Thoughts about fandom: The forum at David Hewlett's website

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Title:	Thoughts about fandom: The forum at David Hewlett's website
Creator:	arlessiar
Date(s):	September 10, 2006
Medium:
Fandom:	focus on Stargate Atlantis
Topic:
External Links:	Thoughts about fandom: The forum at David Hewlett's website, Archived version
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Thoughts about fandom: The forum at David Hewlett's website by arlessiar.

It was posted in reaction to the creation of Stargate Atlantis' David Hewlett's official website and forum.

Introduction: "My very first sort-of-meta post. I simply felt the need to get this off my chest. This is a post about fans, in this case fans of Stargate and fans of Rodney McKay/David Hewlett. It was triggered by the fact that there's a forum at David Hewlett's new and official website dgeek.com - and the fact that it seems to be 'morons united' after only three days."

Some Topics Discussed

• violating the fourth wall
• thoughts about fans behaving poorly, policing other fans, whiteknighting on behalf of celebrities, good fans vs bad fans
• people falling all over themselves stating they aren't as bad as other fans
• David Hewlett and his official website and forum

Excerpts from the Essay

I was more than excited when DH announced his official website a few days ago, because, hell yeah what could be better than getting news and some interesting tidbits about him directly from the source? I adore this man, I really do, and I'm glad about every tiny little bit I get to know about him, and I think it's great that he likes to interact with his fans. His blog was already a surprise for me.

Then I saw that he also has a forum on his website - a forum of which he himself even is the mod! And I thought, 'dear God, if he knows what he's gotten himself into now?'

Fans can be great. Fans can be fun. Feedback and praise are nice things for an actor. Many fans are considerate and know what to say and what not. But there is a reason why fans generally are often regarded as being a bit whacko - because of some brainless people who post so much weird shit that the whole fanbase gets discredited. And I hate that so much. There are fans, probably around 90% of the fandom, who are friendly and decent and nice, and the remaining 10% do so many stupid things that the 90% have no chance - the idiots stand out and are the reason why some actors think that their fans are per se a bit crazy.

A fandom can already be a scary place without the morons. Fans tend to be a bit childish sometimes, I know I can be a bit silly sometimes, yes, but mostly fans are just fooling around a bit then and still know the boundaries. And respect is the biggest boundary you shouldn't cross. But the morons do.

Well, forums are visited by all kinds of people, that can't be prevented, so you simply have downright daft folks sometimes who don't think from now to Thursday. Forums even actively attract idiots, it seems. Maybe some folks just have a desperate need for attention and think they get it that way. And in the case of DH's forum it might be even worse - since it's his, many people seem to think that this is their chance to distinguish themselves, get nearer to their star, maybe even get noticed by him. In this situation egoism rules - the main thing is to stand out from the masses, so that the dream can come true that one will be the person the star notices and picks and wants to get to know.

Won't happen folks

DH created his website to inform his fans officially about news, to advertise himself and his stuff (like ADB) and to get some feedback. He's a geek, he has fun doing all this, playing with computers and the internet in his free time is his hobby. He invests a lot in this website, mostly time, so I guess it's safe to say that in a way the site is a hobby, it's something he mainly does for himself, for his enjoyment and for his work. He surely doesn't do it for the fans only. We should be thankful that he chose to make a site that is that welcoming and open for fans at all, that's not a minor risk for him. It's a bit like a symbiosis - he gets the chance to advertise his work and get feedback and maybe he also likes to be close to the fans, and the fans get news and tidbits and a chance to say hi. It's an experiment, DH said so himself. Let's see if it works out.

I'm sure he didnt make this site/forum to start being friends with everyone. Hell yeah, I'd cut my right arm of to get a chance to get to know him in person, to meet and talk with him to see how he ticks and what he's like. But it won't happen, a handshake on a con will probably all I ever get, as in the end we're simply living different lives in two different worlds.

And there are also a few no-noes when it come to communicating with actors. You don't mention fanfic (since it's simply not legal), doesn't matter which kind, but especially not NC17 stuff. You don't ask too personal questions, and you don't post pics that aren't PG or which are embarrassing in any way. You don't post photoshop manips which definitely won't find the approval of the persons in the pic. You don't talk about slash, and you don't talk about downloading stuff on the net. But some people simply ignore that and bring these things up again and again.

