Big fandom or small fandom? (+poll!)

[DokiDokiTsuna]

Which do you prefer to be a part of?

• BIG
• small

Show results

Due to my unique tastes in media, I'm part of maybe just 1 or 2 big fandoms (by 'part of', I mean having at least been to the wiki on a regular basis), and they're not even that big. ^^; But here's what I've learned from my experiences:

BIG fandoms:
Pros:
-LOTS of members active year-round
-Lots of information and fun theory-sharing
-Lots of fan art (including GOOD fan art) and merch
-Opportunities to grow your own audience
-Longer life expectancy (popular media tends to spawn sequels, reboots, and spinoffs, so the party never ends~)

Cons:
-A larger pool of bad apples (a bigger fandom can contain exponentially more trolls, creeps and jerks...),
-Fewer opportunities to contribute (everything's been done already; if you're new, all you really get to do is spectate)

small fandoms:
Pros:
-More opportunities to contribute (chances are, there's a job that needs doing that's waiting for you!)
-Easier to learn about the community and its members
-Reassurance that pretty much everyone there actually cares about the content, and didn't just ride in with the bandwagon
-Less competition in the fan art arena (this is a bit of a double-edged sword...sure, you'll stand out (especially if you're good), but not many people will even be looking at your art to begin with)

Cons:
-The older ones tend to be ghost towns (ever been part of a small fandom that hasn't had any new content in a decade? Several decades??) and even the young ones have long hibernation periods where basically nothing happens until more content is produced
-Not as much information/fewer theories
-Shorter life expectancy
-NO MERCH :[
-The recurring realization that you love these characters SO MUCH but no one except you and 30 other people even care that they exist and won't miss them when they're gone...

...Clearly, I've listed way more cons for the small fandoms and more pros for the big fandoms...but each of those has a different weight (if most of the pros/cons weigh 2 kg, the 'bad apples' con weighs 50 METRIC TONS); some of them alone can make or break a fandom.

But if I had to choose, I think I have more fun with small fandoms. Despite the subtle doom and gloom in the atmosphere, there's just this sense that everything you do and see together actually matters, and it makes such a difference in the overall experience.

[punkarsenic]

i raise you: small fandom inside big fandom

if the fandom is massive you are relatively anonymous, and what you do is you find a maximum of 5 people you really vibe with and pretend NOBODY ELSE EXISTS

[Iris-Grimoire]

Medium, or as punkarsenic said, small fandom inside a bigger one. Small and it's forgotten as people move on, big and if you aren't following 5 AUs of headcanons on this character you're the scum of earth. It's good while it's still not crazy big, but comfy and everyone interacting to feel happy rather than to feel validated/popular.

[teasidesketches]

I'm with Iris and I think I prefer medium fandoms--big enough that there are other people to interact with, but small enough that things don't get insane.
Gosh do massive fandoms get insane... Most of the time if I like something with a big fandom, I just keep away from the fandom and enjoy it by myself or with a few select friends.

[VibrantFox]

both? I've been in and interacted with large and small fandoms as well as caught the tail end of big fandoms as they've shrunken or gone quiet all together. Like you said both have pros and cons so there's no "ideal" imo

i admit sometimes i prefer smaller fandoms especially when it comes to niche stuff because it's not as "noisy" or raucous as the larger ones but even then the quiet can get to a person. i'd say more often than not i'd be in the smaller fandoms in a big fandom because it helps narrow things down to what your group likes specifically or as some have said medium fandoms

what i wonder is just how can you tell the size of a fandom as your coming into it or before because it's not till i'm deep in that i realize the scale

[GesuGesu]

Can't really tell the size of my fandoms but I'm sure most of then are at least medium sized if I can find where everyone is lurking.

I'm only active in one large fandom right now, but the amount of content I find is so amazing and the official stuff never stops! I also have found very few bad eggs due to the nature of the fandom being so large.

The smaller fandoms I'm in, it's sorta fun because the author doesn't want fans profiting off fanmerch, so everything is made in limited amounts only to cover the cost of production. All fanmerch therefore is rare and limited edition because each fanartist makes very few copies of whatever they make. This pretty much turns merch into a trade-only economy

The only thing I don't like is when a small fandom grows huge very quickly and you feel like the your baby is all grown up and left you behind.. (coughs Hypnosis Mic fandom, Haikyuu fandom when the anime was released)

[vfinnigan]

Being a part of both, I've never especially cared about the size of a fandom. I just like what I like.

[racarter]

Big. Small has it’s upsides but big fandoms tend to have more variety of content. In small fandoms I’ve noticed that since everyone knows each other it’s like being in a small town where everyone knows everybody so you gotta be on your best behavior otherwise everyone is gonna know all your Problematic (TM) interests.

In a big fandom if someone gives you shit you can flip them off and go be with your fellow weirdos. In small fandoms, you and that one weird guy nobody likes are the only weirdos and frankly you don’t get along with each other... on the surface. Meanwhile non-weirdos just PM you to tell you that they are in fact also weirdos but don’t want to be alienated by the rest of the fandom.

