Harsh Truths

[Julien McBain]

My name is Julien McBain, and I approved this message.

For the last two years I have watched as pillars of Steampunk have torn themselves apart over petty squabbling and foolishness. Artists watch their work being stolen, or steal others' work in order to make a name for themselves; and overall the reaction to it disgusts me.

There can be no community when nobody gets along; this kind of chaos tears at the fabric of what we in the fandom have all been striving to achieve. While I am all for a kind of well managed chaos, what we have is turning into a nightmare. Blacklists, public scandals bordering on Hollywood, rumors and slander, and theft are all at the core of this. The result is that people in the Steampunk fandom are more concerned with the soap opera of the week than actually being a Steampunk Fan.

It's time the fandom faced some harsh truths. We can either learn to live together or we will end up being the laughing stock of all science fiction fandoms. If we don't like what someone does, talk to them in private instead of parading it around your facebook or other social networks. We're all supposed to be adults; it's time we start setting the example for the next generation.