Just a little peevish.
Jul. 7th, 2018 08:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rogueslayer452Taken from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
author_by_night's list of writing prompts:
List five pet peeves.
Pretty simple enough, though I'm dividing this into two separate categories. One is for real life pet peeves, the other is for fandom-related pet peeves.
Real Life/General Pet Peeves
01. Pushy drivers who get irrationally angry when you don't automatically turn right on red. Here in the US we drive on the righthand side of the road, which means the majority of the time you can turn right on a red light into merging traffic, when it is safe, of course. It's not a mandatory rule, it's by your own discretion. However, needless to say this doesn't mean people won't be assholes about it when you don't immediately turn when they think the coast is clear when I'm the one looking and deciding whether it's safe to go or not. They'll impatiently honk at you, even go so far as try to inch closer to your car as if to make "a point" that you need to go. Like, yeah, I see your exaggerated facial expressions in my rearview mirror and I'm sorry you can't patiently wait another fucking minute before the light turns green, but I'm trying to be cautious and safe and you being an asshole just ups my anxiety levels even more, jfc.
02. People who don't turn off lights when they're not in the room. Just, y'know, conserve energy and don't waste electricity because that costs money and shit. It's not that difficult to turn off the light switch when you leave the room. The same goes for not closing doors/cabinets/drawers/etc. I understand being forgetful, since I do this sometimes too, but consistently being forgetful is annoying and rather inconsiderate.
03. People thinking it's okay to ask personal, invasive questions. As in the "are you married yet?" and "do you have children yet?" types of questions. Sadly, this is considered "small talk" among society (something I already hate in general), but it honestly peeves me that not only do certain people not understand how none of this is their business, they also act incredibly offended when you decline to answer or give a curt response. Like, how is my personal life something you need to know? This is especially irritating because even when you give a brief answer they follow-up with more personal questions. Just, please leave me alone.
04. "Long time lurker, first time poster." I cringe anytime I see this being written on any kind of online forum or advice column. I don't know why, but it sounds so cheesy.
05. Elitists and snobs in general. This can be for anything: movies, television, music, books, fashion, education, etc. Basically anyone who thinks that they are superior and look down on others for being lesser than because they don't like what they like or do what they think should be done. The biggest one for me is education, because while everyone has a preference for media (some exclaiming theirs louder than others), the sense of entitlement when it comes to education bothers me even more. Not everyone is able to get a higher education, hell not everyone is able to finish high school, not everyone is able to get their diplomas or even get a degree. Thinking lesser of someone who doesn't follow that particular path doesn't make you better, it makes you an asshole.
Fandom Pet Peeves
01. Abusing the tagging system on AO3. I feel like this is 100% due to Tumblr, where tag conversations are considered the normal way of writing out your thoughts on your blog and posts. However, on any other site outside of Tumblr this is rather disruptive, not only since tagging systems aren't infinite, but also tagging isn't meant for your personal thoughts or conversations but for organization. I don't mind the single tag or two that is just a sentence, but when people go overboard with adding tags about their personal feelings/thoughts it's like, why not just write that in the summary or within the post itself? It makes no sense and it bothers me to the point where I won't even read the fic. This is something that certain people need to learn about understanding your surroundings. You're not on Tumblr, you're on another site that has its own way of operating, especially with their tagging system, so it's best to adjust and act accordingly.
02. Fandom purity culture. I could do an entire post ranting about this, honestly. As someone who has been actively involved with fandom for a long, long time now, everything surrounding the current state of fandom (mostly on Tumblr since this toxicity started from there and it has since started to infect into other places as well) just gives me a headache. The lack of critical thinking, not minding your own fucking business, the failure to understand that what you dislike someone else might like and that's okay, and just the overall aspect of trying to "outwoke" each other in some strange morality superiority complex is so completely juvenile and ridiculous.
