spnpermanon
| Journal Community | |
|---|---|
| Name: | spnpermanon |
| Date(s): | July 2009 – October 2010 |
| Moderator: | |
| Founder: | |
| Type: | anon meme |
| Fandom: | Supernatural and Supernatural RPF |
| URL: | http://spnpermanon.livejournal.com/ |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
spnpermanon, sometimes referred to as "Spermy," was a Livejournal anon meme that ran for just over a year before being deleted in October 2010, after which most of the traffic moved to spnanonhaven. Although the meme started in July 2009, it didn't see a lot of traffic until 2010, and experienced the greatest posting traffic through the posting of the 2010 Spn J2 Bigbang. Spnpermanon was formed as a personal journal, but functioned in the same way as memes on communities.
The meme contained the usual mix of negative and positive threads about other fans, fic recs, ship wars, memes, flaming, mock arguments, real arguments and everything else imaginable. The meme attracted wide fandom attention when it became the center for early discussion on some imbroglios that gained wider notoriety. The meme also became home to review and discussion posts for stories posted to various challenges, a fact that was often as controversial as the hate threads.
General posts
The first post, made on July 27, 2009, read:
Enjoy.
Because spn_anonymous disappeared. We need to have something permanent to talk about fandom like we have spn_gossip to talk about actors. It helps blow off steam.
If any friend's-locked material, personally identifying information (full real names or locations etc) or photographs of fans are posted the thread will be deleted.
AND NO MENTIONING BRIDGET BECAUSE IT'S ANNOYING AS SHIT. OLD MEME.
Go for it.[1]
The posts evolved overtime into a standard format:
34
Rules same as always:
- No photos, full names, places of employment, etc posted. We have proven that we are capable of protecting people, now let's keep it up.
- No talking about actors' personal lives. I don't care if Misha Collins stumbles out of a bar attached to Lindsay Lohan's vag in front of 10000 paparazzi. Here, we pretend that shit did not happen.
- No posting flocked content unless it used to be unlocked.
- OT stuff goes here.
- Thread titles are helpful.
SPNPERMANON KEY:
AYRT = "I am the anon you're replying to."
DA = "I am a different anon from the one you're replying to."
NA = "I'm a new anon who has not commented on this thread before."
SA = "I'm the same anon, replying to my own comment to edit/elaborate.
Terminology
As the post above shows, there were many acronyms specific to the meme, and other anon spaces as well. The terminology has spread to, and may have originated in, other anon memes and journal posts in general where anonymous posters congregate. The users called themselves Nonnies and the mod was Spermy.
Big Bang Posts
Several posts were made to host discussion of the 2010 SPN J2 Bigbang stories and art. Some minimal discussion had happened in 2009, but the 2010 conversation drew a lot more attention. Each story had its own thread and the discussion ranged from almost nothing, often for Gen stories, to wide ranging and intense discussions that occasionally involved authors and artists de-anoning to engage with the nonnies.
The entire concept of reviews of stories posted publicly that are often not complementary is controversial in many fandoms. The fact that the spnpermanon reviews and discussions were anonymous was a problem for many fans. Other fans were happy to finally have a place for open discussion of stories that could be relied on to have lots of differing opinions.
The thread for Caught Between the Earth and Sky, by gatorgrrl started with a few positive comments and then became the first locations of critical discussion about the issues of Race and setting in the story. The story took place in post-earthquake Haiti and discussion of the story, which was eventually removed from the internet, spread outside the fandom to the wider journaling fans, bringing spnpermanon to the attention of people who'd never have any other reason to notice it.[3]
One Nonnie made several posts reviewing stories in the form of a conversation between Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki discussing the story as if it was a reality they were acting out. They would occasionally have to cajole each other into appropriate levels of angst or woobieness and often expressed disbelief about what the story's author was having them do. Many nonnies found this JA and JP to be more in character than the versions in the story they were critiquing.
There were a couple of nonnies famous for their rage over the number of sequels in the 2010 big bang, and also a couple of people who bore the collective name Summary!Nonnie who posted very timely and insightful story summaries for fans not sure if they wanted to read the story but weren't afraid of spoilers.
The posts expanded to cover the Dean/Castiel Big Bang and other challenges.
Reaction to Deletion
Activity moved to spnanonhaven.
Fanworks
There were many commentfics and other fanworks within the meme.
There are also two stories on the AO3 that RPF various famous (or infamous) Nonnies.[4]
References
- ^ Google Cache of the first post, accessed November 28, 2010. Post content quoted in its entirety and edited only to preserve formatting.
- ^ Google Cache of post #34, accessed November 28, 2010. Post quoted in its entirety and edited only to preserve formatting.
- ^ comment linking to spnpermanon discussion of gatorgrrl's previous story, accessed November 28, 2010.
- ^ Entries tagged spnpermanon RPF on the Archive of Our Own, accessed November 28, 2010.