>> There's been an issue worsening with the online climate, where people just want to consume, consume, consume, and then just... leave. Comments on fanfics are down significantly compared to the early days and,<<
Reasons include but are not limited to:
* People have less time as they must spend more of it scrabbling to survive.
* Communities have scattered due to decades of platforms collapsing.
* The nastier society gets in general, the less people want to interact with it.
* The more intrusive society gets in general, and especially online, the less people want to leave breadcrumbs of any kind.
* The more lengthy and obnoxious user agreements get, the fewer people are willing to sign them, which usually means you can't comment and often means you can't even see content.
>> although I don't have any proof of this, in my experience, it certainly feels like fanart is being shared less. <<
To this add:
* Many of the best platforms for sharing art have enshittified or collapsed. Cohost was a great place for sharing art, but it's gone. :(
* The rise of AI theft has made people reluctant to share things, especially images.
>> On Tumblr, this issue is especially bad, where likes don't even really do anything to help with reach. <<
On this add:
Tumblr is currently doing a ban surge to drive away people who post things that it is doesn't like. Fanwork is commonly a target. Many other platforms have also done this. We get a surge once or twice a year now, with folks coming into Dreamwidth for this reason.
>> I don't like it. I don't like that the fandom community is feeling less like a community.<<
I agree. I miss it.
>>That's exactly why my New Year's resolution this year is to comment on fanworks (and general art) more. <<
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Yes ...
Date: 2026-01-24 03:05 am (UTC)Reasons include but are not limited to:
* People have less time as they must spend more of it scrabbling to survive.
* Communities have scattered due to decades of platforms collapsing.
* The nastier society gets in general, the less people want to interact with it.
* The more intrusive society gets in general, and especially online, the less people want to leave breadcrumbs of any kind.
* The more lengthy and obnoxious user agreements get, the fewer people are willing to sign them, which usually means you can't comment and often means you can't even see content.
>> although I don't have any proof of this, in my experience, it certainly feels like fanart is being shared less. <<
To this add:
* Many of the best platforms for sharing art have enshittified or collapsed. Cohost was a great place for sharing art, but it's gone. :(
* The rise of AI theft has made people reluctant to share things, especially images.
>> On Tumblr, this issue is especially bad, where likes don't even really do anything to help with reach. <<
On this add:
Tumblr is currently doing a ban surge to drive away people who post things that it is doesn't like. Fanwork is commonly a target. Many other platforms have also done this. We get a surge once or twice a year now, with folks coming into Dreamwidth for this reason.
>> I don't like it. I don't like that the fandom community is feeling less like a community.<<
I agree. I miss it.
>>That's exactly why my New Year's resolution this year is to comment on fanworks (and general art) more. <<
Go you! Feedback is candy.