Re the value thing, the weirdest part? The people who often say that are the ones who think they have no value because they are "just consumers." I can't tell you how many people have sent feedback to me and told me they never wrote before becuse they didn't think they had anything worthwhile to say since they aren't writers or vidders. And worse, a lot of BNFs have only encouraged this sort of thing -- quashing discussions on lists, etc because only the big writers have any value, you know.

I've seen sensible, smart women encourage this sort of disparity and then disingenuously say they aren't BNFs and oh I never asked for this status blah blah... it's so dispiriting to watch people do that. As fandom's gotten larger and larger, the focus has shifted primarily to the producers -- especially the prolific and vocal producers -- and the "just consumers" now think they have no voice or right or need to speak up. It just frosts me, because those are the people whose opinions and feedback and input I value most. but so many people encourage this "I don't know the details/skills/arcane knowledge of this" response that I think it's endemic to fandom. the fans of fans thing also leaves me really cold, because I think it's an outgrowth of this syndrome.

I need to write about this more at length, and I know I'll get flamed by some of my friends because we've had heated discussions before, but... I feel like I need to get this off my chest. without the consumers, the writers would have a pretty small audience. That larger group is way more important.