Bionicle fandom name

[Willess12]

Someone in The Topic about Bionicle's confirmed return suggested making a topic for a name for Bionicle's fandom.  Here are some of the suggestions that came up over there:

 

Chroniclers

Koronans

BFOL (Bionicle fans of Lego)

Nuians

BF (Bionicle fan)

Bionicult

Bionicles

 

There were more, but I couldn't remember them all.  Any other suggestions?

 

~W.12.~

[Jck]

Koronans. Or Chroniclers, since the dark times (2010-2014) we kept the history of bionicle alive.

[shadow pridak money gang]

Bonklettes

 

-Tyler

[Chro]

I prefer "Bionicle fans"

[Sumiki]

I really like Chroniclers.

[TBK]

Bonklettes

 

-Tyler

 

Bonkles and Bonklettes. Guys and gals.

 

It's perfect.

[Ballom Nom Nom]

Let's not make a fanbase name and say we did.

 

~B~

[The 1st Shadow]

I kinda like thew sound of "Nuians."

 

Or "Children of Mata Nui"

[Manterax Prime]

I prefer "Bionicle fans"

This. That's all we need.

[Endless Sea (Alaki Nuva)]

Not really sure if we need one, but I'd prefer Chroniclers.

[Dapper-Sama]

Chroniclers, if I had to choose. I'd rather not choose.

[Toa Smoke Monster]

 

I prefer "Bionicle fans"

This. That's all we need.

 

I agreed with this. Though I do like Chroniclers just a little.

[dotcom]

Ugly Barnacles.

[Wrinkledlion X]

bonklers and doo heads, all the livelong day

[Voltex]

I think Bionicle fans is good enough. Chroniclers sounds cooler though... conundrum. I don't believe that we necessarily need a name, but at the same time... Chroniclers is awesome...

 

Nah. Still don't think we need a fandom name.

[skratchR]

For the same reasons I said in the other topic, chroniclers.

[shadow pridak money gang]

 

Bonklettes

 

-Tyler

 

Bonkles and Bonklettes. Guys and gals.

 

It's perfect.

 

 

how about just bonklettes

 

-Tyler

[Grey Snow]

If we need it, Chroniclers.

[Kopekemaster]

Bionicle fans is certainly enough, and I honestly can't think of a legitimate example of a time that I would call it by its "fandom name".

That being said, Chroniclers is cool.

And bonkles/bonklettes would be a good less-serious one. As would Doo-Heads. XD

[Pohatu: Uniter of Stone]

Turaga for me!

[Toa of Gallifrey]

I vote for Chroniclers.

[Aanchir]

I can't bring myself to like Chroniclers as a fandom name. Don't get me wrong, it sounds great! But that's because it's a real life word with a real life meaning, and it would just end up confusing non-BIONICLE fans who hear it and don't understand its intended meaning or context.

 

It would be as stupid and confusing as if Whovians were to just call themselves Doctors, or if Trekkies called themselves Captains. Yes, it sounds great! Yes, it is directly connected with their fanbase! But a person who hears somebody identify as a Doctor or Captain is not going to have a clue that they're talking about a fanbase they're a part of. They're going to think the person means they're a literal doctor or captain.

 

The point of a fanbase name is to identify what you're interested in, not to hide it behind a generic word like Chronicler that will make people think you're some kind of real-life scribe or historian with a penchant for flowery language.

[Toa Green Ninja]

Chronicler sounds like the best one to use. However, what about Turaga? We'll certainly seem like we are full of wisdom to the new fans that will soon be pouring in...

 

Turaga for me!

This guy gets it!

Edited September 11, 2014 by Toa Green Ninja

[Lyichir]

I can't bring myself to like Chroniclers as a fandom name. Don't get me wrong, it sounds great! But that's because it's a real life word with a real life meaning, and it would just end up confusing non-BIONICLE fans who hear it and don't understand its intended meaning or context.

 

It would be as stupid and confusing as if Whovians were to just call themselves Doctors, or if Trekkies called themselves Captains. Yes, it sounds great! Yes, it is directly connected with their fanbase! But a person who hears somebody identify as a Doctor or Captain is not going to have a clue that they're talking about a fanbase they're a part of. They're going to think the person means they're a literal doctor or captain.

