Poll: Choose Your Fandoms

[thefourthvine]

Wait! Wait, please don't scroll past.

Yes, I know you've probably seen at least one other poll like this today. I have, too. In fact, I've seen four polls about popular current fandoms in the last 48 hours or so, mostly as people gear up for year-end stuff. And the results have been oddly variant, depending on who was hosting the poll and the terms of the poll. It made me curious.

So here's what I'd like you to do. Answer the questions below about the fandoms you are currently active in. By active, I mean doing whatever it is you do in fandom. That's more than just loving the source - writing about it, reading obsessively about it, writing or reading fan fiction for it, making or watching vids, making or hunting for art, organizing stuff, dragging other people into it, etc. Just - you need to be doing these things currently. No matter how much you love the fandom, if you haven't had anything much to do with it in the past, say, three to four months, it doesn't count.

Yeah, I know. It hurts. Be strong! And may the force of the ticky box be with you.

(Oh, and if you're wondering how the fandoms ended up on the list below - they came from my sidebar. I subtracted all the small or one-off fandoms, added in the two RPF fandoms I know are big, and this was the result. So, if you think it should be here and it isn't, perhaps you should pimp me into it. Juuuuust a suggestion.)

ETA: In the how-many-boxes question, line six should read "21-45," not "31-45." Sorry about that. Got carried away with Polling Enthusiasm.

Further ETA: If you've done a poll like this recently, morgandawn would like to know about it for BASCON purposes; please drop her a line on the first comment.

[Poll #809556]

Comments

[morgandawn.livejournal.com]

I know I had one such poll - I'd love to see the others (I am pulling together the Bascon vid show so all data welcomed).

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Yup, yours was one. At least one of the others was friends-locked, though. I'll try to get together a list of links and send them to you, okay? (Because of the friends-locked-ness, I don't want to comment with the links.) If I forget - well, if I forget and you remember, poke me, and if we both forget, I'm hoping someone else will cruise by here, say, "Hey, one of those was mine!" and drop a link.

[abbylee]

I know you asked for "current" fandoms, but I checked some boxes for shows I don't really watch or read right now, because I still consider them my fandoms even if I'm not obsessing about them right now, because I will start again any minute.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

*eyes you*

Well. Technically, that is against the Sacred Rules of the Poll, but I suppose if you know for sure that you're going to pick them up again in a week or a month, then that's more of a temporary fandom vacation.

But I will be keeping a very close eye on you, young lady.

*waves ruler menacingly*

(Yup, I'm practicing; I'm hoping to get a job as a martinet. But actually, I figure you know best what your current fandoms are, so you are best qualified to make the call. I just emphasized the "currently" in the intro to avoid the whole, "But I still love [name of character]! So I'm still in the fandom! Even if I haven't thought about it in years!" thing, which tends to happen with some fandoms.)

[ficbyzee.livejournal.com]

Question. How do you define 'most active'? I mean--my current problem is that I'm not really 'most active' in *any* fandoms at the moment. Yes, it's tragic. I feel very adrift.

And--do you count 'watching and obsessing over vids' as a fannish activity? Because if so, I would be checking a lot more boxes and also adding some. (QaF, for instance. And the O.C. And VMars, and Invisible Man, and Life On Mars and--hell, this is why I like to consider vidding a fandom: it's the only place where I reallly fit!)

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

You know, I had "Vids" on the fandom list, and then I took it off because I thought only three people would check it, and I was one of them, and I already knew about the other two, so it seemed gratuitous. But now I'm thinking - well. Maybe there are more vidfans than I thought.

*experiences the 20/20 of hindsight*

[kageygirl.livejournal.com]

Man, the "current" requirement hurts! I am and have been in so many fandoms (I still kinda think the plural should be "fanda"), and I cycle in and out of them. But I was scrupulously honest anyway. Sniff.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

*sniffles in sympathy*

I know. It really is painful; I'm still waffling about two of the fandoms, all, "But I've done something involving it recently, so surely I can count it."

Your scrupulousness is very much appreciated, though.

*bonds*

[katie-m.livejournal.com]

If it were October, I'd have added BSG too, but I really only do meta-about-the-episodes for that one and as there aren't episodes right now...

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

For the record, "Intently awaiting the canon's return from hiatus" counts if you're doing it fannishly. (Squeeing about ads, knowing exactly when the first episode airs, and, um. All that other stuff that you brave folks who watch the canon in first run do.)

Basically, my call here is that you know what your current fandoms are, so if BSG is much in your fannish heart and mind, then feel free to count it.

[cherryice.livejournal.com]

This is tricky, because there are a number of boxes I didn't check that I could have. I don't consider myself really active in them at the moment, but I'll still read stories in them that are recommended.

