Is There Such A Thing As A Fandom That Doesn't Argue Amongst Each Other?

[Anyanka Bunny Slayer]

I've honestly been wondering about this, after watching people argue about House of the Dragon. Like, we all love the show...but once online a lot of them insist on debating. And not in a nice way either.

I remember all the "online wars" on the old WB site about Charmed (Prue vs Paige etc), and don't even get me started about Doctor Who fans. 😄 Ten vs Eleven, Amy vs Rose, Daleks vs Cybermen, etc.

So, what do you think? Is it just human nature to "debate" someone over a show you both love? Or does it depend on the person?

 

[BuffyElevated]

I'd say no. People are always going to have different thoughts and opinions about things, so I don't think there's a fandom out there that doesn't debate about storylines, characters, etc. I'd be shocked if there was.

 

[NotASlayer]

Only a very boring bland one.

 

[thrasherpix]

I've found it common (if a fandom has any life at all that is) even for products. I've seen nasty fights over pads vs tampons (seriously) as well as Sig vs Glock (and how they'll rend their garments over the topic). Many years ago, I came to call it the inevitable Stripes vs Polka dots fights. If there are people passionate about it (be it fandoms or other hobbies), they will inevitably argue over it.

And when it's in person it can lead to vandalism and other such harassment over it, and that includes the girls (for girls it could be Disney vs Nick or even Harry Potter vs Twilight, and you're not allowed to like both, and they could get vicious with each other over it, though I was only aware of it being that bad for 5th and 6th graders).

Not saying everyone is like that, but there will be people like that in almost every vibrant fandom.

I used to be in the Daria fandom in the 2000s and that was more civilized. Passionate debates could happen but generally people were usually civilized (offhand, I do recall that the shipping debates were the most likely to turn nasty but it wasn't often). I remember there was one guy I used to argue politics with but we were friendly to each other elsewhere on the board (and I don't recall any personal attacks) and when his computer was stolen, I think I contributed $80 to the fund to get him a new one, even if I joked that it was important I keep reminding him that he's wrong. (He ended up dying and I mourned his passing.) That's probably unimaginable today in these dehumanizing times where people want those who disagree with them to just die.

 

[Stake fodder]

I guess it depends on what you mean by "argue." Fandoms by definition are passionate about what they love. But I've been part of fandoms (including this board) where people disagree respectfully and don't take it personally that you like Buffy's season 3 hair while they prefer S4's.

 

[NotASlayer]

But I've been part of fandoms (including this board) where people disagree respectfully and don't take it personally that you like Buffy's season 3 hair while they prefer S4's.

I would hate to see an argument about when Anya's hair was the best; not only did it regularly change style and colour between episodes, there were at least a couple when she had three different styles in the same episode and more when she had two. And sometimes different colours in the same episode too!

 

[AlphaFoxtrot]

First of all, HotD is a hot mess, but it's marketing was intended to cultivate a divisive fanbase where your colors depended on which group better appeals to your contemporary politics. So, feature, not a bug.

But, Justice League Unlimited was something that united all comic book fans, was well liked, and was enough of a commercial success that action figures were still being made five years after the last episode. That's the only answer I can think of, as Joel vs. Mike was very much a base breaker, and everyone likes those guys.

I don't consider "pre-release" debates to be anything other than a game. A work really can't be judged fairly until it's been released, (unless it's that one Shrek film where the entire plot was guessed in two or three forum discussions.) Once you get past those, things tend to calm down.

 

[silvermoon]

I don't mind respectful debates. When people start saying Spuffy people are all jackazzes, or whatever the case may be, I draw the line there. Keep it mature and civil. It's a TV show, for goodness sakes. Get some perspective. People will def. disagree and have their differences, but I see no point in having blood sport be a part of the process. That to me means someone in RL probably has some issues they are working out, and it's not healthy for anyone.

I prefer to have fun on boards like this one, and to be with people who know how to be chill and have fun. If you are that angry about someone disagreeing with you, then perhaps you need to take 100 steps back.

 

[DeepBlueJoy]

Human nature. If we all agreed that would be boring. As Lorne says, the music is in the variation, not in holding one note.

OTOH, being bullied for a favourite ship or an unpopular opinion is not fun. That has happened and i hope the other fan will realize that this is just TV show, book, game or movie. I adore Buffy but I have real life for real angst.

I do wish fan fora did got get quite so cliqueish.

It gets dangerous when people can't differentiate reality.

Actor Paul Johansson was once attacked by a woman who hated how his character (villain, Dan Scott) had treated his (TV) son!

Not a fan of that kind of madness. Misery that way lies!

 

[Ethan Reigns]

I remember the fandom on Rockstar INXS and Rockstar Supernova. On one thread in the latter, a poster accused a guy who lived 10 miles west of me in Mississauga (west of Toronto) of having an affair with a single mother in Auckland NZ. It was quite common to read a 5-page thread before going to work and find it had been pared down to 2 pages that night by the mods. Someone eventually set up a new forum that was by invitation only of people who were not belligerent (and I was one of the invitees).

Individual people can change but the general public is remarkably consistent in how they relate to other people.

 

[Kendar]

I guess it depends on what you mean by "argue." Fandoms by definition are passionate about what they love. But I've been part of fandoms (including this board) where people disagree respectfully and don't take it personally that you like Buffy's season 3 hair while they prefer S4's.

Yeah, I think there's a difference between "debating" and "arguing", at least in this context.

 

[Anyanka Bunny Slayer]

First of all, HotD is a hot mess, but it's marketing was intended to cultivate a divisive fanbase where your colors depended on which group better appeals to your contemporary politics.

After waiting for two years I'm thoroughly disappointed in House of the Dragon. I stopped watching after the second episode. But I'm still rooting for Team Black because I love Emma D'Arcy so much.

 

[KaitKat]

House of the Dragon is particularly awful because everyone thinks that everyone else is a misogynist in the nastiest ways.

With that said no I’ve never seen a fandom that doesn’t argue. I have seen fandoms though that seemed like 90% of people are respectful but they tend to be small.

 

[NoShip]

No.

 

[quillandfang]

I think that a fandom that doesn't argue is very rare or impossible, if it exists it is probably a really small and niche fandom where everyone holds the same opinions. Like others said, I think if there were absolutely zero debates or disagreements a fandom would be boring. Part of the reason why some people, including myself, engage in fandom online is to discuss characters, episodes, and relationships in a nuanced and/or interpretive way. However, I think some fandoms or online spaces are definitely more respectful than others when it comes to disagreements, and even in fandoms that are mostly laid back there are always divisive topics or some rude people, even if they're uncommon.

I've also noticed that the level of arguments that happens in a fandom also sometimes depends on where the disagreement occurs? Like certain social media apps are more toxic than others or toxic in different ways even when it comes to the exact same topic. Has anyone else noticed this?

 

[Mr Trick]

Not really, its just some are more toxic and others. Horror fans are generally speaking some of the nicest people you'll ever come across and I'd say that about a lot of Buffy fandom too, but even those fandoms have their toxic people sadly. Arguments and passion is fine as long as your respectful to everyone else.

As a content creator I had to remove so many comments from my Starfleet Academy reviews this year because of trolls in the comments. There's good and bad in all fandoms of course.