User blog comment:Craiglpalmer/Wikia is now Fandom powered by Wikia/@comment-20644-20160930175246/@comment-3528596-20160930190544

Thanks for the response! I appreciate Wikia/Fandom's willingness to keep the dialogue with users open. That said (yeah, I know you saw that coming), I've got some more words to say on this latest message.

“The idea of what the word fandom means to people is the most interesting part of the comments here.” For the supposed “most interesting part of the comments,” there isn't much time actually spent addressing this issue. “There are lots of different ideas about what the word fandom represents, and ultimately that's a good thing.” That may be true in some cases, but I don't think any of the negative connotations that a vocal plurality of users here have voiced constitute a “good thing.”

“And for those who do think fandom is a negative word, which is a small minority of people, then the positivity of the Fandom powered by Wikia brand can help change their minds.” Once again, we're told that we're a small minority of people without providing evidence for that. Nobody has backed up the assertion that there was a good response to the name either. I've asked twice for any sort of support for those claims. Unless this request gets addressed, I'm going to move forward with the assumption that there is no evidence. Wikia/Fandom corporate has an opinion, which they're certainly entitled to, but nothing more.

The reply also mentions “chang[ing] their minds” again. That's completely irrelevant to the discussion. Completely. I'd love to be able to say, in a few years, “Yeah, when Wikia became Fandom, they really turned Fandom into a positive word. Everyone I know thinks of the great environment of Fandom powered by Wikia when they hear the word 'Fandom'.” I'd love to be able to say that. However, future speculation has no bearing on the current connotations of the word. If anything, it grants that we are correct and Wikia/Fandom is rehabilitating the word.

So now what? I voiced concerns and got official speak without support and without really tackling my concerns. I replied again. Wikia/Fandom came back with more official speak and no more support for the claims. I don't expect to change the decision. I don't expect to get support for the claims about the word either. It seems clear to me now that such evidence doesn't exists. I don't really expect anyone to admit that “Fandom” does have negative connotations and Wikia/Fandom wants to rehabilitate the word anyway. I don't expect anything at this point, and that's really disappointing.