Uhh...yeah. I see the word "fanwank" in quite a few threads and while I know it means something to do with undesirable posting, I have yet to find a succinct definition of it.
I'd be grateful if somebody could provide me with a clean, exact meaning of this word.

fanwank

To fill in plot holes or explain away lapses in continuity in fictional works by coming up with (often convoluted) explanations of how it could have happened.
"But David used Sarah's real name even though he never knew her before she changed her identity."

"He could have read her file. He had access to it in episode seventeen and there were a few minutes when he could have flicked through it."

basically things that violate Occam's Razor, or simply "baseless and convoluted fan explanations for what is obviously simply a plothole or continuity error"

granted, sometimes its fun to come up with (in various series) fan-made "common sense" explanations for minor continuity errors, etc. which then even the writers might pick up on, etc. I.e. "he probably reloads his gun offscreen"

mind you, a "Fanwank" can also be a fairly simple explanation, but when glaringly, the writer never intended this explanation.

If its really convoluted, it probably is "just fanwank", and the less evidence, the closer it gets to that

Thanks for the explanation,
I was starting to wonder myself.

FWAP FWAP FWAP!

Ah, but what happens when fanwank works, and turns out to be good?

V wrote:basically things that violate Occam's Razor, or simply "baseless and convoluted fan explanations for what is obviously simply a plothole or continuity error"

This makes it sound as if there isn't any sort of art to the process. What kind of fanwanker do you think I am?!?

Depending on the source material, there can also be a blurry line between what's really fanwank and what isn't. Doesn't help that sometimes the actual canons backtrack and incorporate what is essentially 'wank of their own, some of it more convoluted / less effective than what fans had already cooked up. On the other hand, there's also a good chance that some of it will coincide with fanwanked ideas, thereby vindicating the practice of fanwankage.

Sharaz wrote:Ah, but what happens when fanwank works, and turns out to be good?

That makes all the shame worth it.

lol in that case, wouldn't we need to coin "canonwank"?

Reichu wrote:Depending on the source material, there can also be a blurry line between what's really fanwank and what isn't. Doesn't help that sometimes the actual canons backtrack and incorporate what is essentially 'wank of their own, some of it more convoluted / less effective than what fans had already cooked up. On the other hand, there's also a good chance that some of it will coincide with fanwanked ideas, thereby vindicating the practice of fanwankage.

Indeed. Continuity errors almost inevitably pop up in series. It's very, very difficult to balance that much content within a winding labyrinth of a continuing plot. I rather prefer the "leave it" solution than the "explain it away in such a contrived way it reeks of an artist attempting to get out of trouble" one.

AyrYntake wrote:I'd be grateful if somebody could provide me with a clean, exact meaning of this word.

Anything I post.

The important thing about fanwank, that makes it such, is that it must be essentially mental masturbation (hence the "wank" bit).

And mental masturbation is all in good fun.

@Zuggy:

AyrYntake wrote:lol in that case, wouldn't we need to coin "canonwank"?

In soviet gainax, fans wank you.

Edit:

Thanks, LoganPayne