 

The point of a fanbase name is to identify what you're interested in, not to hide it behind a generic word like Chronicler that will make people think you're some kind of real-life scribe or historian with a penchant for flowery language.

This. This this this. Chroniclers may sound good to the people here but it would completely and utterly fail to serve the purpose any fanbase name is meant to serve.

 

In the Bionicle 2015 news topic someone suggested Kolhii Heads, which I thought was a FANTASTIC name. It's short, completely specific to Bionicle, humorous, and catchy. Non-Bionicle fans may not understand at first what's meant by the name but no one, fan or not, would mistake it for meaning something else.

[Toa Green Ninja]

What! Not Makuta Bones? I kid, I kid.

[TBK]

 

 

Bonklettes

 

-Tyler

Bonkles and Bonklettes. Guys and gals.

 

It's perfect.

how about just bonklettes

 

-Tyler

 

Ok, but if everyone else becomes the bonklettes, I'll become the Lone Bonkle. :>

[randomreviewerbros]

I do like Chroniclers like most people have said above, but how bout BIONIFANS, a mix of BIONICLE and fan obviously, i think it sounds pretty cool, tell me what you guys and gals think!

[Reya]

Chroniclers would be perfect!

[Tuuli]

No "fandom" names mainly because that sounds crazy and obsessed and I don't want to be a part of that. No names for fanatics, or fan kingdoms. Do not ruin bionicle.

[Cambion]

the tumblr portion of the fandom has basically already decided on Chroniclers, so i'd go with that.

 

No "fandom" names mainly because that sounds crazy and obsessed and I don't want to be a part of that. No names for fanatics, or fan kingdoms. Do not ruin bionicle.

hey. chill. how on earth would a fandom name ruin Bionicle ?

[Adventurer]

the tumblr portion of the fandom has basically already decided on Chroniclers, so i'd go with that.

 

No "fandom" names mainly because that sounds crazy and obsessed and I don't want to be a part of that. No names for fanatics, or fan kingdoms. Do not ruin bionicle.

hey. chill. how on earth would a fandom name ruin Bionicle ?

 

I can think of a few franchises I'd class as the fanatic fans having ruined my ability to like the franchise.

 

I like just "Bionicle fans", I don't really see the appeal/like the idea of a specific label, but Chroniclers sounds alright I guess if we -had- to have one. Better than a made up word anyway. That being said, it's been a while since the concept of the Chronicler was relevant to the series and it may not even be involved at all in the upcoming line (though it'd be cool if it was).

[Nato G]

I actually really like Bionicult, but I agree that it doesn't really matter. 

 

We've gone this long without a fandom name, why do we need one now?

 

We know who we are. We have not forgotten. We never will.

[UngluedBike]

Bionicult or AFOB (Adult Fans Of Bionicle)

[Aanchir]

I can think of a few franchises I'd class as the fanatic fans having ruined my ability to like the franchise.

But how does that have anything to do with whether the "fanatics" adopt a name for themselves or not? Nintendo tried to push the term "Pokémaniac" for Pokémon fans back in the day and I don't believe it ever caught on like they hoped it would. But just because people don't widely identify as Pokémaniacs doesn't mean there aren't people who think of themselves as "Pokémon fans" who go overboard in their love of the brand. Likewise, "comic book fans" have never had a single defining name for themselves, but there's about as much ugliness in that community as in any other.

 

And in the case of groups like bronies, furries, trekkies, and whovians, it's downright ludicrous to assume that coming up with names for their fandoms is what CAUSED some fans to act out and spoil other fans' fun. ANY fanbase that's big enough and active enough will have fans like that, whether they have a name for themselves or not. You're making a huge assumption that adopting a fandom name directly causes fans to do embarrassing things, and there's nothing in real life to suggest that. If the new BIONICLE is popular enough, then some fans will participate in the community in embarrassing ways whether you like it or not (in fact, some already do), and if outsiders catch wind of it they will be just as likely to pin that kind of nonsense on the fan community as a whole whether or not said community has a name of its own.

 

Do you think there aren't already sleazy, sexualized BIONICLE artwork, stories, and MOCs? Because there are (piece of advice: never, ever do a Google image search for "Roodaka" with safe search off).

 

Do you think there aren't already BIONICLE fans who devote their lives to the brand so deeply that they contemplated suicide over its cancellation? Because there are.

