We All Can't Be Internet Famous
Bringing up certain topics is a no-no if you want to avoid wank. sailorptah makes the following initial post in the Hellsing com on eljay:

"There's an interesting series of posts which metafandom has been following, about the term "BNF." It stands for Big Name Fan, and was originally a complimentary term (for the fans who are especially well known in a given fandom), but to some it has changed into a derogatory term (for the fans who are so indiscriminately loved that they can start writing complete trash and their praises will still be sung).

I say this because I'd never heard the term used in Hellsing fandom (or any anime fandom, come to think of it; metafandom mostly focuses on Western fandoms, like Harry Potter, Firefly, Star Wars, etcetera), but it brings up an interesting question.

Who are the BNFs in Hellsing fandom? I mean BNF in the complimentary sense, as in: which people are, within the fandom, famous?

Thess, Pu-sama, and the Solid&Etc artist are the ones that immediately jump to mind. What say you?"


Sounds to me like someone is trying to get proclaimed a BNF for their efforts in the fandom. The responses to this post are varied. Some proclaim the poster a BNF, some other members of the com. Some call the poster out on her supposedly innocent intentions.

sailorptah later edited the post to add (likely due to certain comments that she received):

"Edit: Mittsie, Dreadnot, and Red Anne Bonny have been mentioned. So has Blood Knight's Rip, who is definitely well-known, despite criticisms.

By the way, this is not the Official List of The Only People Who Matter In The Hellsing Fandom; this is not meant to allude to usage of the term BNF in the crazy, crazy HP fandom; and this is not being forwarded to government agents for use as evidence against you in the upcoming secret trials. Certainly not. Please put all such thoughts out of your minds ^_^"

Isn't it the mark of a BNF to proclaim ignorance at knowing what a BNF is?

ETA: Fandom Wank gets a baleeted shout out, and not surprisingly, sailorptah's post was subsequently edited yet again to add:

"Edit 2: In the interest of having an objective discussion (and because I'm tired of being accused of ego-stroking), please do not mention me as a possible BNF. I'm not doing this because I'm hard up for a compliment; I'm doing it out of a genuine curiosity about the topic. So, talk about what fans are well known (or somewhat well known), talk about what makes them well known, talk about whether the term BNF is legitimate or not - give me interesting thoughts and opinions about it - but leave me out of it. Got it? Good."