HELLO.

[elapses]

SO I LEFT CLASS EARLY TODAY TO DRIVE MY DAD TO THE DMV, only to discover (in an ironic twist, seeing as I had his car) he was gone. I called him and he said something about "having two meetings" and he's going tomorrow instead, but he didn't want to bother me in class. WHICH, WHATEVER, but isn't telling your daughter not to come get you so she doesn't ditch her next class for no reason (especially after last week, OH GOD) what text messaging was INVENTED FOR IN THE FIRST PLACE? >:(

WHATEVER, WORLD, I AM GOING TO BE A STUDENT-DELINQUENT AND SIT HERE AND WATCH LAST NIGHT'S FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS.


Idk if you remember my purse dilemma, but I ended up buying the blue one from the place and about a week ago I got the package, and inside was NOT, in fact, a strawberry purse, but the ugliest little faux-leather crocodile wallet I have EVER seen in my life. I emailed them about exchanging the thing I got for the thing I bought, but I think the guy misunderstood me, because he was all "well we can process your return for AMICI ACCESSORIES STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE and refund you and then you can buy a new purse!" BUT I DO NOT WANT A NEW PURSE, I want to be free of ugly crocodile wallet, and I want the purse I bought. YOU FUCKED UP, AND YOU SHOULD FIX IT. I really just need to call them, but I keep remembering at odd hours :( Except for now, when it is actually the middle of the day. I have no idea why I am writing a whiny LJ entry instead of calling them right now.

But I actually didn't decide to post so I could be fussy, I wanted to make a poll about the pimping of new fandoms (and pretend, for the sake of argument, that the new fandom in question is not something you have seen everywhere already and have whatever preconcieved notions about-- it is new, relatively fresh, and you do not):

[Poll #1300985]

Comments

[unlovablehands.livejournal.com]

Actually "Ang! This has psychics in!" worked for Supernatural for a while, but I got tired of it in S2 anyway.

[elapses.livejournal.com]

YOUR KINK IS REALLY CONSISTENT.

[aliice.livejournal.com]

i heart your polls

[elapses.livejournal.com]

i heart you!

by the way, have you seen last night's fnl yet? i just finished it and TEARS.

[book-babe.livejournal.com]

um, you're sort of the friend that i was thinking of, though lol we are not fandom friends really at all, and how we got into the office togetherish.

i'm not sure this holds for other poeple.

also that fucking sucks about class, i'm sorry.

[elapses.livejournal.com]

hahaha, GOD I CAN BE IRRITATING.

And regarding class: my life is very difficult, you know.

[barilace.livejournal.com]

LMAO. I completely read a part of your poll incorrectly. Ignore my answers. Alright? *hides face*

[elapses.livejournal.com]

I was wondering what crazy person is turned off by pretty picspams. YOU CAN GO BACK AND FILL IT OUT IF YOU CLICK INTO THE POLL, YOU KNOW.

[thelittlespy.livejournal.com]

Because I am contrary, excessive, sloppy enthusiasm for a show makes me NOT want to watch it. It makes no sense, but if pimping lacks dignity, I will probably not even give something a go. A well-written paragraph by someone whose taste I trust goes MUCH further than picspam and exclamation points. (And maybe it's just me, but I don't care about picspam unless it's a show I watch.)

But I'm totally ambivalent about the whole idea of pimping shows, anyway. I will certainly say good things about a show or recommend it, but past a certain point, if someone doesn't want to watch a show I think is wonderful, then I can't sit down and hold their eyelids open. ALSO, I can get a little snobbish about it: for instance, I may talk about XF incessantly, but I never try to make people watch it, because I feel like, if you are awesome enough to deserve that show, you can find it on your own.

Wow, I'm really cranky about these things, apparently!

[elapses.livejournal.com]

It's okay, I'm contrary too! And this poll is actually a useless way to measure these things, because (for me at least!) so much of it depends on who it's coming from. Enthusiasm (and I didn't mean the sloppy kind) from a person I know I tend to agree with will pique my curiosity, but enthusiasm from someone else can just as easily sour me on something for no... real reason. It's the same with picspams of fandoms I'm not familiar with-- there are maybe 4-7 people who could easily lure me in with one, but in the end I'm much more likely to scroll past something I'm not familiar with. BECAUSE I AM A CRANKY STICK IN THE MUD.

