"I Don't Like X Because of the Fandom;" Why?

[Flutterguy]

For the same reason you have created this thread: insecurity.

The people in question hope to be defined by whatever group they are a member of. Just as you seek to be defined by not being a member.

Does not make anyone a bad or dumb person. It is simply an aspect of life.

 

[Epic_Bubble]

I don't like pot smokers because of the Fandom.

Cant really go much into detail but people treat it like its a relgion and I have my facebook spammed with its so healthy, alcohol is bad stuff and I think really. Do you really have to go to such an extent to justify your belief? Your not much better than a pastor down the road whose against weed.

People already in this thread have highlighted the point of how annoying fandom can be, from the spam, pushy and superior attitude.

 

[smithy_2045]

Group X watches Show Y
Group X is undesirable
You want to watch Show Y, but you don't want to be a part of undesirable group X.

/thread.

Seriously, it's as simple as that. People generally don't want to associate with those they find annoying.

 

[Erttheking]

I have no idea. I hear that No Mutants Allowed is a cesspool, but it's not going to stop me from calling myself a Fallout fan.

 

[SmallHatLogan]

I've kind of been put off getting into the Dr Who reboot series due to knowing some pretty obnoxious fans. It's not about being associated with them, it's more that I'm just sick to death of hearing about it and it's killed any interest I may have had.

Apart from that I generally don't have a problem separating the fans from the product. I'm a big fan of The Simpsons and the band Tool but I'd consider their fan bases to be pretty insufferable for the most part.

 

[BiscuitTrouser]

Well its not necessarily because I think watching the show will MAKE me an idiot nor do I think the intelligence of the fans and the temperament reflect the quality of the thing they enjoy.

However there are an AWFUL lot of things. Theres more things to enjoy than I have time in my short life. So I, by necessity, have to be extremely picky with what I read and watch. You ever seen a city library? The DVD section alone probably has more hours of watching than ive lived my whole damn life. The things I read and enjoy are mostly chosen arbitrarily. Even if I filter on quality alone based on reviews and others opinions I would still have too much too enjoy, after all I have a group of 7 friends here at uni and their combined media tastes, again, would take about 7 times as long to watch as my current ones.

So im finicky, ill read something if the wind is in the right direction and I feel like investing time in it. If the fandom is REALLY REALLY REEALLY annoying (Hetalia honestly really annoys me) thats a tiny indication, not even remotely strong, its not as good as something else. So it becomes one of things i MIGHT watch in future i guess and I move on to other things.

I read homestuck though despite the fandom apparently being annoying. And I loved it to bits.

 

[Parasondox]

Apple Fans

I don't hate or dislike Apple products, apart from them being overpriced with restrictions, but the fans are just a pain. They talk about how great the Apple brand is with out actually talking about the detailed specs and only repeating the adverts, thinking it's the be all and end all of all technology. They have this weird cult/religion vibe thing going on that just seems disturbing. If you don't have an apple product, they look at you strangely and they don't even acknowledge other phone makes or OS's. I remember when someone was doing a documentry about Apple and they were filming just a few meters away from the Convent Garden store. As soon as the person mentioned some of the bad press that Apple had got, one of the workers just came out and told them to shut off the camera off and stop the report. They resumed it but still I find that strange.

Oh and another thing, WHO STANDS AND SLEEPS OUTSIDE OF A STORE DAYS OR EVEN WEEKS BEFORE THE NEW iWhatever COMES OUT!!

There was another report of a guy who was offered £5000 for his spot in line because he was at the front and he turned it down. £5000!!!!!

 

[TheSlothOverlord]

Sometimes the fandom is a lot more unavoidable.

I know it's a standard example, but the LoL community definitely has a detrimental effect on playing that game. A great amount of the fun I had when I played MMOs, Asherons Call 2, WoW, etc., was getting to know people and talking with them.

I have played 500/600? games of LoL. I have met no one.

The vast majority of interaction in this game is just flaming and people tend to disrupt their own silence on the basis of insulting someone.

You must have been quite unlucky. I met quite a few nice people on Lol that I keep in touch with even after I have stopped playing the game. Then again I did play it for more than 2 years. And I guess it also depends on the server you're playing on (like I find NA to be somewhat more bearable than Nordic and East).
Anyway, I have generally no problem with liking a thing, regardless of how it and its fanbase is viewed by others. I also try to steer clear of any hate bandwagoning. I guess it's influenced by the fact that I know a few adult Pewdiepie fans, who are certainly nothing like the stereotype.
I guess people don't want to like things with unpopular fanbases because they don't want to be associated with them and judged. As I said, I don't let such things influence me but I can understand such an attitude.

 

[stormeris]

MLP in a nutshell?
I mean the show is... average i guess. Nothing special, not very interesting, but watchable, i guess.

