The future of FanForce

wow, that's not right at all, I hate exclusivity like that, shame on the 501st people.

I'd hate to think Fan Force got a bad reputation because of stuff like that.

 

oh wow...just wow.

Thank you for telling us this.

This definitely shouldn't happen,
can I ask did an RSA get involved in the situation?

 

My local Fanforce went Facebook only, I am not on facebook so that ended that.
I was a member of the 501st but resigned for personal reasons, I am still a member of the Rebel Legion but have resigned all leadership positions.

I just do my own thing now.
@Porkins on twitter
@Porkins-Red_6 on Instagram

 

I think that FanForces suffered after ROTS because once there were supposedly no more Star Wars movies there wasn't enough to keep a lot of the members around after maybe 2007 (which is pretty much when FFUK started drying up).

Without big events like the Star Wars marathon or regular movies to attend, it became more difficult.
Plus the reap life stuff, full time work & family & education etc made other things a priority instead of the forums.

What's weird is that there are comic-cons in the UK many times a year, easy enough to meet up there if enough people were interested but nobody has ever really suggested it.

I do think social media is important if we want to further the idea of FanForce.
We did have a general Facebook page & at one point there were pages for the different groups, but those are either gone or nobody posts there anymore.
Maybe bringing those back/restarting them is a good way for those that drifted away to be encouraged to return

 

I think Facebook did for quite a few of the FF groups - the ones that are still around use that for arranging meetups, etc. And Covid didn't help either.

 

Facebook is a virus

 

Amen to that. Most social media is.

 

It's been like that since the early days. It felt like a natural extension since the early grassroots effort spawned from the JC community and threads devoted to meeting up. We had TPM to look forward to and the first SW Celebration in Denver. FF carved out some space in the forums and shared resources, but it still felt like sleeping on a friend's couch...

Nevertheless, TPM was a great catalyst for bringing people together and creating regions, groups, and volunteers. As others have mentioned here, Social Media wasn't really a thing at that time, so FF was the place to be. Early days saw meet-ups at Celebrations, Comic/Sci-Fi Cons, and other local events. Some even held fundraisers as a way to meet others and help the community.

I moved to another state in the early days of FF but still made it back home to see the new movie releases with my local group. Still text some of them about SW stuff to this day. Mixed feelings on Mandolorian S3:E1...oh wait, this is FF, have to discuss that in JC forums (sarcasm - but that's kinda how it was back in the day).

I love seeing some of the OG's hanging around here - just awesome! Going on 23+ years since FF started, that's saying something. There are just so many ways to connect these days, altho I'd argue there's not much 'social' about social media, that it's a challenge to reach and retain folks on this platform.

 

I've kinda' moved on...



Who? Walter Peck? No, we don't want any!








He's right behind me, isn't he? Is he making the face?

The problem is the "Official" (or so they say) Ghostbusters around here are not worth my time, so I'm a lone wolf contractor from the home office... You have to wonder when there are multiple groups in the same fandom in any city.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy using a hacked pirate satellite in a decaying orbit

 

Multiple groups of the same fandom. One good and the other not so good. To the end that people left and formed another whole group to get away from the original group.

I met the Ghostbuster gatekeepers in my local city.
They say they are the "only Official" Ghostbusters group in Buffalo, There is another group I have met and they are far more friendly and welcoming. I think I'm going to hang with them because I got some serious bad vibes from the other ones! I have left other groups for just this type of elitist behavior. No one owns a fandom and the only Gatekeeper I recognize is Sigourney Weaver from Ghostbusters!

I was also told I was not a candidate for membership in their group because some of their members had a problem with another costume I do, Mexicans In Black. They didn't want me coming anywhere near them because they were afraid people would think I was part of their group. LOL Really? Talk about arrogance, eh? I did the Ghostbuster costume because I wanted to, not for them, and nopt to join their boy band. I'm a proud Mexican/American. The creator is Mexican and all the people who do it are Mexican. The people who had the problem with it were not Mexican. I'm still trying to figure out what I did wrong. I also do regular MIB. This was a side joke we ran with.
.I advised my artist friend about what was said to me and he immediately creeated the following patch:
It was not hard to guess what we did next... I cannot wait to see them at a local convention! I even made a chrome Proton Pack wand.

.
I refuse to let someone tell me how I can celebrate my heritage!
That is why I will never join another group. I'm still a member of The Rebel Legion but I quit the 501st.

 

Unfortunately I think the time for fan groups has come and gone.
My thoughts are, Groups start out good but the wrong people rise to positions of authority and ruin something that was once good.
I wish I had a solution, but I know people older than me that have seen this happen eventually in multiple fandoms.

Do what you like and have fun doing it, if you're lucky you'll find others who do the same without judgement or derision.

Never push a good person to the point they just don't care anymore.



Sent from my Samsung Galaxy using a hacked pirate satellite in a decaying orbit