a rant on shipping, and on being constrained when presenting information in fandom newsletters

[bantha_fodder]

For those who don't know, I post at galacticanews. I read so many links, and friendslists belonging to many different people in order to find as much news as possible. I try to link to everything I can, regardless of if I agree with it, or if I think it's pointless, or if I think it's the best thing ever. The only rule is, if it's spec or reaction, it has to be longer than a sentence.

At the end of each edition, I like to rec a fic. I don't link to all the fic out there (that's what the_wireless is for), but I like to rec one fic that is really great, or about an underused character, or is just really interesting (if not fabulous). This rec is the only part of the newsletter that is based on my opinion. Every other element of the newsletter is a simple presentation of facts.

Couple of weeks ago, during my trawl for links and discussion, I read one or two discussions on the "unfairness" of BSG fandom, and its propensity towards Kara/Lee. This rant was bolstered by a number of comments remarking on the size of the Kara/Lee element in fandom. One of the comments complained that even the newsletter took to reccing Kara/Lee fics.

After reading this thread, I took exception to these comments. I try really hard to be unbiased and fair towards every element of this fandom. The characters, the plot lines, the romances. And if I rec a fic, it's not because you're being repressed by a Kara/Lee shipper. It's because I read a fic, and it moved me, and I want to share it with everyone else.

So, anyway, after I took exception to this, I stopped writing and reccing Kara/Lee for a little while. I wrote two fics (one was a Zarek gen piece, and one was a Galactica gen piece), and every fic I recced on GD was a non-K/L piece.

And that's so stupid. I read some really great fic last week, and I felt like I couldn't rec it simply because I AM a rampant K/L shipper, and everyone knows it, and I wanted to prove that being a K/L shipper doesn't mean oppressing fandom or whatever.

And I'm wondering if I should be swayed by fandom in this way. I am reflecting fandom through GD, so I should rec what's out there. And that is both K/L and non-K/L, and I shouldn't feel restricted in this way. But at the same time, the aforementioned discussion made me contribute more to non-K/L fiction in fandom, and promote more non-K/L fiction in fandom, and that's pretty good too, isn't it?

My Zarek piece went generally unloved. I don't think anybody wants to read about Zarek. I don't feel oppressed: I just don't think that everybody else likes Zarek as much as I do.

Comments

[marksykins.livejournal.com]

I love Zarek, am indifferent to Kara/Lee (though I love both Kara and Lee). I just don't read fic that often in BSG, though I do have your '20 Things...' fic lined up to rec on my journal! Er, as soon as I review it. I loved it, though. :)

I think you should rec whatever you found to be best that day, though working in some diversity sometimes so it's not all Kara/Lee fic. That won't satisfy everyone, but it should satisfy the reasonable sorts.

[bantha-fodder.livejournal.com]

OMG. NOBODY THINK THIS WAS AN ATTEMPT TO GET YOU ALL TO HEAP LOVE ON ME.

I do try to rec whatever I find best that day, but I acknowledge that if I read a great Baltar fic, for example, as well as a hot hot Kara/Lee fic, I'll rec the K/L because that has more importance to me personally as a reader. Whereas if I thought about it, maybe waited until the next day, I'd rec the Baltar, because reading a great, and interesting, Baltar fic, is something that I feel is more important to fandom as a whole.

Hmm. So the verdict here is more thinking is necessary. Less gut. :o)

[raffaella.livejournal.com]

You're doing us a great service with galacticanews, and I think most people really appreciate it. As for the recs, they're a matter of personal taste, which should be easy to understand. You're not going to rec something you don't like or something that, while well written, isn't your cup of tea.

And that's so stupid. I read some really great fic last week, and I felt like I couldn't rec it simply because I AM a rampant K/L shipper, and everyone knows it, and I wanted to prove that being a K/L shipper doesn't mean oppressing fandom or whatever.

That's really too bad. You make a good point about your Zarek fic. When a pairing is dominant, or is recced more often, it doesn't necessarily follow that the other pairings are oppressed or despised. It's not like there's a cabal at work, despite what some people seem to think.

It just means that a majority of readers and writers are interested in one pairing, and, well...people will read what they like, write what they like and rec what they like, period.

Complaining "why don't more people read/write/rec my pairing?" doesn't make much sense. They don't read/write/rec it because it's not to their taste, and that's not something that has to be justified or explained, for heaven's sake! I don't think that you should start second-guessing yourself because some people are disgruntled that you didn't rec their ship or their pairing. Just rec whatever you feel like reccing, and if some people choose to assign hidden motives to your choice, it's their problem.

