son_of_darkness asked: In your eyes, what is fandom, and what does it mean to you?

I know I've seen this go around before and I know I've talked about it before, but I'm still interested, so here we go again. This was my answer, in the comments:

I can agree with some of what you said here, but I also agree with what ladysorka said on the last comment (at least the last comment I read).

To me, fandom is both the actual content (source material, fiction, art, meta, debate, websites, mailing lists, and yes, livejournal too) as well as the people involved. However, I don't think fandom can be any one aspect of that (livejournal, in your example, or mailing lists, or im conversations); it is a conglomeration of all the ways people create and communicate about the specific source material.

So I both agree and disagree with this statement:

To me, LJ = Fandom, because fandom isn't really so much about the fics and the art, it's about the people.

Yes, fandom is about the people, though it is also about the fics and about the art and about the essays and the debate etc. My personal fandom focuses much more on fics and much less on art or essays, but they are still a part of fandom as a whole. The people make fandom what it is, good or bad, because any hobby can only be as good, or as bad, as the people involved.

Livejournal can't equal fandom, in my opinion, because there is so much fandom outside of livejournal. Perhaps I have a different opinion because I came into fandom years before livejournal existed, but I don't think any one means of communication can be the entirety of fandom. It existed long before livejournal or mailing lists or the boards, and will continue long into the future, when other communicating styles are the standard.

Livejournal is the instant gratification side of fandom, in some ways. As you said, it is easy to ask for fic recommendations and receive them immediately or go in search of groups that bring you your preferred parts of fandom or interact with hundreds or thousands of people on a daily basis, sometimes immediately.

There are other ways to do this, though. I still utilize fanfic archives more than livejournal. I'm still a part of mailing lists. I use bulletin boards and email and chat just as much, if not more, than livejournal, and I feel my fandom experience is even more broad and fulfilling than if I relied on livejournal alone.

Fandom is the sum of all its parts. I don't think any one aspect of fandom should be discounted, but nor do I think that any one part can be said to equal fandom. I'd miss out on a lot if I didn't use livejournal (this conversation, for one thing), but I'd miss out on a lot of I restricted myself to livejournal, only.

Fandom as a whole is everything that fans do and everywhere they do it. Conventions, bulletin boards, mailing lists, livejournal, instant messaging, zines, movies, fanart, fanfiction, the fans themselves--it is all fandom. What you (generic you) choose to have as your fandom is just one part of that greater whole.

I'm not sure if I have a different opinion not only because I came into fandom before livejournal but also because I came into Buffy, first, when it was still a small, fairly centralized fandom, and then moved on to The Lost Boys, also small and mostly centralized. Fiction archives and mailing lists worked for that. I think the main fandom being considered in the conversation over there is Harry Potter, and I know it's an overwhelming fandom, far-spread and somewhat dangerous to newbies. Livejournal could be a facilitator for that, I suppose, and ease the way for new people to join fandom.

Do you think livejournal makes things easier?

I'd say I've had a more difficult time becoming involved in fandom through livejournal than I have anywhere else. Of course, I went for years without joining any new fandoms, so maybe I'm just out of practice and it is always a slow process.