist around, they’ll ignore you. Try to focus on the ones that are interested in your genre.

Siliconera, Alpha Beta Gamer and One Angry Gamer are the sites that were more indie friendly in my experience.

Post on IndieDb at every new big announcement. (I didn’t do this, but it’s extremely recommended)

Don’t harass journalists. Send emails only when you have big announcements. The subject should be the name of the news, like “Name of the game is getting a new boss mode inspired by Popular game”. This is the kinda thing that interests journalists, because they want to awe the reader. The content should be the text you would like on the news, with some introductions for your game! You should have a nice pitch for that. Just search on google stuff like “How to make a good pitch for my game” that you’ll find a large number of useful articles! (To be honest, I never sent an email to journalists and was answered, but a lot of people do it and they get news on their games!)

Pc gamer holds something called “Indie Gif Showcase”, it’s worth to give it a try.

Kickstarter, Indiegogo or Fig.co?

Kickstarter: Excelent outreach, people visit kickstarter every day, more chances of being covered by journalists, the most known platform, they use Stripe Atlas which is a extremely secure form of payment online for the developer and the users. They only accept some countries tho, there’s a list on their website. You can still use the website even out of those accepted countries if you have a stripe account and a US company. You can check that on Stripe Atlas website! (it is really complicated, tho, you should be way more experienced to do this kinda stuff)

Indiegogo: Less outreach, people see it as a scammers platform because of some problems they had with some campaigns in the past (it is not, it’s just a normal crowdfunding site). Used to accept paypal, but not anymore. Accept all the countries Kickstarter doesn’t.

Fig.co: The newest platform and the less known of the 3. It is curated, meaning they chose their games. You can send a pitch to them through their site. They act as publishers and help you out throughout all the process of developing your campaign content and marketing strategies. They work personally with each developer and campaign. They also offer PR services, like contacting journalists for you. They also have a double mode campaign, you can have a normal rewards campaign and also a investments one, where investors invest on your game and get a portion of it upon release.

Last tips:

Post a lot on your social medias;

Connect with your fandom also through discord;

Be honest with them in all of the development process;

Have a demo up on first week of the campaign;

Have a nice looking campaign page explaining everything that is interesting and unique about your game; search for successful campaigns of the same genre as yours to get to know what kind of information they put up there, it’s really helpful;

Also don’t disconsider unsuccessful campaigns and try to find out WHY they failed in the first place. Often it has to do with how their page was presented.

Care about people’s times and mind that when writing on your Campaign Page. Don’t give useless information there;

Weekly updates during campaign’s period. One time a month when campaign is over (or two max);

[tuiyla]

whereas I'm hoping I won't be stuck with Glee until the end of time

Lmao right, I’m too attached to Santana and I love how much effort gets put into analysis and theories about her for me to just completely leave.

I feel like the fandom is so childish sometimes, like let me have my biases and favoritism in peace, it’s not hurting u and it’s just a show with fictional characters so why does it matter��🏾

Anon, the way I was gonna add that sentence that I'm stuck with Glee specifically because of Santana 😂 Legit though, I think people know by now that she isn't the only character I care about, not by a long shot but if not for her I would have watched Glee, listened to the songs for a bit and then would have moved on to the next quarantine show to watch. I wouldn't be nearly as invested in analyzing Glee. But Santana Lopez exists so now it's like 16 months later and I'm still saying "and another thing." Alas, she has us trapped.

I'll always be of the mindset that you should let other people enjoy things. As always there are levels to everything but I think as long as we acknowledge our biases (about this fictional character, mind) and keep it positive, who cares. The subreddit used to annoy me so much with certain takes but I've been on a break from that and idk if I'll return. Being more active on tumblr has been so much nicer and idk how I didn't know about so many cool Glee peeps before but here we are. Of course, it's also just easier to curate things on here. Well we'll see what happens to the tags lol, but I think Glee tumblr is a cool fandom space. I've heard stories from when the show was airing though and I'm very glad to have been late to the party.

But yeah, I agree, there's too much amazing Santana(/general Glee content) to leave. If I can contribute to that even a little moving forward, I'm glad!