But the fandom... Is the most obnoxious group of people ever.
Just the way they invade and infect every other topic with their nonsense, is just absurd! I mean, seriously, you wouldn't be hated so much if you just watched the show and leave everyone else who doesn't watch the show alone

 

[Cecilo]

MLP in a nutshell?
I mean the show is... average i guess. Nothing special, not very interesting, but watchable, i guess.

But the fandom... Is the most obnoxious group of people ever.
Just the way they invade and infect every other topic with their nonsense, is just absurd! I mean, seriously, you wouldn't be hated so much if you just watched the show and leave everyone else who doesn't watch the show alone

I'm with this guy, I am a fan of Warhammer 40k. And just the amount of MLP 40k Stuff is staggering, I get that they like their show, I like 40k, but I don't inject 40k into everything else because it would rub people the wrong way, and said people would be more than justified if I tried to force 40k into say, Star Trek, or Star Wars.

It just annoys me when fans of something try to convert something that isn't their show, into their show, or game or whatever.

 

[2xDouble]

People seem to have an inability to separate the two.

Not me though.
If I like something, I like it. If I don't like the associated fandom, I don't associate with them.

It's as simple as that.

On the contrary, it's not merely how one personally feels, but how the rest of the world perceives him/her. Say for example, you like My Little Pony. That's not in and of itself shameful, but there exist specific groups of widely-known literal fanatics, one of which known as the "bronies". Now, you don't like the "bronies" and don't associate with them in any way, but because the fanatics and the show are inextricably linked, anyone else who knows you watch the show instantly associates you with them, regardless of your relative level of "fandom". You become instantly ostracized and openly mocked because some group of idiots happen to like the same show you do. They ruin it for everybody.

It's true of any media, really. Just look at the "gamer" label. If news networks, not only FoxNews, are to be believed, people who play video games or consider themselves "gamers" are all mindless, psychotic, obsessive murder/suicide rampages waiting to happen, needing only a single post or tweet to send them into a child-slaughtering frenzy. Is that true? absolutely not. In fact, it's slanderous at best; highly illegal. But because the title is so ill-defended and represented by, let's face it, every idiot on xbox live, we as gamers are forced to endure and to fight against that stigma regardless of whom we associate with... and heaven help you if you also happen to be female, but I'll not open that can of worms again.

 

[mistahzig1]

It's the opposite for me.

I just started Dr. Who 2 weeks ago because I kept reading horror stories about the fandom (i.e. the "TRIGGER WORD!!!" loonies). When I get a negative emotional response against a group I hate that so I instinctively try to "understand" them. Soooo, that' show I started watching the 2005+ Doctor Who show... and I stopped worrying about a loony fringe group.

Thing is, The more vocal a group is, the less people are in these group usually

 

[Stu35]

let's say, My Little Pony,

Good example.

Now, for MLP I don't dislike it because of it's fanbase (Bronies).

I dislike it (or, more appropriately, I don't dislike it, I simply don't see the appeal for me - a Mid 20s heterosexual male).

What I cannot shake the feeling of, however, is one that "Bronies" are a bunch of Paedophiles. Now, I know this isn't the case. However I can honestly not conceive of any world in which an adult male should be watching a show aimed at young children. Specifically young girls who are being raised under the stereotypical "pink and fluffy" ideal (which I also disagree with, any daughters of mine are getting action men and Rugby balls to play with, but that's an aside.)


Rationally, their enjoyment does not have any bearing on my life, and they're not hurting anyone - so I say live and let live, and I respect their right to do that.

Still fucking creeps me out though.

 

[EMWISE94]

I'll add a different perspective to this thread. I'm an artist and I try to refrain from drawing fanart of a popular series because the fandom of said series tend to get really entitled about it. I know certain people who are fan-artists or artists who at one point in time decided to draw lots of fanart of a series they personally like, you know to pay homage and all, through this they'll probably gain a large audience of people who like said series as well. Herein lies the problem, sooner or later the fandom's gonna start pestering you to cater to them, sometimes subtly sometimes aggressively; it's especially hard to watch when an artist who does original work decides to draw some fanart, gains some more followers who praise their fan work, but when they return to their original ideas the fans lash out. Sometimes they might be all: "this is nice, but I like you X work better." or they'll only provide feedback on fanart and not the orignal stuff and in some extreme cases outright demand that you draw X and nothing else because you're a fan-artist and your job is to please the fandom... ugh.

So yeah, fandoms can be rather toxic communities at times, driving people away from their show/game/book of interest or even keeping newcomers from enjoying said pieces of media because they lack knowledge on it or something silly.

Final note, 'shipping' is the most bizarre circle jerk thing most fandoms do... like it just gets scary at times.

