On my way to some out destination

Once upon a time…back a few years ago when I was only the mother of one small child,  my husband and I were avid cruisers. Cruising as in we were passengers on a really big ship, as opposed to our own boat (which happened several years later). We went on several cruises, and I got so interested in them that I became involved in what was then called Cruise Critic on AOL. (Anybody remember the days when AOL had actual content and you had to connect through a dial-up modem??)  I read the message boards, went to the chats, debated whatever needed debating, and basically – became a fan of cruising.

That’s right, I was a fan. Just like I am of Duran Duran. Sort of.

When Amanda and I first started writing, one of our goals was to make sure that whatever we were writing could reach a broad cross-section of people across many different kinds of fandom.  While the case study we used for our research was the fan community for Duran Duran (unpaid, paid and everyone in between!), one thing we wanted to somehow be able to prove was that the same basic elements could in fact be found anywhere. At the time, I struggled to think of fandoms beyond music, celebrity and sports…which in hindsight is pretty darn funny because here I am in this very blog talking about the fact that I was indeed a fan of cruising. Apparently I forgot all about my adventures as the Cruise Cafe Host on AOL because they never really crossed my mind at all until very recently.

Yes, that’s right, I hosted a chat room on AOL as a volunteer Community Leader, and it was no easy feat. I had about a month solid of training before I was allowed to be “unleashed” and handle a full-chat on my own. This was a lot of time. I’m talking hours of being in an online classroom and I even took tests…and no, I was not paid! At the time I thought it was only slightly overkill to have so much training – I mean, what could possibly be the problem? You’d think cruise fans would be so laid back and just happy to talk about their favorite vacations, right?

Wrong.

Part of my job at the time – and really one of the more significant parts actually – was breaking up fights. Truthfully, the more skilled hosts knew how to soften the “room” before it exploded into arguments, something that I did eventually learn. I had the task of keeping the peace, stopping the issues before they’d start, and if that didn’t work – banning people as appropriate. I used to laugh at the amount of people that would allow their anger to get the best of them…over a VACATION.

Additionally, I was a moderator on the Cruise Critic message boards. To say that I have some background in this area would probably be an understatement. I spent a lot…and I mean a LOT…of time on message boards back when my oldest was a baby/toddler. I knew how the boards should run, I knew how to stop arguments before they began, and I knew quite a bit about cruises themselves. After all, I was a fan. You’d think that people would come to the boards looking for information on cruising, and maybe even find people who were sailing on their ship in the process. I am talking about topics such as: What line is best for families, what is the best process for booking, where are the best ports in the Caribbean…that sort of thing…and there are plenty of those people. However, somewhere between booking that cruise and booking the next, people lose their minds. They become fans. They start to feel a sense of ownership over the boards, over the board of their favorite cruise line. They begin to play a game of whom-knows-more-than-whom, one-upping whomever they can. Those that are in-the-know start to gain momentum on the boards, and a sort of hierarchy begins to form. Arguments start when some dares to come onto the board and say that that X cruise line “really disappointed” them.  Maybe someone dares to complain about the *gasp* food!  Those things are what set the board aflame in discussion, not all of it productive.  There are people on those boards that can tell you where any given ship will be at any given time, what each of the ships in a specific line have as their itineraries…when a ship will be going in and out of drydock (maintenance schedules)…and when the next ships will be built.  There are even sub-boards for folks who are excited for a specific ship to be BUILT.  These are people who have completely submersed themselves into cruising. So my job was purely to maintain the peace and allow those who wished to post productively to do so without fear of being ripped to pieces.

Anybody seeing some distinct parallels here??

Fandom really can be found anywhere.  I honestly don’t know why I never thought about my foray into being a moderator on Cruise Critic before now…and why I never really considered the obvious comparisons that can and should be made.  What I can tell you though is that lately, I’ve wandered back into that community after a VERY long absence.  I would say it’s been twelve years since I was a moderator. Once I had two kids to take care of, I had a lot less time (imagine that!), and while we did do more cruising, we also did other things. It felt like my time in that fandom came to a natural end in a lot of ways.  However, as I mentioned – lately I’ve been going back again because we’re planning a vacation for the summer and I needed to find out some information that I knew would be found on those cruise boards.  I’m no longer a registered member at Cruise Critic, but many of the same crowd that habited the boards when I was a moderator are still there.  Still cruising, still complaining, and still arguing!  So as I peruse the boards in search of the best ideas for port excursions – I chuckle a lot, and not just because of the fond memories that still linger, but because those boards read an awful lot like the Duran Duran message boards at times!  Let me give you an example that I am copying and pasting from something I stumbled upon just yesterday:

“Unfortunately on these boards there are those who will attack anyone who dares to criticize anything on a ________ cruise”

“Yours is a very interesting comment because it gets right to the heart of the quandary facing ____ – many people are unhappy with what they are being served BUT many people are happy (I count myself and my DH in that latter camp). What are they doing to try and please everyone? Or at least more people more of the time?”

I think that if we replaced what I have highlighted in red with things Durancentric…you’ll see my point. I could have been on the DD boards rather than a cruise board!

So, is our fandom really that much different? I really don’t know. I have to admit that a few months back I might have felt more emphatic that yes – our passions are much stronger.  After having spent some QT on Cruise Critic lately though, it seems as though that same passion courses through the veins no matter what the fandom. Sure, in our case perhaps a little leftover teenage hormone fuels the fire, but when it comes right down to it – I’ve seen much of the same on Cruise Critic.  It’s amusing and even a little reassuring that while we might be crazy, there are others out there that are just as much so for something else!

Just a little food for thought…and I should probably warn, reassure, or even prepare you that while yes, I’m going on a proper vacation this summer, I’m not going anywhere. If I’m going to be a moderator again, it will be for the Duran Duran fans here. While it’s been fun to read the boards again and see that yes, everything is pretty much the same as when I left – they are still debating buffet lines, whether or not kids should be on the ships, drink prices and whether Celebrity or Royal Caribbean have better food – I’m much happier talking about Duran Duran.

This might explain a little why I feel the way I do about message boards, and why I feel it’s important that people have a place to talk about the band, whether we all agree or disagree. The point is that it’s OK to talk about our differences of opinion, even when it’s tough to see the other side. It’s just as difficult for me to remember that through my passion as it is everyone else, but I still feel it’s important to try.

….And man was I ever crazy to spend an entire month taking classes to become a volunteer moderator and chat host!!

-R

BTW – any time I am on that cruise board, I start humming the melody to Mediterranea.  I think it’s a Pavlovian reaction at this point, so thank you, Duran Duran.