Why censor a fandom event?

[dragonlady7]

don't hold out hope that the people yelling at me in reblogs will read this, as any dissent is read as an attack, but it's an excellent essay, and very thorough, eskel big bang, fandom censorship, broad subjective content guidelines are not harmless, this is how you destroy a fandom, the witcher

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brighteyedjill https://brighteyedjill.tumblr.com/post/639433383561363456/why-censor-a-fandom-event :

Do the mods for a fandom event have the right to make restrictions on content? Sure. They’re volunteers running their own event.

But. Fandom is a culture that we build together. If we were just people enjoying media in our own homes, we would not be a community. But we’re not. We talk to each other, reblog each other’s amazing art, comment on AO3, squee in Discord channels over ideas, and so on. That’s what makes fandom great: we build it collectively. And like any culture, we have some shared norms. For example, since AO3 is a big influence on our culture, tagging has become a cultural norm in fandom. We tag for the “big four” warnings on AO3, and increasingly, tag more and more details of content to help people find what they like and avoid what they don’t.

Fandom events like Big Bangs shape fandom culture, too, though. They bring together people who might otherwise not know each other, and have a tendency to dominate the fandom conversation for a time. Restrictions in a Big Bang have a chilling effect on content creators. That means that some work will not get written because of these restrictions, and also that people’s opinions towards this kind of content may be influenced on a larger scale. I personally find this unfortunate, as some of the things on the restricted list are things I’ve written about, uh, a lot. But aside from just me, there are larger implications to consider. Read more about the history of strikethrough and content restriction https://centaurianthropology.tumblr.com/post/172451529095/olderthannetfic-maleccrazedauthor to learn about who is harassed and excluded when fandom culture turns against “questionable” content.

I posit that restrictions like this are not always The Norm™ in fandom events, nor should they be. In a fandom like the Witcher, whose canon includes everything on the restricted list, most of them graphically, I believe content of a similar nature should be welcome in fandom content. I ran my first Big Bang in 2009, and have participated in half a dozen bangs and reverse bangs since. None of them had content restrictions (here’s an example https://c-im-bigbang.dreamwidth.org/ of a Big Bang without content restrictions that’s been running since 2011). Some Big Bangs do; sometimes this is dependent on the canon content, more often it depends on who has power and influence in the fandom. Here’s a case for why not to include restrictions in future events.

What are these restrictions meant to do?

As I understand it, these restrictions are meant to make things more inclusive by allowing more people to participate. Are they successful in that? It’s possible they allow different people to participate. As with many things, there are competing access needs here. More on that below. But let’s look at what “making things more inclusive” means in practice.

*Problem: We want to allow participation from people who don’t want to come into contact with dark content. *

OK. Let’s help participants avoid coming into contact with dark content if they don’t want to. How might they come into contact with dark content?

1.) People might hear upsetting conversations in Discord chat

Solution: Ask people to post in the appropriate channel. Use a “walk away” rule to encourage people to leave the channel if a conversation comes up that they’re not comfortable with. If you want to go further, you could have people warn for certain topics, or restrict darker topics to a specific channel, though this runs up against a different issue (see below).

*2) People might see content in the claims that they don’t like, or don’t want to work on. *

Solution: Usually in a Big Bang the artists look at a list of summaries and tags and choose which fic(s) they’d like to work on. No artist is going to be forced to work on anything they don’t want to. Even artists who enjoy dark content are often illustrating something other than the darkest, most graphic, or most explicit moment of a fic. In a claiming situation, you can have writers tag their fics, just like they would on AO3, to allow artists to filter out content they’re not interested in or that they would find upsetting.

2.5) We won’t find any artist to work on certain pieces.

Solution: This happens sometimes. You could put out a call for more artist participants, allow artists to claim a second piece if they want, or you may have to tell a creator that there’s not a match for them. That is a bummer, but this happens sometimes, especially in fandoms where writers vastly outnumber artists. But in no scenario will any artist be forced to write for a piece that squicks them.

*3) People might see content in the Big Bang collection that they don’t like. *

Solution: This one’s pretty easy. Tagging. Tagging has been used on AO3 since its inception to help people avoid content they do not want to see. People don’t have to engage with content they don’t want to see if it is properly tagged.

*4) The mods don’t personally want to engage with the content. *

Solution: Find a mod who will, so that mods who don’t want to don’t have to! You can get a volunteer to do this, I guarantee.

5) I want to encourage the creation of lighter or SFW content.

Solution: I get that. Say so! Explain what content you welcome, and phrase what you’re looking for in a positive way (e.g. “We require that content be T rated or below and have a generally positive outlook and an upbeat ending.”) rather than what you don’t want. Be clear, specific, and up front about it, so that you connect with the creators you’re hoping will participate.

