Fanclubs on CS

[ArenaBoy]

This has been in the back of my mind for a while but I've had it.

Over on CS there are always certain posters who seem to have a fanclub. Not jealous or anything but it gets annoying when I have to dig through threads of annoying "poster worship" to find something with at least what I'm hoping is something, anything that contributes to the thread and not some annoying baahing of sheeple.

There are always members who will post some hilarious stories but then there's a certain member who's only funny mainly through exaggerated writing and wit. That's it but the way some go about it they treat it as if it's a magical. I have nothing against certain member but more or less its fan club. Yeesh. It gets annoying when all I see is posts saying "ZOMG YOU ARE THE AWESOME!!!" There's a reason why I just read the OP and that's it.

[CancelMyService]

That's pretty much what I do. It doesn't bother me, I just don't read past the OP. As long as it's contained in that thread and not flooding the main page with how great Poster X is, I have no problems with it.

[Rapscallion]

It's a bit of a tricky situation from an admin perspective. It's pretty obvious when taking an objective view that huge amounts of adoration will turn on the object of their affection when told 'no', and there is one instance where that happened. The problem is that - for some of the people adored - it's embarassing.

Generally, it's harmless. What can we do about it anyway? The people who are adored are those who can write well (the tales are often on a par with others), so do we do something that could be taken as punishing them for being good? The only way I can see to act is to hope that people take on board new and better ways to post, not to mention improve their grammar.

Rapscallion

[powerboy]

Over on CS there are always certain posters who seem to have a fanclub. Not jealous or anything but it gets annoying when I have to dig through threads of annoying "poster worship" to find something with at least what I'm hoping is something, anything that contributes to the thread and not some annoying baahing of sheeple.


Same with me. I get tired of shifting through all the pages and it is only 3 posts, that is about the OP. Too me, it is BS. And no, I am not going to quit CS.com

[Seshat]

It's even worse when the original poster who's acquired the fan club is clearly trying to discourage it. But my recommendation is to do just what you're doing: read the person's posts, ignore the rest of the thread.

[Ree]

Over on CS there are always certain posters who seem to have a fanclub. Not jealous or anything but it gets annoying when I have to dig through threads of annoying "poster worship" to find something with at least what I'm hoping is something, anything that contributes to the thread and not some annoying baahing of sheeple.I couldn't agree with you more.

I have made several posts asking people to quit with the fangirl/fanboy crap, but they just get annoyed with me and I come off as nitpicky.
In one case, we had a thread run to close to 5 pages, and the majority of the thread was a discussion of fanclub uniforms and officers, and other nonsense along the same line.

We could try to encourage them to use the off topic smiley so it's easier to root through the miles of inane sheeple idol worship posts, but we can't even get them to follow site rules, so it would be constant monitoring and editing.

My biggest issue with it is that, sometimes, the members start believing their own press and start to think they are the heart and soul of the site and the place would fall without them.
CS is about each and every member, and in my opinion, that's what makes the place great, rather than any one particular member.

[horror]

Not only are there fanclubs, I get the feeling that the opposite is the case as well. What I mean is it appears that some people rip on other specific members, be it in a completely obvious way or in a more concealed, but equally "bitchy" way.
Instead of responding to people you dislike, I think it would be good practice if those who have a problem with certain members ignored them completely and kept their two cents to themselves.

[Ree]

If that was directed at me, (and I assume it was because it came right behind my comment) I just have to say that I don't dislike any particular member, although I'm sure there are some who annoy me or who have not been particularly nice to me, so there certainly isn't a lot of love lost.

In fact, I think we all know to whom some of the "fanclub" stuff was directed. I think that member is a wonderful writer. I love his biting sarcasm and creative insults. I feel the derailing of posts with all that fanclub nonsense is an insult to the OP.

In the cases when I have stepped in and asked for the fanclub stuff to stop, that member had already expressed the fact that he was embarrassed by it and felt it detracted from his threads.

[Pedersen]

Instead of responding to people you dislike, I think it would be good practice if those who have a problem with certain members ignored them completely and kept their two cents to themselves.

Personally, I have shut out two people entirely. They're on my ignore list. I barely even realize they've posted, since I never see a word from them thanks to that.

Wouldn't be hard to figure out who it is either. Heck, one of them got into it with me, and wound up getting a thread closed because he and I deteriorated too far.

Good feature, that ignore list.

[Greenday]

In fact, I think we all know to whom some of the "fanclub" stuff was directed. I think that member is a wonderful writer. I love his biting sarcasm and creative insults. I feel the derailing of posts with all that fanclub nonsense is an insult to the OP.

Thanks Ree. Just HAD to post about me, didn't you?

I can't stand posts that are don't contribute to what's being talked about. I mean, at least do something that furthers the conversation, whether or not it is completely about the main topic. But there seem to be a lot of spam posts that don't involve any actual conversation. Bah.

On that note, I love Ree! I love Ree! I love Ree! Oh, wait, NO fan clubs. Nevermind...

[Ree]

Heh...oh Greenday, you are just too damned adorable.;)

[horror]

If that was directed at me, (and I assume it was because it came right behind my comment) I just have to say that I don't dislike with any particular member, although I'm sure there are some who annoy me or who have not been particularly nice to me, so there certainly isn't a lot of love lost.

The fact that my comment fell after yours is purely coincidental.
We all know what assuming does. Don't make me recite the cliche.

[theredbaron47]

Love the posters, hate the fanclubs and nonsense posts that accompany.

I wish there was something that could be done, but alas, there is not. >.<

Oh wellz.