 

[Auron225]

Doctor Who snip

I'm in the same boat, except I've never watched it. I really really don't want to. Given how dangerously obnoxious and superior the fandom acts, I have been forcefed the impression that Doctor Who is the single greatest thing in the history of everything ever amen. If nothing else, adverts and such have confirmed that not to be the case; meaning that it is guaranteed to, at best, disappoint me if I do give it a shot.

 

[The_Longier]

Apple Fans

I don't hate or dislike Apple products, apart from them being overpriced with restrictions, but the fans are just a pain. They talk about how great the Apple brand is with out actually talking about the detailed specs and only repeating the adverts, thinking it's the be all and end all of all technology. They have this weird cult/religion vibe thing going on that just seems disturbing. If you don't have an apple product, they look at you strangely and they don't even acknowledge other phone makes or OS's. I remember when someone was doing a documentry about Apple and they were filming just a few meters away from the Convent Garden store. As soon as the person mentioned some of the bad press that Apple had got, one of the workers just came out and told them to shut off the camera off and stop the report. They resumed it but still I find that strange.

Oh and another thing, WHO STANDS AND SLEEPS OUTSIDE OF A STORE DAYS OR EVEN WEEKS BEFORE THE NEW iWhatever COMES OUT!!

There was another report of a guy who was offered £5000 for his spot in line because he was at the front and he turned it down. £5000!!!!!

I agree though there was one detail you got wrong, Apple doesnt have fans its a cult.
Anyways to get back on Topic I greatly dislike Mass Effect partly because its soooooo painfully generic and I find the fan base to be senseless whiney shitbags that spend an inordinate amount of time "Preaching" the glory of a games series that is star wars with all the star wars taken out.

 

[The Funslinger]

I used to enjoy Supernatural, and I am a fan of the BBC Sherlock series. I also grew up loving Harry Potter.

Those three are but a few examples of communities of things I love that I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. There are a variety of reasons (most of which start and/or end with "Tumblr"), but one that stands out are shippers who proudly harass the actors or creators. Just look at the recent Ron/Hermione debacle. Or Sherlock fans sending death threats to the actress of Mary, purely because she gets in the way of their fetish for homosexuals. Or Misha Collins being sexually harassed by teenage girls at conventions.

It's far from a representation of everyone in these fandoms, but these are the aspects that are the most ostentatious (and sometimes celebrated). I can't associate with that rabble and still have my integrity, and it seems that many other people feel the same way.

Misha Collins got sexually harassed? :I

Although that reminds me of this video someone made to convince their mother (wut) that 'Destiel' is a legitimate ship.

Basically it came down to 'there can't be any love but fuck love, and any kind of intense look means you want to jump someone's bones!'

Christ...

OT: Fans can be very off putting.

 

[balladbird]

Final note, 'shipping' is the most bizarre circle jerk thing most fandoms do... like it just gets scary at times.

"And the shippers... MY GOD, the shippers."
-J.K. Rowling, talking about her fans.

XD

Honestly, while shippers are indeed a strange bunch, I can see why it's fun, and do it myself all the time. How it manifests depends a lot on the medium. In anime and game fandom, I find that shipping is kind of the gender-counterpart equivalent to males getting into big "who can kick who's ass?" debates. The boys get together and argue with one another about which of their male-power self-insert characters would win in a fight, and the girls tend to empathize to a very personal degree with the female member of their preferred ship.

Granted, I've only ever participated in hetero shipping. The yaoi fandom is a whole different kind of strange. Not because of the preference of gay couples, that's all fine and dandy, it's just... the level of delusion is unparalleled. to a yaoi shipper, their slash ship is 100% intended by the creator, and anyone who argues is an ignorant hater.

 

[Mook_StyFawker]

I love MLP:FiM, but I do not identify as a brony nor do I go out of my way to associate with the fandom. I love the show, own merchandise, make fan art and music, yes, but for the most part cannot stand the fandom as a whole. Lots of people in it that I follow on DA and Tumblr are great, but the rest can stay the hell away for all I care.

One show I never really wanted to get into was Attack on Titan because of the fandom. Still don't, because I get the impression that to even LIKE the show the current fans demand you do a blood oath or something. I gave the first episode a shot when I noticed the start of the popularity surge and I found it boring and completely forgettable (I don't even remember how the episode went). I didn't think the show was completely terrible, but over time people around me (some now former friends) have annihilated any and all chances of me giving it another shot.

Also, I guess I'm back.

 

[IceForce]

What I cannot shake the feeling of, however, is one that "Bronies" are a bunch of Paedophiles.

So, "I watch a TV show not specifically targeted at me" = "I want to have sex with the audience members"?

You said it yourself, an assertion like that is completely irrational.
Not to mention, pretty offensive to bronies. (I'm not one myself, but thought I'd mention it anyway)