Well, the ironic thing is that what was giving me anxiety wasn't the title. It was the attempt to whittle down my list from 93 to 36. If I called it "The fics I want to hug the most" I would still be anxious about it.
I think your results for googling "best drarry fics" make my point? My page comes up in the top of the search results, which is what I was trying for (of course, everyone's individual results will vary, as google searches are personalized for each individual user. I don't actually know how your results differ from mine. I tried the search using the "incognito" window to try and mitigate those factors though). When I google simply "Drarry fanfiction recs", without the "best", my page is much lower down. And that's fine. The people whose pages come up above mine (like capitu!) have great lists. If I have sabotaged myself by including "best" in my title, then that's my own fault.
I've been struggling a little bit with how to say this. I admit I was taken aback when you said that I'm implying a level of objectivity that can't be there and this rubs you the wrong way. There's no such thing as an objective list based on an opinion. We all know that. If someone doesn't know that, I can't help them. But every reviewer or reccer thinks their opinions are good ones, otherwise they wouldn't be making lists or writing reviews.
I am coming to understand that the issue at hand is that the title I chose goes against perceived fandom norms. (In other spheres, "Best of" lists are common and unremarked-upon as to title, but the contents of the lists are still hotly debated. People know they're inherently subjective.) It's true I started these lists before I was aware of any norms, so my flaunting of convention wasn't deliberate. But if it has come to mean that my lists look different from other people's, then perhaps that means that they will stand out. And I'm OK with that.
I think it should be OK for people to self-promote and to actively try to get people to read what they write, whether that be fic or a rec list or a meta or whatever, as long as they aren't being predatory or harmful. (Dave Eggers called his memoir "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius". I thought that was clever of him.) After all, someone's page is going to come up at the top of any given google search. Why not mine? Why not yours? And if people disagree with my opinions (which I absolutely expect to happen) I would encourage people to make lists themselves. It will just mean more recs and more fandom promotion, which is a good thing.
no subject
I think your results for googling "best drarry fics" make my point? My page comes up in the top of the search results, which is what I was trying for (of course, everyone's individual results will vary, as google searches are personalized for each individual user. I don't actually know how your results differ from mine. I tried the search using the "incognito" window to try and mitigate those factors though). When I google simply "Drarry fanfiction recs", without the "best", my page is much lower down. And that's fine. The people whose pages come up above mine (like capitu!) have great lists. If I have sabotaged myself by including "best" in my title, then that's my own fault.
I've been struggling a little bit with how to say this. I admit I was taken aback when you said that I'm implying a level of objectivity that can't be there and this rubs you the wrong way. There's no such thing as an objective list based on an opinion. We all know that. If someone doesn't know that, I can't help them. But every reviewer or reccer thinks their opinions are good ones, otherwise they wouldn't be making lists or writing reviews.
I am coming to understand that the issue at hand is that the title I chose goes against perceived fandom norms. (In other spheres, "Best of" lists are common and unremarked-upon as to title, but the contents of the lists are still hotly debated. People know they're inherently subjective.) It's true I started these lists before I was aware of any norms, so my flaunting of convention wasn't deliberate. But if it has come to mean that my lists look different from other people's, then perhaps that means that they will stand out. And I'm OK with that.
I think it should be OK for people to self-promote and to actively try to get people to read what they write, whether that be fic or a rec list or a meta or whatever, as long as they aren't being predatory or harmful. (Dave Eggers called his memoir "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius". I thought that was clever of him.) After all, someone's page is going to come up at the top of any given google search. Why not mine? Why not yours? And if people disagree with my opinions (which I absolutely expect to happen) I would encourage people to make lists themselves. It will just mean more recs and more fandom promotion, which is a good thing.