Chapter 14 Exercises

Exercise 14.1 — Conflict Taxonomy Analysis (Individual, 45 minutes)

Choose a fan community you belong to or have observed closely. Identify one significant conflict that occurred within that community over the past three years.

Part A: Classify the conflict using this chapter's taxonomy: - Shipping war - Canon dispute - Representation debate - Creator dispute - Platform/governance conflict

Justify your classification. Note whether the conflict contained elements of more than one type.

Part B: Apply Coser's distinction between realistic and unrealistic conflict. Was the conflict about a genuine substantive disagreement, or did it involve displacement of other tensions? What evidence supports your assessment?

Part C: Evaluate whether the conflict was productive or destructive using the criteria developed in section 14.1. What evidence supports each side of this evaluation?

Write-up: 600–900 words, citing specific examples from the conflict you analyzed.

Exercise 14.2 — Platform Architecture Analysis (Pairs, 60 minutes)

With a partner, select the same conflict and analyze it as it played out on two different platforms (e.g., the same fan conflict appearing on both Twitter and Reddit, or both Tumblr and Discord).

Analysis questions: 1. How did the conflict's representation differ across platforms? 2. What did each platform's architecture amplify? What did it contain? 3. Where was the conflict more intense? What architectural features explain this? 4. Did the platforms interact — did content from one platform migrate to the other? How did migration affect the conflict's trajectory?

Presentation: 10-minute presentation to class, with screenshots or documented examples.

Exercise 14.3 — Receipts Culture Ethical Analysis (Individual, 30 minutes)

The "receipts" culture of preserving and deploying evidence of past statements is described in section 14.3 as "ambivalent" — it serves both accountability and punitive functions.

Scenario: A fan community member posted a tweet in 2015 that would be considered offensive by 2025 community standards. They have not publicly addressed the tweet. A current community member finds it and posts it in a community forum, arguing that the original poster should be held accountable.

Questions to address: 1. What is the strongest argument that posting the "receipts" is the right thing to do? 2. What is the strongest argument against it? 3. What contextual information would change your assessment? 4. What community mechanisms, if any, should govern how old receipts are handled?

Format: 400–600 words structured as a short ethical analysis.

Exercise 14.4 — Conflict Survival Prediction (Small Groups, 45 minutes)

Using the factors identified in section 14.7 (governance availability, fandom elders, subject/viability distinction, platform affordances, conflict history), evaluate the following three community scenarios for their likelihood of surviving a major conflict:

Community A: A 50,000-member Tumblr-based fan community for a popular fantasy novel series, with no formal moderators, a three-year history, and no previous major conflicts.

Community B: A 5,000-member Discord server for a video game fandom, with an active five-person moderation team, clear community guidelines, and one previous major conflict that was successfully managed two years ago.

Community C: A 200,000-member Twitter-based fan community for a K-pop group, with informal community leaders but no formal governance structures, highly organized streaming coordination infrastructure, and a history of intense inter-community conflict with rival fandoms.

Group task: Rank the communities from most to least likely to survive a major internal conflict. Produce a 1-page analysis justifying your ranking with specific reference to chapter concepts.

Exercise 14.5 — Reflexivity in Fan Scholarship (Discussion, Full Class)

Section 14.5 describes Priya Anand's discomfort when r/Kalosverse members mock DC fans — she laughs at a joke and then feels compelled to examine her own complicity in in-group/out-group dynamics.

Discussion questions: 1. Why is reflexivity especially important for scholars who are also community members? 2. What are the specific challenges of studying a community you belong to and care about? 3. Can fan scholarship ever be fully objective? Should it try to be? 4. How does Priya's position as both academic and fan shape what she can and cannot observe?

Preparation: Read section 14.5 carefully and come prepared with two specific observations and one question.