Fail-Fandomanon

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Journal Community
Name: Fail.Fandom.Anon
Date(s): 2010 - present
Moderator: the sunnys
Founder: sunnycamehome2u
Type: Livejournal anonmeme
Fandom: Pan-fandom
URL: main meme on dreamwidth
wiki

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Fail-Fandomanon is an anonmeme started to discuss the VividCon warnings wank of 2010.[1]

It quickly grew to become a panfandom anonmeme where any fannish subject as well as fails of most kinds are on topic. Post-metafandom, it may be the main source of general fannish meta discussion on journal platforms.

Meme Profile and Basics

"Fail_fandomanon started out about one thing - a place to complain about convention policies, warnings and special snowflakes. It has evolved into being an anon meme about almost everything fandom related.
F_FA has been described as suffering from "Death by Earnestness". We know this, and we own it."[2]

In November 2011, more than 365 namespace accounts responded to a headcount poll [3], implying that at least that many memers visit the meme at least once per post to lurk or comment.

An informal survey thread, also from November 2011, revealed that the anons on the meme include humans ranging from age 17 to >62 as well as vampires, elves, trees, dragons, undead cats, rocks, ponies, and several elderly dinosaurs.[4]

In case of LiveJournal outage, there was a backup Dreamwidth meme.[5]

On July 5, 2014, the meme officially moved to Dreamwidth because Livejournal had become too unreliable.[6] On December 19, 2018, the meme reached one thousand posts on dreamwidth (not including side posts for special topics): DW Post # 1000 - Just to be a non' who wanked a thousand posts.

The meme has an unofficial wiki[7][8] with over 300 pages on topics ranging from "Fandom wanks and wankers" to "SJ" to information about FFA itself. Some of the most visited articles on the wiki are "Graceebooks," "Gracee's Minions," "Sherlock 221b Con Wank," "Springs1," "Fandom Personalities," "Mark Oshiro," "Antis," "Winterfox, Pre-Outing," and "Shakesville."

Meme culture

Popular recurring subjects include but are not limited to: SJ (social justice) and SJW (social justice warriors and wanking), fungus!poetry, countrywank, neo-prodigy, ponies, the ugliness of Nathan Fillion, discussions on fandoms too small to have their own anonmeme, recs of all kinds.[9]

Memers are sometimes referred to as gentlefailers.[10] As of 2018, gentlefailer and to some extent memer have fallen out of use.[11] FFA participants are often called anons or nonnies.

ur-Sunny (FFA's founding moderator, sunnycamehome2u) may, at her discretion, award first responders to a new post user icons known as "Seal of Firstness," "Seal of Secondses", "Seal of Thirdses", and the Double Seals; a few later responders may get a visit from the consolation pony (Consolation the Pony) or Consolation's pony friends. The Sealses and ponies may RP with memers for a few comments.

Although a subset of memers complain about anons' ridiculous eagerness to be awarded a Seal or Pony, first commenters to a new post are rarely responded to with "tool" or ridiculed (as much) as at some other memes or communities.[12] When ur-Sunny is especially busy, critters may go on hiatus.

Several auxiliary posts exist for tangential topics, such as Religion[13], Aging[14], Personal issues[15], Fic post[16], and a Friending Meme[17]. Every so often gentlefailers debate about additional topics that should potentially get their own auxiliary posts, the deadness of the existing auxiliary posts, and why most auxiliary post topics should be merged back into the main posts.

As of LiveJournal release 88 (the one that broke comments for anon memes and subject-line dependent comms of all kinds such as RP and kink memes), there is also a Subject Line Coding post[18], which combines css modifications made by various people, including one of FFA's moderators and an Inception anon meme mod, into copy & pastable code that lets any meme moderators who wish to use the code give their meme the appearance and most of the functionality of pre-release 88 comments (i.e., comment subject lines, less whitespace, no paperbagged default icon for anonymous commenters, etc.).

