The Dreamwidth Meme
Aug. 22nd, 2016 07:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kraitThis meme stolen from melannen and extrapenguin, to help repair the lack of posts in my journal lately.
1. Why did you sign up for Dreamwidth?
Back during LJ's Boldthrough drama, when Dreamwidth was being launched/promoted as a fan-friendly alternative journaling service, I created an account and began crossposting. I was also crossposting to Insanejournal, Journalfen, and GreatestJournal - multiple backups seemed wise. Over time, as LJ proved less and less trustworthy, and several of the alternative sites ran into maintenance issues and fell by the wayside, DW became my main and then my only fannish journal site.
2. Why did you choose your journal name?
My "first" (for certain values of first) journal name was the victim of my own stupidity; I accidentally used it on an RL friend's journal and had to rapidly change it! I wanted to keep the best features of my old name (fannish by association, but not tied to a particular fandom; animal-related; fairly unique) and at the same time take the opportunity to improve less-liked features (length, special characters). Once I had some options, I put up a poll, and that was that! :D
3. Do you crosspost? Why or why not?
I don't crosspost anywhere, now. I have a few nominal presences elsewhere, including a Tumblr which I don't post in at all, and an Imzy account which I just started last week and haven't had the time to play with yet.
4. What do you do online when you're not on DW?
I play Dragon Cave, read fanfic, look at some fannish Tumblrs (I keep a bookmarks folder of 20-30, and check about 15-20 every other day or so), check email, think about posting on DW, and (very) occasionally post to my RL journal account!
5. How about when you're not on the computer?
I work, sleep, drink an unwise amount of tea, draw, do beadwork or other crafts, go out to eat on Sundays with a friend. My RL existence is terribly boring, I'm afraid: one reason it doesn't get mentioned much here.
6. What do you wish people who read your journal knew about you?
That there's an ask post for anything they might want to know! Also that I really miss the LJ heyday when fandom was a pretty tightly-knit community, so I'm very open to meeting new people and starting conversations. You don't have to be a familiar face here; despite the username, I don't bite and I like to be pestered about fannish stuff. :D
7. What is your favorite community on Dreamwidth?
Tough question.![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
dragoncavers is one my own communities, and it lives up to the description - we're a pretty communicative and friendly bunch, which makes me really happy. Among communities that aren't mine, I'm always pointing people to kinkfinders, because the more people there, the better the recs will be!
8. What community do you wish was more active?
Pretty much all of them. :D I admit to some bias, however, toward communities related to whatever my most current fancy happens to be; right now, I'm really wishing thatutena_revolution had any kind of life to it at all...
9. Are there two people on your reading list that you think should meet?
This is not my forte - I try very hard to avoid the Geek Social Fallacies, including the fourth (Friendship Is Transitive), and I don't know my rlist in namespace. The best I can offer here is to return the question, by suggesting Please browse my reading list yourself and see if anyone on there strikes you as interesting!
10. Tell me about your default icon.
It's a (sea) krait. I drew it! I love pretty much any kind of blue wildlife, so the sea krait is my default icon even though I also have a self-drawn icon of a common krait.
11. What features do you think Dreamwidth should have that it doesn't currently?
I wouldn't mind a limited form of image hosting. Back in the LJ days, i.e. when I was younger and had more spare time and Photobucket wasn't a pile of junk doused in hatred, I enjoyed doing photo memes and "what am I reading" photo posts. If DW had some form of photo-upload ability for paid accounts, I would probably make an effort to do more things along those lines! (Bring Back The Photo Meme 2k16?)
12. What do you consider the six most "telling" interests from the list on your profile?
Fanfiction, slash, sci-fi and fantasy, xenobiology, ykiok. I think that pretty much covers the major realms of what do I like to talk about, what might scare you off, and what do I expect from you as a reader!
13. Do you have any unique interests on your user profile? What are they? How'd they get there?
Lots! Most are pairings I like; I guess fewer people on DW list favourite pairings in their interests, compared to LJ, or else my pairings are unpopular, or I've listed them in a peculiar way. (Probably six of one, half a dozen of the other.) The rest seem to be tropes/kinks, warnings, or personal references.
Tropes/kinks: gender role rejection, unequal character dynamics, power imbalances, intergenerational relationships, interspecies romance.
Policies/warnings: ykiok, there is no one true pairing.
Personal references/jokes: ritsuka is the seme - a reference to some meta I posted in a beloved LJ community; complaining about honor harrington - a gentle warning that I like the series, but will not be 100% positive when talking about it; moirallegiance is my favourite romance - a heads-up that Homestuck troll romance concepts are going to be a component of my recs, and of the pairings in my Interests list.