I like being in big fandoms. Much easier to find My People that way. I personally do it by announcing what a weirdo I am and then just let the people flock to me. Sure I get crap from people over it but whatever.

Big or small fandoms, there’s always gonna be people trying to police you. But in big fandoms, it’s easier to ignore them. Harder to ignore I small fandoms when half of them are bitching and the other half hardly posts anyway. Tho in small fandoms I will say I’ve seen people avoid callouts and directly attacking anyone, it’s more of a “talk shit behind your back” type deal.

You guys don’t wanna know what I went through that time I made a Danganronpa Kink Meme. Oh man people wanted my head on a pike for that. It was hilarious. And that was a medium sized fandom. Medium sized are the most dangerous because it’s all the nosy and gossiping behavior of small fandoms but with the overdramatic callouts more common in big fandom.

Anyway, I prefer a small shipping fandom (or the no holds barred perverted side of the fandom) inside a big fandom.

[nathanKmcwilliams]

I just like what I like and then proceed to be antisocial about it. No fandoms. XD

But seriously, most of the time I focus on the things I personally like about something rather than what an aggregate collective does.

The only exception there is with Metal music. I prefer to share it (bands,songs,concerts) with others. Yet...even there I'll end up an outlier, because I like so many different styles and subgenres.

(Though...is a music scene considered a fandom? Probably not I'm guessing.)

[ar-ninetysix]

Yep! I'm assuming you missed the 2012 emo/scene phase with all the kids having dedicated blogs to All Time Low, Asking Alexandria, Black Veil Brides, Bring Me The Horizon, Fall Out Boy, Of Mice & Men, Pierce The Veil, Sleeping With Sirens... the popular Warped Tour bands, basically.

I had friends at the time who were deeeeply in that phase lol I remember following a Facebook Page wayyy back then called "Just Another Band Whore", I think? They'd post funny memes or just general like appreciation posts about these bands they obsessed over. If I had to compare 'em to anything recent, they'd be pretty similar to K-Pop fandoms, actually

[nathanKmcwilliams]

Let's see...In 2012 I was 25 and by that time I was already in the "I listen to all Metal regardless of subgenre" phase. XD so...thankfully I missed that. But I did hear lots of "serious metalheads" trashing the emo/scene bands.

But that answers my question. A music scene can also be...a fandom. Yay!

[vothnthorvaldson]

Small.
My biggest struggle with fandoms is finding one that interest me, but have enough members to have at least some activity. Most things that interest me don't really have much of a fandom.

But then when it become too big, I don't feel at ease, partially because I don't like interaction with many people at the same time, partially because I'm often short of time, and things go to fast for me even in smallish fandoms.

[NickRowler]

I prefer small. I try not to get involved with large fandoms. Even if I like popular stuff, like Rick & Morty or Rupaul's Drag Race, I stay away from hardcore fan discourse because I don't want that to ruin something I enjoy. I think I learned my lesson from the My Little Pony fandom, where the toxic behavior was pure disgusting. It 100% ruined the show for me.

[nostalgicroxas]

I'm kind of the anti-fandom or refuses to interact with the fandom because of anime conventions.

Seeing who cosplays what, who screams about what, and who buys what is a way to judge the market in your particular area, but it can also be super toxic - like Homestuck fans around my area not being too bad (during the biggest surge of fans and cosplayers), but there were still stories of hotel rooms being trashed due to bodypaint (and the finger being pointed to Homestuck cosplayers due to them being the largest group that uses body paint)...

For what fandoms I actually interact with? None... really? Large fandoms tend to be around things that are made for the masses, and don't have a longer staying power for something that I'm interested in - character development both emotional, psychological, and physical. For example, the Tsuritama fandom doesn't exist to the point that there's a tiny joke about it on tumblr from years ago: "everyone in the Tsuritama fandom, telling everyone else about Tsuritama to get them into the show". On that same level, I'm part of the minority that disliked certain parts of anime or shows that blew up to large fandoms.... I was taken kicking and screaming into Kuroshitsuji and I still haven't watched past the initial anime run even though I somewhat enjoyed most of the show - until the Queen being the villain and there being some weird contract or darker grit involved.

I think the most involved I was with a fandom was back when YuGiOh was first airing in the US and was on the YGODungeon forums... They went dark lots of times, so someone created a second forum for us to communicate on (known as Mirri), and then the YGOD came back and it just happened. I forget why I stopped really going on there, but I do recall that I met a good friend through the forums and that girl is the sole reason I go to anime conventions at all now. Or cosplay. Or taught myself to sew.

Overall, I think I'd prefer small fandoms that are all about positivity or just support the creators - like the little group of Love Stage fans, or some other manga I'm reading. Larger the fandom, the more you're to get spoilers, toxicity, and so forth -not that small fandoms are free of that negativity.

[punkarsenic]

eyyyy throw back to bandom. that was a hellish time

my chem holds up though. none of the others.

[OttoGruenwald]

I want to be in a small fandom and yet I want my comic to have a big fandom. I don't know, that's just how I feel about it.