Hi all - she (Pippa the Scientist) wrote me back: Hi , Thanks for getting in touch. I did try to respond to the thread on Not606 to answer some of the questions from members about my work but unfortunately I was banned by the site owner, which is a shame. I'm currently writing up my thesis (none of it has been published so has only been viewed by myself so far!) but it primarily looks at football fandom (using Swansea City as an example) and how the media predominantly misrepresents football fans and paints them in a negative light in contrast to the discussions and interactions that go on between fans of various teams, for example. I've also looked at reasons behind why football fans opt to support a particular team, exploring issues of heritage and loyalty. It's pretty theory-based and there's not an awful lot on there about Not606; rather it's just used as an example of where fans congregate and interact. I'm in the process of conducting online interviews too. I'm a football fan myself so have been keen to write something that contrasts with some of the dominant discourses surrounding football, such as hooliganism, etc. so it's all quite a positive piece! Just a shame I can't really explain this to the members on Not606 as I'm unable to post. Anyway, I will be more than happy to send you a copy of the final piece. The aim is for me to submit in September so please do get in touch nearer the date and I'll happily oblige. Great to hear from you. Pippa. My answer: Wow, hello Pippa! Thank you for you mail. I honestly didn't expect you to answer me. That you haven't finished your work yet makes it just even more interesting... I'd love to see your thesis when you finish it (if I may obviously), I might even have an opinion.... I do have my profile on not606 - seems I should be careful then posting about your work there? It really stirred a great interest from people there, being subject of scientific investigetion... Oh yes, people the googled you too, and thought you were a bit of a looker. I was apparently the only one (living in Copenhagen) who couden't possibly be taken for a stalker - who knows! What it all comes down to is: that I've promised to give feedback on your paper, whatever it might contain. People are always very eager to hear things about themselves. Hope you can write me back with something I can post on not606 BTW - what club do you support? I hope not Cardiff - it will be a major disapointment. She repilies: Hi , You are more than welcome to see the thesis once it's finished. In terms of posting about my work on there, I am more than happy for you to do that as there's no secret about it and I would be so keen to answer some of the questions/concerns people might have about being 'studied' per se, but unfortunately I wasn't able to. I am not sure why my request to be a member was rejected as I would far rather explain to people what I am researching than have people second-guess, but there we are. I am close friends with one of the moderators on there who did know about my work in its early stages but I guess it's only natural that certain members may have reservations about a study on a forum they frequent, however it really isn't detailed whatsoever and rather the title only refers to Not606 as an example of a forum where fans congregate - it certainly doesn't name names in examples of thread posts for instance as that would raise all manner of ethical implications! I would very much appreciate it if you could alleviate any concerns from members (should they arise on there again!) as to the nature of my research as it is in no way looking at negative interactions, for example, on the forum and rather (hopefully!) aims to illustrate that fandom as a subculture is far more detailed, rich and rewarding than certain aspects of the mass media (who seem so preoccupied with hooliganism and football-related violence would suggest.) I chose Swansea City as the team and its following satisfied some of my research imperatives, which was to look at a club so rich with history, as to follow its rise to the Premier League and how the first Welsh club in an English-dominated sector has been received by the media. No doubt this will now bring more interesting questions now that a certain capital city has also joined... This is where the questions concerning national identity and heritage come in, however like I said earlier - the main crux of the thesis has been to (again, hopefully!) dispel some of the myths surrounding football fandom. As for me - between you and me I am a lifelong Liverpool supporter, however I have lived in Swansea my entire life (born here, too) and have always been fascinated by the club and its supporters. But the very fact that I support Liverpool is also something that I explore in my thesis in relation to why it is that I, as an example, chose to support that team regardless of me not having any form of friend/family connection to the club, and why it is that people choose to dedicate their allegiance to particular team/s. Anyway, I am rambling. Please do feel free to ask any more questions as I am more than happy to answer any, and if there are any concerns regarding people feeling like they're being studied then I assure you that it really isn't that interesting and the only main examples referred to looked at things like how popular threads were during matches, etc and how this contrasts with social media/twitter and whatnot - just didn't want people to think I was some devious lurker! Kind Regards Pippa.
Thanks for posting that mikra. Great that Pippa has responded to your e-mails. I'm disappointed that Pippa, can create user profile as I'm sure a lot of people would love to have some input as to why we support Swansea City. If you do make contact with Pippa again, if she would like to get access to the forum send me a Private Message to me or any other of the mods and we can make a request to the Super Moderators to get her signed up. You never know, we might managed to get her to support The Swans instead of Liverpool.
Brb banned her for posting student links. I've requested she be unbanned now so please pass on the good news mikra.
Thanks Chico, it will be great if she does interact to get everybody's thoughts etc. Actually she might regret it after a while.
Would I be flagging my FC København logo in here since february to be able to stalk a nice girl? If I was nearer, I might ask her for a pint though...
Many a man has done more to sweep a girl off her feet. She likes travel dude, and her portfolio is missing Copenhagen!!! Go for it!! http://www.redbubble.com/people/pippacarvell
I know the lady in question well. She asked me to explain to anybody with any queries that she is painting football, and Swansea fans, in a very positive light and if anyone has any doubts or preconceptions as to why she's interested in forums they are ill-founded. Don't worry, it's all good.
Dont know if I should do a danish or blaenymaes one though!! I shall see what I can do, but he is proud of FC Copenhagen and it is cool looking!
Sorry swim - beat you in stalking: https://plus.google.com/111145296610341414008/videos#111145296610341414008/videos
I used to work in Blaenymaes Youth Club,swim. To this day I don't know how I came out of there alive.