I missed sticking Life on Mars in the textbox, because it's possible that I am currently pursuing a new (to me) fannish avenue with it.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

I don't consider myself really active in them at the moment, but I'll still read stories in them that are recommended.

Yeah. I mean, that applies for all but about four of these boxes for me (which is not a surprise, since I took it from the list of stuff I've recommended in the past); it's just, I'm not hunting new fan fiction in the wild or aggressively pursuing recommendations or whatever in those fandoms. But if someone I trust is going to throw that link in front of me, well...

I still didn't tick those boxes, though, unless I had actually done something recent with the fandom.

it's possible that I am currently pursuing a new (to me) fannish avenue with it

Okay. Now I'm curious. Not that I would, you know, pry, but - wait. I would totally pry. So, pray tell: new fannish avenue?

*pries*

[nessreader.livejournal.com]

Now's a golden opportunity to thank you for my latest obsession, dS fic, which is eating my life. While I loved the canon for years - (you said in your "Fandoms 4thVine has Loved" that you hadn't watched the TV show; have you by now?) - getting hooked on RayK stories is just consuming me right now. *sigh*

I started out reading Trek fanzines posted by snailmail - how else to get them? - in the 1980s. Am a dinosaur.

ps: activity mostly means reading a lot, writing insufficient LoCs, or passing on http:links for me. And I wrote some quite remarkably shite fanfics in my littlest fandom, simply because not enough other writers existed there. When in a big fandom, I feel there are enough and much better people producing fanwork.

[nessreader.livejournal.com]

getting hooked on RayK stories is just consuming me right now.

and it's Your Fault

[syredronning.livejournal.com]

Looking at my personal percentages, it should be 96% Startrek Original and the rest divided between the others. But I didn't want to check only one box *g*

Re in fandom - I'm a trekkie since about 1977, but in online-fandom only since 2002...

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Well, on the one hand, if you've only got one love, then one box is all you need. But it sounds like you do have a few other loves; they're just, you know, very very secondary ones.

Re in fandom - I'm a trekkie since about 1977, but in online-fandom only since 2002...

You picked "more than 20 years," then, right? Because being in the fannish community counts, online or off. (I fully appreciate that there is indeed Fandom Without Internet, even if I myself couldn't manage to be in it.)

And, wow. You're coming up on your 30th anniversary in your primary fandom. I think you need to hold a party. Possibly you should even register for gifts.

*impressed*

[musesfool.livejournal.com]

Okay, I clicked 1-2 years even though I have been in HP for nearly four, but I no longer consider it my dominant fandom. That would be Firefly (or would have been until about two weeks ago), which I was in when it was airing, but then sort of stopped being active in it until last May or June when the advance screenings of Serenity appeared, so... a year and a few months there.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

That would be Firefly (or would have been until about two weeks ago)

Well, but wait. That sounds like Supernatural (Since that's what hit you a few weeks ago, right?) is actually your dominant fandom now. (Pretty soon I'm going to be the only one not in SPN. *looks pathetic* I hope you will all send me postcards from the cool side of fandom.)

[laurakaye.livejournal.com]

Crap, I didn't read the instructions carefully enough! I only did the shows I'm currently writing, not the ones I'm currently reading. Which basically means, add DS to the read list for me, because it is my constant companion!

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

*nods*

DS just stays with you, doesn't it? It is the fandom equivalent of a soft warm blanket on a rainy day.

And, okay, I'll spare you further ridiculous metaphors. But know that I agree: dS is one of those fandoms you never truly leave.

And I will mentally notch up dS's count by one. But since other people are watching the results of this poll (like morgandawn, for BASCON stuff), you may also want to change your answers. Or, you know, not. I realize not everyone is as obsessive about getting poll answers exactly right as I am. (I tend to write essays in the comments, too. I am a chronic over-responder. It's sad, really.)

[das-kabinett.livejournal.com]

Golly, SGA. I heart you, but I'm beginning to think that we ought not feed the plant. *g*

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Hey. I like the plant. And it hasn't bitten anyone yet.

At least, not fatally.

That we know about.

But also remember that my friends list is heavily biased; if metafandom picks this up and people start coming here who don't normally read this LJ, you should see a swing in the percentages. Because I suspect that SPN is actually the dominant fandom now, not SGA - just, I'm not in SPN, so people in that fandom mostly don't read me.

[ruric.livejournal.com]

Hmmmmm - will be watching this and checking back. Fascinating *g*

And *cough* it would help if I could not fuck up the surname of my fave RPS pairing. That should read Kane and not Kae *headdesk*

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Fascinating

Well, I definitely think so, but I'm happy to hear this holds interest for other people. Fannish demographics fascinate me, but sometimes I think I'm alone in that.

That should read Kane and not Kae

Oh, man. Even the edit doesn't help. Who are those guys?

