LogFAQs > #876195012

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Basically, first you realize that something has a lot of shitheel fans. The next step is wondering exactly what about the work in question causes those sorts of people to be fans in the first place. At that point, once your critical eye in engaged, you start to see the flaws more easier while glossing over the positives. You may notice negatives you never realized before, and your opinion of the thing is lowered. Conversely, if you experience the terrible fans BEFORE the thing in question, you may find yourself completely unable to appreciate it at all because of that same perception, whereas, if you'd been exposed to it in a vacuum, you might have been more open to enjoying it.

AH, but you forget this system is binary, and at the other end of the spectrum you have the "superfans": Those that are going to nitpick over trivial things with a fine-toothed comb, and tend to blow perceived flaws out of proportion. When you use a critical eye to engage them on THAT, you tend to find that they are fill of shit, and have no merit to their claims at all. There's numerous ways of being a terrible fan, in essence.

Which brings me back to my point: Don't engage with these fans. There's no reason to, and no one is forcing you. It's analogous to how you and I don't care about "professional" reviewers to being with; we don't let what THEY have to say affect what WE like. But some people (like my dad) do heavily lean on reviews, to the point where it can change or distort their desire to see/read/play something, let alone how they perceive the media. That's their choice, though, they don't have to let outside forces manipulate their opinions. This is the same thing with these fans.

It's also why I almost never, ever visit game boards on Gamefaqs, because it's nothing but a cesspool of the superfans clans battling it out and shitposting each other, leaving anyone not belonging to the various factions caught in the crossfire.
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PotD's resident Film Expert.