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veronica_richYears ago, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
webcrowmancer made an interesting comment that I've always wondered about. She really enjoyed Sparrington and was one of the first writers to popularize it in the fandom, and she gained a big readership. But she once told me that when she would get a comment from someone that included the phrase "I don't like slash, but ..." or "I don't like this pairing, but ..." that it annoyed the hell out of her. I thought Well, why would that bother you? It means you've "converted" them, at least for the moment. That's a compliment.
I think I sort of understand now what she was trying to say. The more I see comments on POTC fics with Will in them that start off "I don't like Will ..." "I don't like the whelp ..." "I have this condition that causes me to not care about Will ...", the more I wonder why it's necessary to say it all the time. I see a couple of certain people who, every time they comment on a story with Will, feel the need to throw it in there like a badge of honor - shoot, sometimes I see it in comments to stories that don't even have Will IN them. (To date, there's only one writer I've left positive comments for where I acknowledged I didn't like J/E ... but, they were J/E stories, and we'd discussed my preferences, so it was more of a personal correspondence than attention-whoring.) What's the fuss? Why not just say, "Hey, this was a good story, I liked this about it"? Nobody's going to think you're uncool if you don't immediately disclaim yourself with an "I Hate This Character" statement.
EDIT: Yes, I have a new mood theme. Gary!
ETA2: Don't be fooled into thinking this is genuine, legitimate fandom meta; this is mostly me bitching (though bitching chipperly. *points to snail* There are less entertaining ways to dress of a morning than while watching a meowing pseudopod).
webcrowmancer made an interesting comment that I've always wondered about. She really enjoyed Sparrington and was one of the first writers to popularize it in the fandom, and she gained a big readership. But she once told me that when she would get a comment from someone that included the phrase "I don't like slash, but ..." or "I don't like this pairing, but ..." that it annoyed the hell out of her. I thought Well, why would that bother you? It means you've "converted" them, at least for the moment. That's a compliment.I think I sort of understand now what she was trying to say. The more I see comments on POTC fics with Will in them that start off "I don't like Will ..." "I don't like the whelp ..." "I have this condition that causes me to not care about Will ...", the more I wonder why it's necessary to say it all the time. I see a couple of certain people who, every time they comment on a story with Will, feel the need to throw it in there like a badge of honor - shoot, sometimes I see it in comments to stories that don't even have Will IN them. (To date, there's only one writer I've left positive comments for where I acknowledged I didn't like J/E ... but, they were J/E stories, and we'd discussed my preferences, so it was more of a personal correspondence than attention-whoring.) What's the fuss? Why not just say, "Hey, this was a good story, I liked this about it"? Nobody's going to think you're uncool if you don't immediately disclaim yourself with an "I Hate This Character" statement.
EDIT: Yes, I have a new mood theme. Gary!
ETA2: Don't be fooled into thinking this is genuine, legitimate fandom meta; this is mostly me bitching (though bitching chipperly. *points to snail* There are less entertaining ways to dress of a morning than while watching a meowing pseudopod).
