Embrace the fandom

Embrace the fandom is the common term for a 1998 essay by Ellen Peck, which has become the de-facto policy at ArgosyMTM Group for dealing with fans. The actual title is “On Fans and Fandom”.

The essay
On Fans and Fandom, by Ellen Peck.

When I first signed up for an ISP in 1994, I discovered whole forums and Usenet groups dedicated to The Aaron Show. I was happy that a show I had meant for children, was also making adults happy. Adults can like cartoons. That’s okay.

I decided to get in contact with these fans. I convinced my higher-ups to register the domain argosymedia.com, so I could set up an email address at “ellenp@argosymedia.com”. (Nobody would have believed me if I used my home email address, which I won’t tell anyone, but it ended in “@psi.net”.)

For all corporate executives who just discovered the existence of fan-fiction and fan-art, I have three words: Embrace the fandom. Don’t sue your devoted fans for expressing their creativity, like some companies have done.

(TBA)