domestic, again

I think I managed to cause a break in the dry weather by purchasing and setting up a rotary airer yesterday, although perhaps not, since I did manage to dry four loads of laundry on it.

Now that the giant buddleia has been chopped back, the front yard looks like it could be made into something resembling a garden. I might actually be able to clear it out and plant things in it, although this will involve figuring out what I can grow, aside from weeds. Purchasing plants is also a bit of a problem, as I don't have a car.

In other news, BH has a conference of some kind in London on Wednesday, so I may go down with him and have four or five hours to kill in central London. What should I do with that time? I need to end up near Liverpool Street station. At the moment I'm considering: renewing my British Library card, visiting the British Museum, checking out the Tate Modern.

Someday soon my posts will become more interesting; I did a bit of writing over the weekend, so perhaps there will even be fanfic on the horizon.

Blame and Praise

So, content. Sooner than expected, because I found that I had some things to say.

( under this cut is stuff about hate memes, which I'm cutting because presumably some of you are doing what I've been doing and trying to ignore the whole matter )

Now, on to the bit I'm not going to cut. There's been a spate of BNF-hatred going around, probably in conjunction with the hate memes. And I don't like to see that, because there are a lot of people on my friends list who I would describe as BNFs. Some of them are big fish in small ponds; some of them are known across fandoms for the force of their opinions or the quality of their writing. Some of them would deny the label altogether; probably most of them would. And I want to praise them all, because each and every one of them brings something into fandom that makes it a better place.

Some of them write really, really well, and some of them write really well and really frequently.

Some of them run challenges and ficathons; some of them attract hundreds of participants and some of them only attract a dozen, but each and every one of them brings fans into contact with each other in a positive way, and each and every one produces some good fic.

Some of them run recommendation sites or journals; I love these because they introduce me to good fic in new fandoms and (selfishly) because nothing beats the thrill of seeing my own name up there with authors I admire, put there by someone whose opinion I trust.

Some of them produce interesting opinions about whatever they're watching or reading; some of them come up with fandom meta which makes me stop and say, "Oh, now I get it."

Some of them run archives, which is absolutely the most thankless task in fandom, and also the most important. Some of them run newsletters here on livejournal; this is also a lot of work but an invaluable resource.

Some of them maintain communities or moderate mailing lists; again, these enable fans with similar interests to find each other and to engage with each other's opinions and fiction.

Some of them are quick to offer support to new people in their fandoms or genres, from beta reading to advice on where to post a story. Most of them are incredibly gracious most of the time.

Some have become famous in fandom for their sheer humanity; they're just so supportive and pleasant that everyone wants to know them.

Some of them contribute in some other way that I can't think of off the top of my head, but that's the point: the BNF fairy does not come down and tap you with her magic wand to give you status. You earn that status by contributing to your fandom or to fandom at large consistently and fruitfully. The people I consider BNFs (on my friends list or not) all spend a lot of energy making fandom a better place. I hardly think it needs to be said that they don't have time to wander livejournal looking for people to oppress into conformity, but they don't. They're too busy doing all the things I mentioned above, all of which make online fandom better for someone else.

(And yes, I love those of you who aren't BNFs, or who wish to disclaim that label, because even if you aren't known far and wide, each and every one of you brings something wonderful to this online place of ours.)