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end of an era
Apr. 4th, 2021 03:54 pmAww, the FFML (Fan Fiction Mailing List) is finally closing.
It's been all but virtually dead for half a decade, and already when I moved into One Piece fandom it didn't seem too interested in following me, so I myself haven't posted anything new to it in a very long time. Especially since following the requirements for posting in text only got to be somewhat of a pain. (The FFML did have a contingent of m/m shippers, but it was tiny and "herded-off" and I think they haven't been visible in a long time.) But it was once the hub of many 1990s and early '00s anime/manga fics, particularly in Ranma 1/2 fandom, and so it was central to my own introduction into fanfiction.
I learned a lot just from hanging out there and lurking, occasionally participating. There were some ugly sides of fandom like angry flames and grudges, but I can't remember anything truly ugly like death threats that's been so common later. Sometimes the shipwars were INTENSE but many posters were chill. Above all, I learned about giving and taking constructive criticism, again both good and bad, from seeing fic drafts posted there and getting line-by-line reactions and tips. Mostly this was just from observing others - getting criticism in public myself can still be a challenge - but all the same, very instructive. A lot of what's grounded me in fandom goes back to this era and hanging out on this mailing list. And I still use (non-jokey) fic disclaimers because I liked it when fic writers did this for Ranma 1/2 just as a sign of respect to Rumiko Takahashi!
There was definitely a sense on the FFML that it was more common to be a male fic writer and fic reader than a female one, which could be irking (especially when fic writers seemed to assume all its readers were straight guys) - but at the same time, there were substantial amounts of female fic readers and writers participating. By and large I think I feel more comfortable in more definitely female-dominated corners of fandom, but still, I do sometimes miss the feeling of shared space of those times. It seems that many male animanga fans these days congregate on forums that are a lot more male-dominated and low on female presence than old-school ML animanga fandoms were, and more hostile to female-dominated corners of fandom too. More toxic masculinity in the air than in the old days - which were far from being all that enlightened, but did feel more chill. Granted, it might be that my impression is too generalized as well as tinged by nostalgia...
(Also, while I think most posters to the FFML back in the day were American college students, with a fair sprinkling of older teens as well, there were also quite a bit of older fans. There was one female fic writer who was in her 50s and wasn't a "fandom mom"-type at all, she was full of enthusiasm and squee. Very inspiring! Back then there wasn't an expectation that you were supposed to grow out of fandom as an adult. The assumption was that "we fans are weird in the eyes of the majority, but who cares about them? Let's embrace our weirdness and have fun!")
It's been all but virtually dead for half a decade, and already when I moved into One Piece fandom it didn't seem too interested in following me, so I myself haven't posted anything new to it in a very long time. Especially since following the requirements for posting in text only got to be somewhat of a pain. (The FFML did have a contingent of m/m shippers, but it was tiny and "herded-off" and I think they haven't been visible in a long time.) But it was once the hub of many 1990s and early '00s anime/manga fics, particularly in Ranma 1/2 fandom, and so it was central to my own introduction into fanfiction.
I learned a lot just from hanging out there and lurking, occasionally participating. There were some ugly sides of fandom like angry flames and grudges, but I can't remember anything truly ugly like death threats that's been so common later. Sometimes the shipwars were INTENSE but many posters were chill. Above all, I learned about giving and taking constructive criticism, again both good and bad, from seeing fic drafts posted there and getting line-by-line reactions and tips. Mostly this was just from observing others - getting criticism in public myself can still be a challenge - but all the same, very instructive. A lot of what's grounded me in fandom goes back to this era and hanging out on this mailing list. And I still use (non-jokey) fic disclaimers because I liked it when fic writers did this for Ranma 1/2 just as a sign of respect to Rumiko Takahashi!
There was definitely a sense on the FFML that it was more common to be a male fic writer and fic reader than a female one, which could be irking (especially when fic writers seemed to assume all its readers were straight guys) - but at the same time, there were substantial amounts of female fic readers and writers participating. By and large I think I feel more comfortable in more definitely female-dominated corners of fandom, but still, I do sometimes miss the feeling of shared space of those times. It seems that many male animanga fans these days congregate on forums that are a lot more male-dominated and low on female presence than old-school ML animanga fandoms were, and more hostile to female-dominated corners of fandom too. More toxic masculinity in the air than in the old days - which were far from being all that enlightened, but did feel more chill. Granted, it might be that my impression is too generalized as well as tinged by nostalgia...
(Also, while I think most posters to the FFML back in the day were American college students, with a fair sprinkling of older teens as well, there were also quite a bit of older fans. There was one female fic writer who was in her 50s and wasn't a "fandom mom"-type at all, she was full of enthusiasm and squee. Very inspiring! Back then there wasn't an expectation that you were supposed to grow out of fandom as an adult. The assumption was that "we fans are weird in the eyes of the majority, but who cares about them? Let's embrace our weirdness and have fun!")