Don't get me wrong, I don't say that all this stuff is bad - it isn't, and I enjoy many of these things (fanfic, manips) on GW or here on LJ. But the fact is, if David goes to LJ or GW and sees all these strange things, then it was his decision. If he's shocked then that is bad, but he came over to look at it himself. But when we post on his forum, then we are his guests in a way, and we should behave like guests and not shove the newest slash fanzine under his nose or tell him how great we are because we saved twenty dogs and not just one, or that we made a manip of him as an Easter bunny.

And one more thing about slash: Seeing as David was married to a woman and currently has a girlfriend, I think we can safely assume that DH is straight. And we have no idea how he thinks about homosexuality. Being a slash fan in the fandom myself and being pro gay couples I certainly hope he's not conservative and does support same-sex relationships. But.we.don't.know. (and especially not now with the new, stricter government in Canada). So fans should be extra careful with all the slash stuff!!! Even though I'm pro I don't know how I'd react if I was famous and saw stories that describe the character I embody in hot sex scenes, knowing that people see pics of me in their heads when they read that stuff. :S

Maybe I'm exaggerating, maybe I'm too upset, maybe I'm getting it all wrong and David Hewlett loves the attention and loves the forum the way it is and wants fans to be fans. Maybe he's strong enough to keep up with the silliness and doesn't mind it. After all, he made that forum and he's an intelligent man. I'm a bit torn, I don't know whether to assume that he surely knows what he did, or assume that he really had no clue what would happen when he opened a forum. He should know how popular he is by now, how many fans he has (DHAW postcard event anyone?). Just look at the many blog comments! He even stopped answering fanmails because it became too much. So I guess he knows how many fans he has. But did he also expect all these fans in the forum, plus those that just come because it's the personal forum of a somewhat famous person? I don't know.

I do know that DH also mocks very 'fanish' behaviour sometimes (see his website opening post or what he said about the DHAW postcard event), so I guess he doesn't underestimate what fans can do if they really want to. But I don't know how much personal contact he really wants to have with the fans. After all he's always said that he didn't feel that he deserves all that attention - how comfortable can it be for him then with all these people adoring him so openly? And even though he probably enjoys the contact with the fans, I don't think he'll interact with us on a close and daily basis.

To conclude this slightly chaotic rambling: Fandom can be a scary place. It can be scary just for the daily silliness in there, because people behave differently than they do in their real lives. The giggle, they drool, they say crazy things. It can get scary because not every actor knows how to deal with seeing masses of screencaps or squeeing fans, reading or talking about fanfics or seeing photomanips. And nota bene, there are several degrees to all these things, from harmless to really hard stuff. But it gets even scarier when fans cross the unwritten lines and ask/show inappropriate stuff or do weird things like kiss actors unasked or stalk them or whatever. These are the dark sides of fandom, and such fans egoistically ruin the whole fandom fun for all the fans who are actually playing nicely in the big fandom garden. We all should try to keep the dark side small and use our brains before we act. Which, by the way, is a good general rule for life, not only for the fandom.

Excerpts from the Comments

[suekay 87]: I'm not going to be going back there unless DH updates the news pages or the blog...The forum's a no-no until some of the more 'zealous' fans go away or get banned.

[xfkirsten]: I hadn't had time yet to register there, and now I'm rather glad of that. I'd go nuts - I can't stand when people act like that around celebrities..

[mcalex22]:

I am not a member of DH's site nor have I visited there since Friday or whenever it was started. I liked the place when I first saw it but after I noticed that he had forums, I sort of avoided it. I'm not really a fan of forums - hmm, maybe it's because I don't really like talking very publicly or more possibly I see so many things in Gateworld that don't make me happy.

As I told Spubba, I've only been back to look at it after she commented on the idiots there and I noticed that the no of threads had trippled or something like that. It was a bit of a shock to read what Spub said because I had no idea that things had gotten bad, though I did suspect it would!

Yes I was very annoyed and pretty pissed off. I was going to sign up and request a screening in Sydney. I still might sometime in the future... but for now, I'm just avoiding the forums.

The good news is that a lot of people on my flist aren't members and didn't participate so most of them have distanced themselves from this. Some don't want to know the details - because like me, most aren't forum fans.

I don't think all fans are bad and I don't mean to imply that just because people go to forums means that they're bad people. But your post is just another that validates that sometimes, people can be morons and have no brains.

