Astrokid248
Well-Known Member
I understand your explanation of the two words, craft and fandom, and why you chose them for the tag line. What is derailing it for me is the syntax of Craft the Fandom.
Accepting craft, which is debatable whether and how much people perceive it as feminine, accepting that word for our modus operandi, we build, sew, sculpt, mold, cast, vac form, mill, carve........we craft stuff.....
The word fandom, this is not what we craft.......we craft stuff. Fandom is people. The dictionary definition--"All the fans of a sport, an activity, or a famous person." "The microcosm made up of people who are fans of a fiction genre." We are the fandom and we craft the things we see and love from whatever fantasies we induldge in.
Crafted by Fandom -or- Fandom Crafted -- there you have "people" and "they are making stuff"......which is what we are and what goes on here.....
Craft the Fandom is the same as saying Craft the Audience, Craft the Group, Craft the Community.......just doesn't make any sense to me as English language.
Shylaah
Actually, the new motto is "Craft YOUR fandom." The implications are much different with the word "your" instead of "the" in between those words. Earlier, I was pretty meh about this motto, but after Art's explanation I really dig it, so I'm gonna try and explain to you what I see from it.
Fandom as a whole has moved past the dictionary definition. "Fanbase" fits the old definition much better. Fandom now means both the fans themselves and what we add to the media we consume. Fandom is the late-night forum arguments, the cosplay contests, the artist alleys selling high quality fan art alongside original works. It's the sum of the people who love a particular work and the things they create to show their love. It's props and action figures and tattoos and novelty t-shirts and your second child's middle name. We are collectively a fanbase, but our interactions with each other, with the creators, and with the film/game/show/book/comic itself form the fandom. In that respect, the new motto is perfect.
Everything on this forum is about fandom. We're all contributing to our various fandoms, from those who make single props for display only and those who make full-fledged cosplay to those who frequent the junkyard and those who argue about spoilers in the Walking Dead thread. We are enriching the culture and changing what was once a consumer product into something else entirely. "Craft your fandom" really encompasses everything I've seen here.
Additionally, I think three words is the perfect length for a motto. Two is way too brief, but more than four is getting into mouthful territories.