![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
A study in fan supply and demand.
Mar. 26th, 2004 08:33 amSo after I ranted recently about readers who decide to verbally abuse fan artists/writers to get a new part of a story/comic/whatever, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
utukki got a flame that really takes the cake in that respect... and it got me thinking.
There's this disturbing tendency in feedback lately... people who don't merely ask for new parts, but those who resort to screaming and verbal abuse when they don't get a new part of a fanfic or webcomic.
Now I'm not going to reprise my rant from the author's perspective. What boggles the mind is the sheer lapse of logic that leads to this behavior - people seem to think that when they scream or verbally abuse someone, the author will feel MORE obligated to accommodate them.
This behavior occasionally works in the customer service industry (in the interest of shutting annoying customers up), but when it comes to free fan creations, it doesn't hold water. I mean, come ON, people: if you call someone a lazy bitch and demand that they post a new part of something that they do not HAVE to be writing/drawing/posting anyway, you're going to get one of the following reactions:
1) Hysterical laughter.
2) The author will look at the message, dismiss you as a fruitcake and go on with his/her daily existence.
3) Usually, and mostly when the author IS working on the project in question, he/she will be LESS inclined to accommodate you - and the new part you've been frothing at the mouth over will be delayed even LONGER.
Makes sense, right? I mean, since this isn't the author's career, he/she reserves the right to ignore people who scream and insult. And if dangling works-in-progress make you so angry... don't read 'em.
But I keep seeing people who seem like otherwise intelligent beings resorting to insults and screaming and verbal abuse when something isn't updated. I've seen that, freaked, and e-mailed the author with POSITIVE encouragement for fear that the nasty screeching twit might ruin it for the rest of us otherwise.
I want to look into this. If I can get a hold of a couple people who have done this and who'd be willing to CALMLY explain themselves, I'd like to trace this behavior to its roots. Is it only a certain age group? Are people who work full-time themselves more or less inclined to do this?
I understand the frustration, but - I myself have seen this behavior kill WIPs that I've been waiting for as well. It's essentially shooting oneself in the foot, and some of these people HAVE to realize this on some level...
*sigh*
utukki got a flame that really takes the cake in that respect... and it got me thinking.There's this disturbing tendency in feedback lately... people who don't merely ask for new parts, but those who resort to screaming and verbal abuse when they don't get a new part of a fanfic or webcomic.
Now I'm not going to reprise my rant from the author's perspective. What boggles the mind is the sheer lapse of logic that leads to this behavior - people seem to think that when they scream or verbally abuse someone, the author will feel MORE obligated to accommodate them.
This behavior occasionally works in the customer service industry (in the interest of shutting annoying customers up), but when it comes to free fan creations, it doesn't hold water. I mean, come ON, people: if you call someone a lazy bitch and demand that they post a new part of something that they do not HAVE to be writing/drawing/posting anyway, you're going to get one of the following reactions:
1) Hysterical laughter.
2) The author will look at the message, dismiss you as a fruitcake and go on with his/her daily existence.
3) Usually, and mostly when the author IS working on the project in question, he/she will be LESS inclined to accommodate you - and the new part you've been frothing at the mouth over will be delayed even LONGER.
Makes sense, right? I mean, since this isn't the author's career, he/she reserves the right to ignore people who scream and insult. And if dangling works-in-progress make you so angry... don't read 'em.
But I keep seeing people who seem like otherwise intelligent beings resorting to insults and screaming and verbal abuse when something isn't updated. I've seen that, freaked, and e-mailed the author with POSITIVE encouragement for fear that the nasty screeching twit might ruin it for the rest of us otherwise.
I want to look into this. If I can get a hold of a couple people who have done this and who'd be willing to CALMLY explain themselves, I'd like to trace this behavior to its roots. Is it only a certain age group? Are people who work full-time themselves more or less inclined to do this?
I understand the frustration, but - I myself have seen this behavior kill WIPs that I've been waiting for as well. It's essentially shooting oneself in the foot, and some of these people HAVE to realize this on some level...
*sigh*