The whole thing has made me rather sad and regretful about going to the Peg2 con to be honest. Now that DH is visiting Sydney next year I know I'll see him anyway... I know that most people are good and it's only a few who are nuts but I've read so much about fans frenzy for the Peg2, I fear that it'll be worse for DH than for JF..

[ms maree]: This is probably a very non-PC thing to say, but I wish there were ways of working out the LJ identities (if they have them, which I'm guess some will) of the worst posters, so they can be publically shamed. Negative peer review can sometimes work wonders on people with no internet etiquette. At this point I can't even bring myself to the forum to look at what people are saying, hearing about is bad enough..

[wraithfodder]: Yes, it can, if the posts are still there. I've been attacked on and off for while by one ditzy fan in SG1 fandom (I made the mistake of saying I liked Daniel Jackson and got villified by this person, although I'm not the only one she's gone after). Anyway, when she attacks me on Gateworld, the mods simply remove her offensive posts. I'd rather they leave them so people can see that this person isn't all sugary sweet as she pretends to be in other posts.

Unfortunately the net can be edited so you don't see who the real twits are....

Personaly, I'd love to see who has Yahoo IDs (like their ISps) so I can ban people by ISP, not just name, as some lists I'm on have problems with banning a person only to have them come in under a new Yahoo addy. It's endless..

[runonmoonlight]: There are things (and a few of us actually discussed this at SFX last weekends) that you just, don't bring up - unless brought up by the actors, or is something that is known to be commonly joked about to the fans by said person. It is just a simple thing of respect, and what they're comfortable talking about. Anyways, I went over the forums to take a look-see, and saw the manip thread, and just, cringed. Because, they didn't seem to realise the difference between a fan-board for David, and David making a forum. That being said, I do think that people are also a 'tad excited' over the new developments of the blog(s)/forum, and hopefully just need some time to relax a little bit..

[rosiedoes]: I completely agree. Julie and I are both slashers, with pretty specific interests, but we've basically stepped aside from our fandom identities to keep Boyan, Joe and the rest of the boys we're creating TCO for, innocent of what happens to their characters when fangirls (like our alteregos) get hold of them.

People have really got to learn that actors/musicians/celebrities are - especially those like David Hewlett and Joe May - completely normal people. Ironically, we expected to find out Joe was a complete tosser - but we are now in contact with the guy through a friend and colleague, and he's proved to be quite the opposite. He's sweet, he's completely humbled by the fact he has fans at all and he just seems very down to Earth. And that's all the more reason to leave the guy alone, as far as I'm concerned.

Because they are the sort of guys who deal with this sort of thing personally, and don't have the buffer of an agent or PR assistant filtering out the insanity it is the responsibility of the fans themselves not to be complete fucking crazies. Not just because it ruins things for everyone, but because it can affect the actors on a more general level.

Has anyone heard about the journalist Amanda Tapping allowed into her home - as she was apparently happy to do, once upon a time - and later found her going through her personal belongings? That one person betrayed the part of Amanda that she had been prepared to give (and in my opinion and insanely large part it was, too) and ruined it for everyone - Amanda included. It's as if people forget they're just normal human beings and that they have rights and feelings.

Even at conventions I find myself afraid of seeming clingy or as if I'm one of the hangers-on trying to bed/befriend/smother the guests. Last year, I didn't go to any of the discoes at Pegasus One because, yes, I was tired and because I couldn't stand the thought of seeing a bunch of nutters mobbing people like Jason and Rainbow.

I'm really starting to regret buying a ticket to Pegasus Two..

[a starfish]: Aww no. :( I bought a ticket to Peg 2 aswell but I'm going to be avoiding all strange and potentially awkward *social* events i.e. discoes and that breakfast thing where fangirls can meet actors. It's just too weird for me, I don't know the actors and don't want to engage in any kind of pretence that I do. I guess I actually go in the opposite direction to the overly friendly fangirls by trying to *avoid* contact, I should really be aiming from the middle ground and treating someone else as just another human being because that's what they are. I'm not really sure what the point of my reply was anymore. Doh

[rosiedoes]: At SG-10 all the actors were secondaries - David Nykl, Alex Zahara, Erik Breker, Tobian Mehler, Neil Denis and Cliff Simon - so they didn't get mobbed. Alex could usually be found sitting on the floor talking to fans in the lobby and Erik helped out on the information point!