 

Do you think there aren't already BIONICLE fans who make utter fools of themselves at fan events and conventions? Because there are.

 

Do you think there aren't already BIONICLE fans who are vocally racist, sexist, homophobic, hateful, or bigoted in any way? Because there are.

 

None of these things happened because the BIONICLE fandom had or didn't have a name. They happened because the BIONICLE fan community is large and diverse, and any large or diverse community will have a seedier side whether you define it geographically or in terms of a particular opinion or interest. Treating fans who identify with a fandom name as "fanatics" is just a convenient way of creating a scapegoat for the problems that exist within each and every fan community.

[dotcom]

I think the thing is that when a specific label is put on a fanbase, that fanbase, by virtue of having a specific name, becomes more recognizable. And if there's any bad apples or bad behavior from a fanbase that make it gain the wrong kind of notoriety, that becomes the mark of that fanbase. "Fans of x" is a vague term that doesn't really imply anything, and you can just be a fan of whatever in a casual fashion, by yourself, etc. By adopting a specific name, however, it appears as if everyone who adopts that term is part of a cohesive fanbase that shares the same kind of ideas or even behavior. Not everyone wants the possibility of being tied to other fans through a name. And the thing is that everyone will insist on lumping everyone together, regardless of whether they want to be labeled with a fan moniker or not.

 

I can definitely see where Adventurer is coming from. I personally don't like fan monikers, and it really does get tiring to have to say "no i'm not a homestuck (that name is so duuuuumb) i am just a fan of mspa" or "i'm not a brony, but i enjoy the show" etc. And if the "chroniclers" or whatever this is if it catches on are going to be the groups with their hype trains or their trans tamarus or what ever, then it'll get tiring to try and not be part of that. Fan names can be really irritating.

 

But of course, as I soon learned when "Homestucks" was first catching on, complaining never changes anything, so whatever is going to happen is going to happen anyway....

[Aanchir]

I think the thing is that when a specific label is put on a fanbase, that fanbase, by virtue of having a specific name, becomes more recognizable. And if there's any bad apples or bad behavior from a fanbase that make it gain the wrong kind of notoriety, that becomes the mark of that fanbase. "Fans of x" is a vague term that doesn't really imply anything, and you can just be a fan of whatever in a casual fashion, by yourself, etc. By adopting a specific name, however, it appears as if everyone who adopts that term is part of a cohesive fanbase that shares the same kind of ideas or even behavior. Not everyone wants the possibility of being tied to other fans through a name. And the thing is that everyone will insist on lumping everyone together, regardless of whether they want to be labeled with a fan moniker or not.

 

I can definitely see where Adventurer is coming from. I personally don't like fan monikers, and it really does get tiring to have to say "no i'm not a homestuck (that name is so duuuuumb) i am just a fan of mspa" or "i'm not a brony, but i enjoy the show" etc. And if the "chroniclers" or whatever this is if it catches on are going to be the groups with their hype trains or their trans tamarus or what ever, then it'll get tiring to try and not be part of that. Fan names can be really irritating.

 

But of course, as I soon learned when "Homestucks" was first catching on, complaining never changes anything, so whatever is going to happen is going to happen anyway....

I guess I sort of see where you're coming from. But all things considered, if "everyone will insist on lumping everyone together" and "complaining never changes anything" anyway, I think it's more productive and more beneficial towards your own community to try to show people that their stereotype of that group is false than to abandon ship and let people keep believing that your fandom in general is the cesspool of civilized culture.

 

Furthermore, a lot of people even on this very site seem to think that the people who identify by a fandom name are embarrassing fanatics. But my experience with the fandoms I've been in or around tells me that simply isn't true. Bronies, AFOLs, Whovians... there are plenty of good, well-adjusted, and even amazingly talented people who embrace these labels. I don't think it's right to encourage the stereotype of them being rabid fans who are out of touch with reality. And by disowning labels like that, that's exactly the mindset I'd be encouraging.

 

Some of my friends continue to insist that I'm not REALLY a brony even when I identify as one, just because I don't fit their preconceived notions of what a brony is, and frankly that kind of statement offends me. To me it's like saying that I'm not REALLY autistic or not REALLY a Southerner because they've chosen to stereotype autistic people as feeble-minded lackwits or Southerners as hyper-conservative rednecks. And to me, it just shows me that I have to be that much more vocal about who and what I am, because I can't rationalize denouncing a whole category of people just to distance myself from those in that category that the general public happens to dislike.