ALSO, I can get a little snobbish about it: for instance, I may talk about XF incessantly, but I never try to make people watch it, because I feel like, if you are awesome enough to deserve that show, you can find it on your own.

[mushfromnewsies.livejournal.com]

I forgot to say -- I can only imagine being compelled to watch something if someone demonstrates that they can actually articulate what is good about it, and if I agree that those things are good. Then, if I do watch it, and I decide it's none of that, it's just crap, well of course I am always right!

Basically The X-Files has ruined me for all TV. I have had a few flings -- The West Wing, Law and Order, Law and Order: SVU, The Office, but they were just for fun. And they were over in a few months, and I either didn't get involved in fandom, or didn't like much of what I saw of it.

Except for Spaced! Spaced rocks.

[elapses.livejournal.com]

I assumed the articulation was somewhat implied, I cannot imagine someone really being persuaded to watch something by one of those fangirls, or anyone who just says "UGH, THIS IS THE BEST SHOW ON TV" over and over (but maybe the "BEST SHOW" thing is a personal pet peeve?).

There is definitely something about XF that makes it something of a crown jewel fandom, though.

[silverstars.livejournal.com]

Oh, Alex, you always have the best polls!

One of my biggest pet peeves EVER is when someone tries to force a show on me. There is a difference between enthusiasm and obnoxious overhype. I don't think everyone realizes that.

[elapses.livejournal.com]

I don't think everyone realizes that.
THEY MUST NOT, OR THEY WOULD STOP ALREADY.

But the more I think about it, the more I realize how TOTALLY SUBJECTIVE the whole thing is. A lot of the time it will take a lot more than a picspam to make me want to watch something, because I skip them and I'm constantly forming weird opinions about things I don't watch in my head, but on the other hand, do you remember last winter and thecolorbetween and her picspams for the Palace? I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW FAST I JUMPED ON THAT BANDWAGON.

But yeah, there's nothing more off-putting than feeling like some show is being shoved down your throat.

[veils.livejournal.com]

Apparently...pretty much everything turns me off new fandoms :/ HOW DO I EVEN WATCH THIS MUCH TV?

[elapses.livejournal.com]

BECAUSE YOU LOVE ME, PRETTY MUCH.

[adinfinitum.livejournal.com]

Okay, I think I'm a really obnoxious TV watcher. I love to be caplocky and exclamation pointy, but for the most part, it's just out of my uncontrollable excitement rather than to get people to really watch? But I'd be lying if I said I didn't try to get people to watch things! Sometimes I do get obnoxiously "OH MY GOD IF YOU DON'T WATCH THIS YOU'RE MISSING OUT IN LIFE" but it's only about select shows (I think I do that with the X-Files sometimes? I tell myself it's okay though because it's not empty flailing! It usually has some substance to back it up on my part. USUALLY.) I know people have an irrational (or rational?) hate of people who do that, but I...Don't really care about that stuff? It's like, if I'm gonna watch it, I'm gonna watch it. Which I guess gets back to most of my flails being for me and other people who watch rather than to get new people to start.

What weirdly bothers me more is something that becomes like the hot new thing. If I feel like everyone on my flist just started watching something, I like to be a rebel and refuse to watch it. WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME, I DON'T KNOW. It's kind of like, so many people love that show, it doesn't need my love on top of it! But usually when I think like that, I'm missing out. (I DID THAT WITH FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS.)

ANYHOW! Pretty much anything get me to watch a show, but it really depends on my mood. I'm open to most things (LULZ, EXCEPT NEVER SUPERNATURAL, sorry dudes) but most of the time, I don't get around to watching things because I'm either too busy or just plain lazy. Or I just get way too comfortable in my little TV niche. See: The West Wing. Which I know I'll love and have been meaning to watch for ages, but still haven't!

MEH. WHATEVA!

