Musing On Types Of Fandom

It's interesting looking at the different levels of fandom out there.

For instance:
I am a fan of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. A TV show. This is your basic, common-or-garden type fandom.

But then:
I am a fan of particular writers on Buffy. In particular, Doug Petrie, Joss Whedon, Tim Minear, and Jane Espenson. I know that their episodes will be really enjoyable, and I look forward to them. I am also likely to search for other things that they've written.

So, not only am I a fan of the show, but I'm a fan of the show's writers.

Also, as someone who sits in front of a computer all day, I have looked up a large number of Buffy-related websites. And there's one that I really enjoy: Whedonesque. I'm a big fan of this site.

And then, recently, I realised that I don't just read Whedonesque indiscriminately. Instead, I scan the posts, and always feel much more interested when certain people are posting. There are a few who make me pretty annoyed, and some who provoke a lot of eye-rolling. And then, there are my favourites: Saje, LadyBrick, theonetruebix, Simon, gozzi, MadHatter, newcj, zeitgeist, and QuoterGal. They are the people for whom I return to the site, over and over again.

So, really, my fandom exists on four levels. I'm a fan of the show itself, the writers, a website of fandom, and specific fans on that website!

Weird.