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Decided to put it here because of exposure, and increase the chances of discussion:



Is it really the most toxic out there? Depends on where you look and who you talk too, really.

I'm not really that active online myself, so I can't really comment on that. In fact this is the only TF site I frequent, and have a very limited scope of reviewers, both English and Japanese. And based on stories I've heard, I'm scared of going anywhere else But I will say this site and its staff has been very respectful towards its members, good or bad, and great at nipping trouble in the butt.

I wouldn't have thought we were more toxic then other fandoms Look at Star Wars and the backlash over... Well anything new since George Lucas decided to redo the original trilogy.

Toxic? Nahhhh. This is the most laid back and Lassie-on-Prozac-esc fandom I've ever known. ☺

The fandom as a whole is pretty alright. The problem is that a small and insular but vocal minority of that fandom (who shall go unnamed here) have seated themselves as the self-appointed "voice" of all TF fans, largely through one very well known repository of information that shall again go unnamed (though you can probably guess). They are incredibly toxic and believe that it is their duty to gatekeep the fandom against, well, anyone they don't like. The result is that anyone who tries to make their voice heard with dissenting opinions from those of their cabal quickly gets shot down- and worse, they're loud and active enough to try and make their mark on official product/media as well (remember the Flametoys Windblade shenanigans?).
It's certainly not helped by one of their more prominent members being infamous outside the fandom for being completely nuts either.
So TLDR: The fanbase isn't that toxic, but a very prominent part of the fanbase is incredibly so.

There are worse fanbase out there, people. Far worse.

I don’t think that we are toxic.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:But I will say this site and its staff has been very respectful towards its members, good or bad, and great at nipping trouble in the butt.

Thanks JelZe! The forum staff and the rest of the staff here on Seibertron.com certainly tries their best to be fair to all and to keep their environment cool for all. It's nice to hear this from you, especially as a long time member. I hope you know how much I appreciate your support. Thank you for being part of Seibertron.com for as long as you have and for continuing to be part of all of this.

I don't think it's a particularly toxic fandom, and we're not a particularly toxic community. I think the toxicity only comes out when people are forced to take a side.

For a lot of fandoms, that comes out when they're under attack. You're an adult. You like sailor moon. Someone says "You're too old" for that, and now you have to defend yourself. Someone says "It's creepy" and now you have to defend yourself. Someone says "it's for girls" and you're not, and now you have to defend yourself. I haven't seen a lot of fandoms that go looking for trouble, but an awful lot where the trouble coems to them.

When you're forced to pick a side and defend it, people change. Call it toxic, or call it what it is: protecting your fandom. The only toxicity is when that turns inwards, against its own community. The minute that people inside the community start attacking each other is when the toxicity starts. Now it's no longer about defending your fandom, it's about defending yourself. People you trusted turn on you, battle lines are drawn, and everything gets torn apart. The people inside don't want to be a part of it, the people outside stay far away from it, and it never ends well. The best example is as shows grow and evolve, new seasons, new generations, and someone makes the decision not to just dislike part of the fandom, but not to like the fans that hold those positions. It gets personal, and it gets ugly.

I think we do good, for the most part. We could certainly do better, a lot better, but we're not doing bad.

I remember reading a tweet by Lindsey Ellis a Youtuber whose "The Whole Plate" series explaining different film theories using Bay's Transformers to explain them, should be required viewing in both film schools and all online wanna be film makers, where she said that she felt that the Transformers fandom was the least toxic fandom she's a part of.

I agree with her.

Now we do have a toxic elements in our ranks, and those should be shouted down and told that they can speak for themselves and not for all Transformers fans.

But being a fan of a franchise that has always been at heart about change and we have seen our franchise rebooted so many times it's actually hard for me to get upset or excited about it being rebooted, sure I still think some shows are better than others and some designs suck (or haven't aged well). But it will change, because tt always change and sometimes the next change is better and sometimes it's not, but hey that is what makes life exciting?

I've been active within this fandom, (Across various platforms) For nearly two decades, And can honestly (And happily) say I've never really encountered much toxicity. Of course, As with any fandom this large, From person to person, Your results will probably vary. Additionally, I've talked to various other fans (online and in person) and have had enjoyable experiences pretty much each time. Of course, As with everything, There'll occasionally be disagreements over various things, But I think most people respect others opinions regarding the fandom.
In my experience we usually wind up laughing irreverently about any disagreements.
After all, To have an opinion, You first must actually care about the thing the opinion is of.
And if there's one thing I can say about this fandom, It's that they care. They're passionate. Therein, If you too care about it, Common ground can be found.

Toxic? No, I would not say so.

Elitist? 100%, always has been. I say that as a guilty party in some aspects.

There has always been a group who has tried to define what is the "real" or only "proper" way to enjoy the hobby. At first it was the G1 people crapping on BW. Then it was the G1 people crapping on the modernization of the brand in the early 2000's.

Then there was a brief moment where nearly everyone was collecting Classics/Generations.

Then the majority of people crapped on the Bayverse stuff.

Now there is a vocal segment of the collecting population who thinks everything that's not MP or expensive 3P Legends are trash. And there's an even more vocal group who thinks anything not 3P MP is trash.

The great thing that keeps it all in check is that fun-factor is truly not tied to price. Generations toys, retail stuff, Studio Series are all super fun without breaking the bank. Play patterns and line-wide integration carry tremendous strength into the argument and really prevent the elitism from being cancerous.

Counterpunch wrote:Toxic? No, I would not say so.

