fansplaining:

Hmmm. Well as a point of grammar, you could probably use either! We definitely fall into the not-so-great fandom trap of referring to fandom at large with a singular “fandom” (and, by extension, “fanfiction fandom.”) Of course, “fandom” as a catch-all doesn’t really mean much—it’s a lazy shorthand that a lot of people in fandom (heh) default to. 

Even “fanfiction fandom” doesn’t mean much, right? When we use it, we’re most likely referring to AO3, which is funny since Flourish is writing and reading fic on Wattpad, which has a different culture and different norms. And AO3 itself isn’t a monolith. 

It depends on your context, but I’d suggest trying to clarify if you are going to use the singular—if it is one big group, what does that mean to you, etc. We try to do that. (Though maybe we don’t always succeed—we’re working on it!)

Thanks, that’s super helpful! I’ll probably just go with the plural, in that case (though of course trying to say anything that applies to multiple fanfiction fandoms is an issue in itself…) but I really appreciate the in-depth answer.