14. Did you have a gateway fandom? Still in it? Why or why not? Is there a community for it on DW?
Gundam Wing was my gateway fandom in terms of really entering internet fandom proper; I remember browsing web rings and slowly succumbing to the yaoi side. :D Star Wars: The Phantom Menace was my gateway fandom to the idea of fandom as more of a community, with a huge fanbase, a dedicated archive, mailing list chatter amongst fans, and my own first efforts at writing! TPM was where I really started to establish a fannish identity that persisted beyond an emailed comment on fic, with a fandom-relevant name and a 'record' of interaction beyond some fic feedback in my email outbox, signed with whatever internet pseudonym I happened to like best that day.
15. What's your current obsession? What about it captures your imagination?
Well, I fell into Utena fandom a couple of months ago, all the harder for having a 20-year climb up to it. :D I wish it was still an active fandom, but it mostly seems to be quiescent. Other than that, I'm currently fandom-hopping, with frequent fic-binges in various older fandoms. This week it's been Homestuck, a fortnight ago it was Fullmetal Alchemist, and a month ago it was Captive Prince.
16. What are you glad you did but haven't really had a chance to post about?
Caught up onaskerian's fic Midnight on the Demon Patrol! I knew it had updated with new chapters, but hadn't found the time to go and read them until last night. Major developments have happened, and I'm on the edge of my seat now waiting for more!
17. How many people on your reading list do you know IRL?
None. One day, however, I'd like that to change!
18. What don't you talk about here, either because it's too personal or because you don't have the energy?
Well, I don't discuss my RL here much, both because this is a fannish journal and that's not what people are here for, and because it's mostly deadly dull. Fandom is my escapism; I don't want to bring my mundane existence into it. Even when it's exciting, it's just not something that I think of in the context of this journal.
19. Any questions from the audience?
Ask me in the comments, or on the ask post!
20. Yes, but what are your thoughts on yaoi?
I was there for that meme. Old!fan is old. :D
21. What's your favorite thing about Dreamwidth?
The fact that it's still around! Because that means that fandom hasn't 100% drifted beyond my reach onto Tumblr, which I just can't find it in myself to embrace. It's so nice that there are still fen who want to communicate in words, and even paragraphs, rather than in picspam or Tweets or gifsets or rambling tags tacked onto same.
I also appreciate its lack of advertising; I've had a paid account as long as I've been here, because I firmly believe that if you're not the paying customer, you're the product - and the opportunity to be the former is one of the things that really sets DW apart from other fandom-heavy sites.
melannen and extrapenguin, to help repair the lack of posts in my journal lately. 1. Why did you sign up for Dreamwidth?
Back during LJ's Boldthrough drama, when Dreamwidth was being launched/promoted as a fan-friendly alternative journaling service, I created an account and began crossposting. I was also crossposting to Insanejournal, Journalfen, and GreatestJournal - multiple backups seemed wise. Over time, as LJ proved less and less trustworthy, and several of the alternative sites ran into maintenance issues and fell by the wayside, DW became my main and then my only fannish journal site.
2. Why did you choose your journal name?
My "first" (for certain values of first) journal name was the victim of my own stupidity; I accidentally used it on an RL friend's journal and had to rapidly change it! I wanted to keep the best features of my old name (fannish by association, but not tied to a particular fandom; animal-related; fairly unique) and at the same time take the opportunity to improve less-liked features (length, special characters). Once I had some options, I put up a poll, and that was that! :D
3. Do you crosspost? Why or why not?
I don't crosspost anywhere, now. I have a few nominal presences elsewhere, including a Tumblr which I don't post in at all, and an Imzy account which I just started last week and haven't had the time to play with yet.
4. What do you do online when you're not on DW?
I play Dragon Cave, read fanfic, look at some fannish Tumblrs (I keep a bookmarks folder of 20-30, and check about 15-20 every other day or so), check email, think about posting on DW, and (very) occasionally post to my RL journal account!
5. How about when you're not on the computer?
I work, sleep, drink an unwise amount of tea, draw, do beadwork or other crafts, go out to eat on Sundays with a friend. My RL existence is terribly boring, I'm afraid: one reason it doesn't get mentioned much here.
6. What do you wish people who read your journal knew about you?
That there's an ask post for anything they might want to know! Also that I really miss the LJ heyday when fandom was a pretty tightly-knit community, so I'm very open to meeting new people and starting conversations. You don't have to be a familiar face here; despite the username, I don't bite and I like to be pestered about fannish stuff. :D
7. What is your favorite community on Dreamwidth?
Tough question.
dragoncavers is one my own communities, and it lives up to the description - we're a pretty communicative and friendly bunch, which makes me really happy. Among communities that aren't mine, I'm always pointing people to kinkfinders, because the more people there, the better the recs will be! 8. What community do you wish was more active?
Pretty much all of them. :D I admit to some bias, however, toward communities related to whatever my most current fancy happens to be; right now, I'm really wishing that
utena_revolution had any kind of life to it at all... 9. Are there two people on your reading list that you think should meet?
