Every so often...
I get opinionated. Yeah, yeah, I know people are saying, "every so often, you mean like every day?" To which I say, sheepishly, yeah, but... okay, I'll shut up now... except I won't.
Because the subject is getting rid of badfic.
In my 5 years of fandom (including 2 of being only involved with God Awful Fanfiction), the idea has come up again and again that if fandom just somehow worked together, that people will stop writing badfic and fandom will be improved. Most time this is greeted with a chorus of agreement. And you know, it does sound like a great idea. Almost everyone would prefer not to hunt through slogs of eye sporkingly awful fics looking for the gems. Some people find reading badfic as pleasant as itching powder in their underwear. And there is an awful lot of really talented people out there who can share their tips and skills. People write essays on how to write fics, on how the elements work, create sue meters, have long discussions on cliches and other writing traps, and all of that is great.
But it will never get rid of the badfic, because there are three major flaws.
1) Badfic isn't just poorly defined -- it's undefinable. Whenever the discussion came up in God Awful fanfiction (and it came up a lot) it inevitably devolved into people arguing what they considered unforgivable sins. Often times they were things like pairings, or kinks, or philosophies that were out of the mainstream. Sometimes they involved Mary Sues, or cliches, or ooc behavior. Sometimes it was lack of paragraphs and poor spelling. The problem is for every single one of those things, someone can find an exception. Someone will point out a fic that lacks paragraphs, but manages to have a spark of creativity. Or a pairing which seems insane, but is written brilliantly. Quality is a sliding scale, and everyone sets their thresholds in different places. Ultimately, when it comes to quality, what is unforgivably bad and what is merely meh is a matter of individual taste, and there will never be a consensus on it.
2) There is no good way to enforce a ban on badfic. Even if there is some kind of consensus that some type of fic is just not good enough by default (like the pit of voles deciding script-fics aren't welcome), there is no good way of stopping it. Individuals just don't have that kind of power over others. Keeping the badfic out requires constant vigilance, and is ultimately very unrewarding. A mod can delete something, but every time she does, she risks wank and having to defend herself unless it violates a black-and-white rule in the community info. If there is any shade of grey in the rules, it becomes hard to enforce it without causing a lot of bitterness and hard feelings. Which leads to:
3) Trying to get rid of badfic has a chilling effect on fandom. Rather than making fandom more wonderful to everyone, what it does is make people paranoid and miserable and makes fandom not-fun. I've seen good friends fall into the trap of trying to improve fandom, only to discover that people hated them for it and felt it was an abuse of power. While people might think they would prefer a fandom where all fics are good, down deep, most writers actually prefer a fandom where they can write the things they like and enjoy the fics they like without being judged poorly for it.
Which leads to my last belief, and that is that fandom needs badfic. Absolutely needs it. Everyone starts at the bottom of the heap. No one writes goodfic right off the bat, and fandom gives far better feedback than family or friends, helping to create the next wave of good writers. People emotionally need to know that they can post badfic without being tossed out, so they feel confident enough to post any fic. Without that assurance, participating in fandom becomes too risky. Meanwhile, more discriminating invite only archives can sift through the slushpile and pick out the goodfics and give them better billing, but only if there is a slushpile to pick though. And an accepting positive environment means a fun experience for all.
Because the subject is getting rid of badfic.
In my 5 years of fandom (including 2 of being only involved with God Awful Fanfiction), the idea has come up again and again that if fandom just somehow worked together, that people will stop writing badfic and fandom will be improved. Most time this is greeted with a chorus of agreement. And you know, it does sound like a great idea. Almost everyone would prefer not to hunt through slogs of eye sporkingly awful fics looking for the gems. Some people find reading badfic as pleasant as itching powder in their underwear. And there is an awful lot of really talented people out there who can share their tips and skills. People write essays on how to write fics, on how the elements work, create sue meters, have long discussions on cliches and other writing traps, and all of that is great.
But it will never get rid of the badfic, because there are three major flaws.
1) Badfic isn't just poorly defined -- it's undefinable. Whenever the discussion came up in God Awful fanfiction (and it came up a lot) it inevitably devolved into people arguing what they considered unforgivable sins. Often times they were things like pairings, or kinks, or philosophies that were out of the mainstream. Sometimes they involved Mary Sues, or cliches, or ooc behavior. Sometimes it was lack of paragraphs and poor spelling. The problem is for every single one of those things, someone can find an exception. Someone will point out a fic that lacks paragraphs, but manages to have a spark of creativity. Or a pairing which seems insane, but is written brilliantly. Quality is a sliding scale, and everyone sets their thresholds in different places. Ultimately, when it comes to quality, what is unforgivably bad and what is merely meh is a matter of individual taste, and there will never be a consensus on it.
2) There is no good way to enforce a ban on badfic. Even if there is some kind of consensus that some type of fic is just not good enough by default (like the pit of voles deciding script-fics aren't welcome), there is no good way of stopping it. Individuals just don't have that kind of power over others. Keeping the badfic out requires constant vigilance, and is ultimately very unrewarding. A mod can delete something, but every time she does, she risks wank and having to defend herself unless it violates a black-and-white rule in the community info. If there is any shade of grey in the rules, it becomes hard to enforce it without causing a lot of bitterness and hard feelings. Which leads to:
3) Trying to get rid of badfic has a chilling effect on fandom. Rather than making fandom more wonderful to everyone, what it does is make people paranoid and miserable and makes fandom not-fun. I've seen good friends fall into the trap of trying to improve fandom, only to discover that people hated them for it and felt it was an abuse of power. While people might think they would prefer a fandom where all fics are good, down deep, most writers actually prefer a fandom where they can write the things they like and enjoy the fics they like without being judged poorly for it.
Which leads to my last belief, and that is that fandom needs badfic. Absolutely needs it. Everyone starts at the bottom of the heap. No one writes goodfic right off the bat, and fandom gives far better feedback than family or friends, helping to create the next wave of good writers. People emotionally need to know that they can post badfic without being tossed out, so they feel confident enough to post any fic. Without that assurance, participating in fandom becomes too risky. Meanwhile, more discriminating invite only archives can sift through the slushpile and pick out the goodfics and give them better billing, but only if there is a slushpile to pick though. And an accepting positive environment means a fun experience for all.