It was wonderful. They were nice, people didn't smother them.

Then, I went to Pegasus One and saw Jason Momoa get all teary ON STAGE because of the questions he was being asked. I saw Rainbow utterly fucking gobsmacked by almost the same question, and diplomatically fumble his way around the subject of, essentially, whether he had ever been miserable enough to consider suicide. People would not let the subject of slash alone when Flanigan was on stage. It was embarrassing to be there, and embarrassing to consider myself a fan.

pionie and I swore off conventions that weekend. I'm fairly certain I saw Jason and Rainbow ("Well, I won't be back here for a loooooong time...") quietly do the same. I only bought a ticket to Pegasus Two on the spur of the moment because Hewlett was going - because I thought he'd be a good guest, rather than because I'm a fan. I'm not, however nice he seems and how good an actor he is - I like the guy, and I appreciate his talents, but I'm not a fan and I would never have gone near that board if not to witness the horror of what people had done already.

I wish I hadn't wasted £90 to see someone I respect as an individual, and goodness knows who else, treated like roadkill and poked with rather unpleasant and pointy sticks....

[wraithfodder]: People actually, well, for lack of a better word, nagged about slash fiction?

I did see a recent video of Kavan Smith from Dragon Con in which someone off-camera was asking him about slash, and well, Kavan just kept smiling and looked amused, but I can't help think that afterwards the actors are sitting around by themselves going "what is WITH these fans and this slash stuff?"

In ye olden days of cons (well, at least a decade or more ago), people NEVER asked actors about slash fiction. I think it's only since net fandom has exploded that fans have brought this out into the public eye (doesn't help that the press is fascinated by it as well).

People who work on TV shows (actors, writers, producers) legally can't read fanfic (because actors also tend to write), so why are some fans bothering actors with these inane questions?.

[jo sed pee em]: *applauds you* Well said!

*shakes head at stupid people* They make my brain hurt. You know, I can be as fangirlly as anyone and people who know me will attest to this, but the questions being asked and the posts being done over there...*shudders* I want to declare that I am not part of that mindset and then run and hide from the crazies.

Hell, before this I thought I was one of the crazies. I love DH, I adore the man but really, I would never dream about asking any of those questions be it on a forum or in person at a con. (Sure when I do meet him I probably won't be able to breathe never mind ask questions but that is besides the point)Yes, I fangirl. I do it on my own LJ which is f-locked and is done so for a reason. Sure, I love slash and fics and vids and pics, but I also realise that that is MY choice.

My way of looking at it is this, if I don't like something I don't look at it and I don't like it when people keep throwing it up at me everywhere I go and will have a hissyfit unlike any other if people do that to me. Therefore I extend the same courtesy to others. If David Hewlett, or Joe Flanigan or 'Mr Smith from down the street' wants to participate in fandom (although I am pretty sure they are too busy to bother on a large scale)I am quite certain that they are intelligent enough to find out things on their own and choose what they want to look at. They don't need us thrusting it at them.

*headdesks* I was going to go on to the forum. (not to say anything crazy I must say, just to see if I could learn anything be it technical or spoilerish etc.)I am so glad now that I didn't bother. Almost my entire flist is annoyed and upset about this in some shape or form...so at least there are some fans with a brain and integrity out there. I just hope that we all don't end up penalised because of the idiots.

*Looks up* Sorry for the rant on your post...I was wandering around and as you can probably tell am a bit peeved about this. I did a rant on my LJ about it too.

Anyway, I just wanted to say I agree. *wanders away sheepishly*....

I have friends that went to D*Con and their experiences were much like yours. And I know that they too are worried about the kind of affect this will have on future events.

I think that the whole point of it is that all fans have some degree of insanity about them, but the majority of us can actually act like 'normal' and 'sensible' adults in public. We Can be well behaved and treat others, whether they are actors, crew or other fans, with the respect that we in turn would hope to receive. That is the side of fandom that we should be showing others. The side that makes it fun and happy and makes the actors want to continue to mix with the fans..

