Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Fan Boards: You Think You Know

By Pam
I was recently on a fan board and got so frustrated with the posters, I wanted to give them a cyber smack.PhotobucketAlex has stated that his fans know a lot about him:
“… they’re so, comprehensive, with their study of me, and their research [laughs] of me…”
Sometimes that assumption that we “know” Alex can go too far and actually cause a rift between fans.


If you’ve ever participated, or even lurked, on a fan board you know that discussions can get pretty intense (hence the need for moderators). Tweets can become fact simply because … well, simply because! There can be a number of varying opinions on any given topic. Nobody’s right or wrong; it’s just a difference of opinion based on how one perceives the world. You’d think logic would prevail, wouldn’t you? Nope, not always.




Recently, Alex gave an interview in which he stated he lives in West Hollywood. He said, “I have a nice little house.” The article in which he stated this fact also reported that he rents that house. Well, can I just tell you what kind of “conversation” ensued after that tidbit of information?


If I took a poll, I would find the majority actually believed the article. There was a small group who decided they knew this reporter was mistaken, threw all logic out the window and was convinced Alex didn’t rent this house, as stated in the article. CBS was paying him so much money now, he had to OWN it. Now we had a real debate going!


There were two sides. The “I knows” and the “I thinks.” The “I knows” seem convinced that their logic is based on a deep understanding of Alex. Apparently a mind-meld occurred between them and Alex at some point … from a distance. The “I thinks” try to make the “I knows” realize that unless Alex tells us the how’s and why’s of his decisions, we’re only speculating.


The following is my take on the subject and not what was actually discussed:


I know Alex wouldn’t rent a house because a lot of celebrities own houses. He’s a big celebrity now, so he would own, not rent.
I think Alex might want to rent until he gets a steady job.
I know that Hawaii Five-0 will go to series and Alex will then have a steady job.
I think if Hawaii Five-0 is picked up, Alex will most likely have to have some kind of residence in Hawaii. Will he want to keep a house in LA as well? He may want to keep an apartment instead.
I know he will keep two residences because he’ll be doing movies in between seasons of Hawaii Five-0 and he’ll need to be in LA. I know that he will want to keep a nice place for his son to visit.
I think it all may depend on what has been written into his CBS contract. We just don’t know what CBS is willing to provide.
I know CBS will give him whatever he wants. They love him and want him to stick with them for a long, long time.
I think that may be true, but I read that Alex prefers doing film over television. Maybe he’ll stay with CBS for a few more years and then concentrate on films.
I know Alex will stay with CBS as long as they’ll have him. He will make lots of money, and who doesn’t want money? Alex is a loyal person and would never leave CBS if they wanted him to stay. That’s just my opinon, of course.
I think you’re an idiot and if I argue with you one more minute I’m going to stick a pencil in my eye.


The trick, if you’re participating in a discussion on a fan board, is to have an open mind and thick skin. Try not to let these debates, if they have merit or not, get the better of you. You can get caught up in a ridiculous argument that you’ll never win. Believe me…I know.

2 comments:

  1. You know, I prefer these kind of debates on those boards because at least people are THINKING. To be honest with you, I find it utterly boring the way most of you run those boards. They are so controlled they only allow thank you and cheerleading to occur. God forbid members get on and discuss these topics, right? Because all the articles out there are always correct so we should take them at face value, of course.LOL

    Everyone who posts an opinion believes they have a good reasons for believing the way they do. Yet here you are making fun of members who give an opinion. Just because some members put "JMO" doesn't mean that they don't think they are just as right as the so-called members you accuse of saying they KNOW what Alex does.

    Instead of belittling the members who wish to express a differing opinion (God forbid) than the vast majority, you should encourage these kinds of discussions.

    But those fan boards are so afraid of offending anybody, they delete ad control everything they deem "disrespectful." Disrespectful to them translates to "you don't agree with what WE think as board admins so you are wrong."

    You can't say you don't personally find an actor sexy because then you dissed the actor. So everyone has to pretend every actor is sexy as hell. Since when does everyone have to think every actor is sexy? You say differently you are mean.
    These actors are paid professionals and can handle it I am sure.
    Instead of dissing people for daring to have differing opinions and basically "laughing" at them here, you should be allowing this more. All you are getting now is members AFRAID to post what they really feel because they are shunned by the rest. The rest, many who might agree with that member, stay silent or avoid giving an opinion because they don't want to be dissed either.
    You should check out some sports boards. They talk about their own teams and diss some players and argue the pros and cons of the team WITHOUT FEAR of reprimand. When someone gets too nasty or insulting to other members, their post might get deleted but the discussion and disagreements are ALLOWED to continue. THOSE are true discussion boards. I am talking about legitimate boards like nfl.com and espn.com, etc.

    So these so-called fan boards could use a little honest back and forth. Instead you have thank you and ITA only. I guess that makes you feel secure and in control and better about yourselves.

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  2. I've got sympathy for what the 1st Anonymous said because I have also felt restricted at some places, but to tell any owner of a board or site what they should or should not allow, is like telling me I should allow just about anybody into my home and allow them to say anything about me, my family and friends, even if they insult them. Some sites are more informative than open for discussion (why not?). There are enough boards where people can discuss things, why force everybody to do so? Some people just roam around on boards to disturb fans in their enjoyment of their favourite celeb in any case, why allow them to do so? Some 'fans' don't always know where the boundaries for decency are....

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