*6) I think this content should not exist. *

This is the one I can’t help you with. If the reason you’re banning content is because, consciously or unconsciously, you think that it’s morally reprehensible, or that the people who make it are bad, I do not have a solution to offer.

Competing Access Needs

I’m not going to get too far into the weeds on how making a list of restricted topics is impossible, because others https://undomielregina.tumblr.com/post/639427866071908353/what-is-a-hard-kink have addressed this point. No matter what list you come up with, someone out there will find something you failed to list, but that you feel should be restricted. What to do? If they’ve already completed a fic, tell them to leave? Tell them they have to change it? Let it slide? There will be endless questions about what is and isn’t allowed, which is time-consuming and exhausting for mods, and paralyzing for creators. How do I know if this scene is un-graphic enough? Will I need to revise my whole fic? Will I get kicked out entirely if I write the wrong thing? Will some participants get preferential treatment or the benefit of the doubt because of their identities or their connections?

Censorship brings up competing access needs. Someone doesn’t want to see non-con. Someone is writing non-con fic to work through their own trauma. Someone is writing it for other reasons. Can you accommodate all these folks? I would say yes, in the ways detailed above. But when you start restricting content (as in Strikethrough or Boldthrough, discussed in the history link above), you’re not wielding a scalpel. You’re wielding an anvil, and you’re gonna crush things you didn’t mean to crush. Again, check out the history link to see who gets crushed.

So… what to do?

Do I think people should change the rules for the events they’re running? No (john mulaney we are well past that.gif). As I said, people who are running their own events have the prerogative to restrict them for whatever audience they’re hoping to reach. Questioning fandom practices is not “shitting on” anyone (and hey–no scat allowed).

What I would really like is for Witcher fandom to have a think about how we want to proceed as a community. What should be the norm? Witcher fandom culture (in its current form, i.e. big) is still relatively young. There can be variation, sure: Discord server vibes vary wildly, for example. But in the big events or activities that we hope will be open to the largest part of the community, how do we want to intentionally foster the maximum amount of great content about our favorite things? There are ways to be inclusive that do not involve censorship, and I believe we should use them. (Your picture was not posted)

Comments

[krait]

Very good points, all of them.

I have very little patience for fans who think they can ban things without explaining things; excluding things like "excessive gore" or "hard kink" is a glaring sign that this person isn't operating by any standard but their own feelings. Because we know what 'gore' is, but what is excessive gore? That's a personal line, not an enforceable standard, and the same goes for kink: what is a "hard" kink? A kink that involves pain? A kink that involves power exchange? Any kink when not practiced with five-minute stoplight check-in conversations?

Personally, I'm fine with bloodplay but any combination of food with sex makes me uncomfortable and kills my interest. I will read fic featuring noncon situations, but I won't read consensual incest. I like frottage but not nipple play. Which of these are "hard" kinks, and how many fic writers and readers would agree with me? I'll tell you: not a lot!

People who believe their boundaries are both universal and morally weighted are people who lack awareness and empathy. To reach adulthood totally blind to the fact that other people don't agree with your personal opinions is alarming, but to be aware of that and still insist that your opinions are objectively correct and must be followed is worse.

This really is how you kill a fandom: position yourself as the voice of Authority, and work to shame or silence anyone who won't accept your judgments.

[minoanmiss]

*applauds in full agreement*

[dragonlady7]

It's been borne out by the response-- anon asks sent to the event's Tumblr were treated as bad faith, questions on the event's Discord were shot down, so we resorted to polite essay on our own Tumblrs, and now the mods of the event are howling simultaneously that we should have asked directly and also how dare we ask directly, and are vagueblogging about "all the disinformation" being spread, but like-- they can't clarify this, it's very clearly "personal taste", and someone's like "ah they're very young and inexperienced" but they're in their late 20s apparently, I don't know, and now they feel personally attacked and I don't feel sorry for them and also dont' know who the fuck they are.

Mostly, I feel great that we spoke up, because there was a very real chance this event would've gone on, featuring content restrictions so vague yet strict that the actual canon would not be allowed, an everyone would've been like "weird" but then the next time there was an event it'd just be accepted that you can only write Acceptable Smut.
So.

(Also apparently the mods are referring to the anti-censorship crowd as Fandom Boomers which is fucking hilarious.)

[krait]

Ha!

Somehow I feel distinctly unsurprised by your reports of their reactions. :P If your event guidelines would exclude the actual canon, your event guidelines were wholly pulled out of... well. Somewhere that most of the fandom has no interest in going, let's leave it at that. :D Most fans like canon! We're willing to twist and explore it, but we wouldn't be here in the first place if it wasn't mostly appealing to us.

I'm proud of all the fen who have spoken up, and who have come together to create an alternate event. ♥ Also laughing forever at "fandom Boomers," because, uh, nope, kiddo, you're off by a whole generation, and besides, if all you can come up with is 'these people must be older than us' then I suggest you sit down and listen to the wisdom of your elders!