This is not my forte - I try very hard to avoid the Geek Social Fallacies, including the fourth (Friendship Is Transitive), and I don't know my rlist in namespace. The best I can offer here is to return the question, by suggesting Please browse my reading list yourself and see if anyone on there strikes you as interesting!
10. Tell me about your default icon.
It's a (sea) krait. I drew it! I love pretty much any kind of blue wildlife, so the sea krait is my default icon even though I also have a self-drawn icon of a common krait.
11. What features do you think Dreamwidth should have that it doesn't currently?
I wouldn't mind a limited form of image hosting. Back in the LJ days, i.e. when I was younger and had more spare time and Photobucket wasn't a pile of junk doused in hatred, I enjoyed doing photo memes and "what am I reading" photo posts. If DW had some form of photo-upload ability for paid accounts, I would probably make an effort to do more things along those lines! (Bring Back The Photo Meme 2k16?)
12. What do you consider the six most "telling" interests from the list on your profile?
Fanfiction, slash, sci-fi and fantasy, xenobiology, ykiok. I think that pretty much covers the major realms of what do I like to talk about, what might scare you off, and what do I expect from you as a reader!
13. Do you have any unique interests on your user profile? What are they? How'd they get there?
Lots! Most are pairings I like; I guess fewer people on DW list favourite pairings in their interests, compared to LJ, or else my pairings are unpopular, or I've listed them in a peculiar way. (Probably six of one, half a dozen of the other.) The rest seem to be tropes/kinks, warnings, or personal references.
Tropes/kinks: gender role rejection, unequal character dynamics, power imbalances, intergenerational relationships, interspecies romance.
Policies/warnings: ykiok, there is no one true pairing.
Personal references/jokes: ritsuka is the seme - a reference to some meta I posted in a beloved LJ community; complaining about honor harrington - a gentle warning that I like the series, but will not be 100% positive when talking about it; moirallegiance is my favourite romance - a heads-up that Homestuck troll romance concepts are going to be a component of my recs, and of the pairings in my Interests list.
14. Did you have a gateway fandom? Still in it? Why or why not? Is there a community for it on DW?
Gundam Wing was my gateway fandom in terms of really entering internet fandom proper; I remember browsing web rings and slowly succumbing to the yaoi side. :D Star Wars: The Phantom Menace was my gateway fandom to the idea of fandom as more of a community, with a huge fanbase, a dedicated archive, mailing list chatter amongst fans, and my own first efforts at writing! TPM was where I really started to establish a fannish identity that persisted beyond an emailed comment on fic, with a fandom-relevant name and a 'record' of interaction beyond some fic feedback in my email outbox, signed with whatever internet pseudonym I happened to like best that day.
15. What's your current obsession? What about it captures your imagination?
Well, I fell into Utena fandom a couple of months ago, all the harder for having a 20-year climb up to it. :D I wish it was still an active fandom, but it mostly seems to be quiescent. Other than that, I'm currently fandom-hopping, with frequent fic-binges in various older fandoms. This week it's been Homestuck, a fortnight ago it was Fullmetal Alchemist, and a month ago it was Captive Prince.
16. What are you glad you did but haven't really had a chance to post about?
Caught up on
askerian's fic Midnight on the Demon Patrol! I knew it had updated with new chapters, but hadn't found the time to go and read them until last night. Major developments have happened, and I'm on the edge of my seat now waiting for more!17. How many people on your reading list do you know IRL?
None. One day, however, I'd like that to change!
18. What don't you talk about here, either because it's too personal or because you don't have the energy?
Well, I don't discuss my RL here much, both because this is a fannish journal and that's not what people are here for, and because it's mostly deadly dull. Fandom is my escapism; I don't want to bring my mundane existence into it. Even when it's exciting, it's just not something that I think of in the context of this journal.
19. Any questions from the audience?
Ask me in the comments, or on the ask post!
20. Yes, but what are your thoughts on yaoi?
I was there for that meme. Old!fan is old. :D
21. What's your favorite thing about Dreamwidth?
The fact that it's still around! Because that means that fandom hasn't 100% drifted beyond my reach onto Tumblr, which I just can't find it in myself to embrace. It's so nice that there are still fen who want to communicate in words, and even paragraphs, rather than in picspam or Tweets or gifsets or rambling tags tacked onto same.
I also appreciate its lack of advertising; I've had a paid account as long as I've been here, because I firmly believe that if you're not the paying customer, you're the product - and the opportunity to be the former is one of the things that really sets DW apart from other fandom-heavy sites.
no subject
Date: 2016-08-24 02:23 am (UTC)Fixed now. :D
(Also: yay, horse icon!)
no subject
Date: 2016-08-24 06:29 am (UTC)And yay, animal icons!