03. Entitled fans who don't understand boundaries and tact. Since the growing popularity of fandom in pop culture in recent years, the boundary line between keeping fandom things within the fandom have started to blur. Fans are now able to interact directly to their favorite actor or creator, which can be great for the most part, but sometimes you get really demanding fans who show their gross sense of entitlement. Whether it's on social media or at conventions, they end up throwing respect out the window and decide to badger them at panels or harass them on Twitter only to validate their own interests and needs, thinking that these actors/celebrities/creators "owe" them something, and it's absolutely appalling. It paints a bad picture of fandom as a whole.
04. Shipping wars. For anyone in fandom, shipping wars are probably the biggest pet peeve of all because it's just so nonsensical. Who cares who ships who? How does it affect your life? You're not going to change that person's mind on their shipping preferences, and they're not going to change yours. So why bother? What is the point? It's, again, the entitlement of certain fans who just need something to be angry about. Yes, there are ships that I don't like, don't understand, or even outright hate, but I'm not going to hate on anyone who ships them. Why? Because I'm not an asshole. Ship and let ship. Fandom should go back to practicing this instead of fighting over which ship is the "purest" or "less toxic", as if that was ever the purpose of shipping in the first place.
05. Less metas, more fandom wanks. Granted, "fandom wank" has now become "discourse" over on the Tumblr side of fandom (which should be referred to as "fandom wank" because that's what it is, though I digress), but the statement still stands that there seems to be less metas or places for discussion about anything fandom-related and more just people screaming into a void. That doesn't mean there still isn't some fascinating pieces of metas and written essays to be found, it's just often overshadowed by other things in fandom nowadays, and sometimes even hijacked by people who want to derail the actual conversation. That part especially ticks me off.
author_by_night's list of writing prompts:List five pet peeves.
Pretty simple enough, though I'm dividing this into two separate categories. One is for real life pet peeves, the other is for fandom-related pet peeves.
Real Life/General Pet Peeves
01. Pushy drivers who get irrationally angry when you don't automatically turn right on red. Here in the US we drive on the righthand side of the road, which means the majority of the time you can turn right on a red light into merging traffic, when it is safe, of course. It's not a mandatory rule, it's by your own discretion. However, needless to say this doesn't mean people won't be assholes about it when you don't immediately turn when they think the coast is clear when I'm the one looking and deciding whether it's safe to go or not. They'll impatiently honk at you, even go so far as try to inch closer to your car as if to make "a point" that you need to go. Like, yeah, I see your exaggerated facial expressions in my rearview mirror and I'm sorry you can't patiently wait another fucking minute before the light turns green, but I'm trying to be cautious and safe and you being an asshole just ups my anxiety levels even more, jfc.
02. People who don't turn off lights when they're not in the room. Just, y'know, conserve energy and don't waste electricity because that costs money and shit. It's not that difficult to turn off the light switch when you leave the room. The same goes for not closing doors/cabinets/drawers/etc. I understand being forgetful, since I do this sometimes too, but consistently being forgetful is annoying and rather inconsiderate.
03. People thinking it's okay to ask personal, invasive questions. As in the "are you married yet?" and "do you have children yet?" types of questions. Sadly, this is considered "small talk" among society (something I already hate in general), but it honestly peeves me that not only do certain people not understand how none of this is their business, they also act incredibly offended when you decline to answer or give a curt response. Like, how is my personal life something you need to know? This is especially irritating because even when you give a brief answer they follow-up with more personal questions. Just, please leave me alone.
04. "Long time lurker, first time poster." I cringe anytime I see this being written on any kind of online forum or advice column. I don't know why, but it sounds so cheesy.
05. Elitists and snobs in general. This can be for anything: movies, television, music, books, fashion, education, etc. Basically anyone who thinks that they are superior and look down on others for being lesser than because they don't like what they like or do what they think should be done. The biggest one for me is education, because while everyone has a preference for media (some exclaiming theirs louder than others), the sense of entitlement when it comes to education bothers me even more. Not everyone is able to get a higher education, hell not everyone is able to finish high school, not everyone is able to get their diplomas or even get a degree. Thinking lesser of someone who doesn't follow that particular path doesn't make you better, it makes you an asshole.
