robkelk Wrote:Okay - what does it take to become a member of a faction?
Join one?
Too simple? Alright.
1) Fandom - by which I mean the entirety of science fiction and fantasy fandom - is a complex web of identity balanced between the two classic poles: Fandom Is A Way Of Life, and Fandom Is Just A Goddamn Hobby. Because Fenspace is what it is, it steers closer to the FIAWOL pole simply out of necessity. It's a cold, mean universe out there and when your fellow fen are your best shot at surviving in it, you tend to cluster together.
2) That said, a fandom does not automatically equal a faction. Just because somebody likes Property X doesn't mean there's a large or even a small group of people who like Property X and want to bring Property X's tropes out into the real world. This ought to sound familiar, because we've had this discussion before and I have the email archives to prove it.
3) Conversely, a faction doesn't always automatically equal a fandom, either. Let's take Jupiter as an example: the planet and moons are claimed by the Browncoats, but for the most part the population in and around Jupiter is Indonesian. Does this mean there's a subtle but strong underground current of Firefly fandom in Indonesian culture? No, it means the Browncoats offered a lot of work that they couldn't handle on their own and a lot of Indonesians jumped at the chance to find decent pay that didn't involve getting looked down on by Australian racists. Was the Crystal Queendom set up because everybody loved Sailor Moon? Of course not! There are likely Senshi out there who hated Sailor Moon when it first ran. The Senshi run the show on Venus because Tanith Curtis was a scary good organizer and by the time they hit their destination she made it a fait accompli.
4) Most importantly, people can be fans of more than one thing at a time. FIAWOL isn't meant to apply to just Trekkies or just Warsies, etc. It's a generalist statement and we all are, as fans, generalists. So the idea of a Starfleet officer being a Vernor Vinge fan - which isn't that big of a stretch - naming a planet after something in one of his works isn't heresy, it's diversity.
So what does all this hot mess have to do with faction membership? A lot, actually.
You see, new fish from Earth will join whatever faction they think will get them what they want. Being a fan of the property helps, cuts down on culture shock if nothing else, but it's only one factor among dozens of possible considerations. One man joins the Federation because he always wanted to be an engineer on the Enterprise and the merchant marine's hiring. Another man joins the Pulpers because they're offering land grants around Hellas and he always wanted a ranch to retire to. One neckbeard joins the Senshi not out of any love of anime but because he just wants to see scantily-clad women running around everywhere. And so it goes.
To join a big, established faction that isn't just a general-interests club, you go in, sign the local EULA, agree to pay the taxes (sometimes called membership dues or whatnot but let's be real here) and boom, here's your passport, welcome to the club citizen. That's citizenship and nationality in a nutshell. There's no set limit on how many factions you can be a citizen of, so you can in theory catch 'em all. I wouldn't advise it, just because after about the first three the psychological demands would be overwhelming. But that's just me, YMMV.
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery
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