*wins at clueless*

[estrella30.livejournal.com]

HEY WEIRD YOU FORGOT THE ONE TREE HILL TICKY BOX.

:?

[nightchik.livejournal.com]

I think if you started a One Tree Hill glee thread, you could hit 3,000 comments.

[paceus.livejournal.com]

Okay, so, yes, I thought "How long have you been in fandom?" meant "how long have you been in your current dominant fandom?" I don't know how. I've been in fandom for three years, even if my current dominant fandom hasn't been wreaking havoc with my social life for more than a couple of months. The experience has been more about finding the good porn than figuring out the acronyms, I have to admit.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

The experience has been more about finding the good porn than figuring out the acronyms, I have to admit.

Well, but that's basically the whole fannish experience right there. I mean, two months, two years, twenty years - aren't we all spending most of our time hunting for the good porn?

*waxes philosophical*

[musesfool.livejournal.com]

Oh, and also, where are the 13 other people who checked "Ocean's 11" currently fandom-ing... whatever, being fannish about it doing that? 'Cause I sure would like there to be more fic and such and yet... not so much in my fannish circles.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Cause I sure would like there to be more fic and such and yet... not so much in my fannish circles.

O11 currently seems to be one of those fandoms that has a lot more people hoping for stories and hunting for stories than actually writing stories. (Scrubs is perhaps the ultimate example of this category; every time I dig up a Scrubs story and post about it, a billion fangirls say, "OMG YAY! Why is there not more Scrubs fic?" And yet there continues to be a near-total dearth of said fic. It's very sad.)

But, hey. If you find the secret motherlode of O11 stories, you'll tell me about it, right?

[frostfire-17.livejournal.com]

I was looking at other people's results, and man, I *totally* forgot CSI, Slings and Arrows, Life on Mars, Studio 60 (I *saw* the pilot. it's a fandom), um, there were a couple more.

Oh, and The Dark Is Rising! That's a book, so check off that one box. And Lawrence of Arabia. And, well, I didn't check Ocean's 11 because I don't know if I've read anything in it in the last three or four months, but if someone shows up with a fic, I'll read it with joy! And maybe I forgot to check West Wing? I read fic in that more recently than I thought.

And yeah. I'll...stop here. Because otherwise it gets kind of frightening.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Well, maybe it's frightening for you, but it's heartening for me. I've reached a place of relative comfort with my polyfannishness, but company is always reassuring.

And I love DiR, too. When I first found DiR slash, I said, "Will/Bran? Oh good Christ no. That's - that's just everything that is wrong." But it turned out to be so, so right.

Yes. As it turns out, my childhood loves make for excellent porn. Who knew?

And now I want to read DiR stories. Must go pester raveninthewind for links. Or, hey! You could always write some! *looks extremely hopeful*

[http://users.livejournal.com/oceana_/]

I really restricted myself to current fandoms, meaning fandoms I watched, talked about and read fanfic in a lot during the last four months. Though I did read fanfic in other fandoms as well, only not as obsessively.

As for the other fandoms: why does no one but me mention Miami Vice? Where are all the Miami Vice fans! No wonder there isn't even an icon community! What are people waiting for? I mean, you cannot possibly get any cooler than Don Johnson in a Ferrari or half-dressed on a boat with an alligator or shooting people in suits in amazing colors! I didn't even know there are clothes in these colors! What's not to love?

I feel like crying.
Everyone should watch and love Miami Vice.
It sparkles.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

why does no one but me mention Miami Vice?

Okay, what is it with the sudden Miami Viceishness? I had never even heard of it four months ago, and now you and cereta and gwyn_r are all talking about it.

But, hey - if this becomes the hot new fandom, I'll be able to play! I'm all for cop shows, and as far as I know, the main characters aren't related. (I just cannot, despite all my efforts, get into incest. I am a bad fan.) So go for it! Make that fandom!

half-dressed on a boat with an alligator

I believe there's a law against being naked with alligators. And if there's not, maybe there should be. (Although Alligators on a Boat would be a natural sequel to Snakes on a Plane.)

[sdwolfpup.livejournal.com]

I forgot about Life on Mars. That's definitely on my list. And vidding-as-fandom is probably my primary fandom right now. Well, vidding and Due South. Due South has eaten my brain.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Okay, I'm really kicking myself for taking vids out of the fandom list. I just didn't think anyone but laurashapiro, taverymate, and me would consider them an actual fandom.

In retrospect, I'm not sure what I was thinking.

Due South has eaten my brain.

That is as it should be. Everyone should love dS; I firmly believe this.

*pleased*

[theo-winterwood.livejournal.com]

Life on Mars. I forgot to mention Life on Mars. (How could I forget? The show is named after a Bowie song!)

. . . I just noticed how amazingly British all my fandoms are. Wow.