[Seshat]

Well, we mods could tromp all over anything even vaguely fanclubby - and we'd be hated and distrusted even more than we already are.

If anyone has any suggestions, I am (we are?) willing to listen. But see the 'What's going on at CS?' thread as well: apparently getting a 'mod' under your name turns you into a power-crazed zealot. ;)

[AFPheonix]

Over at Something Awful, when fandom gets to be too much and was overwhelming some threads, posters get probated. But then, it's a much different forum than CS.

Frankly I spend more of my time over there than at CS anymore. Weirdly, bitching about my job made me crankier and more oversensitive about it. Coming home, drinking a nice glass of wine and laughing at some amazing photoshops makes me happier all the way around.

[DesignFox]

<snip> ...we'd be hated and distrusted even more than we already are.


Awww. I don't feel that way... :(

Although, frankly, I've been posting more here than on CS to get away from some of the "noise" that's been occurring...

I agree that the fanclub stuff gets silly. It started out as a funny joke and just got way out of hand. I wouldn't mind seeing a stop to it, but I know there isn't really anything to be done about it, so I just ignore it. If enough people ignore it, maybe it will stop.

If anyone makes me laugh, I like to tell them so. I don't publicly announce allegiences... *chuckle*

[ThePhoneGoddess]

Awww. I don't feel that way... :(

I agree that the fanclub stuff gets silly. It started out as a funny joke and just got way out of hand. I wouldn't mind seeing a stop to it, but I know there isn't really anything to be done about it, so I just ignore it. If enough people ignore it, maybe it will stop.


I agree with both points, DesignFox. I love the mods here, I think they work hard doing a difficult job. It's always harder to be an authority figure than it looks to those who are subject to them.

And I agree, I feel bad for our unnamed but obvious Mr. Fanclub. It did start out as a funny joke, and I even joined in, originally, on the joke, with my own post or two. He was embarrassed but took it in stride. Unfortunately, it didn't die, as a good joke should, but snowballed, and now I don't even read the rest of his threads, just his first post. Personally, if I were him I'd post myself, demanding a stop to it, but I don't think I'm as nice as he is. I too, ignore it.

Perhaps he and a mod can figure out a strategy together for dealing with the issue.

[Rapscallion]

There's no easy strategy we know of. A mod joined in the last time and had to put out the word that it was becoming unwelcome, and that caused no end of upset. If you have any ideas that we haven't thought of, I'd love to hear them.

Rapscallion

[Ree]

The "unnamed" member in question has twice posted that the fanclub nonsense annoys and embarrasses, and is a detraction from the threads.

I think it does the members an injustice to put them on ignore or hold them to blame if others begin to start some type of idol worship.
It's not their fault.

On the other hand, as I said before, if they do encourage it and begin to show signs that they feel they have some inside track to start posting whatever they want and feel they will remain unchecked out of some misguided notion that they are the reason people visit and stay with the site, then we have a problem.

I haven't seen that from anyone so far, but the potential for that scenario is always there.

There might be one or two who got put on that pedestal very early on, and I have read a few of their later posts with a jaded eye because they seemed embellished a bit, as if geared to elicit the same response. That's just my opinion, though, and I may very well be wrong in that.

I would hate to discourage positive feedback from the members. That's what we are all about, after all - supporting each other and offering feedback.

A little healthy adoration is nice, but rabid fandom hurts. Others become jealous because they feel that their own threads are ignored and they take it out on the member who is being worshipped.
The member becomes discouraged because they have taken the time to write an entertaining post, only to have the thread go ridiculously off the rails.

I think the change needs to come from among the members. They need to look at the type of feedback they are offering and ask themselves if it is adding to the thread or detracting from it. Are they defeating the point of the thread by taking the focus off the topic itself and putting it on the member instead?

[theredbaron47]

I think the change needs to come from among the members. They need to look at the type of feedback they are offering and ask themselves if it is adding to the thread or detracting from it. Are they defeating the point of the thread by taking the focus off the topic itself and putting it on the member instead?

Yeah, but will that ever happen? I myself rarely post in said unnamed member's threads for the very reasons discussed here on this board ( and because I hardly ever have anything to post relating to said member's threads ), but I can't see that happening amongst everyone else.

[Ree]

Yeah, but will that ever happen?If it doesn't, then we just accept that there are always going to be adoring and vocal fans and move on.

We just continue as we are now and avoid the thread beyond the OP and ignore the fanclub stuff.

[Boozy]

There might be one or two who got put on that pedestal very early on, and I have read a few of their later posts with a jaded eye because they seemed embellished a bit, as if geared to elicit the same response. That's just my opinion, though, and I may very well be wrong in that.

I don't think you're wrong. I think I know exactly who you mean, and I smell a rat every time they post.

I have been extremely tempted to call shenanigans in these threads, but I'm leery. I don't know what the reaction from other members would be if I called someone out publicly, no matter how politely I worded my response.

Such is the danger of fan clubs, I suppose.

[ArenaBoy]

I've considered calling them out and I know the flaming I'll get but ffs they aren't holding CS up. It's Raps who's holding it up with HIS money. And Boozy, no offense to most of the members but the response you'd get would be tame compared to Manchester United board on BigSoccer, they literally attack each other in there if one person so much as disagrees with a substitution. :rolleyes:

But it's silly and stupid. All it is writing and wit.

[theredbaron47]

But it's silly and stupid. All it is writing and wit.

And mildly annoying, if I'm in a less than pleasant mood.

[Giggle Goose]

It's kind of funny, really. I just chalk it up to certain people in serious need of a life. :rolleyes:

[DarthRetard]

Maybe a little public "outing" would do it some good?