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Meant for Moonie fans but more than one of these could apply to just about any fandom on the internet!
How to Act In General:
★ If you haven't watched a certain series in a franchise be willing to watch it. In case of Sailor Moon if you seriously want to get into the fandom you definitely need to watch the JP subbed anime! You should also seriously consider reading the manga. Watching PGSM or Sera Myu is mostly not necessary, BUT gains you Moonie Cred. Also the English Dub is one big joke nowadays so if that's all you're familiar with you're going to get called out for being a no0b.
★ The old Mixx translation of the manga is mostly considered to be a joke along with the old English Dub. Feel free to debate fan translations vs Kodansha translation until the end of time though.
★ Grammar Nazis are quite universally hated. However talkn n txt tlk lik dis is also, especially on forums.
★ Just because a new series is out, this does NOT mean the franchise is ruined FOREVER. The old series you love did not magically disappear just because there's a new add on.
★ The Sailor Moon fandom as a whole is known for having Clique Wars. Avoid these at all costs as they are usually petty. This usually means avoiding both sides equally and appearing online as neutral as possible. Feel free to hate IRL though.
★ NEVER claim to be a hardcore fan unless you can seriously back this claim up. People will test you.
★ There's always someone better and it can seem really hard to keep up. However this doesn't matter. Just enjoy the fandom as much as you can and don't worry about arbitrary placements.
★ The ignore feature is your best friend. If you can't stand someone put them on ignore and keep them there. Arguing with people online gets you nowhere fast.
In Regards to Fan Made Materials:
★ Do NOT be a totalitarian shipper. Everyone is allowed to have their own OTP no matter how much you don't like the other character. Yes, even Usagix*insert someone you hate here* should not be bashed on unfairly.
★ Do NOT hold an iron grip on canon. Let other people in the fandom have their own opinions on characters, plot, theories, etc. Agree to disagree will get you pretty far on the 'net. But whatever you do, do NOT push canon aside unless you have a damn good reason for it. For Sailor Moon in particular, this usually involves a person liking the anime over the manga or whatever. Author's notes/statements and bonus materials are often subject to the 'does this count as canon?' question. The answer to that is that it depends on the individual fan.
★ If you post art anywhere, do NOT expect people to like it. Same goes for fanfic. But if you post over and over and over again about how much you hate someone's art/fic, you are equally acting like a t**t, unless it's a known trollpic/fic. Any positive comment is a bonus.
★ When writing fanfic avoid Mary Sue tropes as much as possible unless you really want all that hatemail. In general avoid making any Otaku Senshi that are more powerful than any of the main 5 Senshi. Yes, even if your Otaku Senshi is based off a galaxy or something. It's probably a good idea to avoid 'Sailor Earth' as much as possible unless you REALLY know what you're doing. Also avoiding UsagixOC is probably a good idea. It's probably best to read up on common Mary Sue-isms.
★ That being said in general be tolerant of everyone's Otaku Senshi. Most of them are made just for fun and not meant to be seriously critiqued and are mostly used as a way for the author to explore the fandom.
★ If you have some really extreme fetishes, do NOT use your fandom as a way to act out those fetishes publicly online. Keep it private. Unless you really want to be the subject of ridicule. I know the internet is known for this stuff but seriously it's not a good idea.
★ Do NOT negatively critique something unless the author has specifically asked for feedback or officially published that thing. This is one of the biggest mistakes people make internet-wide and why the previous bullets are so important to remember. MOST of the content on the internet has not been made to be taken seriously and have just been made to kill time. Still people love sharing their opinions even when they're not wanted and odds are they don't even care if they're hurtful to the author's creativity.
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