We've All Been There, Haven't We?

[major_clanger]

From akirlu, a link to a very thought-provoking article by Michael Suileabhain-Wilson on Five Geek Social Fallacies. Written from by a gamer, but noted as being applicable to 'geek' social groupings in general, it is certain to elicit painful groans of recognition from anyone involved in sf fandom.

GSF1 ('Ostracizers are Evil) and GSF5 ('Friends Do Everything Together') are probably the one's I've witnessed the unfortunate consequences of most frequently (specifically, all too many Convention Restaurant Trips from Hell). Thinking about it though, GSF4 ('Friendship is Transitive') is another one I've seen a lot of, although it's perhaps less noticeable as it tends to lead more to awkwardness or mild embarrassment rather than active angst. But there's definitely a lot of food for thought in here, especially in light of the 'Is Fandom a Safe Space?' panel we're planning to run at Concussion.

Comments

[surliminal.livejournal.com]

Isn't that the panel we ended up being on together at Worldcon?!

The GSFs have been around an awful long time - surprised you've just found em..

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

I must admit, I'd forgotten about them. I see the page is dated just over 2 years ago, but I thought it predated that.

[purpletigron.livejournal.com]

I'm sure I recall this from my Usenet days in the early 1990s.

[daveon.livejournal.com]

I've seen the unhappy results of GSF4 gone mad in local SF groups.