Okay so I was browsing the net and I found this lovely piece of work, that was published just two months ago. link
Apparently this is a 'student run' new site. So much for the plagiarism policy. Like at least give an exact link--as your site automatically generates for anyone who copies and pastes your work. But don't worry I already put that up hàng đầu, đầu trang myself, out of respect. Anyhow I find it very funny how professionally set up this site is and yet they're utilizing my work without my permission and without even linking me to it. It's one thing to post my work (with credits) in appreciation of it behind my back and another to critique it behind my back. I'm not saying not to disagree with me at all, because really, I don't mind. What I am saying is, at least have the decency to link me to the critique so I have a chance to defend myself. That's my main issue with this article. The lack of professionalism is killing me and this site claims to be the site of a newspaper. "The Record and its staff encourage a respectful, engaging and informative conversation." Yeah, okay, sure lol. Where's the respect? With that in mind I am going to link this to the site so they can properly give feedback about their work being utilized. I mean I suppose I'm somewhat flattered that, that silly bài viết drew enough attention to get a whole response bài viết on another site, but still...it's the way the response was done behind my back that I'm not flattered by.

So what baffles me the most is that (what seems to be) a rather professional newspaper took an bài viết of mine that wasn't even supposed to be professional in the slightest and utilized it. Legit, that bài viết of mine was only there to get my opinion out there and encourage/welcome people into any fandom. To let people know that it's okay to not know everything about a certain medium. I don't get why people have to take a positive like that and try to push a negative.

With all of this in mind Imma type this bài viết just how I typed the other one; without a degree of professional language because that's not what the first one was. Because again, most all of my opinion các bài viết are recreational things, things I type just because I want something to do.

The first point I'd like to address is the following "Sure, I might like something a lot, but I’m not going to consider myself a người hâm mộ right away. Why? Because I feel like I don’t know enough about what I’m trying to become a người hâm mộ of." Alright, that's cool. bạn do you, but don't try to tell others how to feel hoặc make them feel unwelcome/unequal in the fandom. Just because bạn don't feel comfortable considering yourself a người hâm mộ right away, doesn't mean other people can't. In my opinion it's perfectly fine to call yourself a người hâm mộ as soon as bạn start to enjoy something because that's what being a người hâm mộ is.

bởi definition (taken from here; link)) "is a person who is enthusiastically devoted to something hoặc somebody, such as a band, a sports team, a genre, a book, a movie hoặc an entertainer. As long a person genuinely enjoys something and shows some enthusiasm, bởi definition they are a fan. Take out the enthusiasm and you're still a fan, you're just a casual fan. Someone who watches and enjoys the subject but isn't super crazy about it. And a causal người hâm mộ is still a real/true fan.

So yes, if bạn don't feel right calling yourself a người hâm mộ (and I apply this to any reader not just the person who this bài viết is a response to) then bạn don't have to. But there are some people who feel comfortable doing so and it's perfectly valid to do so. Because even if bạn don't know a lot about the thing bạn just started to like, bạn can still like and enjoy it. And that is a fan.

The other point that was bought up was the following; "Some “fans,”consider themselves bandwagoners. These individuals openly admit they are những người hâm mộ of something because it is what’s được ưa chuộng at the time." bởi all means, this is a fair point. But these are not the people my bài viết was addressing. For one, these people openly admitted they weren't true fans. My bài viết aimed to sự nhướng, nâng lên people who genuinely tình yêu the subject but were told they couldn't be a người hâm mộ because of xyz. Bandwagoners aren't real những người hâm mộ they're bandwagoners. And they admit it.

Which leads to my tiếp theo point; I'm under the impression that my bài viết wasn't even read fully. Because the point was terribly missed. I read through all of the "Being a người hâm mộ Isn't Easy" bài viết and not once was it mentioned that people were getting told they weren't real những người hâm mộ for opinions regarding the medium they love. The entire point of my bài viết was to dispute claims like "you're not a real người hâm mộ because bạn like the antagonists better than the protagonists." I am a huge người hâm mộ of Winx Club; I've been a người hâm mộ for well over ten years now. I know my shit. And yet someone got off on calling me a 'fake fan' because I preferred one dub over the other. This is what my bài viết was, in a sense, calling out. And the response bài viết didn't address this at all. I feel as though they read my “Step one: enjoy/love/like the show, book, movie, and/or band. Good job, that’s it, you’re a true fan.” And just stopped. So bởi all means the bài viết in response to mine isn't even a fair assessment of my original content. Considering how much of it was ignored. Considering the very core of it was ignored.

