Here's a roundup of views of fandom stories that might be of interest to fans:

• Discussions that surround fandom in the media tend to take on some familiar themes, such as in the recent study of Bieber Fever that concludes fandom is a disease (spread, no doubt, by fans of Rudolph Valentino or Frank Sinatra in the last century), but there are also often discussions of religion. LiveScience discussed how Twilight may be a religious substitute for some teens. "In Denmark, where religion is not a large part of daily life, teens seem to use media — often, American media — to explore questions of good and evil, life after death and destiny, Line Nybro Petersen of the University of Copenhagen's film and media studies department has found. The communal experiences of hardcore fans of the series can even echo religious communities." Persephone Magazine begins their own discussion by quoting Joss Whedon "'I guess the thing that I want to say about fandom is that it’s the closest thing to religion there is that isn’t actually religion.'" The article focuses on sacred texts, rituals, and communities of faith.
• Many companies, however, are less interested in the temple than the marketplace. Diverse strategies to commercialize fans through new services continue to make the news. Fans in commerce for themselves are not new however, although long-term success is always a challenge.
• Isaac Butler recently wrote about the significance of fandom in an article which compared his reaction to an uncle's death to that of Community's showrunner being fired. Meanwhile cartoonist Nicolas Mahler spoofed superhero comics and their fandom. "With Mahler's interest in the culture surrounding superhero comics, the cartoonist also has a bit of fun with Angelman's 'fans,' who are a thoroughly miserable lot, complaining about every issue (except the ultra-violent one). 'I have seen a lot of those fanboys at comic festivals over the years, and the funny thing is that they are completely the same everywhere,' Mahler told CBR News. 'I think behind any collector, there lurks a sad, unfulfilled person.'"
• Sports blogger Hayden Kane would disagree however. "Having been fortunate enough to attend three Rockies games this week, I was reminded of something: nobody actually knows what the fan thinks, because the idea that there is some embodiment of what every single fan believes is a fiction. We can speak from the perspective of a fan, not the fan." In describing different motivations and activities while attending games Kane resolves "We should all quit trying to lump these groups together. We should quit trying to speak for all fans. There are plenty of other ways to enjoy being a fan and to have interesting discussions about the team’s future..[events] will resonate differently with different fans. That’s a good thing." The Atlantic takes that view too, declaring presidential candidates Obama and Romney to both be serious Star Trek fans.

Fanlore was created as a place to record fannish history from diverse points of view so that all fans could share their perspectives. If you're a fan, why not contribute to your own stories?

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

Here's a roundup of media use stories that might be of interest to fans:

• The French model three strikes law against those downloading copyrighted content has been delayed in the U.S. -- for now. "The proposed Copyright Alerts system has been delayed to an unspecified date. Often referred to as “Six Strikes and You’re Out,” the policy was supposed to have been implemented in July 2012. Under it, Internet service providers like Time Warner and Verizon would voluntarily punish their customers who repeatedly use peer-to-peer filesharing software to illegally download copyrighted material." So far the French law has reduced illegal downloading but hasn't boosted media sales the way its sponsors wanted.
• Speaking of downloading, more U.S. fans will run into online restrictions in 2012. C|Net wrote about Verizon and Comcast enacting data caps. "The sad reality is that while it's a great market penetration strategy, unlimited data is simply not a sustainable economic model," said Guy Rosen, CEO of Onavo, a wireless application that helps people control data usage. "Supply is limited by the laws of physics and demand is simply exploding. Verizon's statement adds to AT&T's throttling debacle of earlier this year, ushering us into a future where all data has a price tag. It's now clear that operators will find any loophole they can to eradicate grandfathered unlimited contracts." Most of the heavy use is blamed on "video, particularly high-definition video. Services like Netflix, Hulu, and Youtube account for huge amounts of traffic on the network."
• Meanwhile one particularly popular video was taken down from YouTube temporarily due to copyright claims. "Rickrolling is the practice of promising a victim one link but directing them instead to Rick Astley’s 1987 music video, 'Never Gonna Give You Up,' instead." The takedown was particularly odd given the longevity of rickrolling and how "On April Fools' Day in 2008, [YouTube itself] rickrolled viewers by redirecting every video on the front page to Astley’s video." The video was later restored with no explanation.
• Lastly, major league baseball is sponsoring social media nights at its games. The events "vary from ballpark to ballpark, but some aspects are fairly consistent. The Cubs offered specially priced tickets and put together contests for their online fans. They encouraged their Twitter followers to use the hashtag (hash)CubsSocial to mark their tweets throughout the night. Other teams "hold in-game scavenger hunts that award autographed memorabilia or team apparel, and some clubs put together contests that result in upgraded tickets for their online followers." Other teams follow people's special events and surprise them with gift packs at the stadiums. "It's about fan engagement and the ability then to be able to enter into that discussion, and not being too corporate, but helping lead and participate in that conversation," Nationals chief operating officer Andy Feffer said. "Why? Because the social media platform is now an access point — to the club, to the players, to promotions, to ticket sales, to the story that's being told. And the story really lives now in the social media world."

