Oh for pete's sake

[sholio]

*SCREAM*

So some anonymous person just posted in my last episode discussion thread what I have no doubt is the casting spoiler that I've been scrupulously avoiding.

Gee, thank you so much, anonymous person!

I screened it so others don't run across it too (since I know of at least two people who read my journal and discussions who are also avoiding Season 5 spoilers) but GOD! Okay, yes, I know it's just fandom and not worth getting that upset about, but it'd be different if I didn't ask people in pretty much every discussion I have in here that I do not want to receive spoilers. Spoil me by accident, fine; it happens. Spoil me in my own journal despite the fact that if you'd bothered to read THE POST YOU'RE REPLYING TO you'd know I don't want it? I'm sorry, that's pretty damned rude.

EDIT: Um. A couple hours later, and I'm pretty much over it -- because, honestly, as far as bad things to happen to me, this is kinda far down there below ... pretty much anything. Heh. I feel a little ... well, a LOT silly now about throwing a bitchfit over it. Thanks for the notes of support, though.

(But just for the record, I'd still appreciate it if people avoid discussing spoilers here 'till the season's over!)

Comments

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

Thanks. ♥

I got pretty upset at first, but the more I thought about it, the more out-of-proportion my reaction seemed. I mean, fandom's tons of fun, but I do think it's important to keep it in perspective compared to things that matter a whole lot more ...

[naye]

It's true, but - time and effort goes into fandom, and into things like posting about not wanting spoilers, and no matter what it is, it still sucks that people find it amusing to ruin something that time and effort went into.

I'm mostly upset because it happened to you, and you always look out for others and warn about spoilers and such (even when they're outside of your LJ, and even when it's not even spoilers, but just something not everyone might want to read). It's the kind of care and courtesy that doesn't deserve the kind of response you got, and I'd feel the same if someone had stepped in your newly planted garden or torn down a sign you made or anything else that might not be hugely meaningful or permanently damaging, but still shouldn't happen. And wouldn't, if some people didn't suck.

Though as a general rule, taking fandom for what it is instead of something hugely dramatic and dead serious is way healthy, and I wish more people had your admirable ability to put it in perspective. ♥

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

Dawwwwwwww~! Thank you! That really does make me happy, and I don't mind meeting an occasional jerk online (or maybe just someone who made an accidental mistake, who knows), because there are a LOT of people in fandom who are really fantastic to know ... like you!

I just want everyone's experience in fandom to be as happy as possible. Because damn it, it *should* be -- that's the whole *point*! This is a bit a lot of a digression, but I think that's what really bothers me the most about things like mysogyny and racism in the shows we watch, and in fandom's response to them. You know, for me as an individual, watching and enjoying TV shows, it doesn't affect me much -- at least until it gets to a certain point (*cough* SPN *cough*), and it's especially easy to ignore if it's sufficiently balanced out by massive amounts of squee (*cough* SGA *cough*). It's not much effort for me, as an individual, to tune it out and focus on the aspects of the show that I *do* like. But if someone comes to fandom for the same happy experience I'm getting and then they can't get it, because they identify with the female characters and they're personally hurt and affronted by the female characters not getting storylines, or because the characters of color never get cast as scientists and military leaders but instead as barbarians, or because their favorite characters never get written in fanfic ... that makes me sad and angry, because they shouldn't have to feel that way. At the very least, fandom ought to pick up the slack for the places where canon falls down, and it often doesn't ... which, well, is kind of the nature of the beast in some ways, since everyone is off pursuing their own avenues of squee (as they should be), but at the very least everyone ought to be willing to stop for five minutes and say, "I'm sorry! What can I do to help?" But they don't, and that's ... daaargh. I really feel bad about the times in the past that I *haven't* done that, and I'm trying to make more of an effort to do my bit.

... uh. Digression. XD But really, I think that sums up my whole response to fandom, because it's generally a happy experience for me, and I want it to be for other people, so I try to act accordingly. I know that I miss cues a lot, and fail to pick up the slack where I should, but I do try!