Rename the 'Stalker's Guide' Articles

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The MDL articles that are focused on one actor/actress are great content, but having the name 'Stalker's Guide' attached to them really brings out the worst possible feelings for readers (and even authors).

33votes

Agreed. This has always made me uncomfortable. 

yep. 

Any possible humor gained from the title is offset by creepiness, unpleasantness or discomfort the title inspires.

yeah it's got bad connotations

I think it's fine. We're learning everything about a person, which is a stalkerish thing to do. But it's not like anyone is actively following the respective actor to their home to find out that info...

I agree, they should be renamed.

 miss_kayti:

I think it's fine. We're learning everything about a person, which is a stalkerish thing to do. But it's not like anyone is actively following the respective actor to their home to find out that info...

Couldn't agree more. The title is just being taken in a negative context. I think it has more to do with the level of detail each guide contains about a particular actor, and how much time the writer invested in following that celebrity's works. 

Every time I see a "Stalker's Guide" article I ignore it, because I assume it's a creepy article targeted to stalkers.  I think articles like that make MDL look bad.

Are the articles actually about acting careers?  If so, here are a few other possible titles:
A guide to the work of [actor's name]
A guide to the career of [actor's name]
The acting career of [actor's name]
An introduction to the work of [actor's name]

Few years back (first article of this kind dates back to 2012!)  the name "Stalker's guide" might have give off an air of quirkiness and alluded to some social media (eg. tumblr) inside jokes but considering the change in socio-cultural feelings in past four (?) years i think it might be a good decision to come up with new name for this type of articles. I noticed that not many people interact with these articles (including me). Maybe it is partially because of this creepy vibe it gives off now.

I think the word "stalker" is atm used mainly in negative connotation and given the growth of MDL in general, as well as growth of many users, it might be good to move on to something that contains less problematic phrasing. I am pretty sure the community could come up with another quirky/fun-sounding name for such articles.

Currently, the "Stalker's guide" somehow promotes behaviour (by using that name) that is largely discouraged in fan communities (becoming obessive fan). Argument that the reader is trying to "get all available information on (person)" falls kinda flat when you consider that public personas like actors/actresses have publicly accessible this kind of info anywhere and the purpose of these articles is putting one particular person in the spotlight.

 Salty_bae:
considering the change in socio-cultural feelings in past four (?) years i think it might be a good decision to come up with new name for this type of articles. I noticed that not many people interact with these articles (including me). Maybe it is partially because of this creepy vibe it gives off now.

i couldn't agree more really, you basically expressed the same thoughts as i have too. this negative attachment with the word "stalker" is largely why i haven't really interacted with such articles before even if i support or am interested in the actor/actress that it's about, it just gives off a bad vibe especially knowing the association and the reality of fans who become obsessed to the point where they don't know boundaries, don't respect privacy and harass idols/actors in the entertainment industry. 

As writer of these guides I can tell you that the amount of effort put into them makes you feel like a stalker, i feel the name is apt.  i personally have been known to pull information off 10-15 sites to consolidate into one decent article.  

"does someone know there nickname? " "Has there immediate family names been revealed?" "Are they related to someone famous?"  All this goes into the first paragraph after the stats...

Currently in the middle of one for Mifune Toshiro and have learned more about the man in the process than I ever wanted to know, i think my readers will enjoy it.

If you look for the negative in everything you will find it.

If you put so much effort into the articles, why would you scare off potential readers for no reason?

I don't think the title format has to be consistent.  The title can say something about their acting style or reputation.  I think something like "The legendary acting career of Toshiro Mifune" or "A Tribute to Japan's Most Popular Actor, Toshiro Mifune" would attract more readers than "A Stalker's Guide to Toshiro Mifune".

I just checked your list and there are some great Mifune films that you haven't seen yet.  I recommend Throne of Blood, Red Beard, The Bad Sleep Well, and Life of Oharu.

Yep I am looking into those as well as a few more.  Currently watching the first Kamen rider with him in it. 

The above is just my opinion...when I wrote my first one ..Kamenashi kazuya I wanted it to be called obsession series lol

 miss_kayti:

I think it's fine. We're learning everything about a person, which is a stalkerish thing to do. But it's not like anyone is actively following the respective actor to their home to find out that info...

  • I agree and I think it’s fine. People get out of a name what they make of it.   To quote Harry Potter “fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself.”  

I think the articles are really neat! I enjoy reading them and I truly appreciate the work the authors put into creating them.

However I remember as a newbie to MDL (and drama watching) I remember being scared off by the terminology in the titles of the articles so it took me a long time before I was willing to even open them up. Which was a shame, since the guides are often very well-done and informative.

I'm definitely not trying to ascribe anything negative to the guides themselves. In my opinion changing up the titles would come across as more friendly and accessible to readers (especially new ones) and give the articles even more traction.

That's all. I'm not personally shivering in my boots every time I see the title. I just think there would be more readers if it was switched up.

Everyone has different opinions on it, but knowing that it is off-putting to some is enough to justify at least a re-consideration of the terminology.