haveawank wrote

For those of you who came by looking for the more physical act of wanking, please keep moving along. Today, we are talking about wanking in a fandom sense, which is to say making an **** of oneself among friends and fans, eventually being mocked for same by people one doesn't know.

1. See the Trees, Damn the Stupid Forest

The first thing any potential **** must do before setting out to **** is to set aside that most overrated of virtues: perspective. Oh, you've heard of the crisis in Darfur (and may even be able to point out that sad country's location on a map, given two or three tries). You may have a job, a family, and activities outside fandom, away from the Internet. You might be more worried about the price of your next fillup than you are about the airdate of the next episode of Torchwood. You might have a life.

Let it go.

Set aside your so-called "real world" concerns. Sure, the kids are whining and your boss is a **** and the situation in Afghanistan is a mess and your mortgage payment is going to be late again, but what really matters to you more than anything is that someone you previously liked and admired actually 'ships the unspeakable Dean/Bela instead of the far more righteous and proper Sam/Bela pairing. Clearly, this person needs to be give a Clew, and you are the wielder of the Clewbat. Ignore the deadline you've got on your project, and let her have it! Spend hours on your treatise of why you're right and she's wrong, and let the cat box spill over. This is much more important!