PS: I think my answers actually explain why people never start watching things I suggest to them or ask them to! D: D: THIS MAKES ME SAD.

[silverstars.livejournal.com]

I'm butting in here, but I needed to say that you are SO NOT OBNOXIOUS AT ALL. You (and also Anna) are perfect examples of how you can be super enthusiastic without being the least bit obnoxious. There is such a huge difference between genuine flailing and flailing to try to make other people watch.

[modernthirst.livejournal.com]

An OH GOD SERIOUSLY, EVERYONE NEEDS TO WATCH THIS RIGHT NOW YOU ARE MISSING OUT ON EVERYTHING THAT'S GOOD IN LIFE post popping up on your flist
I could not check this box hard enough for what turns me off, GOD, I hate it, and I hate that I did it for The West Wing two summers ago and I will never forgive myself for it. I think it's arrogant to assume that something is "important" for people to watch, or whatever these justifications usually end up being. I mean, I DO think that about The West Wing, but I shouldn't say it, because it's unnecessary and if someone said it to me it would turn me off.

PERSONAL FLAIL ONLY + PICSPAMS, it's the only way I'll start something.

OH GOD ALSO. When someone is like "WHY ARE YOU NOT WATCHING THIS?? HOW???" STFU, let people come to things on their own time, and not everybody is going to love things in the same way you do and at the same time. It's arrogant and it makes it seem like there's a way to "get" the show and when you do you're in a club of people who understand. Which I think is ALSO true, but to imply such in that manner I think is bad form.

ETA: Plus also, I get the instinct to want the people you love to share in this new thing YOU love, so in a way this kind of WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU NEED TO BE WATCHING IT is in spirit kind of a good thing. The tone is just so off, and I wonder why people feel the need to approach it that way. How is it truly affecting you if someone does or does not watch it? So much of my relationship with television is entirely personal and I assume that's true of most of us here...I'm curious as to why that sort of YOU HAVE TO DO THIS attitude develops.

[elapses.livejournal.com]

I mean, I DO think that about The West Wing, but I shouldn't say it, because it's unnecessary and if someone said it to me it would turn me off.
I think that's the hardest thing about the whole thing, because there's sort of that innate desire to SHARE THAT FEELING YOU GET ABOUT SOMETHING. There's some good spirit behind a "THIS IS AWESOME, SERIOUSLY WATCH IT NOW" but, just, ugh. My pet peeve is being told that something is "the best thing on television", because not only is there no way you watch everything and know it objectively, IT'S A MATTER OF OPINION and when you say something like that unequivocally you're slighting all the shows your target audience holds dear.

So much of my relationship with television is entirely personal and I assume that's true of most of us here...I'm curious as to why that sort of YOU HAVE TO DO THIS attitude develops.
This is spot-on, and I think that misunderstanding of the personal level is where a lot of pimping stuff goes awry. And I think there's something infinitely more persuasive about a picspam you did because you love something and you wanted to talk about it than a picspam you did because you want to persuade a bunch of people to watch it.

THAT SAID, I was still surprised at how many of the "THIS TURNS ME OFF" boxes you checked.

[likespring.livejournal.com]

lol oh, the last ticky in the second-to-last question was SO appropriate because Supernatural is one of the fandoms I had in mind when answering this. Sometimes I have a bias but it's not too bad and it can be overcome -- for example, I was biased against Gossip Girl, but eventually shamefully caved and now I like it. But Supernatural, no. I have plenty of fangirls on my flist but I am never ever going to watch Supernatural; I refuse. And if I really hate something and EVERYONE GOES ON AND ON AND ON about it, that's annoying and solidifies my hate.

However, if I am only a tiny bit negative, ambivalent, or somewhat curious about something, anything can work, it just depends. Sometimes a pretty picspam is good enough, if a good number of my flist is talking about it (but not in the aforementioned annoying way), and especially if I see from others' posts or comments that there is something I would really like from the show right off the bat.

[elapses.livejournal.com]

I have read much too much about misogyny in Supernatural when I should've been doing absolutely anything else to EVER watch to touch it with a ten foot pole.