[cherryice.livejournal.com]

Life on Mars for the win!

[bitter-crimson.livejournal.com]

Just wanna say that in response to the last question, I suffer from fandom ADD. I think the longest I've ever been active in ANY fandom is two years, and the average time is probably more like half a year. *cough*

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

*nods understandingly*

Yeah. That sounds like wickedwords, who describes herself as a fannish butterfly. I think of myself as more of a fannish magpie. (I am readily attracted to new shiny things, but I never give up my old ones, either.)

There is no shame in multifanishness, is my point, whether you do it serially or in parallel.

*waves polyfannish pride banner*

[kalpurna.livejournal.com]

Oh. Oh man. I restrained myself SO HARD! If you asked me to check off every box I've ever been fannish in, or *even* every box I've read a story in in the last 3-4 months? It would be. Uhm. MORE THAN HALF of those boxes. \o/

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

*waves banner of polyfannish pride*

We are the few. The proud. The people with way too many fandoms.

[ladysorka]

I only picked the three fandoms that I actually consider fandoms that I'm in. If I checked a box for every fandom I've read fic for in the past month or two, I would be in that 31-45 range, even though I don't really consider myself in any of those fandoms. ...I just read a lot.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

*thinky*

So what separates a fandom that you're in from a fandom you just read a lot in? Is it the social/community aspect?

[atlanta06.livejournal.com]

Um,I still fangirl some "dead" fandoms. They're either off the air,I'm waiting on the next installment or have been discontinued completely. Do they still count?

I didn't answer in the box,because all my fandoms won't fit. =P

In no particular order:

Redwall Series(haven't finished books.)

The Bartimaues Trilogy (haven't finished books.)

Carmen Sandiego(both live action shows and the software series have been discontinued. There was a cartoon,but it ended after a couple of seasons. Plenty of DVDs coming out though.)

Law & Order: Criminal Intent(up until they started adding the new people.)

Harry Potter(I'm not as into it as I was a year ago,seeing all the WANK that comes from something as asinine as "who will shag who",so I think I'm just here for the conclusion,the inevitable implosion of the online fandom and then I'll obsess over something new. I love my friends via HP,though.)

NaNoWriMo(not quite a "fandom" per se,but still very important. All writers ought to particiapte. Really. (http://www.nanowrimo.org))

Hot Bad Guys--or Hot Guys in General('Nuff (http://www.hotbadguys.com) said. (http://bestof.provocateuse.com))

Simcity(waiting on the newest release and a new computer. I <3 it always. )

Good Eats (Alton Brown is a god. That is all.)

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Unless you count music. I don't have any clear cut fangirling in that category.

[thecomfychair.livejournal.com]

(Alton Brown is a god. That is all.)
Truer words were never spoken.

[thecomfychair.livejournal.com]

Reading through the comments, I realized I had forgotten like 4 other fandoms, bringing my grand total to...17. Oh, my. I've never actually tallied them before. o_O

(For the record, those fandoms are Good Omens, Life on Mars, Doctor Who, and Whose Line is it Anyway?)

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Reading through the comments, I realized I had forgotten like 4 other fandoms, bringing my grand total to...17. Oh, my. I've never actually tallied them before. o_O

*nods in sympathy*

I love my sidebar - every fandom I've ever recommended in one convenient location! - but every time I add a fandom to it, I have a Moment, because wow that's a lot of fandoms. (I had an especially bad Moment when I originally made the sidebar and realized I'd have to use a customized layer if I wanted it to list all my fandoms, because the template limit of 30 only got me to, as I recall, L. Yeesh.) Admittedly, most of them are pretty bitty, but still, it's a lot of fandoms.

[marycrawford.livejournal.com]

Okay, I'm still only *thinking* about a Doctor Who vid. I confess! But I do love this shiny new fandom.

Also very happy that Hercules was in the list and that I'm not the only person to click it, even! Yay!

Also also, questions about years and dates: OMG SO HARD. CANNOT DEAL.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Okay, I'm still only *thinking* about a Doctor Who vid. I confess! But I do love this shiny new fandom.

I'm still getting used to the idea of you with a brand new fandom. I can't think of anyone else on my friends list I associate so strongly with a single fandom. (You're, um, not leaving Hercules behind, right?)

But OMG YAY for a new DW vid from you. (When, you know, you get there. I realize these things take time.)

Also very happy that Hercules was in the list and that I'm not the only person to click it, even! Yay!

Fandoms of great interest to me get special treatment. (Note, for example, the presence of Hikaru no Go right next to Hercules.) I own my bias in poll construction.

OMG SO HARD. CANNOT DEAL.

*nods*

It all sort of fades into one glorious fannish blur, doesn't it? It's just a glorious montage of porn and vids and the occasional cataclysm.