[veracity]: Actually if he's anything like the other SG actors, he'll do his best to make you feel comfortable, like it's a priviledge to meet you and touch base with the fans. At least that's what I got last week, and that's what part of why I'm more than a little upset with the stupid coming out in droves. It mucks up a group of people have been *extremely* generous with their time when they're not doing their job. We're pretty darned lucky to have people willing to be accessible as they are (whether it be Joe, David, Kavan, or the chick that played extra #908). I don't want this to have bad repercussions for us, but I'm afraid it will. That's a selfish bit, I admit it, but it's because it's a bigger issue. I'm in the fandom, and this directly affects (and probably effects, whatever, I always mix those two up) me. I don't want to have people that willing to meet and actually converse with their fans be afraid because some people need to play the 'under the sink' cocktail game...

I went to Dcon last weekend, and was amazed. Kavan was awesome in the way he talked to the fans. People stopped by and just wanted a photo, and he had no problem doing that. You know? It matters. Apparently I have the ability to talk to everyone the same way because my mouth just kept on talking like they were my neighbors. Cliff, Torri, Rachel, the others I talked to, were the same way. Even Claire Rankin, who I did a quick chat and run. In fact it was their awesome behavior that made my first convention so much fun that I'm going back next year. They *made* it worth the effort. That means something to me, makes me want to give them something in return.

I don't want that to change. I really don't. I'm not sane, exactly, but I'm well-behaved at least. I know that the four I talked to for a minute all seemed impressed with the response they got. I don't want that to change, for them. You know? Forget the fans wants, just the fact this makes the actors happy is enough. They work long hours and if this is fun for them, then I want it to continue being so..

[baldrian]: First, I want to say, that I agree with you and the "sane" part of fandom. :)

But. Sadly, I don't think the people who are doing these things - and I haven't seen exactly what they are doing, because I'm too scared to look :) - can be "policed" by fandom (as danamaree said for example). Firstly, because I don't think they are really aware of fandom as a whole, and that there is a fannish etiquette to follow. Most of these people exist in their own little circle where these things are okay, and don't care to look outside. Like, even if I don't participate actively either, I do read and observe. Secondly, because they are just too obsessed to see reason. They want to get to know the celebrities as a person, but at the same time, they do things you just don't do to another person you barely know or don't know at all. I mean, I know people who "grew out of this stage", and when they were like this, and I said multiple times, okay, you just don't do things like this and here's why - they essentially used to stalk the actors, like thrust themselves upon them when they were out with friends and such -, they just didn't understand. And it's even harder to make them understand like this, because what do they care, you're just someone on the internet.

But I do think that David Hewlett knows they're not representative of fandom as a whole, because he is a fan himself - although to a lesser degree -, and it's the completely non-fannish people who tend to think all fans are this obsessive and crazy..

[nakedwesley]: I've been nosing around the forum tonight and most of it seems relatively harmless, if not extremely childish, but admit I stayed away from anything that looked 'scary'. I'd like to hope things will settle down once the novelty wears off. For now I may comment here or there, but I don't think I'll be frequenting it by any means. I'll be curious to see where this all leads (and how long before fandom wank gets hold of it)..

[bibliokat]: I definitely agree. I really feel bad for David and other actors to have to deal with people who can't control themselves. If I were in his position, I would probably freak out and totally shut down interaction with fans, as we are complete strangers. He doesn't deserve to have things that may make him uncomfortable practically shoved in his face. And fans with manners shouldn't have to have their comments and questions buried under the craziness. Argh, I wish there was a way to make certain people read posts like this..

[unknownterra]: I agree, although I posted some old manips I made I would NEVER, EVER, EVER post anything offesive or overly obsessive like slash, ship, thunk, whump, declare some deluded love for the man etc. it's just not the place for it. David is HUMAN, he has a life and we need to realise that he wants his privacy just like everyone else. I must admit I was surprised at some of the questions that were asked. I have no questions for him, every possible questions from where do you live to what toilet paper you use has been asked. Geez, just leave the man alone if you don't have a general question. On another note I was also disappointed at some fans attempting to get David's attention by trying to come up with rules for HIS forum. I won't name names. Call me a b*tch but that self-righteous crap really got to me..

[triptnx]: I---I don't know what's going on over there and I'm not sure I really do want to know. Really. Fans can be really scary sometimes, but luckily I haven't come across any. So I think I will stay away from there, if only not to be ashamed. .

[krysalys]: Hear hear, my friend

One of the things I've loved most about my first fandom (and the dearest to my heart even now) was how amazingly approachable the actors were and still are. I know I'm not what'd be considered a "typical" fan, since I see actors as the human beings they really are, and not the characters they portray. And it thrills me to no end knowing I'm not alone in that.

