Comments on: Team CliqueClack discusses Vulture’s list of top fandoms

By: Mary

Mary — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 16:39:18 +0000

Supernatural?

By: Ruby

Ruby — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 15:23:10 +0000

Must say – I love their Game of Thrones badge/avatar.

By: Ivey West

Ivey West — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 15:13:34 +0000

I guess after reading the whole article, including the individual pages and reasoning for placement — I found their gaol and the results fairly inline with what I would have expected. While there were some surprises (ICP stands out) and somethings (like Apple) that should have gone on the list, I thought it was pretty good.

Their metric was fervency today, and I think they hit that.

By: Ruby

Ruby — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 15:09:36 +0000

Yes, they’re basically just going with their (very subjective) sense of how much fervor each fandom has. “Most Devoted” is misleading – they probably meant “Most Passionate” or “Craziest.” I would add Christopher Nolan fans and bronies to the list (no offense to them – I like both Nolan and MLP:FIM).

The caveat is useless because their criteria was applied arbitrarily. Harry Potter is in (because of the theme park and Blu-ray discs) but The Beatles are out (despite the Paul McCartney concerts, annual Beatles festivals, records and merchandise, covers on TV music competitions, etc.). Maybe they should have limited the list to pop-culture phenomena originating in the past decade – or some other manageable timespan.

By: Ivey West

Ivey West — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 14:34:29 +0000

Ruby,

Their methodology for ranking (as non-scientific has it obviously had to be) is on the first page of the list, as is the caveat that they are talking about “current” (as in “today”) fandoms, otherwise folks like The Beatles and Elvis would be hard to top.

By: Ruby

Ruby — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 14:23:03 +0000

Interesting list, although I don’t understand what the rankings are based on. How did they measure how devoted each fanbase is? And how can we know how devoted a newer fanbase is, compared to one that has been around for much longer? For example, Star Trek’s fandom has lasted for several decades, but who knows if The Hunger Games’ fandom will fade in 10 years or be growing stronger? I would probably rank the fandoms based on longevity, because to me that shows true devotion. The more recent crazes could die as soon as the next big fad comes along.