Maturity (essay by Nevie)

Meta
Title:	Maturity
Creator:	Nevie
Date(s):	June 9, 2001
Medium:	online
Fandom:	Hanson
Topic:	official website and agism
External Links:	hanson.net/users/landslide/nevierant3.html
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Maturity is a 2001 meta essay (called a rant by the author)written by Nevie on her website Zac's Shack Out Back.

It deals with the "mature" forums on Hanson's official website and the problem of maturity/immaturity within the fandom.

Excerpts

Ok first of all the "Mature Musings" forum on Hanson.net... What defines mature? The board use to be called the "Over 21" forum and it was closed due to bitching on the account of younger fans who thought they were being excluded from the "mature" conversation because of their age. So it became the mature forum, only to ignite bitching from all the older fans because it became overrun by younger fans who obviously didn’t understand what it means to be "mature". But does anyone? Do you?

Next up, "maturity" and fan fiction. I doubt anything riles some fans up more than the fact that fan fic authors have the right to write and post whatever they like as long as the disclaimer is stated clearly. What gets me is what do people THINK that flaming and hate mail is going to accomplish? And why write hate mail in the first place? Why call it "immature", "disrespectful", "disgusting" and "disturbing" when nothing or no one said that you have to read it, much less agree with what was written? I don’t understand why people think it’s so much more mature to flame someone and insult them than it is to just understand that each person in this country has to right to voice themselves and their ideas.

Maybe I’ll understand what it means to be mature and why people seem to think it’s so important to be once I’m all grown up... Maybe.