I was about to say, "I don't think F_W serves as a deterrant," but... hm. Sometimes I'm afraid of being wanked, and I know I've seen more than one LJ post saying, "This is probably wanky, but..."
At the same time, I don't think F_W could ever stop flamewars/kerfluffles/what-have-you -- they're as natural to fandom as breathing is to human beings. Moreover, I don't think most F_Wers (or those who visit F_W, like myself) want F_W to deter "bad behavior", however that's defined, because then there aren't anymore flamewars to gawk at (and I admit that I enjoy gawking at flamewars, depending on the war).
Sometimes I wonder if F_W has changed fandom in some way, but I think it's more likely that fandom changed and F_W is part of that change. I remember (back when we walked uphill for our fanfic both ways in the snow with a 14.4 modem) when the Slashfic Hall Of Shame was widely denounced and it folded very quickly; I remember when Citizens Against Bad Slash set off a great hue and cry; and I remember when venues for critique and meta, like FCA-L and Prospect-L also got people all fusty.
But now we've got pottersues and deleterius and heave_ho, etc., etc. I'm not sure why LJ made it easier for people wanting to mock fic to find venues. OTOH, F_W isn't for mocking fiction, and it's pretty much one-of-a-kind; likewise, critique and meta don't have that many communities to themselves.
You're too kind. :) Neat icon, bee-tee-double-you. (Also, I don't think I mentioned this in my original reply, but I enjoy visiting F_W regularly, just so it doesn't seem like I'm going, "Oh, those F_Wers! Naughty, naughty!" I tend to prefer the "crazy person goes after other fans for imagined offenses" kind of wank to the meta or BNF type of wank, though.
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At the same time, I don't think F_W could ever stop flamewars/kerfluffles/what-have-you -- they're as natural to fandom as breathing is to human beings. Moreover, I don't think most F_Wers (or those who visit F_W, like myself) want F_W to deter "bad behavior", however that's defined, because then there aren't anymore flamewars to gawk at (and I admit that I enjoy gawking at flamewars, depending on the war).
Sometimes I wonder if F_W has changed fandom in some way, but I think it's more likely that fandom changed and F_W is part of that change. I remember (back when we walked uphill for our fanfic both ways in the snow with a 14.4 modem) when the Slashfic Hall Of Shame was widely denounced and it folded very quickly; I remember when Citizens Against Bad Slash set off a great hue and cry; and I remember when venues for critique and meta, like FCA-L and Prospect-L also got people all fusty.
But now we've got
...I have no idea where I was going with this.
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