Gentle reminder that very little fandom labor is automated, because I think people forget that a lot.
That blog with a tagging system you love? A person curates those tags by hand.
That rec blog with a great organization scheme and pretty graphics? Someone designed and implemented that organization scheme and made those graphics.
That network that posts a cool variety of stuff? People track down all that variety and queue it by hand, and other people made all the individual pieces.
That post with umpteen links to helpful resources, and information about them? Someone gathered those links, researched the sources, wrote up the information about them.
That graphic about fandom statistics? Someone compiled those statistics, analyzed them, organized them, figured out a useful way to convey the information to others, and made the post.
That event that you think looks neat? Someone wrote the rules, created the blogs and Discords, designed the graphics, did their best to promo the event so it'd succeed.
None of this was done automatically. None of it just appears whole out of the internet ether.
I think everyone realizes that fic writing and fanart creation are work, and at least some folks have got it through their heads that gif creation and graphics and moodboards take effort, and meta is usually respected for the effort that goes into it, at least as far as I've seen, but I feel like a lot of people don't really get how much labor goes into curation, too.
If people are creating resources, curating content, organizing the creations of others, gathering information, and doing other fandom activities that aren't necessarily the direct action of creation, they're doing a lot of fandom labor, and it's often largely unrecognized.
Celebrate fan work!
To folks doing this kind of labor: I see you, and I thank you. You are the backbones of our fandoms and I love you.
So I attended church yesterday… Well, the High Church of the Holy Dick that is. And the thing is, Dick gave a really good talk.
Strike that. This was not a talk in the High Church of Dick. This was Rich talking to us all after a terrible tragedy, and helping us realize some very important truths. And I just felt like it needed to be here, to be read, whenever needed, whenever we may need a reminder…
SPN Phoenix Sunday introduction by Rich
“Today we are going to do a Rules and Regulations, but today we are going to do a variance on it. This is not the Rules and Regulations we normally do. I’m going off script here. And I thought this was worth mentioning. Here’s the Rule. This is the only Rule. The Rule and Regulation that you learn here, that you take out of this room, is Acceptance, is Kindness, is Understanding. We are not different, you and I. You and Jared, you and Jensen. We just simply have a different job. And that is what this is all about. We all know there was a tragedy in Florida last night. And we would be remiss if we did not comment on it, and acknowledge it, and mourn with the nation about what is currently going on. I’m not going to comment on why. We don’t know the why. I’m not going to comment on the how, we don’t know that either. But what I do know is that those acts of violence are driven by a loss of sense of self. A loss of sense of acceptance, a loss of sense of kindness, and as a people it is our job to fix that, by paying it forward, by doing the right thing to each other, all the time, every day, every time. And I don’t care if you are a stranger or a family member. You have to do it the right way every time. So this is the Rule. You are going to take the acceptance that you find in the Supernatural Family, and you are going to push it out into other avenues of your life. You are going to be nicer than you think you should be. You are going to be kinder than you have to be. You are going to be better than anyone thinks you can be because we know you can. We know about you. And that’s how we are going to solve this problem. We can legislate until we’re blue in the face. But if we can’t fix humanity, you can’t make humans choose do the right thing. Let’s do it, starting here <in your heart> and we’ll push it out there. It may sound cheesy, but it’s the right answer.
So that’s what we’re going to do, and it starts with the Supernatural Family. And it goes to the internet, and it goes to the other pages we go to, and it goes to Pinterest and it goes to Instagram, and it goes to twitter; you are not going to be angry, you are not going to be bitching, you are not going to complain, everything you post on social media will be friendly. If you don’t have something nice to say – put the phone down.
We are going to be nice to each other. We are going to be kind, we are going to be supportive, and it doesn’t matter who you are, what you do, who you marry, who you love, what you job is, what your problems are or what your gifts are. We are all the same. And until we realize that, we will never, ever, ever fully be able to heal. And I say the Supernatural family is the exact institution that can start the healing process.
So that is the Rule. And that is the Regulation. And that is what we are going to do.
Thank you.”
Thanks Rich. We’ll try to keep the Rule in mind everyday
Used Steph J’s vid - spnphx Sunday Open periscope via @altsunthinkable
ao3 is down. what am i supposed to do?? continue writing my own fic??? HA you almost got me!! absolutely not. u can't fool me ao3. i'm not falling for that trick.
Aww. I miss my cat.
I wish they'd get this message out there in every sport.
Don't know what I'd do if I couldn't read. It'd make being a physiotherapist so hard. There's so much reading to do.
I think there are some really important discussions to have about why disclosing aspects of personal identity can be challenging but important for all kinds of people, why the concept of “coming out” has appealed at times to a wide variety of groups (including people who are poly or kinky, sex workers, people with HIV, atheists, and people with mental illness), and why other groups using that language can be harmful to people in the LGBT and queer communities. But it’s going to take me some time to really be able to address all that.
In the meantime, I also think it’s worthwhile to focus specifically on the coming out experiences of people who are LGBTQIA. Of course, these experiences can vary a lot too. There are some differences between coming out about sexual orientation and coming out about gender identity, for example. And even two people who identify the same way may face pretty different challenges in their individual lives. I do believe, however, that there is a certain commonality shared specifically by these groups.
So if I’m going to get chest surgery, I’m dealing with the harsh reality that my insurance will never cover it and that my credit is too shot to get a loan. Which means that I’m going to need to raise this money on my own. I’ll be getting a job outside of commission work. But...
Me: *Removes my cat from my lap to do something else.*
My cat: Father is...evil? Father is unyielding? Father is incapable of love? I am running away. I am packing my little rucksack and going out to explore the world as a lone vagabond. I can no longer thrive in this household.
50 posts