RS: EXAMINE YOUR LIFE, EXAMINE YOUR CHOICES

[half_life_wolf]

So, my computer is still out of commission. Because of that I only wind up checking fandom_secrets  a day after the last post was relevant, which spurs some... odd fits of impotent rage/sadness/irritation. The 4/20 secret post was absolutely RIFE with bitchy secrets related to people posting unanon on kink memes, by which I mean there were two of them, and I was

Comments

[spiritualenergy]

Wait. I am confused. Are you saying that people are actually bitching because people choose to not stay anon when they fill things on the kink meme? That's - um. Wow. That's dumb

[half_life_wolf]

Yes, this is a thing people are doing. Here is (one of) the threads: http://fandomsecrets.livejournal.com/674877.html?thread=430821949#t430821949

But yeah, pretty much all of this comment. All of it. That's another thing I didn't touch on-- for those of us who WANT to follow the talented writers in the fandom, it makes it easier to find their other stuff-- or, fuck, just even their other stuff from the kink meme, which now has four different incarnations and both a delicious account and a separate LJ comm dedicated to tracking fills. It may be porn, and I guess you can make the argument that people shouldn't want to attach their names to that sort of thing (even though that's a stupid, kink-shaming, ridiculous argument but hnnnngh not going into that right now), but there's so much fic without smut in it on the meme now that yeah I just. Don't see that point, either

[spiritualenergy]

Exactly. Sure, call it egotism all you want, if that's what someone wants to do, but it seems so silly to me because dude, why are you complaining? Even if the person signed their name, they wrote some fic, which I would be assuming they went there to read anyway. Is there really that much of a difference between someone signed in and someone anon? I don't exactly read a fic going "THIS PERSON AGAIN, HOLY FUCK, THEY JUST WANT ATTENTION." I go into it saying, "YAY, FIC!" because um. That's the point of the entire kink meme. Maybe I'm broken or something. And it's not like the other anons who don't want to sign their names are being pressured or anything (lord knows I'm on that meme long enough to know that lolololol), so. IDGI. I could understand if anon posting was gotten rid of entirely, but as far as I can see, that's not happening

[half_life_wolf]

(Haha oh gog bb don't even worry about that this post was basically just an excuse for me to bitch in the first place and it's not like you're bitching at me. We good.)

I might be wrong, but I think one of the earlier posts even SAID something along the lines of "if you want to post fills deanoned that's great! but please try to stay anon in requests." Or maybe that was captchalogue. Either way it seemed a fuckton more reasonable than this "STOP HAVING FUN YOU GUYS" mentality that people have.

And I feel you on that point. I've met so many amazing people in this fandom, both online and IRL, either because a.) I wrote fic and they liked it and we started talking or b.) they wrote fic and I liked it and we started talking. I know so many more nice, lovely people now who make my life brighter just for being tangentially involved with them than I did before. So if anons want to call me 'egotistical' for wanting that, then fine. I'll just be over here enjoying the fruits of my labors, kthnx.

[chiruha_kyuu]

People on the internet tend to RAEG and throw bitchfits about anything and everything. Ever. Particularly if they can do so in anonymity. That's why Fandom Secrets is one of my least favourite places to lurk around.

That said, I personally don't see why unanon posting on the kink meme has to be such a huge deal. It doesn't bother me as long as anonymity is still supported and those who wish to stay anons can do so comfortably. That means, yeah, I don't like the idea of people making unanon requests and comments left and right to the point it becomes awkward to be an anon, but if authors find that it's easier to post fills that way, then be my guest. Hell, it's even easier for those who dislike a namefag in particular: they know which threads to avoid once they see their names. Everyone is happy. The end.

[half_life_wolf]

F_S is often very entertaining to me just because of the ridiculously awful comment wars (when absolutely everyone on both sides of an argument in a thread is wrong, that's when hilarity godtier is reached) but occasionally, such as with this stuff and their recent asexuality fail, I just kind of wind up wanting to punch them all in the face. Or pat them on the head and put them in time-out until they can remove the gigantic sticks from up their asses.

