Comments on: The Eternal Fandom Rant http://check.animeblogger.net/2007/09/10/the-eternal-fandom-rant/ Unsurprisingly Still Single Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:51:08 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: eevee432 http://check.animeblogger.net/2007/09/10/the-eternal-fandom-rant/comment-page-1/#comment-29465 eevee432 Tue, 03 Mar 2009 22:51:54 +0000 http://check.animeblogger.net/2007/09/10/the-eternal-fandom-rant/#comment-29465 good good

]]> By: suguru http://check.animeblogger.net/2007/09/10/the-eternal-fandom-rant/comment-page-1/#comment-7332 suguru Wed, 19 Sep 2007 02:41:03 +0000 http://check.animeblogger.net/2007/09/10/the-eternal-fandom-rant/#comment-7332 Good post--I think it's definitely part of human nature to want to feel like part of a larger group, and especially with a niche like anime, a lot of people only find that group feeling online since (like me) they may not know any anime fans in 'real life' (unless you count getting my wife to watch CCS). It's a shame, but the internet seems to lend itself to rudeness, and the way some people will disparage Haruhi fans is a good example of this. "Your opinion is wrong" is what a lot of those arguments boil down to, which I have to think would make any debate instructor roll their eyes in disbelief. If someone says they don't like Haruhi because they hate sci-fi, or they find Haruhi herself annoying and don't like that kind of character, sure, I can understand that even if I don't feel the same way. But when I say I like SHnY because I find it has a good mix of comedy, romance, and sci-fi, and I'm told back "no, it doesn't", that's like telling me I can't like the color blue. It's purely MY opinion, so by definition it can't be right or wrong. Sadly, I think the reason CCS doesn't get the negative attention Haruhi does is that to the "your opinion is wrong" element on the internet, CCS just doesn't exist. This element, if I had to guess, skews younger, would boast they've never paid anything for their anime because they download it all, and considers anything aired before 2004 "old school" and not worth watching. I remember in a project management class being told that 55% of all communication is non-verbal, and maybe that's part of the reason why conversations on the internet turn sour often--a comment meant as a joke is easy to take the wrong way when there's no non-verbal context. Hell, I've seen plenty of email chains at work among so-called professionals devolve into flame wars of sorts, only to be defused in five minutes once everyone's in a room eye-to-eye, or even just on the same phone line. It'd be nice if people could be more civil about differences of opinion, but it's not a phenomenon confined to anime--go to any political blog in the US and you'll see 'red' versus 'blue' dumping vitriol and hate on each other like there's no tomorrow. Compared to that, anime fans in general are positively civil... Good post–I think it's definitely part of human nature to want to feel like part of a larger group, and especially with a niche like anime, a lot of people only find that group feeling online since (like me) they may not know any anime fans in 'real life' (unless you count getting my wife to watch CCS).

It's a shame, but the internet seems to lend itself to rudeness, and the way some people will disparage Haruhi fans is a good example of this. "Your opinion is wrong" is what a lot of those arguments boil down to, which I have to think would make any debate instructor roll their eyes in disbelief. If someone says they don't like Haruhi because they hate sci-fi, or they find Haruhi herself annoying and don't like that kind of character, sure, I can understand that even if I don't feel the same way. But when I say I like SHnY because I find it has a good mix of comedy, romance, and sci-fi, and I'm told back "no, it doesn't", that's like telling me I can't like the color blue. It's purely MY opinion, so by definition it can't be right or wrong.

Sadly, I think the reason CCS doesn't get the negative attention Haruhi does is that to the "your opinion is wrong" element on the internet, CCS just doesn't exist. This element, if I had to guess, skews younger, would boast they've never paid anything for their anime because they download it all, and considers anything aired before 2004 "old school" and not worth watching.

I remember in a project management class being told that 55% of all communication is non-verbal, and maybe that's part of the reason why conversations on the internet turn sour often–a comment meant as a joke is easy to take the wrong way when there's no non-verbal context. Hell, I've seen plenty of email chains at work among so-called professionals devolve into flame wars of sorts, only to be defused in five minutes once everyone's in a room eye-to-eye, or even just on the same phone line. It'd be nice if people could be more civil about differences of opinion, but it's not a phenomenon confined to anime–go to any political blog in the US and you'll see 'red' versus 'blue' dumping vitriol and hate on each other like there's no tomorrow. Compared to that, anime fans in general are positively civil…

]]> By: MK http://check.animeblogger.net/2007/09/10/the-eternal-fandom-rant/comment-page-1/#comment-7278 MK Mon, 17 Sep 2007 08:29:04 +0000 http://check.animeblogger.net/2007/09/10/the-eternal-fandom-rant/#comment-7278 People want to be ahead of the curve by hating Haruhi. I'm not saying that everybody should love Haruhi, and plenty of people have made well-constructed cases against it. The criticisms are frequently aimed at the fanbase, as if people can't think of a reason to hate it so they resort to personal insults. I can think of flaws in Haruhi even as a fan, but I only dislike series based on the quality and not based on the fans. The tribal tendecy of anime fans that you mentioned is interesting as well. Frequently I've heard people say that they barely watch any anime or have stopped altogether, and yet they still post on anime forums and go to cons. The appeal of being part of a group must be too strong People want to be ahead of the curve by hating Haruhi. I'm not saying that everybody should love Haruhi, and plenty of people have made well-constructed cases against it. The criticisms are frequently aimed at the fanbase, as if people can't think of a reason to hate it so they resort to personal insults. I can think of flaws in Haruhi even as a fan, but I only dislike series based on the quality and not based on the fans.

The tribal tendecy of anime fans that you mentioned is interesting as well. Frequently I've heard people say that they barely watch any anime or have stopped altogether, and yet they still post on anime forums and go to cons. The appeal of being part of a group must be too strong

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