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Fan Dumb: Difference between revisions
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* The '''Purist''': A fan who has an idealised vision of what the show should be and isn't going to let anything or anyone affect or change that vision... [[Fanon Discontinuity|not even the show itself]]. They tend to react to any changes made in the show's format with [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks|hostility]] and [[Ruined FOREVER|suspicion]]. Although often a fan who's been burned by [[Adaptation Decay]], [[Seasonal Rot]], or obvious [[Merchandise-Driven|merchandise pandering gone wrong]], some just simply don't like change and respond to it with pram-shaking tantrums. They usually also hate non-canon entries in a work simply for...well, not being canon. <ref>A fan who has a strict and unchangeable vision of the show and will react badly to any changes outside of this vision.</ref>
* The '''Theocrat''': A fan who takes [[Word of God]] to its logical extreme. While some fans take the [[Death of the Author]] and [[Fanon Discontinuity]] concepts too far and call out the creator for things in canon they don't like, some fans simply like to dabble in the occasional bit of [[Fanon Discontinuity]] or perhaps pen an [[Alternate Universe Fic]]. This is something which does not sit well with the Theocrat, who will demand that each and every "true fan" adhere to [[Word of God]] completely. Things such as [[Ship
* The '''Elitist''': These fans tend to spring up when the show goes from being a cult favourite to the mainstream. They are often prone to "I judge you if you like..." or "I judge people based on whether they have seen..." They tend to resent the influx of new fans as 'plebs' and 'Johnny-come-latelys' who are infiltrating and bringing down the tone of their previously exclusive, niche little club. As an [[Small Name, Big Ego|ego-stroking exercise]], they might actually try to set themselves up as an elite and attract any [[Lickspittle|Lickspittles]] and [[Internet Mimic|mimics]] they can find; alternatively, expect to hear a lot of whining about how the show has [[It's Popular, Now It Sucks|'Sold Out' or 'Gone Commercial']], fairly or not. <ref>Cliche hipsters of the fandom.</ref>
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** The '''Toxic Genius''': A fan who seems to believe that the fact that people are disagreeing with his strongly held opinions is not because they have different but equally strongly-held opinions, but because he's just so much smarter than they are that they can't see that he's correct. The operative term is usually "you just don't get it" (i.e. "you're much stupider than I am and thus can't see why this show is amazing / dreadful"), couched in as patronising and condescending a fashion as possible. This variant can also be found engaging in slightly pretentious (and often [[Epileptic Trees|wildly off-mark]]) analysis of the show. Many times the Toxic Genius is often shown as being a single-character-interpreter blind to [[Alternate Character Interpretation]], believing that only ''their'' interpretation of the character is correct. (Seen especially in character-heavy works like books, film, and some video games) They will also [[Fan Hater|not allow anyone to view the character any differently]]. <ref>A fan who believes those who disagree with his / her opinions to be of lower intellect ''because'' they disagree with his/her opinions.</ref>
** The '''Toxic Visionary''': Like the Genius, the Toxic Visionary uses his perceived intelligence as a weapon... except he thinks that he's smarter than the creators. A self-proclaimed (if falsely-humble) expert on everything, the Visionary is given to long discussions about how the creators clearly don't understand their own show as much as he does, often peppered with phrases such as "I don't like the direction <the creator> is taking <insert series here>," "I may not be an expert on _____, but..." and even, in sufficiently bare-faced examples, outright coming out and saying "I could've written it better," said completely without irony. They can usually be found picking over the work for [[Subtext]] that doesn't exist, earnestly trying to settle questions [[Shrug of God|the creators would rather leave unanswered]] and overestimating the significance of 'hard' fandom as a whole. <ref>As above, but with the added factor of thinking that he's smarter than the creator(s) and better than everyone else.