I'm going to consolidate replies to all three sections, here, but I'm probably going to go over one comment, too. Also quite wordy, I am. *g*
Not who, what: the rules of the characters' reality. Is the premise actually possible within the reality the characters inhabit? Then it's plausible.
I like this, the definition you've created and all the reasoning behind it--in large part because it's very similar to my own thinking. *g* So, I think you're pretty much Right, with a capital R (as in True with a capitol T ;), insofar as this covers a lot of how I feel about crackfic and how it maybe should be defined, myself, but as far as the rest of fandom goes...possibly not. I mean, this is a great argument for the 'absolute values of crackfic' position, that anyone can call crackfic on anything if it fits certain criteria, but I do still have to ask, according to whom? I imagine quite a number of people could go along with this definition as a workable one, maybe with a few of their own adjustments, but there are so many people who I've seen discuss the idea of there being any sort of definitively cracked theme who reject that there is, for good reasons of their own. And so many people are using the term to mean so many different things that I can't look at this definition and say, yes, this is universal, this is what crackfic is. That's why, to me, it is a "who" and not a "what", because, though this definition works for me, there are others, and even other ways of looking at what constitutes a cracked theme, and that's where I think the "who" comes in.
It's certainly a good enough definition for me to use in my own reading/writing/commenting, but it won't be for some, and that's where it gets tricky--it becomes a whole 'who says?' kind of thing. Besides us, I mean--we can come up with a really great definition, but from whence did we pluck it? Do individuals define a new term for anyone besides themselves, or does the community that creates and uses it? When I'm interacting with someone for whom this is not THE definition, I'm still going to have to explain myself if I don't call crack the way they would. I think having a definition is good, and a well thought out one is even better, but I'm going to end up carrying my reasoning like a missionary with a Bible to those who feel that "crackfic = wheeeee!" or "it's only crackfic, so anything goes!" So, I want to find a definition that encompasses other folk's mindsets, as well--and can't, except for a fairly loose-limbed, eye-of-the-beholder approach that also allows for people just feeling cracked when they write, or not finding things cracked that I would, etc., because significant portions of the community see it that way. Crackfic is like a movement that contains multitudes, so maybe I'm being overly ambitious in trying to pin it down and should just stick to the definition that works for me. *g*
Reading back over this, I suspect I sound much more "It's SERIOUS BUSINESS" about crackfic - and fanfic in general - than I really want to. One of the appealing things about crackfic is the absurdity and the ability to be all "Whee! Shiny!"
Yeah, that's the thing. Sometimes, it's just fun to feel shiny. :)
no subject
Not who, what: the rules of the characters' reality. Is the premise actually possible within the reality the characters inhabit? Then it's plausible.
I like this, the definition you've created and all the reasoning behind it--in large part because it's very similar to my own thinking. *g* So, I think you're pretty much Right, with a capital R (as in True with a capitol T ;), insofar as this covers a lot of how I feel about crackfic and how it maybe should be defined, myself, but as far as the rest of fandom goes...possibly not. I mean, this is a great argument for the 'absolute values of crackfic' position, that anyone can call crackfic on anything if it fits certain criteria, but I do still have to ask, according to whom? I imagine quite a number of people could go along with this definition as a workable one, maybe with a few of their own adjustments, but there are so many people who I've seen discuss the idea of there being any sort of definitively cracked theme who reject that there is, for good reasons of their own. And so many people are using the term to mean so many different things that I can't look at this definition and say, yes, this is universal, this is what crackfic is. That's why, to me, it is a "who" and not a "what", because, though this definition works for me, there are others, and even other ways of looking at what constitutes a cracked theme, and that's where I think the "who" comes in.
It's certainly a good enough definition for me to use in my own reading/writing/commenting, but it won't be for some, and that's where it gets tricky--it becomes a whole 'who says?' kind of thing. Besides us, I mean--we can come up with a really great definition, but from whence did we pluck it? Do individuals define a new term for anyone besides themselves, or does the community that creates and uses it? When I'm interacting with someone for whom this is not THE definition, I'm still going to have to explain myself if I don't call crack the way they would. I think having a definition is good, and a well thought out one is even better, but I'm going to end up carrying my reasoning like a missionary with a Bible to those who feel that "crackfic = wheeeee!" or "it's only crackfic, so anything goes!" So, I want to find a definition that encompasses other folk's mindsets, as well--and can't, except for a fairly loose-limbed, eye-of-the-beholder approach that also allows for people just feeling cracked when they write, or not finding things cracked that I would, etc., because significant portions of the community see it that way. Crackfic is like a movement that contains multitudes, so maybe I'm being overly ambitious in trying to pin it down and should just stick to the definition that works for me. *g*
Reading back over this, I suspect I sound much more "It's SERIOUS BUSINESS" about crackfic - and fanfic in general - than I really want to. One of the appealing things about crackfic is the absurdity and the ability to be all "Whee! Shiny!"
Yeah, that's the thing. Sometimes, it's just fun to feel shiny. :)
(cont.)