Multiple threads on the meme have posited that FFA now fulfills the functions that the defunct LiveJournal community metafandom and Journalfen community Fandom Wank did in their heyday.[citation needed]

Nonnies sometimes discuss meme itself. A 2018 thread on how meme culture has changed: Your meme experience (2018-06-08)

Meme Rules

The short version: no embeds, don't out people's real names, don't be that much of an asshole, body fluids are off topic, mods reserve the right to delete the fuck out of stuff. Meme away.[19]

The long version:

Fail Fandom Anon Rules Post:

In essence: We may be assholes. We just aren’t that kind of assholes. Respect the flock, respect other humans, and respect yourselves. We have a very expansive view of “fandom”, and for an anon meme we can be painfully sincere.

FFA is a Choose NOT to Warn experience.

Main Rules:

  • No pictures, real names, no detailed locations.
  • Religion or lack thereof is off topic on the main meme.
  • Fatwank and eating disorders are banned
  • Telling people to kill themselves is not cool
  • Also not cool are threats of violence against people, even in jest.
  • Try to name your threads
  • No embeds. Of any kind. Ever. This includes embed links.
  • No Rick Rolling. If you say a link has fluffy kittens, the link should have fluffy kittens. If you say a link has gore, the link should have gore. No bait-and-switch with links.
  • No underage porn. Underage is defined as characters under 18. Explicit activities involving characters above the age of 18 is just fine.
  • No direct download links to media under copyright. You can tell people where to go, but you cannot post the direct link.
  • Deliberate un-anon comments will be deleted - only two exceptions: limited promotional posts, and on a limited basis, a logged in response by someone who is the topic of conversation.
  • Effectively banned: transwank, eating disorders, details of real-life child abuse/molestation (may go in a clearly labeled Personal Post thread), fatwank, sexuality wank, racewank etc. And the discussion of "another thing/another think coming"
  • On Notice: certain known wanky and wank bait topics are not banned, but are automatically on notice and subject to more intense moderation. This includes some countrywank, and anything else that tends to explode with trolls.
  • Body fluids are banned in most non-fandom contexts; see this post for clarification on our body fluids policy... http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/150067.html?thread=798497331#cmt798497331
  • For a wide variety of reasons, no deliberate variant fonts, no emojii in the thread titles. You can use them in the comment, but not in the thread title.

p.m. the mod account or put 'MODS' in the thread title if something needs attention

  • Rules About Specific Topics:
  • Andrew Blake/Thanfiction: The person known as Amy Player, Victoria Bitter, Jordan Wood, Andrew Blake, Thanfiction, and several other names should be referred to using male pronouns, Arguing over his gender identity, or if he meets a certain definition of trans distracts from the real issue, which is that he's a manipulative lying asshole.
  • Winterfox/Requires Hate/ Benjanun Sriduangkaew: All the same person. These are all pseudonyms of a Thai SF author. Under no circumstances are you to use the 'real' or 'wallet' name of this author. Refer to them by one of the psuedonyms. FFA doesn't out people, even people we hate.
  • Promotional Activity: Moderators of other anon memes, of fic exchanges, or of other communities may make LOGGED IN/NON ANON promotional notices to the meme. No more than one comment per community per post. FFA likes to be informed of things that are relevant to our interests.
  • Talk to the Mods: If you have an issue with being outed, or with something that does not need immediate attention via a 'hey mods', you can leave it as a comment on this post. The comments are and will remain screened. Embeds, pagebreaks, and blatant trolling should get a 'hey mods' on the current post. You can also PM members of the mod team.
  • Misgendering: FFA tries to correctly gender individuals. Mods don't know who everyone is or their preferred pronouns. If there is a problem, let the mod team know. If this is an issue in a conversation, we strongly support dropping a comment with a link to someplace where the individual has requested a specific set of pronouns. If this is a person who comes up frequently in conversation- such as something related to the Hugo Awards or other long running topics, drop a comment here to the mods with a link to whatever pronouns are official.
  • Banhammering: The mod team will ban individuals from FFA upon request. Once banned, it is impossible to make a logged in comment on FFA. The ban is a permanent form of anonfail prevention, and not a punishment. If you would like to be banned, leave a comment on this post. It will remain screened.
  • LiveJournal vs. Dreamwidth: Platformwank, specifically LiveJournal vs. Dreamwidth wank, is permanently banned.

You can leave suggestions here as well.

Friends Lock Guidelines:

Generally speaking- respect the friends lock. We aren’t that kind of asshole.

