I'm not saying that communities and fandoms are the sole reason for issues people have with whatever it is, but it certainly is a major reason why some people won't give somethings a try. I'm also not just talking about gatekeeping or just general toxicity, but just how some fans are very vocal, and people associate that with the general thing. Some of the best examples I can give are things like My Hero Academia, Linux, TF2, and Rick and Morty. These are just some of the first things that come to my head when thinking of communities that, while not necessarily toxic, people just don't look favorably upon. However, rather than going over the issues these fandoms have, I'm going to talk about why popularity can cause more problems than something remaining kind of niche.
In general it's nice to find more people who like a thing that you like so you can get together and talk about it. It's the reason why communities exist in the first place and I'm certain we all enjoy finding these people. The problem that arises when things become more mainstream and popular is that it attracts the wrong kind of people. The best examples I can give is with Pokémon and almost everything only being looked at through a competitive lense, and people bitching about FromSoft games being too hard when all they've seen is one-shot builds that have a massive amount of time and effort to create, or they just aren't paying attention. Best example of the latter is when Shadow of the Erdtree dropped, there is a secondary stat-boosting mechanic which was not kept a secret and that at least boosts your defenses if not your damage (I haven't played the DLC yet, though I have beaten the base game and Malenia (yay)). If you went online after the DLC dropped, most of the people were bitching about "cheap difficulty" and also how the DLC doesn't add anything to main story (which FromSoft DLCs never have). Elden Ring pulled in a lot of new players and while I'm not saying that all the people who complained were new, I can't help but make a slight correlation alongside the general negative opinion some FromSoft fans have.
Now, let's talk about MHA for a bit. Much like with JJBA, I gave it on honest watch to see what the fuss was about and only thought it was okay. However, what really pushes people away from it are the fans who I would say are actually rabid. For every fandom there's cringy stuff that people make on the internet and some of it is just a kid doing something to show their love for the series which is good. They should be able to show their love for the series...but some MHA fans are even worse that other fandoms. Searching for MHA content can lead you to some corners of the internet that, even if the person making the content doesn't actually believe it, it makes them look completely unhinged and also uninviting to the community (if you've even heard about how the shippers in this community are, it doesn't really make you want to join the group). The vocal minority makes the entire fandom look absolutely deranged even though a majority are fairly chill and, while some might need to learn how to talk about something else, they're fairly chill about what they like.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWrbvl8McpF
Linux is next up because some people who use Linux have their head so far up their own ass that they can see what they ate last. Best example is when the Crowdstrike update recently caused computers that were running Microsoft Windows to crash upon startup and actually caused a massive amount of technical issues across the world. The issue was not something with Windows and not every single computer with Windows was affected, I am currently on one that was unaffected, and the issue was the incorrect/broken code of the Crowdstrike update. With that being said, some Linux fanboys were more than ready to jump to saying that Linux wouldn't have these problems when Linux has its fair share. They also won't be told that Linux is not easy for someone to just pick up and use since most programs are not made to run on Linux, namely PC games, and that most people can't be assed to fiddle with coding and troubleshooting to make things work when, for all of the problems Windows has, it works out of the box. I am thankful for the fans of Linux who understand why it isn't the default and even those who understand that it's only really better for work-related stuff.47Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnMsE6VWIZy
Team Fortress 2 might be a community you've heard of being infamous for a couple reasons but the main reason you know could depend on how old you are. There are a multitude of issues with the community that I am not going to talk about because it would break the rule I have set for this little piece and I am sticking to it, but there are more to talk about. Some TF2 players almost seem unable to play anything else despite the fact that the game is a 17 year old game, and they are pissed that it doesn't get updated to the point where it seems like they want Valve to drop everything and only work on TF2. During the last 'Save TF2' bit, much like the Helldiver's 2 community did, they review bombed the Steam reviews, but also went to other Valve games to do the same in an effort to force Valve's hand. Helldivers kept their grievances within the community and targeted the people they needed to. Meanwhile, the TF2 community forced their way into others and messed around in them to try to force Valve to act which didn't sit with people who mostly have an already negative opinion of the TF2 community which the community itself doesn't bother to try to improve. Something else I wonder if it's true is the player base...I don't that it's thriving and more like it's just the same people playing it because I know that plenty of people don't want to be associated with the players. I will admit, some of the funny content using the characters is pretty good though, so every cloud's got a silver lining.
The issue that people have with Rick and Morty fans are for a variety of reasons even before the controversies of recent years. If you go and read my part of this on memes, you understand my stance on people who unironically meme in real life which happened with Rick and Morty fans regarding Szechuan sauce because it's a bit in the show, and then of course...Pickle Rick. The thing I've actually experienced is how some Rick and Morty fans think that the show is for intelligent people when it's not really much different than most adult cartoons. There's nothing intellectual about most adult cartoons in who knows how long and Rick and Morty is really no different. The show might be good, I've had no honest interest in the show even before I learned about the issues the community has, but the community only pushed me further and further away from wanting to watch it.
To wrap up, I want to make a point that some of you are probably dying to make after reading this, and that is that letting other people affect what you like is stupid. I am not going to say that this is wrong because there's some truth to it, but a community can cause more problems to the enjoyment of others. When people are part of communities like the ones I mentioned above, people will assume they are like that vocal minority which makes it hard to share interests with people. Not being able to suggest a thing you like to others without being seen as an issue due to the community is what is going to harm the longevity of the media which creates its own problems. Communities are good, but the people who go too far with everything ruin the enjoyment for everyone involved except for the people who take it too far.
Have a day
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