Fandom Pet Peeves
01. Abusing the tagging system on AO3. I feel like this is 100% due to Tumblr, where tag conversations are considered the normal way of writing out your thoughts on your blog and posts. However, on any other site outside of Tumblr this is rather disruptive, not only since tagging systems aren't infinite, but also tagging isn't meant for your personal thoughts or conversations but for organization. I don't mind the single tag or two that is just a sentence, but when people go overboard with adding tags about their personal feelings/thoughts it's like, why not just write that in the summary or within the post itself? It makes no sense and it bothers me to the point where I won't even read the fic. This is something that certain people need to learn about understanding your surroundings. You're not on Tumblr, you're on another site that has its own way of operating, especially with their tagging system, so it's best to adjust and act accordingly.
02. Fandom purity culture. I could do an entire post ranting about this, honestly. As someone who has been actively involved with fandom for a long, long time now, everything surrounding the current state of fandom (mostly on Tumblr since this toxicity started from there and it has since started to infect into other places as well) just gives me a headache. The lack of critical thinking, not minding your own fucking business, the failure to understand that what you dislike someone else might like and that's okay, and just the overall aspect of trying to "outwoke" each other in some strange morality superiority complex is so completely juvenile and ridiculous.
03. Entitled fans who don't understand boundaries and tact. Since the growing popularity of fandom in pop culture in recent years, the boundary line between keeping fandom things within the fandom have started to blur. Fans are now able to interact directly to their favorite actor or creator, which can be great for the most part, but sometimes you get really demanding fans who show their gross sense of entitlement. Whether it's on social media or at conventions, they end up throwing respect out the window and decide to badger them at panels or harass them on Twitter only to validate their own interests and needs, thinking that these actors/celebrities/creators "owe" them something, and it's absolutely appalling. It paints a bad picture of fandom as a whole.
04. Shipping wars. For anyone in fandom, shipping wars are probably the biggest pet peeve of all because it's just so nonsensical. Who cares who ships who? How does it affect your life? You're not going to change that person's mind on their shipping preferences, and they're not going to change yours. So why bother? What is the point? It's, again, the entitlement of certain fans who just need something to be angry about. Yes, there are ships that I don't like, don't understand, or even outright hate, but I'm not going to hate on anyone who ships them. Why? Because I'm not an asshole. Ship and let ship. Fandom should go back to practicing this instead of fighting over which ship is the "purest" or "less toxic", as if that was ever the purpose of shipping in the first place.
05. Less metas, more fandom wanks. Granted, "fandom wank" has now become "discourse" over on the Tumblr side of fandom (which should be referred to as "fandom wank" because that's what it is, though I digress), but the statement still stands that there seems to be less metas or places for discussion about anything fandom-related and more just people screaming into a void. That doesn't mean there still isn't some fascinating pieces of metas and written essays to be found, it's just often overshadowed by other things in fandom nowadays, and sometimes even hijacked by people who want to derail the actual conversation. That part especially ticks me off.
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no subject
Date: 2018-07-09 08:06 am (UTC)It's like how you mentioned previously about how there are plenty of YouTube videos and even podcasts that do exactly what written metas have done, just in a more visual/audio format which sometimes can entice people more to watch and pay attention.
Yeah. And i really don't even know how that works, because like I also said, I find that way... harder? I can read a piece of meta on my lunch break at work. I can't watch a video. I mean, the only thing I will say is that podcasts allow me to listen while I'm otherwise occupied, which is nice - I can still do things I need to do (that don't involve being at a computer). But videos? Seriously, who has time to watch a 40 minute meta video? I mean, I sometimes do, but not enough that it can possibly be my only source of fandom.
but sometimes they don't get into the nitty gritty of who the characters are as people, their motivations, extensive background, of dissecting almost every piece of canon to figure them out and their relationships with other characters, etc. It's fine to be on the surface interested in something, but sometimes I do want interaction with people who want more than just the fluffy stuff, y'know?
Exactly!
I find the tumblr mentality scary, and it's spilled into other spheres. People also don't realize that as long as you get mad at people who have even a marginally differing view, or who dare try asking for clarification, you're pushing them away. Especially the latter. People underestimate how many people really do not understand things, as well as the fact that even they (inevitably) have areas where they're less knowledgeable. I get that some people are willfully ignorant, but there's willful ignorance and there's just not realizing things. I once posted about something on LJ I now realize was kinda problematic, because I was oblivious. Luckily people explained to me why I was in the wrong, and I got the message. I still appreciate them explaining it before I ended up an internet meme, or hurting someone's feelings.
