Someone once asked me if I was a Doctor Who fan. I half-jokingly replied, "No, I actually like the show."

Now, there are many people who describe themselves as "fans" who enjoy what they're a fan of. I'm not going to talk about these people. They're already cool.

But I'm sure that we've all come across someone behaving very toxically and justifying it by saying they're a "fan". You know, comments like "I'm a huge fan and everything this program's done in the last forty years sucks" or "I'm a huge fan so I get to behave in ways that are hugely damaging" or "I'm a huge fan so I demand special treatment".

Real examples? According to fan commentary, Doctor Who has got steadily worse since at least 1974 - the president dismissed the Tom Baker era with "WHERE'S THE MAGIC?" (his caps) - and Star Wars since Empire.

Or "I'm a fan so I'm allowed to take photos/video/record concerts even though it stops the musicians playing to their best ability". Robert Fripp, for instance, has repeatedly said that such behaviour stops him playing well, and there are songs he completely refuses to play in such circumstances, yet King Crimson concerts are often full of "fans" taking photos...

Or the many examples of people narrowly defining "fandom" to exclude people who are somehow "doing it wrong".

And I'm not even going to dig into stalkers and trolls...

So, yeah, if a "fan" is someone who is a sink of negativity, non-censual or plain abusive behaviour, and destruction, then I'm not a fan.

I prefer "enthusiast" or "supporter" or "geek". Or just "I like *whatever*".

Again, if you consider yourself a "fan" and are also someone who is positive and nice and respectful, then cool. You're great. I'm not talking about you.