This is pretty much exactly how I feel about it, too. I don't think there's a problem, at least with the Homestuck meme, about people feeling uncomfortable being anon-- if anything I think it's the other way around. At least, it is for me. This is such a nice and welcoming fandom but there IS this small and vitriolic contingent that are just never pleased by anything and they will rip you apart, even if it's just passive-aggressively through fandom_secrets. One of the secrets I was talking about in this post was actually directed at superfiller and, yeah, okay, 43 requests on the latest meme is

[inverts]

Hear, hear!

I really don't get bitching about posting logged in on kink memes, I really don't. Even if writers/artists do want recognition, honestly, what the fuck is wrong with that? XD; For me, also, having a name associated with a fic or pic means that if I liked it, I can check out their other stuff! I am starving for Homestuck fic and art! STARVING! Even though this is a super active fandom, I always want more. It is convenient for me to have authors and artists post things logged in. It also makes it easier to receive feedback! Which, okay, maybe egotistical, but shit, you can also start to have useful and interesting conversations that way!

(I do understand bitching about somebody's request/fill ratio being completely ridiculous though!)
Haha, this is why I don't read fandomsecrets often XD;

For the record I have made 4 art fills and 2 requests on the kink meme, all anonymous. My decision to remain anonymous and never post them to my journal has nothing to do with recognition--in fact, I want the recognition and am regretful

[half_life_wolf]

People seem to be arguing that kink memes should be a "safe space" which, I... still don't get, because how does it infringe on YOUR right to be anonymous if I post a link to my journal? And then other people are saying that they just don't want their porn to come with a name attached to it, which is likewise just as silly, because when you think about it, it's really still pretty anonymous. You don't know any of these authors in real life, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred. So why is it awkward? I also don't think it is egotistical to want easier feedback. In addition to my chosen profession, I endeavor to be a published author someday-- this shit is my art, and if I never get any feedback on it at all, then I can't know what's working or how to improve or even if I'm doing it right at all

[inverts]

Okay so I did go check out threads there and I did see some decent arguments for anon-ing, but still not seeing any need to bitch about people posting unanon either. XD UNLESS it is an anons-only kink meme!
The last anon-only kink meme I was on was for a small subset of a fandom where, let us face it, I was one of 3 artists and so despite posting anonymously, everybody knew exactly who I was anyway. Being primarily an artist and less so a writer, this entire debate is a little different for me. XD;

and hahahaha I totally just went against what I typed initially and de-anoned because my second prompt got a totally awesome fill 8D
which, coincidentally, was filled by a non-anon

so yeah

i am saying a lot of tl;dr and I think we both agree
everybody loves homesmut, bitches gonna bitch, but fillers gonna fill, and if somebody is avoiding fills just 'cause they've got a name attached then they are missing out on some fantastic smut.

[half_life_wolf]

Yeah, there are certainly some actual arguments, and I think it's possible to have an intelligent discussion about it. The problem I have is when people start bitching about people deanoning over their work at all and claiming that anyone who does so is egotistical and bad and suchlike. Though dude I have to say, it can be pretty easy to tell who writes what anonymously for kink memes, too, especially if the style is distinct enough. I've definitely been able to pick out fills done by people I know before, though those were on different kink memes.

Heeeee that's great! It's always fun when people fill stuff~

I agree with your summation wholeheartedly!

[urban_anchorite]

I'm just depressed that people are wanking about the kinkmeme, which has been like a breath of fresh air away from ceaseless tumblr wank (or at least, ceaseless tumblr wank as I understand it; people say "oh no, tumblr drama!" but I am then consternated to find out where the tumblr drama is. Alas).