They're also utterly unwilling to have any nuanced discussions. Although that I think sometimes comes down to, in fairness, a difference in how people use the internet. I've realized - sometimes far too late - that people weren't really going for discussion as much as they were just... trying to get out their thoughts. Which is actually fair, especially if it's somewhere like LJ, but it also makes it tricky because I feel like I've ended up in arguments simply because I thought we were having a conversation about a topic, only for them to really just want to espouse one thing.
(What's really ironic is that IRL, I'm working on not over-apologizing. Yet I feel like in order to comment on anything online anymore, I have to over-apologize. "In quoting what Donald Trump said in his tweet, I am not saying I agree with him. I disagree with Donald Trump. I am merely saying what he said in his tweet to show that I do not agree, because I think the tweet - which I don't agree with - is terrible." Obvious exaggeration is obvious, but good lord, I should not have to work so hard.)
no subject
Date: 2018-07-09 05:01 pm (UTC)A lot of the videos I've watched that focus on analyzing certain things in fandom are about around ten minutes or less, though I have found videos that are much longer than that but somehow still managed to watch all of it. Perhaps not in one sitting, but if it's interesting enough I'll be compelled to finish it until the end. It does depend on the individual doing the video, if they're enticing enough to continue watching, and if they present their arguments and point across well.
People underestimate how many people really do not understand things, as well as the fact that even they (inevitably) have areas where they're less knowledgeable. I get that some people are willfully ignorant, but there's willful ignorance and there's just not realizing things.
That is definitely one of the biggest issues Tumblr has, and it's such a dangerous and toxic mentality to have because it's unrealistic to assume that everyone knows everything, and if they don't then they're somehow the problem and deserve to be bullied. I want to imagine how these people are in real life, because I doubt they're going around loudly shaming people who aren't knowledgeable in certain subjects, in the "how dare you not know about this!" kind of manner. So why do they think it's okay to do that online? Oh right, because online anonymity somehow permits them to be assholes, and bonus points for acting like they give a shit about social issues in general.
The sad thing about this mentality is that it reinforces people to remain silent or complicit in these kinds of situations, because they're afraid of saying something some would deem "problematic" and thereby get bullied by these individuals. There is a way of educating people on things they're unaware of without being an asshole, but unfortunately some just can't grasp the concept of not taking things personally, or unable to understand that not everything is an activist action.
What's really ironic is that IRL, I'm working on not over-apologizing. Yet I feel like in order to comment on anything online anymore, I have to over-apologize.
Yeah, same here. With being online, there is this overall atmosphere that you have to be walking on eggshells around everyone because you don't want to set anyone off, even if you are genuinely clueless or curious or just want to speak your own opinion, and you have to constantly apologize and over-apologize to make sure people know that you're not an asshole. Whereas in real life, I'm trying hard to not excessively apologize for everything.
It's strange, but an interesting and fascinating look into human interaction, online versus real life. Online anonymity allows people to say or do things they wouldn't normally do in real life because there are no immediate repercussions. At least, to an extent, because if someone gets exposed for saying/doing something less than favorable and it bleeds into their real life they are quick to apologize (whether they're actually sorry and acknowledge their wrongdoings or not) because they're aware that it means they'll suffer real life consequences for their actions (ex: employees who end up getting fired from their jobs after making horrific comments that reflects badly not just on them but on the company). I sometimes feel like there is a sense of removal of reality when it comes to how people present themselves online, where they feel they are untouchable, that even in the context of, say, those who claim they care about social justice they actually don't because they're not doing anything productive for the cause in real life. They just love claiming they care and spend a lot of time putting down others who aren't that "woke" because it makes them feel better about themselves, not realizing how hypocritical they actually are in their behavior.
(Sorry, I kinda got a little carried away there at the end, but it's an interesting topic worth dissecting and discussing....)