Welcome to Gaia! ::

Yes, but believe me, there are some fans who refuse to learn anything about Phantom-related things besides "GERIK IS HAWT," which gets rather tiresome when you encounter it enough.

I hate when I'm talking to fans and I mention the book and they are like "Book? Theres a book?"

No, that's pretty much what I am addressing. People who claim to be diehard fan's but are consumed by "n00biness" would bother you because how they express/experience/accept the Phantom Phandom conflicts with how you express/experience/accept the Phantom Phandom. People who just like the 2004 film and only know about it and neglect every other aspect of Phantom of the Opera/Phantom related things are not less fans, although yeah; they can be annoying to people who take time to learn and to know a lot about everything Phantom of the Opera. I mean; that whole scenario really reflects the person being annoyed rather then the annoyance, as those who have n00bish tendencies are not bothered by people who do have a massive amount of intelligence and are not bothered that they do not possess said intelligence.



I see what you mean; newbies and n00bs are not quite the same thing as one is generally unknowledgeable but bearable while the other is unknowledgeable and unbearable. However; newbie or n00b they are equal fans. Attitude and how polite/comprehensive someone is to the Phantom of the Opera does not coincide with their being in the Phandom. Rude, obnoxious, ignorant people are still Phantom Phans- just like how rude, obnoxious, ignorant anime fans or rude, obnoxious ignorant Star Trek fans are still apart of their various fandoms. Fandoms are not oligarchies or ruled by the majority; people can't just ignore n00bs or pick and choose who is in the fandom. Saying "they aren't a good enough fan or nice enough/smart enough person, so they are not in the fandom," is not how it works. That's what I'm saying. Complaining about n00b Phantom Phans is pretty much the same as complaining about various people you've met, talked to, and didn't like for whatever personal reason; the only connected factor is that all the sour/unsavory conversations replayed here happend to be about The Phantom of the Opera.

I know that's not what people here are doing, per say, but I felt it should be addressed. The Phantom Phandom seems to have shifted into three factions, one complaining about the other and it all seems rather self serving in my opinion. I think it's unfortunate.

Knowing things like that doesn't make me a better phan than you, it just makes me a better educated phan, and I've never said otherwise, thank you. xd

Now personally, I don't consider people who only like the 2004 movie actual Phantom phans, any more than I consider people who only like 'The Draco Trilogy', Harry Potter fans.

And Scully, you're complaining about clique behavior in a group that is essentially just one big clique itself? rofl

Precisely what was said before. The fans who basically just insert what they want Phantom stuff to be (there are a lot of them out there, believe me) I don't consider to be real fans because they actively disregard whatever other information is out there about the fandom. But mainly it's just based on intelligence. I don't like to interact (on an equal basis, that is) with fans wo talk like n00bs, act like n00bs, and otherwise are n00bs. Therefore, by my own standards, they are not real fans. If we're going to get very technical about all of this, everybody who likes anything Phantom-related in the vaguest sense can be a fan. Fan just refers to someone who is passionate about and/or follows a certain thing or theme. So technically, yes, no fan is more of a fan than any other, but this is simply because everyone has their own measurement of what a fan is. Ask everybody who considers themself a fan for the definition of what a fan is, and you'll get practically an all-encompassing group. However, ask different individuals and you'll get all kinds of different responses. So generally, no fan is more of a fan than any other, but we can all have our own opinion on the issue, and we always will.

Better educated in a certain field, perhaps, Fox. If we are going to get all technical on ourselves again, your terminology still implies that you think yourself superior. The simple use of the term "better educated," which, as you probably know, is often used to put others down, suggests this. The fact of the matter is you put more time into your fandom while I put time into other things. This isn't nessecarilly a good thing either. It just is. It is this attitude of which I speak.

(And I have no idea what the hell I was thinking when writing that "It all seems to bepend on agrees". I think it's supposed to be "degrees".)

And while I'm at it, I might as well shoot one back:



Huhhh.... Now, now, doesn't this sound familliar, hmm?

Same argument I used for the "Phangirls" list on my website, which, I hasten to point out, you and only you took objection to. Strange, the irony, no?

Yes, we all judge fans based on how we view the fandom from a personal level and we all think to ourselves "well they are not a real fan" but it's really not anyone's place to state who is and who isn't, that's pretty much the jest of my spiel here. Of course we generally like to talk to people about your hobbies who feel and act towards the hobby the same way we do; I just don't think discussing how some Phan n00b misspells Erik should really be apart of that if you are (supposedly) the 'better Phan'. Know what I mean?

I take objection to it. You seem, as of right now, rather elitists and elitists are irritating in any fandom.

Seeing people 'less educated' then you in Phantom of the Opera as 'lesser Phans' is ridiculous as there is no standard in which to judge someone other then your own and your standard is not a universal understanding by any means. Well all view other Phans with our own opinions of what it is to be a Phan but not one of us has any right or authority over dictating who is and who isn't; no such power even exists. Having knowledge on the subject doesn't give you more leverage, maybe in an academic sense; but, you are not any better then anyone else for knowing what you know. You choose to research and understand as much as you do, it is not a requirement- there is no requirement other then liking Phantom of the Opera. There is nothing in which to base your 'Phan standing' on. You can most certainly view yourself as superior but no one is required or even tempted to acknowledge that; just because you choose to be 'superior in knowledge of all things Phantom' does not denote others to see you as such.

And; The 2004 musical film is a large part of the Phantom Phandom and if you're a fan of the 2004 film, its music, and its characters, then you are a Phantom of the Opera Phan. Why just exclude the film? If someone is only a Phan of the book are they too not a "real" Phantom Phan? It seems most people have a stigmata against the 2004 film then having any real views on the Phandom; many people see the film as having opened the flood gates for irritating n00bs and people who "don't like it as much as I do but just say they do" and instantly get a sour taste in their mouth when a new Phan they have met mentions it- even if it was their introduction into the Phandom, they have "moved on" and choose to be "more educated".