It's a privilege that I can post anon. I don't have pictures to imbed, nor have I written anything (yet) topping 10,000 words in the kinkmeme and the multiple postage that would require. I personally had thought it was absolutely accepted that some people name up; you do, missazrael does, cephiedvariable does (and as you said, we wouldn't be getting bloody Cities or Shipjammed or Bells Ring if that were the case so people can shut their facegashes). grimarious has her fantastic fantasy AU. None of this is done for the purposes of egotism or shaming people who are anon

[half_life_wolf]

This kink meme and really this fandom as a whole have been unbelievably welcoming compared to... all of my other fandom experiences, really, and I think that's what made me angry about this specifically-- we don't need any of this drama in order to function. And, really, it's not so much that there is drama as it is a small contingent of people anonymously harping on, but it still makes me sort of uncomfortable because, as I said, social anxiety imbues me with the compulsion to go through self-flagellating rituals and various hand wringing maneuvers every time someone makes a negative blanket statement that could apply to me in any way, whether I actually care about their opinion or not.

But yeah. I've never had any complaints to my face (or, uh, e-face, whatever) about it, and I suspect that if anyone was to raise this opinion on the meme they would be shouted down, because goddamn. If we're in the business of chastising talented people for wanting recognition for their work now, then we might as well just close down fandom right

[urban_anchorite]

Would you recommend?

Highly. My profile is here and Ceph's here, and there's a fantastic CSS mask created by Vector to assist with Pester/Trollian formatting. There's a huge Homestuck presence and, in fact, AO3 is absolutely there for explicit sloppy interspecies make-outs; the inimitable roachpatrol has her brill stuff up there, and although explicit it's been well-received, as is inkpool's and Laylah's. A lot of the kinkmemers put their stuff up there, and as do the old-guard MSPA ficwriters like dellaluce etc, and it is a very pleasant melting-pot

[half_life_wolf]

Fantastic! I have the feeling that the transition will probably be difficult for me, but I'll definitely look into that. And fixing some of the huge glaring problems that are plaguing this draft of RC before I put it anywhere half respectable oh gawd.

The majority of this fandom-- the vast majority of it --is so nice and lovely and wonderful that it just makes me want to cry sometimes. There's always the occasional asshole, but the general atmosphere of camaraderie and friendship is such a huge change and just so, so nice. It's also fascinating to me that this fandom has exploded in size and yet there hasn't really been all that much drama or kerfluffle; considering that I almost exclusively hang out on the kink meme and anonymity generally breeds wank and shenanigans it's surprising to me, but surprising in the good, "Oh thank Christ I don't have to deal with yet another incarnation of this bullshit" way. For the most part

[yggidee]

There are a myriad of reasons to post either logged in or anon, and I certainly don't begrudge the decisions made by writers and artists on kink memes and the like. You've explained your own position on the matter and I have nothing to object to.

I would, however, like to explain own stance on the issue, so long as it's being addressed.

Basically, when I am online I am mind-bogglingly, hopelessly shy. I've been on Livejournal aggressively for five years and have managed an earth shattering 1 Livejournal post and 90 comments. I'll generally spend the better part of an hour mulling over a comment before I post it because oh man what if I use too many adverbs and then everyone will hate meKink/anon memes are the only place online or otherwise where I am comfortable of requesting or commenting on fic, like, at all. When I see other people requesting fics while logged in I feel like a wuss for not having the guts to request publicly like the cool kids. Then the neurotic paranoia sets in and I wonder if logged-in requests are getting

[half_life_wolf]

Mmm, I understand entirely. Well, not entirely because my social anxiety is obviously far more mild than yours, but I still give you all of my empathy because I used to be much more towards this end of the spectrum in my younger years, and what if I use too many adverbs and then everyone will hate me resonated way too well with my own personal experience for comfort. Let me just say that I was in no way trying to suggest that kink memes should never be anon, or that people should feel badly about posting anonymously! Making people comfortable posting about their kinks, or even posting at all, is clearly one of the main objectives of kink memes, other than to generate porn.

I should also clarify that I am fairly iffy on the concept of requesting things logged in at all, for about that reason. I know people who do it and they don't do it out of egotism or malice, but it still seems a bit off to me, and I never do that as just a personal thing, though in my case it winds up me thinking more along the lines of "oh god what if someone