So the tiếp theo thing bought up is the following; "You know, the people that when bạn hiển thị them a cool new band, they don’t think much about them, but as soon as the band starts getting airtime on the radio, they claim to know every word to every song?" Isn't this a form of bandwagoning though? Since the band is getting air time they jump on?

bạn know what, Imma defend these people. To be honest it did annoy me when Gangnam Style started playing and suddenly everyone was a Kpop fan. But
Everyone needs to start somewhere. And I think the above is a start of some sort. No, they shouldn't claim to know every line to every song right off the bat. But it's completely fair for the person to say they are a người hâm mộ of and like what they did hear. And from there the rest of the knowledge comes naturally. No one has to put in tedious research, why would they? Because eventually (especially with shows) the viewer starts to get used to the hiển thị and slowly he/she finds him/herself realizing that he/she can danh sách off every member of the cast and who they play! Way back in 2011 I dived into the Once fandom; it was really disorienting because not only did I have to keep track of all the characters but I had to keep track of which fairy tail counterpart belonged to who. And I came into the fandom late. Luckily everyone was supportive and instead of saying I wasn't a real người hâm mộ they helped remind me of who was who. Soon enough--without even realizing it--I not only had the counterpart thing down, but also which cast member played who down. And I didn't do a speck of research, I just listened to my fellow những người hâm mộ talk. I followed their conversations, and it came naturally.

So bởi all means, it really is that easy!

That said, onto the tiếp theo point; "There has to be something thêm to it than just enjoyment."

I suppose this is just a matter of opinion. Because I strongly disagree. Being a người hâm mộ is all about enjoying something. In fact I'm inclined to point bạn back to the very definition of the word fan. It says nothing about research/knowledge and everything about enjoyment.

"In order to be a người hâm mộ of something, bạn need to have done your homework on it." No. No, no, no. Being a người hâm mộ should not require homework! That's what school is for. Sure if it's something bạn enjoy it shouldn't be a hassle. bởi all means when I got into Avatar I wanted to know everything I could about my yêu thích character, Azula. But what about the people who just want to watch the show? That's it, they like/love the hiển thị but they really don't want to part-take in the fandom hoặc anything. Are bạn saying that these people don't actually like the show? That they're not fans?

I'd like to argue that (again especially in the case of shows & books) the information is all and research bạn need lies in the content of the show/book. If it doesn't than the tác giả isn't doing his/her job.

And just how much do bạn need to know? If knowledge is what defines what it takes to be a người hâm mộ then who gets to set that bar? Some people would say that to be a real người hâm mộ bạn have to know the names of all the characters, the tiếp theo guy will step it up and demand that bạn know all of the characters and the actors who play them. The person will say that bạn have to know all of that and the names of all the episodes. So whose standard of how much knowledge bạn need to be a người hâm mộ are we going by? Because that, my friends, is subjective too. And there's a simple solution to this problem; let the individual him hoặc herself decide when he hoặc she is a người hâm mộ of something. Gauge whether hoặc not someone is a người hâm mộ of something bởi how much they like the show/book/band/etc.

"But if bạn want to be considered a fan, bạn should be reading, watching, attending, listening, and/or participating in whatever your interest is as much as possible." Now this is something I can agree with. Because that's all it takes; watching thew show, listening to the music, hoặc whatever. Just making time for watching/listening to/etc. the subject shows that you're a fan. Where I differ is that I don't think that there is a such thing as a 'lazy, lackluster' fan, just a casual fan. And a casual người hâm mộ is still a real fan.

Long story short, I just don't understand why people are so keen on making watching shows, đọc books, listening to music, and generally enjoying something such a chore. It really doesn't have to be. Isn't the point of shows/books/music to give people a release. To give people an escape. A way to relax. And it's pretty hard to relax and get invested in a hiển thị when people are telling you, bạn have to hardcore know everything about it. hoặc when people are playing bouncer at the door of the fanclubs. Just welcome people in with open arms and hiển thị them the works of the fandom! Like Jesus Christ.