Thank you for raising the maturity level of the 'net!

[ladyvyola]

::no names or links because we all know what's going on and I'm lazy and just want to discuss the meta aspects, and speaking as someone who survived both SENAD and Master_Apprentice and wars over both chanslash and RPS::

What I am loving about Smallville livejournal fandom is that, even through the "Tizzy in the Teapot" business and now the Mercy discussion, the arguments and debates are staying centered on the "facts".

When someone says "The story didn't work for because I don't think Lex would do that", she backs it up with canon elements that support the contention. And when someone else says, "But this and this make me believe he could", there's canon for that, too. Sure, personality has colored some of the comments, but that's simply human nature and honest public apologies have been offered all around when necessary.

It's exhilarating as a reader, writer, and all-around fan to see so many well-thought out theories. It stretches my mind when I test the latest version of Dark!Clark or Redeemed!Lex against my own pet beliefs and biases. And the fact that so much of the debate is sparked by well-written fic is like cream cheese icing on a dark chocolate cake (mmmmmm!) -- we can skip the groans at lazy grammar and shoddy workmanship and get straight to the good stuff.

Comments

[raincitygirl.livejournal.com]

Why thank you [bows graciously, does the QEII hand wave]

In all seriousness, I have noticed a much higher level of...civility in blog/LJ culture than in other internet fora. People do tend to display an ability to stick ot the facts, separate between the argument and the person making it, and when they do blow up, they know how to climb down and apologize.

[ladyvyola.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I think part of it is the "all or nothing" aspect of it -- you can't edit comments, only delete them, and while you can edit entries, other people have often quoted you elsewhere so there's still a record. Sure, occasionally somebody wipes things out and all we're left to go on is their version of events, but I've noticed that that tends to happen more with miffed teenies (their emotional age, if not their chronological age) who decide to take their bat and ball and leave rather than in honest discussions.

The "friend list" thing also helps -- it's not like being on a list where sometimes your only options are either being trapped listening to people you object to or to unsubscribe totally. LJ makes it a lot easier to distance yourself from frustration (if you're a reasonable person who doesn't actively seek to raise your own blood pressure!).