  • If it was posted unlocked, and later locked? Go ahead and post the caps, discuss.
  • If it was posted locked to a large open membership community, where anyone can join by clicking the button? Go ahead and post the caps, discuss.
  • If it was posted locked and never unlocked? Don't post it.
  • If it was posted locked to a small or selective membership community? Don't post it.

Recaps are allowed with discretion. Some guiding examples:

  • "Sunnycamehome2u keeps making locked posts about how the lurkers support her in email" - OK
  • "Probably 20 people on my friends list have made locked posts talking about how Sunnycamehome2u's inability to spell pisses them off" - OK.
  • "Sunnycamehome2u made a locked post with xxxxxxx text, and lj user a, b, c, d all commented. Plus her grandmother is dying, she's living in a van down by the river[20], and her cat tried to make love to her iphone"- NOT ok.

Other posts and resources relevant to your interests:

Personal Issues and Everything Else: The personal post is for anything that doesn't fit the meme's loose definition of fandom. It is especially good for problems that affect you on an individual level. Relationships, mental health issues, even that weird skin reaction you get to strawberries are perfect for the personal post. Religion is an acceptable topic, and body issues are also acceptable within reason. If you feel the topic is something that the wider meme should view, post to the personal post, and post a link to it on the main meme. DW version of the Personal Post & Everything Else: https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/532497.html

Fail Fandom Anon Wiki: FFA has a wiki, updated and maintained by an enterprising set of Nonnies. Everything you have ever wanted to know about the meme, the conversations, the conventions, and the things that are relevant to our interests is housed there. Fail_Fandom Anon Wiki: http://failfandomanon.wikia.com/wiki/FFA_Wiki[dead link]

CTSC: CTSC means "comment to see comments", and is not relevant for the DW version of FFA. For more info, see this page on the wiki.

Retired Posts: The following specialty posts have been retired. The links are here for your archival needs.

A Community of Acronyms

See also: Glossary of Anon Meme Terminology

Some of the acronyms and conversational identifiers; from the FFA wiki (see the original source for the many hyperlinks):

  • FFA (also f-fa and variants): Fail Fandom Anon, the anonmeme you've been looking at.
  • Nonny, nonnie, anon = the people posting comments on meme
  • AYRT = anon you replied to
  • AIRT = anon I'm replying to
  • A AIRT RT = anon [whom] the anon I'm replying to [earlier] replied to (usually the anon two comments up instead of one)
  • AVRT = anon velociraptor replied to
  • NAYRT = not the anon you replied to
  • SA = same anon (when you're adding to or correcting something in a comment you just submitted)
  • NA = new anon (not previously part of the discussion)
  • DA = different anon (possibly new to the subthread, may already be contributing to the discussion in a different subthread)
  • OP = original poster (person who started the thread)
  • ATG = Any Two Guys, more rarely Any Two Girls. In reference to fic with generic characterization; the pairing could be "any two guys." Used in "Guess the ATG" game threads (beloved by nonnies for the creative name-swapping possibilities).
  • CBT = on FFA, equally likely to be earnestly used in discussions about therapy options (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) or in discussions about kink (Cock and Ball Torture).
  • CTSC = comment(ing) to see comments. No longer a thing since the move to Dreamwidth.[23]
  • DD = "Details, details!" A call for evasive/coy nonnies to spill the beans about whatever.
  • DFRW = Dog Fuck Rape World
  • EFW = existential flame war, based on the LJ comm of the same name, which originated in the Usenet group alt.callahans. Enjoyed by some, reviled by others.
  • GSN = Grumpy Sutcliff Nonnies
  • ITT = in this thread
  • TSN = On FFA, usually refers to The Social Network (2010 slashbait film), more rarely to The Sentinel (1990s slashbait TV series)
  • TYWAU = Things You Wouldn't Admit Unanon. One of the common threads on the meme, usually on the first page.
  • WS = He who shall not be named, for he is a notorious self-googler and will show up to act out on meme. [24]

Fanworks

FFA has an RPF fandom tag on the Archive of Our Own with 29 works as of 30 December 2015. The most kudosed story is Fuck You and Your Can Opener Privilege by Kaesa, written for Yuletide 2014.