If you're a baseball fan, or follow copyright issues, why not contribute to Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

Here's a roundup of fan identity stories that might be of interest to fans:

• The Daily Dot featured an interview with Flourish Klink about fangirl culture. "Klink said she thinks the way women tend to interact with media is not broadcasted as widely. 'I think that male fans maybe more frequently create spectacle—original fan films, for instance—but things that require less monetary investment are usually made by women,' she said. She went on to talk about how sites like LiveJournal offer more privacy for posting, a greater concern for women. She also felt the word fangirl needs to move away from its negative connotations. 'I feel like usually when people use the word ‘fangirl’ in a dismissive way, it's usually a really gendered insult—it's about how ladies are inappropriately overemotional, yeah?' she asked. 'So I kind of want to reclaim it. Personally.'"
• Of course, the word "fans" has not yet escaped negative connotations as this piece in The Brisbane Times makes evident. Focusing on a tattoo contest for Game of Thrones fans, it asks when fandom goes too far, interviewing music and comic store owners and con organizer Daniel Zachariou. "'If you have passions and you have hobbies what on earth is wrong with that?' he asked. 'We are all acting out different roles in daily life, in our work we might put on a persona that is very different to our home persona. If there are cosplayers that already have psychological conditions, well that is a different story.'" Dr Larry Neale, an expert in consumer and sports fanaticism, adds “'Now that these fanatics have pledged their allegiance to Game of Thrones through tattoos, they will be more loyal in terms of watching the show and there is the chance for advertisers to get the spill on effects of that...as these fans remain loyal to HBO.'"
• As part of a fandom issue Parabasis contributor Anne Moore writes about "fandom, queerness, shame and the fan-creator relationship." Examining the feelings involved in performing fandom, she writes "Although writers and fans both express a great deal of affection for one another, that affection is always counterbalanced by hostility and resentment. Unsurprisingly, then, figures of fandom are rarely presented as characters with whom a reader might identify...It’s this dynamic of identification and disavowal that creates perhaps the greatest parallel between fans and queers—for every fan, there’s some final limit at which things transition from 'cool' to 'pathetic': trading cards, costumes, live-action-role-playing. Like the crush on a straight friend that marks so many people’s initial knowledge of their own queer leanings, the fan’s imaginary relationship with the star, text, or author is structurally impossible to fulfill, and humiliating when it’s exposed."
• Media scholar Henry Jenkins hosted a multipart look at otaku culture "that is, the culture of a technologically literate segment of the population which is characterized by their impassioned engagement, skilled reworking, and intellectual mastery over elements borrowed from many aspects of popular culture, including not only anime and manga, but also games, popular music, digital culture, even history or trains. So far, relatively little of this work has been translated into English, which means that Fan Studies as practiced in the United States and Otaku Studies as it has developed in Japan have largely been autonomous fields. In practice, they have much to learn from each other, including forcing scholars to be more attentive to the cultural specificity of various fan practices, identities, aesthetics, and ideologies."

If you're part of otaku culture, or Game of Thrones fandom, why not contribute to Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

Here's a roundup of feel-good fandom stories that might be of interest to fans:

• A variety of news outlets covered celebrations of Star Wars Day on May 4. Among them was ESPN, which posted examples of jock and nerd crossovers and a write-up of Star Wars nights at ballparks featuring some athletes who believe in The Force.
• Another fannish event in May was Comic Book Day and some fans used the occasion for an impromptu wedding at their comic book store. "They said as soon as they met, they found out about each other's geeky interests. 'Pretty much I was like look, I'm a big dork, I like Harry Potter, I like Lord of the Rings, I like all of this stuff and he was like, ‘I like that' and gave me the thumbs up,' [bride Donnita Johnson] said. The wedding was complete with a Princess Leia bridesmaid, a Spiderman best man and Batman and Wonder Woman wedding rings. The pair dressed up in Batman and Wonder Woman attire for the ceremony. They said life is about having fun and expressing who you are and the things you love."
• Certainly one aspect of fandom is its enduring nature, as reflected in the story of 104-year-old Spurs fan Theresa Sanchez who, after 40 years, finally attended a game in person. Also heartwarming was the story of the father and son Captain American fans who ended up attending the premiere of The Avengers. "Captain Kevin Camarata wanted to return from Afghanistan in time for his son's birthday. He missed it by a few days, but made it up to him by sticking to the original plan: dressing as the Avengers character his son holds most dear." When their reunion video went viral, Disney offered an invitation to them to walk the red carpet.
• Blogger Noah Brand discusses drawerfic, writing "I find incredibly esoteric and specialized porn to be one of the most life-affirming things in the world...every time I learn a new word like 'boytaur' or 'OT3' or 'docking' or 'unbirth'...all these things bring me a genuine and unironic joy." Such writing and self-expression is something that can never be co-opted or commercialized: "Every one of those weird kinks is a shout of human individuality in a world that wants to reduce us down to buying patterns and demographic trends. 'I am alive!' they cry. 'I am not an emerging new style, I am not a market segment, I am not co-optable.'" Brand argues that people who have access to current technologies are more fortunate than any other generation in history because they have the tools to make themselves understood. "We use those tools to keep Community on the air, and we also use them to create animated GIFs of Jessica Rabbit with a huge dick. If either of those things strikes you as a strange use of time and technology, that’s okay: it’s not for you. And that’s the point."

If you are part of The Avengers or Star Wars fandoms, or have your own feel-good fandom stories, why not contribute them to Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.