I've had the honor of getting to meet one of my favorite actors at his invitation, and even got to talk to him for a little bit. He was just as sweet and generous as I'd hoped, and was plainly touched when my friend and I gave him a little birthday present to thank him for all of his hard work on the show. It's a cherished memory, and I know I'll probably never be in a situation like that again. I can only hope that I behaved in a respectable manner (especially since I got to meet his parents and cousin!), and looking back on that day I think I made fandom proud that I didn't squeal or babble or act like a total ditz/floozie. *chuckle* I was actually much quieter than I usually am!

So thank you for posting this meta, m'dear. Know that you're not in the least bit alone in your feelings.

[tarlanx]: Strangely enough, I was thinking the exact same thoughts only yesterday - and wrote them up in my Blog. I called it obsession and intimacy, and how many fans cannot seem to recognize the 'line that should not be crossed'.

You were right in that many fans just want to be close and this idea that DH is on the other side of the world reading their comments, makes them feel they have a newfound intimacy with the man. I expect some will post outlandish things just to get his attention while others will go into full 'moderator' mode to get his attention that way - 'hey, look at me protecting your virtue' - probably in some daydream belief that he will start contacting them personally with pleading eyes for their help with his forum, offering them the intimacy they crave.

I joined the forum out of interest but I doubt I will ever post anything, though I have commented on his blog the same way I'd comment on an LJ - like this.

I won't be walking away from *this* comment believing that *we* are now intimate friends just because you shared some of your personal views with me - and with hundreds of others. In the same way, I know that reading and commenting on his blog does not make me his intimate friend either.

But some fans simply don't get that...I've been around fandom long enough to see the creepy side of fandom an di can only hope those creepier/stalkerish fans will not drive him away from the 90% of fans who are fun to chat with *sigh*

[warithfodder]: I think I made one post on David's blog, one on Kate's, and that was it, as heck, had nothing else to say, and then when I went back a few days later, it was like the floodgates had opened and I did not have the time to read them, so figure when I have several spare hours (ha!) I'd look at them all.

I agree wholeheartedly that fanfic is a no-no with actors. That's a fan thing. Period. You shouldn't send them fanfic, shove it under their noses at cons (it's been done), or do photomanips and stick them in a forum they run (I don't know what kind of LJ icons folks may be using, but I've seen enough that now I don't even access anything but my own LJ while at work as some icons are beyond blue).

The fandom behavior you're talking about has been out there since day one of fandom, although the birth of the internet just makes it easier for people to come out and act like nitwits or worse, creepy-stalkerish behavior. Fandom breeds a false sense of familiarity as we know so much about the actors, but they know zip about us.

Just a note: David has had contact with fans before, since the KF:TLC con and an Aussie con (can't recall others) and I think he'll do fine at the other cons he's signed up for. The thing is that no matter what con you go to, you're going to run into fans who need to get a reality check. And you can't judge a book by its cover: you'll see a fan with a t-shirt with a picture, and they are probably quite sane while someone who dresses up much nicer (I saw this once) was the one who thought they had a chance to bed the actor. Aieee.... So, don't let the actions of a few ruin your con experience.

[obfreak]: I have never poseted a comment in any of his blogs either. There wasn't anything to say. I just cant believe how much this has stirred up so many people and how much it has grown! I went in there on its 2nd day to have a look & there were quite a lot of posts, i went back today to sign up and it was unbelievable! No one in their right mind would be able to keep track of al that stuff. It looks like one of the other fan sites that have been up for a couple of years, not one thats only been open for a couple of days. And some people had posted over 100 times already! What can you possibly have to say to tie up that many posts!

I cant really comment on the context of some of the subjects, cause i'm not even going there, but I agree on the fact its a shame people cant control themselves, sure it's exciting and all, but its just becoming ridiculous! I know that David has been on a few different fan sites of him, so I think he would have had some idea what he was in store for, but this is just nuts. I think your right when you say, people are just looking to get in the lime light. Which is a real shame for the rest of us. It's not like he's ever gonna read them all. Even if he wants too, he would never be able to there's that much stuff. To be honnest with you, I dont know if I would really want him to know who I am or respond to everything. Im just happy enough reading his posts or blogs. He does his best to give his fans what they want, its just a shame, people dont realise this and dont just happily accept what they have rather than demand more.

Anyway thats my two bits. I am also hopping the hype will settle down.