FFA may also be the inspiration for any AO3 work tagged Nonnies Made Me Do It.

In 2014, during a conversation about stick figure big bang fanart, an FFA anon opened an AO3 collection for The First Ever Bad Bang!, "Deliberate badfic illustrated by people who can't draw."

External Links

References

  1. ^ "It was the VividCon wank, and I got tired of having a conversation in email about it. I wanted other people expanded into it. And I remembered checking out the SPN anon meme. And how I used to dearly love fandom wank, back in the day. So I set up the meme. [...] I wasn't expecting the meme to last a week. Mostly, I was pissed about slingbabies and irrational warning demands. And here it is a year and a half later. Who knew?" from comment in "How did you get here?" thread, 6 Dec 2011. (Accessed 8 Dec 2011). In 2012, the community moderator went into greater details: "In the summer of 2010, a massive wank developed about VividCon, a small con devoted to fanvids. This wank had to do with the issue of what warnings, if any should be required for the vids. At a convention where there had been an implicit 'choose not to warn' policy. 98% of the people involved in the wank had never, and would never attend the convention. As a side to the wank, it was deemed terrible and discriminatory against women that anyone under 18 was banned from the con. The ban is for legal reasons. This fell into a discussion about slingbabies. Small children, attached to the parent, and worn in a sling. I grew tired of sending an email chain, and created an anon meme- something with which I was only vaguely familiar, having spent about 5 minutes at SPNPermanaon. And much to my surprise, it took off. That is it. The whole, boring, and entire story. And for the record, I still believe that there are times and places where banning anyone under 18, even in a sling is the appropriate choice." Why FFA Was Started by sunnycamehome2u dated April 12, 2012.
  2. ^ Fail-Fandomanon's user profile, accessed 16 Nov 2011.
  3. ^ Head Count post featuring mod's subheadline: "Just curious how many Gentle Failers wander by in a post" (Accessed 16 November 2011)
  4. ^ post your age and gender? in this thread, accessed 16 Nov 2011.
  5. ^ fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org, the Dreamwidth Fail-FandomAnon backup meme
  6. ^ Fail Fandom Anon Official Move Announcement, May 4 2014, sunnymodffa
  7. ^ Old wiki: failfandomanonwiki, front page reads: "Hello, gentlefailers! Welcome to the unofficial wiki of fail_fandomanon." accessed November 17, 2011.
  8. ^ New wiki: FFA_Wiki
  9. ^ More recurring topics as well as links to relevant threads can be found at the unofficial wiki of fail_fandomanon.
  10. ^ A thread started on 3 December 2010 in "Final Poll of 2010: Nonnie Naming Time" has been identified as the first use of the term gentlefailer.
  11. ^ 2017-09-16 comment, 2018-05-31 thread
  12. ^ "... why do I care so deeply about virtual ponies?", accessed 17 Nov 2011
  13. ^ Religion post
  14. ^ Aging post
  15. ^ Personal issues post
  16. ^ Fic post
  17. ^ Fail-Fandomanon Friending Meme
  18. ^ Subject Line Coding post
  19. ^ Main Post Info, accessed 16 Nov 2011.
  20. ^ Reference to Matt Foley: Van Down By The River - SNL, SNL sketch involving a "Motivational Speaker" who lives in a van down by the river.
  21. ^ The Rules and the Banning Upon Request Post (2013)
  22. ^ also Fail-Fandomanon Rules Post, accessed 16 Nov 2011
  23. ^ In a 2019 thread, sunnyseaside noted that they got the acronym from sfd_anon. FFA DW Post 1099 - Trends in bottomal determinism shift, but the wank remains., Archived version, 2019-06-08.
  24. ^ failfandomanonwiki: Acronyms Commonly Used on FFA, Archived version, accessed May 5, 2016
  25. ^ Fail_Fandomanon Backup Wiki, posted to dreamwidth 16 August 2016
  26. ^ Aside from the timing, evidence for it being taken down by or because of graceebooks includes the email sent to the nonny who maintained the wiki naming Grace's page as the content that needed to be removed before the wiki could be made public again.[1]
  27. ^ Wikigeddon, Archived version
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