</ref>
** The '''Toxic Missionary''' This one has an idea of [[True Art]] as a method of education, and not necessarily an entertaining one. The Toxic Missionary may criticize the frothier parts of the show for detracting from the all-important message. Their version of [[Complaining About People Not Liking the Show]] is that their show ''ought'' to make people feel uncomfortable, at least on first impression; it's a pill they ought to be taking along with the mindless entertainment they seem to prefer. Admittedly, many an [[Author Tract]] is trying to produce missionaries to spread its message, but Toxic Missionaries can be seen even in fanbases of shows with no apparent [[Writer On Board]]. Like the Toxic Visionary, these latter cases are all-too-often guilty of seeing things which aren't there, and are often guilty of over-subscribing to the idea that they should stick it to the man. As such, they hate the [[Rule
* The '''Strawstuffer''': This fan might express what is a healthy amount of criticism... but ignores the chain of decay, middle management and [[Executive Meddling|all those who contribute to decision-making]] as an explanation to why things go poorly, instead preferring to focus their ire on an easily-named and recognized target regardless of what their involvement in this might have actually been. This target then becomes the subject of blame for all of the things that go wrong with the show, [[Mis Blamed|regardless of whether they can reasonably be blamed for it or not]]. Furthermore, any failings or missteps are subsequently treated not as human error or the kind of slip-ups that any creative may encounter from time to time, but evidence that their target is out to spite them personally (which can lead to some overlap with the Tinfoiler below). <ref>A fan who hates [[The Scrappy|someone/something]] for [[Ruined FOREVER|ruining the show]], despite that someone/something [[Mis Blamed|not being responsible]].</ref>
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* '''King (or Queen) Customer''': This fan thinks that money equals control; having pumped a crapload of money into merchandise related to the fandom, they believe that they now own the fandom and that all creative and executive decisions must be run through them first. This tends to translate to an insanely overdeveloped sense of entitlement; the producers must bow to his every wish, regardless of how impractical or impossible this would be. He is prone to gloating over / complaining about the amount of money he has invested the fandom, with the idea that no one has forced him or continues to force him to buy every single piece of merchandise apparently not occurring to him. Whenever exclusive sweepstakes or promotional events happen, you can bet your bottom that King Customer may be the first one complaining how it should be available to ''everyone'', which may be justified in certain cases, but not for stuff like Collectors Editions or tours. This is the same type of person who will attempt to fight a speeding ticket with the line "My taxes pay your salary!" <ref>A fan who thinks that because he owns lots of merchandise from the show he is entitled to special treatment and priority.</ref>
* The '''Old Timer''': (Also known as "Methuselah") The Old Timer's been around since the beginning (or a very long time, anyway), and isn't going to let you forget it. They too have an overdeveloped sense of entitlement, but this time it's based on how much time they've invested rather than money, or devotion. Because they've stuck with it over the years, they believe that they're far more important to the franchise than these kids and 'Johnny-come-latelys' who have only just arrived, and resent the show changing in any way to include them. They view the franchise through a sharp [[Nostalgia Filter]]; the show is never as good as [[Nostalgia
* The '''Willfully Blind''': This fan refuses to see any faults in the object of his love at all, even if they're staring him right in the face. Tends to go beyond merely liking something to an irrational state of mind where, because he likes something, that means that it cannot possibly have any faults at all. They also will not realize how other people could possibly not like it, and will likewise [[Complaining About People Not Liking the Show|tell them they're worthless for not finding it the best thing since sliced bread]] despite that this mentality can lead to ''massive'' [[Hype Backlash]]. The Willfully Blind is fond of the [[Quality By Popular Vote]] and [[Reviews Are the Gospel]] lines of argument, often insistently referring to reviews, ratings or sales figures to support this assertion. If they encounter evidence of a flaw that even they cannot ignore, they are then prone to rationalize it away with the excuse that "it's still better than everything else" or "The rest will make up for it". <ref>A fan who insists his favored [thing] is flawless and perfect and anyone else who says otherwise is WRONG WRONG WRONG.</ref>
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[[Category:Fandom]]
[[Category:Fan Dumb]]
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