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	phosfate 2003-04-24 04:40 pm UTC (link)
	Oh dear. I feel like such an oppressor. And I like that feeling! (Reply to this)(Thread)

	nita 2003-04-24 06:10 pm UTC (link)
	Fun isn't it? ::goes out to oppress teenies for fun and...well just fun:: (Reply to this)(Parent)

	sarahchica 2003-04-24 05:02 pm UTC (link)
	It almost seems like argument for the sake of argument. (Reply to this)

	sagralisse 2003-04-24 05:21 pm UTC (link)
	Nominiee for Utterly Obvious Quote of the Week: I'm sorry to say that it's more or less true that the further you go down in age, the less mature persons you have. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	bitchysmurf 2003-04-24 06:58 pm UTC (link)
	dies So... what you're saying here is that... young people are not old...? I don't get it. (Reply to this)(Parent)

wizzard
2003-04-24 05:48 pm UTC (link)

This shouldn't be a protest, more like a debate answering the question "Should adults be involved in HP fandom?"

The answer looks at all other fandom areas... Trekkies of Star Trek may be sci-fi eccentrics, are they bad? Star Wars fans (I know only too many), are into action and thrill plus a wrinkled mush yapping bad English, but are they "off" from everyone else?

The answer is no to *most* cases of everything (as there is always an oddball mixed in).

I don't understand what he's saying here (the guy who is arguing against older people). Is he arguing for the other side at this point? Oh, and elders should not be used to mean everyone over 20 ever (even if it's you are 15 and it's true). *cries*

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sagralisse
2003-04-24 06:41 pm UTC (link)

I think it's all a part of the big problem at FA, and just another aspect of the plebe vs antiplebe war. The books are written for kids, but the powers that be at FA seem to despise any sort of immaturity whatsoever.

I dunno... seems like if you were in a fandom for books whose target market was kids, you'd be a little more... accepting? But in all the arguments I've seen over there, the mature group acts like they'd push all children from the Harry Potter fandom if they possibly could.

The attitude is alien to me, being from the Tolkien fandom. However it became more understandable to me when I realized that the majority of those with the antiplebe attitude aren't actually old enough to have kids of their own. I've always seen a very positive welcoming attitude in the Tolkien fandom toward young fans, I think because for a lot of us the books have been a part of our lives since we were kids and lots of us are introducing them to our own kids. The "I'm much more mature than the 'average' fan" attitude tends to get shot down in Tolkien groups before it can turn into the kind of problem that it is at FA.

If I wanted to be snooty, I'd say that the problem stems from the fact that HP attracts the wannabe elitists that can't hack elvish history.

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	meril 2003-04-24 07:03 pm UTC (link)
	I've noticed that too. Message to HP fandom: Hello? That's a kiddie book you're reading. Stop acting so high and mighty and let the kiddies have fun with their book. Most of the authentic kids will get sick of HP in less than a year and leave the fandom, anyway. The mental kids just stay on and on and on acting immature, regardless of age. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

darkrose
2003-04-24 07:27 pm UTC (link)

Message to HP fandom: Hello? That's a kiddie book you're reading.

There's actually room for argument on that, since JKR insists that she never intended to write a "children's book."

Part of the problem in general, at least when it comes to fic, is that while there are badfic writers in all age groups, I've noticed that "But I'm only 14!" is often used as code for "How dare you criticize my grammar and spelling! You're crushing my budding artistic talent, you mean old person, you!" The older badfic writers just say, "How dare you flame me, you jealous shit-flinging cunt!"

Of course, since I don't actually read FA (no smut), I have no idea what the dynamic there is, and I'm speaking completely ex rectum.