[daygloparker.livejournal.com]

First of all, the fact that you still have the time/energy/whatever to put together issues of galacticanews amazes and astounds me in a good way. Second of all, as long as you're not intentionally refusing to rec fics just because they aren't Kara/Lee, then all those people should seriously shut the hell up. That's my incredibly undiplomatic answer. The end.

[raffaella.livejournal.com]

Um...Maybe, after "the management recommends", you could add something like "It goes without saying that this is entirely a personal preference". I don't know, just an idea. I just find it pretty unfair that you're made to feel bad for liking what you liking.

[raffaella.livejournal.com]

Shit. "what you like", of course.

[ehab-it.livejournal.com]

galacticanews is so well done. I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate the effort you put into it.

Fandom (mind my view is from the periphery) sometimes seems like this amazing self-policed community where bad form is quickly judged and snarked down. The flip side of that is tolerance is low and one-sided.

Reporting out as you do on a diversity of BSG related topics I think its inevitable that you will 'oppress' some group of fans at one time or another. You do an amazing job find what's out there - I do NOT think you should feel obliged to do more than listen to what's being said. If something rings true to you - you'll do it, if it doesn't then you'll feel as you do - like you engaging in modified behavior unnecessarily.

[cathexys.livejournal.com]

NO!!! Don't let the public sway you!!! B/c for every person who says jump left, there are 5 who'll say jump right!

On the other hand, in terms of newsletter policy in general, I do find it better personally to either rec *everything* (a la su_herald or sga_newsletter) or nothing. Some of the worst complaints on daily_snitch cane over what they'd rec and what they wouldn't (they have a complicated policy of reccing fic they've seen recced a certain number of times); likewise, the new firefly newsletter got fandom wanked over its arbitrary editor's choice.

the thing is: it's obviously *your* newsletter and your picks and your choices. at the same time, newsletters do try to gather all the news as best as they can, and while everyone knows (well, all thinking people; we have gotten bizarre, "how dare you not post my post that all my three friends saw how dare you not have seen it" complaints) that you can only link to what you see and that that may be biased (slash or pairing heavier due to your flist), when you start linking a particular fic and not another, it moves back into your persional journal space again, if that makes any sense.

In other words, the newsletters try to be impartial and pretend to *not* have much editorial selection which you bring back with a vengeance when you choose one particular fic (i'm totally staying out of the shipper thing, b/c i'm so tired of people complaining about popular pairings...live with it, dammit..), you break that pretense of impartiality.

That all being said, it's your newsletter and you get to do whatever you want. It's an amazing newsletter!!! You are doing an utterly outstanding job!!!! And, personally, being someone who loves the show but doesn't actually read much if any fic, I kind of like your recs, b/c they'll point me to the one thing I might look at...then again, i'd do that if it were recced on your journal just the same!

[woodface]

Heh, you know where I stand on the Kara/Lee front. If you read a good fic and it happens to be K/L then you have every right to rec it. However, it's really nice to get recs that aren't K/L because most of the fic is so dominated by it that I don't even bother going over to the fic comm anymore to try and find something else. So when you rec something that isn't that? I really appreciate it.

[ehab-it.livejournal.com]

Okay, I accidently hit reply before I was done (clearly with the editing) too.

The gist of my thoughts are: Keep doing what you're doing - which is a fantastic job - and don't avoid K/L recs because someone feels left out.

There's Zarek fic?

[raffaella.livejournal.com]

But the_wireless is the comm that provides links to all the fics written recently, regardless of pairing. It's not a recs site, but it's comprehensive.

As for recommendations, they only reflect personal taste. And if the person doing the rec doesn't share our taste...

[leda13.livejournal.com]

You're exactly right in prior comments about the 'reccing what reaches YOU' issue. I love most fic about BSG, but there are times when the core character or pairing makes it hard for me to relate because I simply don't see the show that way. Same with OFC's or OMC's (though they are rarer) because it takes a rare author to sell me on an interloper as a partner to one of the core cast.

That doesn't make me a biased reader, though. And certainly as a recc'er, it doesn't make you biased that you tend to relate to some characters and interactions more than others, enjoy them more, find them more compelling than others. And god, if you can take the time to read everything, and comment like woah, and still put together the newsletter? I think you have the right to rec what *you* find good, despite any perceived bias.

It's actually quite a backhanded compliment paid you: your bsgnews deal is evidently pretty central to a lot of the LJ community of BSGlove, despite being totally unofficial and a work of your own dedication and enjoyment rather than a simple feed style thing; the fact that people have ceased to regard it as your personal roundup and rely on it enough to worry about a perceived bias? Wow. Take a bow =)

[gobsmackit.livejournal.com]

>small>(This definitely reminds me of H/D problems in the HP fandom.)