Elitist? 100%, always has been. I say that as a guilty party in some aspects.

Agreed, and likewise guilty on the elitism thing. I think that's an unavoidable part of something so intrinsically tied to collecting since superlatives are bound to get more attention, whether that's because a collection is unique, rare, massive, comprehensive, hyper-focused, you name it - something attention worthy will always stand out just due to toy collecting being such a big part of Transformers.

Well every fandom has their crazy fans.

Longlive Roddie wrote:Well every fandom has their crazy fans.

This is true.

Now if only we can send these toxic fans to an island and have them deal with each other.

Longlive Roddie wrote:Now if only we can send these toxic fans to an island and have them deal with each other.

That's a bit extreme. I mean I can't stand the Wiki Brigade either but I wouldn't have them put in gulags.

Black Hat wrote:

Longlive Roddie wrote:Now if only we can send these toxic fans to an island and have them deal with each other.

That's a bit extreme. I mean I can't stand the Wiki Brigade either but I wouldn't have them put in gulags.

Yeah that does sound extreme. Maybe just ignore those type of people. It start out as a joke, but now re reading it, it does seem a bit extreme.

What I’ve never understood about this, and every fandom, is why so many equate their personal opinions on certain topics with their egos

For example one puts forward and idea or Something they Mis-remembered , but there’s something in canon that contradicts the idea or the correct information gets posted there are times that some fans take it too personal, even at times Stooping to insults (flame wars)

Sure, I’ve been told I sometimes can say things nicer , maybe not use the words “your wrong”, ....... but I don’t understand why so many People take issue with being told the correct information by someone else
Even if the other person is wrong then just prove your right and stay civil

I welcome being corrected everyday about anything I might be wrong about, if I’m proven wrong (key word proven) then I’ll thank you for the correction and continue on

Yes, some people have trouble accepting the opinions of others, but then, calling someone "childish" because of that doesn't exactly come across in a good way either.

Burn wrote:Yes, some people have trouble accepting the opinions of others, but then, calling someone "childish" because of that doesn't exactly come across in a good way either.

I don’t disagree with you
But Disagreement wasn’t the reason that person was called “childish”

It was the other behavior being displayed

Well the good news is that the toxic fans are a minority.

sto_vo_kor_2000 wrote:

Burn wrote:Yes, some people have trouble accepting the opinions of others, but then, calling someone "childish" because of that doesn't exactly come across in a good way either.

I don’t disagree with you
But Disagreement wasn’t the reason that person was called “childish”

It was the other behavior being displayed

Then you shouldn't have any problem with me labelling you as "argumentative"?

Personally ... if someone said my behaviour was "childish" or "augmentative", then I may be a little offended because to me, it's belittling, simply because I was trying to convey my opinion or what I believed to be fact.

Some people don't like facts, because they may have had these long held beliefs, it's still no reason to belittle them. Some times you just gotta realise it's not worth the effort and walk away.

I think calling someone childish because you disagree sounds childish. I have disagree with people, but never insult their opinions.. I haven’t met anyone like that on here or othe website. Not even in real life. One person (not going to say it was in rl or on the internet) call my behavior childish because I didn’t want to continue the debate and that also offend me a bit because it felt like they were shaming me to not want to keep on debate with them. It was my fault because I should’ve left that person a lone, but I instead I call them being childish back. I won’t say how old I’m, but was very young (like 13-14) when I first join. I still learning how to mature and stuff.


Ps. I never seen anyone on here or other TF site that insult (starting a flamewar) a person for having a different opinion. I myself never done that.

Burn wrote:

sto_vo_kor_2000 wrote:

Burn wrote:Yes, some people have trouble accepting the opinions of others, but then, calling someone "childish" because of that doesn't exactly come across in a good way either.

I don’t disagree with you
But Disagreement wasn’t the reason that person was called “childish”

It was the other behavior being displayed

Then you shouldn't have any problem with me labelling you as "argumentative"?

If that’s your opinion fine, but I’d defend myself by saying if I was argumentative it was in replying to non-civil behavior that was not Initiated on my part

Personally ... if someone said my behaviour was "childish" or "augmentative", then I may be a little offended because to me, it's belittling, simply because I was trying to convey my opinion or what I believed to be fact.

Again, I don’t disagree with you, but like I said, it wasn’t that they were trying to convey their opinions or what they believe to be a fact that I called “childish”

It was the “I’m putting you on my ignore list so you can disagree all you want” comments that were made, several times I might add, and yet continuing to reply with comments like

Even though I can’t read what you posted, I still disagree with you.

and yet still giving a pretty detailed reply to what I actully said

Again that was done several times

It’s like when a “young person” on a school yard sticks their fingers in their ears and says over and over again “Nana Nana Nana I can’t hear you“ while arguing with what you said

Some people don't like facts, because they may have had these long held beliefs, it's still no reason to belittle them. Some times you just gotta realise it's not worth the effort and walk away.

Sorry you see it as belittling but I don’t, I called it as I saw it

And I can’t help it if others don’t like the facts
I insult or tell others they have to accept them
I just posted them

Longlive Roddie wrote:I think calling someone childish because you disagree sounds childish.

Agree

But I didn’t call “someone” childish because they disagreed
It was because of the other behavior “someone” was displaying

Anyway this seems a bit tedious don’t you agree?

Ps. I never seen anyone on here or other TF site that insult (starting a flamewar) a person for having a different opinion. I myself never done that.

It’s a shame but it does happen from time to time