Gatekeeping Newcomers - Voltra Online

grost

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There's something foul about the air here...

Back in my freshman year of high school, I borrowed one of my mom's Nirvana shirts. I casually listened to the band from time to time and I just felt like wearing it.
I got two different interactions that day from people in the same friend group:
First, one of the guys said something like "Oh cool, Nirvana! What's you're favourite song?". It was a nice interaction.
Then, later in the day two other guys started grilling me about the band, saying if I couldn't name 5 songs that weren't Smells Like Teen Spirit and Heart Shaped Box, then I wasn't allowed to wear the shirt.
Since I only casually listened to them without paying a whole lot of attention, I couldn't really name too many songs.
After that I stopped listening to Nirvana since I felt bad about it.

I see this so often online, and it really makes me angry, especially when it's in communities that are supposed to be welcoming and inclusive. Huge fans will push new fans away because of this.
I want people to enjoy the things I enjoy, I don't want to push them away, I want to have other people around me that I can talk about these things I like with, I don't want to be the only person I know that knows about this one thing. I don't understand why others don't do the same.

Anyway, stupid rant over. What are your thoughts?

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LittleSnail

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People need to understand that it's ok for someone not to be really into something. Maybe they like one or two songs who cares ya know. It just really silly.

Priestess of Pie

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I don't understand where the logic is in scaring newcomers away from something you enjoy? Here you have the perfect person to share all the things you love about something with and instead you're making them pass a test. Wild.

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Hydrangea

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♪ (/・。・)/ Sweet dreams.

Seems really stupid to me. Those kind of fans are pretty much jerks to any new or casual fans but that doesn't stop anyone from listening to the songs they like/love. It's okay to enjoy only a few songs as long as you're okay with it and happy.

Dean

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I'm sorry you went through that! Gate keeping is hurtful,and definitely not cool. I notice it a lot on social media in the music group I'm in. The main way I listen to music is on Pandora,and there have been plenty of times I've heard artists I previously hadn't known about. More often than not,I'll end up liking only one or two of their songs,which is totally fine! I know a few Nirvana songs,but I'm not a 'super fan' by any means. One of my favorite bands is Nine Inch Nails,but I don't know every song,and there are some tracks I just don't like.

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Xanthan

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@grost: I totally get it. Though I don't approve either. I am part of a few fandoms where the material spans for years and years, wheel of time being one of them. And all too often I see this. It is like some unspoken rule or contest to be the #1 super fan but it turns out to be a size contest with everyone laying theirs out on a table and nobody truly measures up. I enjoy what I enjoy. If you are a day 1 or year 1 fan and wanna chat lets chat. Lemme know where you're at in the show or material or whatever and I'll meet you. Too often, as humans and within society we don't do this. Whether fandom or life, we don't meet people where they are. They are either on our level or not. It is too rigid and black and white. And frankly it is just sad because you may be ruining the experience for someone and now they'll never know the joy you have. All because of someone being a......a.....a real mean person lol

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Glume

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Every time I see this happening, I go off. Gatekeeping is such BS. It tends to happen a bit more if you're of a feminine persuasion too, as though you can't possibly know things about cool-stuff if you're not a guy. I personally have a disability that effects my memory. I listen to a LOT of songs, I know all the words, but I can't for the life of me recall specific song titles on cue. My brain just does not work that way. So not only are these people gatekeeping when grilling me, they're being horrible ablest and I let them know right away what crap humans they are for doing so. Just let people enjoy things! If you've got a passion, share it with the world. Teach people instead of shoving them away from what you like for no reason.

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Kitalpha Hart

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Are ya ready, guyz?!

And then those same people wonder why there's never any new fans
Cuz of asshats like you, ya flaccid dildo

Put ya guns awn!

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Another Movie Addict

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I've been around a lot of those mega fans, and I tend to steer clear of that fandom because of those asshats. Though these days I wear almost nothing but fan shirts. Mostly RWBY, but thankfully I haven't run into elitests yet.

There is a boomer in my furry group who's kind of like that with everything. Like you're not a real furry if you haven't read these really obscure and old comic series. Granted when I say everything I mean it.

Hadassah

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I usually have the impression that the sort of people that tend to be the loudest gatekeepers have the hardest time understanding specific criticism about the thing they love, or worse, can't stand it when things change. Fanfiction and headcanons are discouraged (Or some headcanons become the "accepted canon" within circles), and when musical artists change and evolve, many fans take the "Their first # albums were much better than the last two, they must have sold out." Bad things are imposed as external, rather than just personal to the Gatekeeper's taste.

Then again, I am not in any mainstream fandoms, likely because I am not so hyper passionate about any particular topic. I love a bunch of things but I am not going to get into a shouting match with anyone who thinks they like it "better" either.

vengeance

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I don't find anything wrong with people who casual listen to a band wearing a shirt of that band. However wearing a band shirt while not being able to name a single song or nothing 0% about the artist? Yeh no. I think 2-3 years back a reporter went to a belgium festival and asked people who wore a band shirt to say something about that band. 95% procent knew nothing about the band shirt they wore. Nothing. They asked a guy with a Beatles shirt to name a song and he didn't know a single Beatles song.

boyrrito

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[redacted]

DevilkinBoi

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I'm used to being alone in some fandoms, so I tend to keep it to myself, though I have tried to get friends interested as well. Anyway, on the gatekeeping, my brother did that to me some time ago. We both like the band Muse, but my memory on every single one of their songs isn't the best. I can't instantly recall the name of the song or album it's from. And one time, he was playing one of their old songs and grilled me on the name. I knew the name, but being put on the spot like that didn't help me recall it. Since I wasn't able to answer, he got all up in arms about it. "You're not a true Muse fan then!" :/ It's stupid. It's not like you have to know every single little detail to be a fan. Just let people enjoy the things they do.

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Hadassah

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@vengeance: That's an interesting take and perfectly acceptable, though I think there's a context that I would usually incorporate into my rationalization. Culture is not universal. Sure, music is global in a lot of ways, but the music isn't always what is absorbed into the multi-media zeitgeist.

Album covers for Dark Side of the Moon or Abbey Road are visual iconography that can breach any language barrier. These are pieces of art that have been recreated, changed, completely reconstructed within other genres to a point that frankly, most people might not recognize the images from the Beatles, but from a cartoon or anime that mimicked the visuals. I'd be a little confused if someone walked up to me and interrogated me on just how much a HIM fan I was because I thought the heartogram on my shirt was just cool. Heartograms are cool, but I couldn't begin to name a single Ville Valo song.

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Forums Serious Talk Gatekeeping Newcomers

grost

LittleSnail

Priestess of Pie

Hydrangea

Dean

Xanthan

Glume

Kitalpha Hart

Another Movie Addict

Hadassah

vengeance

boyrrito

DevilkinBoi

Hadassah

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