 

Now, don't get me wrong. I think it's fine for anybody to choose NOT to use a label, for any reason of their choosing. I don't identify myself as an "Avatard" because I dislike its etymology (though I know there are many who DO accept that label who are perfectly respectable people). I probably won't identify as a "Chronicler" because nobody outside the BIONICLE fan community will ever know what I'm even talking about, since it's a word with an actual definition that has nothing to do with BIONICLE. I don't identify as a Whovian because I only watch the show casually and have absolutely no involvement within the greater Doctor Who fan community — I don't think I've really earned the right to call myself that. But encouraging negative stereotypes about any and all fans who choose to identify by a label or moniker is disgraceful. And sadly, it feels like there are a lot of people (not you, specifically) on this forum who see absolutely no problem with slandering entire communities just because they've chosen as individuals to define those communities in narrow and prejudiced terms.

[Adventurer]

 

I can think of a few franchises I'd class as the fanatic fans having ruined my ability to like the franchise.

But how does that have anything to do with whether the "fanatics" adopt a name for themselves or not? Nintendo tried to push the term "Pokémaniac" for Pokémon fans back in the day and I don't believe it ever caught on like they hoped it would. But just because people don't widely identify as Pokémaniacs doesn't mean there aren't people who think of themselves as "Pokémon fans" who go overboard in their love of the brand. Likewise, "comic book fans" have never had a single defining name for themselves, but there's about as much ugliness in that community as in any other.

 

And in the case of groups like bronies, furries, trekkies, and whovians, it's downright ludicrous to assume that coming up with names for their fandoms is what CAUSED some fans to act out and spoil other fans' fun. ANY fanbase that's big enough and active enough will have fans like that, whether they have a name for themselves or not. You're making a huge assumption that adopting a fandom name directly causes fans to do embarrassing things, and there's nothing in real life to suggest that. If the new BIONICLE is popular enough, then some fans will participate in the community in embarrassing ways whether you like it or not (in fact, some already do), and if outsiders catch wind of it they will be just as likely to pin that kind of nonsense on the fan community as a whole whether or not said community has a name of its own.

 

Do you think there aren't already sleazy, sexualized BIONICLE artwork, stories, and MOCs? Because there are (piece of advice: never, ever do a Google image search for "Roodaka" with safe search off).

 

Do you think there aren't already BIONICLE fans who devote their lives to the brand so deeply that they contemplated suicide over its cancellation? Because there are.

 

Do you think there aren't already BIONICLE fans who make utter fools of themselves at fan events and conventions? Because there are.

 

Do you think there aren't already BIONICLE fans who are vocally racist, sexist, homophobic, hateful, or bigoted in any way? Because there are.

 

None of these things happened because the BIONICLE fandom had or didn't have a name. They happened because the BIONICLE fan community is large and diverse, and any large or diverse community will have a seedier side whether you define it geographically or in terms of a particular opinion or interest. Treating fans who identify with a fandom name as "fanatics" is just a convenient way of creating a scapegoat for the problems that exist within each and every fan community.

 

 

Man you seem to have made a lotta assumptions but I what I was meaning by that. I didn't say having a name caused that? I said overly fanatic fans caused that. I then went on to say I don't particular see a name and on a personal level is more likely to be associated with the less desirable inevitable fanatical part of the community. That being said I don't actually have anything against there being a name, I just probably won't use it. I won't judge or treat anyone based on whatever name they use, but I also don't see consciously coming up with a name (as opposed to adopting one naturally) as something that's nessecary either.

[Nato G]

I still don't know why we need a name now, when we've survived for so long without one. 

 

We didn't have a fandom name when Bionicle was still around, and we didn't have one when it ended. Why do we need one now?

[Banana Gunz]

Let's not make a fanbase name and say we did.

 

~B~

 Lol this.

 

There are some cool names here but the most important part is that the name would have to be natural so that everyone uses it. Usually it's a term that has to catch on easily and spread, and doing a vote on it won't establish the name because people will feel differently and won't associate themselves with it. But I can only imagine what new fans are going to be doing when they start joining BZP... *shudders*

[Nidhiki of the Shadows]

I like Bonklers (Boniclers?)

 

-NotS