AND YOU KNOW, I can deal with everyone going on about something if they're chattering amongst themselves, it's when they try and drag me into it I get irrationally pissy. IT'S SUCH A FINE LINE YOU'RE WALKING, and the line is in a different place for absolutely everyone. UGH :(

[glassbomb.livejournal.com]

I am a HUGE sucker for picspams. Otherwise this poll reveals how lame and gullible I am. I have a very short attention span and am pretty easily swayed into watching a show, though TONS of hype can sometimes push me in the other I-want-to-hate-this-show direction. Someone I trust telling me I need to watch it can eventually cancel that out. It doesn't necessarily mean I will LIKE it though, I do have standards. I guess I just will try anything once is what I mean. And basically, if I hear Kendra going on about how much she likes a show, I want to watch it. I AM NOT EVEN KIDDING. I AM SO LAME. :/

[elapses.livejournal.com]

SEE, THAT'S A GOOD THING THOUGH. It seems like with everyone else there's some complicated formula for getting them to be even almost interested in something. AT LEAST YOU HAVE A KENDRA-SIZED KRYPTONITE. ...that was a weird sentence.

[promiseoftin.livejournal.com]

Haha, that "I am never watching Supernatural" ticky was absolutely made for me. :)

[elapses.livejournal.com]

I FEEL YOU 110%, THE HYPE OVER THAT SHOW BAFFLES ME SO MUCH I FELT COMPELLED TO WRITE THIS ENTIRE SENTENCE IN CAPSLOCK.

[sleuths.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry that your dad pulled a really lame parent trick on you. I mean... SERIOUSLY, text messaging among students during class is not exactly UNCOMMON, we have methods to cover the vibrate mode and all else; it'll never be an "interruption"!

And I'm REALLY sorry for the totally wrong package that you ended up getting. It's just the lamest feeling to be expecting something and then you get something... completely the opposite. HOPEFULY IT'LL BE SORTED OUT, and you'll get the one that you want!

[elapses.livejournal.com]

THE WHOLE THING WAS REALLY WEIRD, he honestly seemed confused at why I was upset with him? I don't think it's all that difficult to grasp!

And yes! That is exactly the feeling! It was so ugly I didn't know what to do with myself. But it should turn out okay.

[superskittles76.livejournal.com]

LOL I feel like I should defend Supernatural, but honestly, I just started watching b/c HEY I like supernatural stuff and the guys are hot, and then I stuck around because I loooooove it. I was very biased against it b/c my flist LOVED IT SO MUCH OMFGGGG and the hype annoyed me, but one of my friends eventually talked me into trying it and I freaking loved it. I'm like that with shows. More than likely, if I actually try it out, I'll love it. I thought 30 Rock looked freaking retarded, and then I watched it, and IT IS BUT IN THE BEST WAY EVER.

I'm just really picky and like sticking with the shows that I like, and get easily annoyed by hype (ie my current HATE for Gossip Girl, Pushing Daisies, and True Blood, although I know that if I watched, I'd TOTALLY love them probably not GG though but as I don't, the OMGLOVE just annoys me). I can barely make myself watch my regular shows this semester, much less make room to catch up on new shows. I STILL haven't finished watching all of XF. I've had the same three discs since AUGUST D:

In conclusion, what is the best way to make you watch Doctor Who? :P

[elapses.livejournal.com]

I WAS NOT TRYING TO MOCK WHAT YOU LOVE (except, well, I guess I was). But seriously, I'm glad it's something you love, it is just not to my taste.

I WANT TO MAKE A D: FACE AT YOU (more over PD than GG, for the record), but, well. I totally get irrationally hatey (today is a day for making up words) towards certain shows for no real reason too. And True Blood is one for me too! Although, god, seriously, there is nothing that will make me want to watch a bunch of vampires have HBO-explicit scenes, ick.

I DON'T KNOOOOOOOOOW :(

[dramatic-sigh.livejournal.com]

Oh, Friday Night Lights! I totally teared up, hee.

[elapses.livejournal.com]

SERIOUSLY, the eeeeeend and "Texas Forever", MY POOR HEART.