And I'm wondering if I should be swayed by fandom in this way.

On one hand, you're performing a service for the fandom, so it doesn't hurt to try to go outside what would be...I don't know, your realm, as you are reaching a ton of people in the fandom, all with different ships and opinions and yaddayadda blah.

On the other hand, you're performing a service for the fandom, and people can take it (like me! and love it immensely), or leave it. Or, they could just do it themselves (rec fic that they've found lovely that isn't Kara/Lee). I always say that LJ and fandom are what you make of it, and you've obviously made something wonderful out of it, but it's you that's gone and done it.

I think you should just rec the fic that you feel deserves to be recced - or, if it comes to choosing between a K/L and a Roslin/Billy (I just squicked myself), rec them both. In sum: do what makes you happy, I suppose.

[woodface]

Cool, thanks.

I know they do, and I know if Pen recs something that it will be good. *grins*

[gobsmackit.livejournal.com]

HTML is going DOWN like the little bitch it is.

[lyssie.livejournal.com]

*shrugs*

Post whatever you like.

[woodface]

I think the last paragraph is taken out of context and that anyone has a right to complain about a lack or abundance of anything in fandom. Heck, I'll happily complain about everything being Kara/Lee and nope, it won't change anything but I'll still get it of my chest and woe over what I would love to see more around of. I don't think it was directly aimed at the news community but just a general "crank at fandom" vent.

[juleskicks.livejournal.com]

I would say either make a note about it simply being your personal preferences at some point -- that you rec fic you've found that you enjoyed, you don't have time to read everything and you're sure there's a lot of other awesome fic out there, but that's what the other comm is for, this is primarily a news comm. Maybe ask if other readers feel like it's a problem, and say that if they do, they're welcome to suggest other stories in the comments, which you can check out?

[maddeinin.livejournal.com]

I feel like I should have an opinion or a policy on this, only I just... don't. The vast majority of the time, I do galacticanews before getting to the other stuff on LJ, which means I haven't read any fic by then which means (since I have the memory of a gnat, only shorter) I don't remember what to rec, which means I don't rec anything. If I DID rec something every time I do GD, it'd probably be overwhelmingly L/K, but as it is, the non-L/K stuff sticks in my head better because I read so little of it. ::is confused::

[raffaella.livejournal.com]

No, there was a discussion specifically aimed at galacticanews and at its mods last week. The complaint was that it was a clique and that certain pairings were slighted on purpose. At least that what I'm refering to in my comment.

But of course people can complain that they'd like to see more of a certain pairing. That's not a problem at all. But blaming someone who takes the time to links to all the discussions in Galacticanews just because she recs what she likes is poor form.

[walkingdaydream.livejournal.com]

You're doing people a favour. Post what you like, rec what you like. No one's holding a gun to their head and making them read it.

[lage-nom-ai.livejournal.com]

If this helps at all: I don't consider myself a rabid shipper, though I admit that I am far more interested in fics feature Lee and/or Kara than, say, Boomer. But I tend to read pretty much any fic that's rec'd, because I am slutty like that. And I love galacticanews, and I had never, ever, given any thought to any kind of "bias" about "the management recommends" bits. It had never occurred to me to spot a pattern, and it seemed pretty clear that--especially since it was just one or two things--it was just stuff that had caught your eye. Some of which had been up on other comms, some not. So I always enjoyed catching the odd work that had slipped through...
In conclusion: I say keep on keeping on and screw the whiners.

[raincitygirl.livejournal.com]

Aw, fuck 'em. Speaking as someone who ships a pairing with a small following, I don't feel the slightest bit oppressed. I just feel grateful when (good) fic happens to get written or recced. And I read good K/L fic, too, so once again, fuck 'em. Some people have a very hazy idea of oppression. If there isn't enough of their chosen type of fic out there, maybe they should damn well write some and quit bitching.

Sorry for my bluntness, but this is not the first fandom in which I've encountered this attitude. It was bullshit in those instances and it's bullshit now. The entitlement complex certain people have never ceases to astonish me.

BTW, thank you for posting about the_wireless, which I didn't know existed, and which I have now joined. And thank you for finding all the links for galacticanews, too. I'm a big fan of meta, so getting to find all my meta in one place is fabulous.

[woodface]

D'oh. Sorry, differen't discussion then. *shuts up*

[bantha-fodder.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Apparently our recs were oppression people.