I've noticed that from a few comments I've been reading on this forum. Feel free to move this to a more general area as it comments on fandoms in general. I'll probably become a lot less popular after this but I need to get it off my chest.
Recently, I brought up anime and Touhou on the 2fort2furious forum(a popular TF2 sever). They made fun of me for it, but there was a particular turning point in the argument when this place came up, and I said "ah actually they're not so bad at all, in fact there's some people that would agree with you about some of the fans". They made Shrine Maiden to be full of the kind of people that draw Wriggle x Yukkuri Yukari etc. and they percieved my response as being in support of that. They also attacked Weeabootique which I've also seen some here doing(it's not THAT bad).
After that I get posts like "Wow, you're the worst person ever". They proved themselves to be one of the nastiest, irrational bunch of people I've encountered over a while, all because I basically didn't accept that all Touhou fans were all perverted idiots. Their primary "evidence" for this was crossposting the Yukkuri article on the Touhou wiki, and further tore into me for even trying to "defend it". It was automatically wrong for trying to defend something, this was a consistant theme, they didn't think they actually had to read my posts and debunk my points.
Of course, no argument is really automatically wrong except this one, but the attitude people have towards anime fans, and now Touhou fans apparently, is that irrational hatred is always logical.
But I start seeing hints of that same kind of attitude in a lot of people around here. I don't think those people are vicious sociopaths like the 2F2F crowd, but it's still something I'm wary of.
Now there are certain kinds of Weeaboo I'm not too fond of, you might have seen me refer to the "Kingdom Hearts" style Weeaboo. There's nothing wrong with that game, or all it's fans, but I've found that it has one of the higher rates of the fluffy, ES SO KAWAII xD nonsense especially since it's combining the "Nerdy fangirl" elements of both western(disney/cute cartoons in general) and eastern culture(final fantasy etc.). However, unlike 2fort2furious, that doesn't mean I tear them apart. Some people don't understand this. I have a friend who fits this description on the surface but isn't really all that annoying at all.
Just because something annoys you, doesn't mean. Have you seen what an unbelievable shithole the Transformers community is because some people can't accept that some fans don't like the new movies? Again, it started with annoying fans, unable to let go of the original and denying any changes. All of a sudden, these people were outnumbered by vicious Internet Tough Guys who are taking a moral highground that can't logically exist.
Yes, it's kind of annoying. That doesn't mean you should form a militia the size of the internet to tear them down. They're just fans. Whereas these people, the 2fort2furious crowd too(who are, as I pointed out, just another kind of nerd, appreciating similra Rofl so Random xD cartoony action, and should stick by their fellow nerds), are becoming something much worse. Annoying fans are sometimes thoughtless of others, but relatively innocent. What the 2F2F guys were doing were both playing at a "tough guy" image intolerant of this "fluffy" fandom, but also created abstract standards for behaviour nothing to do with any logical system of ethics. They're glorifying schoolyard bully ethics and acting like it makes them more mature.
And that's what both causes that stupid rivarly between western vidya geek and weeaboo geek, and destroys fanbases.
Now, I'm really really worried that's what's happening with Touhou fandom. I'm relatively new to it, but I see a lot of the initial signs.
What I'm saying is that all the unbelievable crap in the Touhou fandom, yes, it is annoying, it is something I'll speak out against, but you don't have to care. The minute people start creating abstract standards for "a better fan", "a more mature fan", or contrast one fanbase to another, that's when it all falls apart. People aren't at fault for being fanboys. "Fault" should mean something wrong, with a demonstratable intentional negative effect. Not only is it nor part of any noteworthy ethical system, it's not something that can logically fit in one.
In this day and age, geeks should have a lot more power than they do. But what you see is geeks cannibalising each other even if the mainstream doesn't, setting these elaborate standards. I think it's probably something that happens in a lot of minorities too - you get a lot of segregation in some areas between a "proper" gay guy and a silly one. And you know, it's great to point this out as people can often become "fanboys" of their own status. I think overly camp gay guys are probably being ridiculous. But does that mean I should be an ass to them? No! It's not going to help the problem.
Now I know there's one or two people that mark themselves as outspoken, and I'm not trying to offend you personally, not naming names. I'm not just talking about being "outspoken", but about something that I do see as happening in the near future that will make it surprisingly difficult just to enjoy the fucking comics and games. Do we really have to take all these terrible Doujins seriously? No. Chances are, we're taking it much more seriously than the authors. I find it ironic people keep blasting ZUN for commitment to consistancy but them act like the Doujin authors are really "into" their work. Chances are ZUN does really care about his characters and stories. This is another artefact of the fractured fandom - people identify the flaws and start blasting the thing they love, again as if it makes them more "Mature" to accept it. Transformers again, the G1 cartoon was cheesy as hell, so obviously people aren't going to shut up about it(and ignore the comic).
Of course, NOT taking things seriously can cause problems too - another staple of the internet tough guy/"better fan" is to insist people should not care about certain things. But you'll always find they'll take something much more abstract far too seriously. There are some things, like you know, being a nice guy and other people being nice too, you absolutely should take seriously. And people will take changes to the thing they love seriously too. But the fans themselves? This is a crazy idea and never works.
People need to learn to understand other people, and read what they have to say, and not make certain people to be "not worth" your time. Instead of saying, Oh ho ho, Touhou fandom is such shit, I'm such a better fan, actually try and see why people are making some of this unbelievable garbage to begin with and reason WHAT these people are doing wrong and what they can do to make the fandom better; because otherwise I can guarantee you will become a problem many times in order worse. I posted a very nice explanation for some of this in the PC98 thread and I feel it was flat out ignored. I understand why people don't like "Gaiafag"ish behaviour. But they're just people acting silly and they won't grow up if you set a worse example for them; either they be a "friendly" weeaboo or a self righteous prick. Stop with the "us" and "them".
Don't forget, at the end of the day; you're all nerds.
Take it easy.
