The Three Laws of Fandom

The Three Laws of Fandom is a meta essay by ozhawkauthor that was posted to the social media site tumblr. 
The "Three Laws" component is derived from Isaac Asimov's "Three Laws of Robotics"—instructions that were programmed into every computer and android in the future. 
The essay was written shortly after the release of the 2015 Star Wars film Star Wars: The Force Awakens and may have touched on burgeoning shipping wars (also see Ship war) in that fandom. The issues raised, however, are applicable to many fandoms across the years. 
Within the first six days, the post received over 16,000 notes on tumblr, meaning people had either "liked" it, "reblogged" it (copied to their own blog) or both. As of January 23, 2018, the post had 68,814 notes. 
Due to the difficulty of tracking and following tumblr posts and discussions, only a representative sampling of the vigorous debate stirred by the essay can be offered below. The majority of the selections are offered without commentary in order to better recreate the flow of the conversation as it happened. The responses are divided into rough, sometimes simplistic, topic headings and many selections may cover multiple points. In addition, because the original author, ozhawkauthor, opened up their blog to anonymous "asks" (or questions), there are extra sections where she attempts to clarify and fine-tune their proposal. 
==The Essay==
==A September 1, 2016 Followup Comment by the OP==
==Additional Exchanges Between the OP and Commentators==
After the original essay was posted, numerous follow up questions and points were raised between readers and the Original Poster:
===Can I Contact Creators About Why I Find Their FanWorks Offensive?===
===But....Fandom Doesn’t Exist In An A Vacuum===
===But...Don't Ship Anything That Is Illegal!===
===But....Can I Be Upset With Oppositional Meta?===
There were several follow-on replies that focused on whether fans could or should be able to critique the subject matter of certain types of fanfic. Below are excerpts of much longer and more complex posts. Because tumblr's unthreaded formatting makes it difficult to track a conversation, it is suggested that readers look at the original source:
===But...Isn't This Censorship?===
===But....Is It OK To Ask For Trigger Warnings/Tags?===
===But...Who Are You To Make The Law?===
===No Buts Here....Use Your Back Key===
==Reactions==
===General Support to the Post===
===General Disagreement/Other Thoughts===
===I Agree With This...Until I Don't===
===We Don't Need No Stinkin' Rules===
===Well...Maybe We Do?===
===We Need More Rules" or "Why Didn't You Include...?"===
===A Universal Fourth Rule? "Tag Your Shit"===
===The Devil Is In The Details===
Some fans attempted to offer technical suggestions. Others pointed out that focusing on platform specific tips for communicating, might lead to even more disagreement. Those unfamiliar with a particular platforms conventions, might find that their meta debate being perceived as hate tagging:
===Keep Calm and Critique On (But Avoid Doorknobs)===
===These Rules Are About Critiquing Shipping, Not Critiquing Problematic Source or People===
===Fandom As Food===
===From Star Wars Fans===
===From Other Fandoms===
===Historical Perspective===
===Historical Perspective: From a Fan in 2018===
In March 2018, a 24-year old fan commented on this essay, and a similar one, and mused upon ever-changing (but not!) fandom, platforms, and personal alienation due to age and experience: 
==See Also==
IDIC, often cited by Star Trek fans as a reminder that differences in thoughts and ideas are necessary to create beauty, growth and progress.
==Further Reading==
*I think the general mindset and culture of Tumblr is effecting what people choose to write about in fic (2015 post)
* Fandom is not your safe space (2015 post)
*AO3 & Censorship (2016 post)
*AO3 Content Discussion (2016) (post)
* The Three Laws of Fandom (2016 post)
* Like, i’m not saying that adults don’t have a place in fandom. they can and they do, and many are perfectly great people. (2017)
* List of Content Banned by Archives
==References==
Category:Meta on Tumblr
Category:2016 MetaCategory:2017 Featured Articles