No, seriously, y'all would tell me right?
Nov. 3rd, 2002 01:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thebratqueenSo yet again we've got the BNF (Big Name Fan) issue making the rounds.
I have to admit the first thing that comes up for me with the BNF issue is - how do you know? Who tells you that you're a BNF? Who makes the decision? What makes the decision?
I guess by definition it's having a known name, but the irony is that the people who know your name don't necessarily tell you that. They just sort of assume that you already knew. (And suddenly this is like![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tenebraeli and the chicken on the head issue. You know that chicken is on your head, right?) I've had quite a few people that I would have considered BNFs react with "I'm a what now?" when they were listed as such. God knows if I'm a BNF to some people these days since I've got no idea. I suspect not, but then again wolfling thinks that she isn't and I would list her as such, depending on the fandom we were talking about.
I suppose I'm spoiled in some ways because I cut my teeth, no pun intended, in a comparatively small fandom where I did a Hell of a lot of work so, yeah, BNF. I knew it and wouldn't deny it. I daresay for the VC fandom I was as BN an F as one could get without actually being president of the fanclub, and hey - I felt no need to steal fifteen bucks from people to show my love for VC so really that just puts me ahead ;)
But seriously - it was easy to tell my BN status. The publisher contacted me and asked for my help with stuff. I was consulted for books and TV shows. I did the About.com sight. Plus I was all over the newsgroup and I was one of the first people who did fanfic in that fandom. I'd have to be stupid not to see the BNness of all that.
But then I moved on to other fandoms - and can I just say to some of the other BNFs out there? Stop assuming your rep comes with you. I swear it cracks me up how many BNFs leave one fandom for another then sit and pout when nobody in the new fandom recognizes them. Well of course they don't, dipshit. New fandom. Pay attention. [eyeroll]
Anyway, point being new fandoms are always a new slate. Whatever work I did for VC doesn't mean jack in HP, or Batman, or Angel, or what have you. And if you were to ask me to judge if the stuff I've done in my various other fandoms is worth BNF status - well, not really. I mean yeah I mod the batslash list but Christ are those people self-sufficient (and god love 'em for it). I've done I guess a total of almost fifty stories for Angel now but I lurk on rec lists and don't see my name come up and since that's the crucial N in BNF you can see why I assume no.
But then again fandom isn't just stories, though many BNF do make their BN with fic. The point is is your name known which, again, is a hard thing to judge because nobody tends to involve the F in this decision. Which is why there also tends to be the phenomenon where people assume the BNFs are huge bitches who clique together and ignore everyone else - a lot of people pre-assume that they're not allowed to approach BNFs, while the BNFs themselves are sitting there totally clueless and wondering why nobody is talking to them.
Bringing this to something that sounds like a point with a thesis statement, I guess part of what I wonder about is, barring very obvious signs like official recognition from whatever it is you're fanning, what bequeaths that BNF status? And do big fandoms like Buffy/Angel, with their any ship will do menagerie of bboards, blogs and lists which help scatter the fandom into happy and content little sub-groups (and I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that) even really have BNF? I mean I see someone posting about how they or someone they know is a BNF in Smallvill/Lord of the Rings/whatever and my immediate reaction is "There are millions of fans - what's the percentage that actually knows you?"
So - there's your test questions for the day. BNF. Who are they? Why are they? Should we just start handing out little pins to make this easier? And if I ever became a BNF y'all would tell me, right?
I have to admit the first thing that comes up for me with the BNF issue is - how do you know? Who tells you that you're a BNF? Who makes the decision? What makes the decision?
I guess by definition it's having a known name, but the irony is that the people who know your name don't necessarily tell you that. They just sort of assume that you already knew. (And suddenly this is like
tenebraeli and the chicken on the head issue. You know that chicken is on your head, right?) I've had quite a few people that I would have considered BNFs react with "I'm a what now?" when they were listed as such. God knows if I'm a BNF to some people these days since I've got no idea. I suspect not, but then again wolfling thinks that she isn't and I would list her as such, depending on the fandom we were talking about.I suppose I'm spoiled in some ways because I cut my teeth, no pun intended, in a comparatively small fandom where I did a Hell of a lot of work so, yeah, BNF. I knew it and wouldn't deny it. I daresay for the VC fandom I was as BN an F as one could get without actually being president of the fanclub, and hey - I felt no need to steal fifteen bucks from people to show my love for VC so really that just puts me ahead ;)
But seriously - it was easy to tell my BN status. The publisher contacted me and asked for my help with stuff. I was consulted for books and TV shows. I did the About.com sight. Plus I was all over the newsgroup and I was one of the first people who did fanfic in that fandom. I'd have to be stupid not to see the BNness of all that.
But then I moved on to other fandoms - and can I just say to some of the other BNFs out there? Stop assuming your rep comes with you. I swear it cracks me up how many BNFs leave one fandom for another then sit and pout when nobody in the new fandom recognizes them. Well of course they don't, dipshit. New fandom. Pay attention. [eyeroll]
Anyway, point being new fandoms are always a new slate. Whatever work I did for VC doesn't mean jack in HP, or Batman, or Angel, or what have you. And if you were to ask me to judge if the stuff I've done in my various other fandoms is worth BNF status - well, not really. I mean yeah I mod the batslash list but Christ are those people self-sufficient (and god love 'em for it). I've done I guess a total of almost fifty stories for Angel now but I lurk on rec lists and don't see my name come up and since that's the crucial N in BNF you can see why I assume no.
But then again fandom isn't just stories, though many BNF do make their BN with fic. The point is is your name known which, again, is a hard thing to judge because nobody tends to involve the F in this decision. Which is why there also tends to be the phenomenon where people assume the BNFs are huge bitches who clique together and ignore everyone else - a lot of people pre-assume that they're not allowed to approach BNFs, while the BNFs themselves are sitting there totally clueless and wondering why nobody is talking to them.
Bringing this to something that sounds like a point with a thesis statement, I guess part of what I wonder about is, barring very obvious signs like official recognition from whatever it is you're fanning, what bequeaths that BNF status? And do big fandoms like Buffy/Angel, with their any ship will do menagerie of bboards, blogs and lists which help scatter the fandom into happy and content little sub-groups (and I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that) even really have BNF? I mean I see someone posting about how they or someone they know is a BNF in Smallvill/Lord of the Rings/whatever and my immediate reaction is "There are millions of fans - what's the percentage that actually knows you?"
So - there's your test questions for the day. BNF. Who are they? Why are they? Should we just start handing out little pins to make this easier? And if I ever became a BNF y'all would tell me, right?