THE TEN STAGES OF FANDOM
by LoriSTAGE ONE: FIRST CONTACT
This is the stage where you first discover a show and decide you like it and want to watch it on at least a semi-regular basis. If you're home and it's on, you'll watch it. You'll read magazine articles about the show if you see them. Mention of the show on an entertainment newsmagazine will catch your attention. If someone else mentions the show in casual conversation it will prompt you to respond in some way. Most people and most shows never make it out of Stage One. For example, I'm a Stage One "Law & Order" fan. I really like it, I make a point to watch it, but if I'm not home and I miss it it's not a big deal. I'll catch the rerun.
STAGE TWO: LOYAL VIEWER
At Stage Two, schedule rearrangements so as not to miss the show begins to occur. Taping of shows you're forced to miss is another sign that you've reached Stage Two. At this stage, *you'll* be the one bringing up the show in casual conversation. You may find yourself finding people who are also fans of the show to discuss it over the water cooler. The purchasing of magazines with articles about the show, magazines that you wouldn't ordinarily buy, is another symptom. I am a Stage Two "ER" fan. I watch it every week and tape it if I'm not going to be home. Every week after the show my mom and I call each other and discuss it, then we talk about other stuff. Again, Stage Two is still quite common amongst the general, non-sci-fi populace.
STAGE THREE: ARCHIVIST
Stage Three is where we start to get into areas that we'd call "fandom." Its most distinguishing feature is the taping of shows for a permanent episode collection and not merely for later viewing if you're not home. Other features: saving magazines and TV Guides that contain articles about the show, watching the show with a friend who is at Stage Three or higher, and organizing season finale or premiere parties. I am a Stage Three "Twin Peaks" fan. I have the entire series on tape. Stage Three is still relatively prevalent in the public...you'd be surprised how many people have tape collections, especially soaps.
STAGE FOUR: WEBSURFER
Okay, now we're getting into serious fandom. At Stage Four, the fan will begin to search out and peruse websites about the show in question. Usually, it also involves the creation of a bookmark folder for sites about the show. Extensive and decorative labelling and cross-referencing of the fan's tape collection may take place. The fan may actively seek out and tape TV news stories or features about the show. I don't have a Stage Four fandom, I've sort of skipped this one and headed straight for stage five.
STAGE FIVE: LISTMEMBER
Stage Five is tricky. It has two major components which I've observed have roughly the same level of commitment attached but do not always occur at the same time: membership to show-oriented mailing lists, and reading of fanfiction. If a person is either on mailing lists OR reading fanfic, they're at Stage Five. They may be doing both. Stage Five also includes perusal of USENET groups and active seeking (or avoidance of) spoilers from websites or newsgroups. Stage Five is where we first start to see fans begin to form connections with larger communities of fellow fans, usually in the form of fanclub memberships. It is also at this stage that we begin to see interest in acquisition of merchandise, and where fans begin to gravitate towards one specific character and/or actor and/or relationship from the show in question (though this does not always occur). I am a Stage Five X-Files fan, and I recently had a very odd experience...my Buffy: the Vampire Slayer fandom just took a very fast, one-week rocket launch from Stage Two all the way up to Stage Five.
STAGE SIX: CON-GOER
Just started going to conventions? Welcome to Stage Six. It has many features: the eponymous convention attendance, increased interest in things like autographs and merchandise, participation if peripheral show-oriented activities like role-playing games, CD-ROMS, and the like. Not all fans experience all aspects of Stage Six. For example, I collect autographs but have limited interest in merchandise and I never do RPG. I would also count mailing-list administrators among the Stage Sixers...running a list is a greater commitment than just being on one. I'm a Stage Six Voyager fan.
STAGE SEVEN: CREATOR
Stage Seven is like Stage Five in that it has two distinguishing features, both of which need not be present: the writing of fanfiction and the creation of small websites. In a way the two activities are quite similar. Most Stage Seven websites are places for the fan to hang their fiction, links lists, some sort of statement from the fan, that sort of thing. Many Stage Seven fans do not participate in this, relying on Stage Eight fans for their web representation...far more common is the fanfiction aspect of Stage Seven. Be it bad fanfic or good fanfic, if you're writing it you've demonstrated a level of commitment that gets you up here where the bad boys play. I'm a Stage Seven Doctor Who fan...I write fanfic, and I have a small website where I hang the stories.
STAGE EIGHT: WEBMASTER
One can attain Stage Eight while skipping Stage Seven, but most Stage Eighters have either done little lame websites at some point, or they've taken a crack at fanfic and so have done their time in the trenches. Not all fans have any interest in Stage Eight, some skip it and go directly onwards, but for many Eight is the place to be. These are the fans who have authored fanfic, got a half-dozen or more mailing lists under their belts, an extensive bookmark collection, a nice zip disk full of jpg's and wav's, and, most importantly, maintain large websites with a significant amount of information. Whether they be fanfic archives, character-specific information pages, fanclub info pages or episode guides, they've earned their stripes. I'm a Stage Eight DS9 fan, and that, my friends, is as far as I go...but some go farther.
STAGE NINE: BNF
BNF, as we all know, stands for Big Name Fan. The BNF is well-known in the fan circles he hangs out in. People seek him out at conventions and wonder if he's coming. His name is brought up in USENET discussions and his opinion is sought. People he doesn't know address him by name. This stage is somewhat fandom-dependent...the smaller the fandom, the easier it is to become a BNF. But it's possible...some Trek BNFs include Luca Sambucci and Tim Lynch (aka the Antichrist). They may have achieved fame in a number of ways: by helming large, oft-visited websites, by becoming reviewers, by writing reams and reams of fanfiction or by doing fan panels at conventions. The possibilities are endless.
STAGE TEN: PSYCHO COMPLETIST
The final frontier. The psycho completist's entire world revolves around his or her fandom. They must have all the episodes. They must possess every single piece of merchandise and peripheral material ever made. They have seen every website, read every fanfic, met every actor. They have entire rooms full of stuff and bankrupt themselves to support their addiction. They are unable to converse on any topic without dragging it back to their fandom.
It could happen to you.
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